Spooky and Atmospheric Fall Recommendations
Fall is my absolute favorite season. I want to wear all the sweaters, decorate my house with all of the pumpkins, and cozy up with all the books as the leaves fall outside my window. These are a few of my favorite Fall reads. There ‘s quite a mix of genres and age ranges here so hopefully I can provide something for everyone to enjoy!
The Diviners by Libba Bray - This is the first book in the Diviners series by Libba Bray, one of my all-time favorite authors. All four books in the series have been released so if you give it a try and love it you won’t have to wait to read the rest! It’s set in 1920s New York City and filled to the brim with magic, mystery, and just the right amount of creepiness. Our protagonist Evie O’Neill has been sent away from her hometown in Ohio to live with her Uncle Will in NYC after her supernatural powers caused a scandal. Upon arriving her uncle is called to help with a murder investigation because he owns a museum for the occult and the murder seems to be in his wheelhouse. Evie attempts to help solve the murder and along the way she encounters an incredibly diverse and engaging cast of characters that are all also hiding secrets about themselves. It’s a spooky page turner with a heartwarming group of friends and these books are not short, but I loved every page.
Pumpkinheadsby Rainbow Rowell - This is a quick and delightful graphic novel that takes place entirely at a pumpkin patch. This is not just any pumpkin patch either, but the best one in the whole world filled with hay rides, and corn mazes, and all the fall treats you could think of. The story focuses on Deja and Josiah who are seasonal best friends and longtime co-workers each fall. This year they are seniors and it’s their last shift together before they graduate in the spring and move on. For their last goodbye Deja wants to ignore a lot of their actual responsibilities and experience/eat everything they can. This includes encouraging Josiah to finally talk to the cute girl he’s been mooning over for years. The ensuing adventure is so heartwarming and fun and provides all the Fall feelings you could want. Especially on a year like this one where trips to fall festivals and pumpkin patches might look a little different.
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab - This is a middle grade novel that follows Cassidy Blake as she moves to Edinburgh in Scotland with her parents to film their new ghost hunting TV show. Cassidy’s parents don’t actually have the ability to see ghosts, but unbeknownst to them Cass does. It turns out that Edinburgh is absolutely packed with ghosts and not all of them are nice. Cass, her best friend Jacob (a ghost), and her new neighbor Lara (who shares the ability to see ghosts) must help save the city from a terrible haunting while hiding her abilities from everyone she knows and not worrying her parents with mysterious absences.
As it is a book primarily aimed at middle school aged kids the spook level is relatively low and the charm factor is relatively high. I went to book tour of Victoria Schwab a couple of years ago and she described this book as “a love letter to Edinburgh”. You get to experience so many of the city’s wonders and it’s a really great read for people who want ghosts and mysteries set in winding old cities while not being too scared to turn the light off at bedtime.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - This book has received a lot of attention over the last few months since it’s Hulu adaptation was released (I still need to get around to watching that!). Unlike a lot of the other books on this list, this one comes with no ghosts or supernatural abilities. It is a slow burning, yet enthralling, literary fiction novel set in small town Ohio in the 1990s focusing on two families; the perfect Richardson family and their tenants single mother Mia and her daughter Pearl. This book explores family dynamics, the dangers of keeping secrets, and the price that comes with portraying perfection at all costs.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware - This was actually my first Ruth Ware book. It’s a modern day take on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James set in a house in the Scottish highlands. It’s an epistolary novel told in letters from the main character Rowan Caine to a barrister she’s hoping to employ. Rowan had accepted a post as a live-in nanny for two children with often absent parents. She is paid incredibly well and offered all of the luxuries of staying in a large, modern “smart” home with sprawling grounds while she cares for the children who live there.
In the first 15 pages you’re made aware that Rowan is currently in a Scottish women’s prison awaiting trial for the murder of one of the children in her care and the story then moves backward to start from when she firsts gets the job. I read this book in one sitting. I absolutely could not put it down until I knew what happened and how Rowan ended up where she did insisting that she is innocent when all other signs point toward her guilt.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - I read 135 books in 2019 and this one was in my top two (i’m stuck between Ninth House and The Starless Sea for which is my favorite). Galaxy “Alex” Stern finds herself a freshman at Yale despite having dropped out of high school and living a very rough life full of drugs and parties and all kinds of trouble. She’s been recruited there on a full scholarship by a secret society of the University whose job it is to monitor and enforce rules for the magic rituals performed by the 8 other secret societies. These groups are full of the types of people you would expect to find in prestigious societies at elite universities and as Alex mingles with them and witnesses their activities firsthand she finds that there is something larger and much more sinister occurring than she could ever imagine.
Honestly, you don’t want to know too much about this book going in because the story and the way everything is revealed to the reader is truly spectacular and the less you know at the start the better. As a warning, this book is not for the faint of heart. It is harsh, and grim, and sinister, and haunting, and full of unpleasantness, but if you want a dark and stormy read for October this is it and it’s so so good.
I’m always looking for new books to read, especially this time of year so let me know in the comments some of your favorite spooky fall reads! I’ll be back next week with a full review of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and a recap of the virtual tour event.
