April is going to be a really exciting reading month. This month, I am participating in the O.W.L.’s Magical Readathon. I have been looking forward to this for months and now that it is finally here, I cannot wait to dive in.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #1) by Heather Morris
G O O D R E A D S | S Y N O P S I S
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
This is one of the books I have been wanting to get to most for the longest time. I have been waiting for the right time to pick it up because I just know it will break my heart. I also decided to read my books for the O.W.L.’s Magical Readathon in the order of my subjects, so this one is my first read. I am already a few pages in and love it so much. It has already touched my heart.
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
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Even if Blue hadn’t been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.
But this is the year that everything will change for Blue.
This is the year that she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.
This is the year she will fall in love.
I have been wanting to get to the author’s books for the longest time. Every year, I try to binge read an author or two’s books and I think I will try to get to all of Maggie Stiefvater’s books in the following months. I have heard nothing but amazing things about them all over the years.
The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
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Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
This trilogy is one I have been meaning to get to but just never do. I really think I will love it and it is one of the books I am most excited to get to this month.
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
G O O D R E A D S | S Y N O P S I S
My Sister, the Serial Killer is a blackly comic novel about how blood is thicker – and more difficult to get out of the carpet – than water…
When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other…
The mystery/thriller genre is one of the few I fell out of love with. I think with all the bad things happening in the world, it did not do me well to read such dark books. Slowly, I have been wanting to get back into it and I think this one would be the perfect start.
Animal Farm by George Orwell
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Mr. Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organized to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges…
As I mentioned before in a pervious blog post, the author’s other well-known book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, is on my list of classics to read this year. This one is also on the list of books I want to get to in the near future and reading it for the reading challenge is the perfect chance to do so.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
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In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
I have always admired Michelle Obama since I was a little girl but I admit, I do not know her that well. Picking up this book will definitely help me get to know more about her and I am so excited to get to the audiobook.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
G O O D R E A D S | S Y N O P S I S
It’s New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany’s. And nice girls don’t, except, of course, Holly Golightly. Pursued by Mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly ‘top banana in the shock department’, and one of the shining flowers of American fiction.
As part of my #ClassicsCommunity TBR for the year, I decided to read this book for my monthly classic read. I have been dying to watch the movie as well.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling
G O O D R E A D S | S Y N O P S I S
Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.
Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.
Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.
Since I read the Harry Potter books for the first time last year, I have completely fallen in love with the story, world, magic and characters. I made a (unbreakable) vow to reread the series every year and this year, I will be listening to the audiobooks. My love for this series reached the point where I want to be able to recite each book word for word (crazy, right?). Most excited to get back into this magical world and to Hogwarts, my home.
I am honestly so ready to just read and read this month. It has been a while since I spent my days just reading and I am really looking forward to get that wonderful feeling back. The O.W.L.’s Magical Readathon is something I have been looking forward to for such a long time and I am most certainly making it a priority this month.
Keep on reading, stay safe and never stop telling stories.
White Rose Stories 
The Cruel Prince is one of my favorites! I hope you love it. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is one I’m hoping to read this month too.
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Ah, so glad you loved it! I am incredibly excited to get to it. Thank you, I just know I will! So glad we’ll both be reading it then. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! x
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