Ah, nearly the end of the year; sometimes I’m amazed at how fast time flies. I’m treating you to a non-Cybils rendition of the Jacket Flap-a-thon, out of the five non-Cybils books I read this month, here are the best three:

I Shall Wear Midnight (HarperCollins): “It starts with whispers. Then someone picks up a stone. Finally, the fires begin. When people turn on witches, the innocents suffer. . . . Tiffany Aching has spent years studying with senior witches, and now she is on her own. As the witch of the Chalk, she performs the bits of witchcraft that aren’t sparkly, aren’t fun, don’t involve any kind of wand, and that people seldom ever hear about: She does the unglamorous work of caring for the needy. But someone—or something—is igniting fear, inculcating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Aided by her tiny blue allies, the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must find the source of this unrest and defeat the evil at its root—before it takes her life. Because if Tiffany falls, the whole Chalk falls with her. Chilling drama combines with laugh out-loud humor and searing insight as beloved and bestselling author Terry Pratchett tells the high-stakes story of a young witch who stands in the gap between good and evil.”
Maybe I’m biased because I love these books, but I love that the flap copy gives you a brief overview of the series and a hint of this book without giving much away at all.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk (Little, Brown and Company):
“If animals were more like us,
if mice kept pets and toads could cuss,
if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated,
sheep sat still and meditated,
then in the forest, field, and dairy
you might find this bestiary,
read by storks, by rats and kitties,
skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties.
“I found the book to be most droll,”
might quip the bear, the owl, the mole.
Others, though, would be more coarse.

“Bull,” could say the pig and horse.
As to the scribe, they’d quote the hen,
“Trust me, he’s no La Fontaine.”

Absolutely pointless as flap copy. Seriously. But it’s SO much fun, and horribly clever, which makes it perfect for this book.

Starcrossed (Arthur A. Levine Books): “In a glamorous castle full of Llyvraneth’s elite, Celyn Contrare serves as a lady-in-waiting to shy young Merista Nemair. Her days are spent dressing in velvet, attending Lady Merista, navigating court gossip, and charming noblemen over lavish feasts. And at night, she picks locks, steals jewels, forges documents, and collects secrets. Because Celyn isn’t really a lady-in-waiting; she’s not even really Celyn Contrare. She’s Digger, a sneak-thief on the run from the king’s Inquisition, desperate to escape its cruel instruments and hatred of magic. If she’s discovered, it will mean her certain death. But life as a lady-in-waiting isn’t safe either. The devious Lord Daul knows her secret, and he’s blackmailing her to serve as his personal spy in the castle. What she discovers-about Daul, about the Nemair, even about her own Lady Merista — could signal civil war in Llyvraneth. And for a thief trained never to get involved, taking sides could be the most dangerous job yet.”

It doesn’t give the plot twists and turns away, and yet manages to be intriguing. What is going on in this book? I want to know.

Other books read this month:
Clementine, Friend of the Week
The Kneebone Boy
Linger
Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool
Bamboo People
Zora and Me
What Happened on Fox Street
The Lost Hero
How I, Nicky Flynn Got a Life and a Dog
Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze
Shooting Kabul
Out of My Mind
Belly Up
The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt

Running total: 163 books
Adult fiction: 24
YA: 58
MG: 56
Non-fiction: 15
Graphic Novel: 10
Didn’t Finish: 7