Thanks to Journey Bloomfield for tagging me! I got walloped by a head cold over the weekend, so I haven’t felt like doing much and this is a fun little tag.

The Rules (as set forth by Journey):

• Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) (note that I haven’t personally vetted this site!) and link back to me so I can see your post!
• Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
• HAVE FUN!
• Nominate people if you want!

The Books!

November’s birthstone is Topaz, so the theme is orange – which is a really hard color actually! Because first, not a lot of book covers are orange, and second, I don’t like the color personally 😆 So there will be some deviations into red and yellow hues for sure!

In alphabetical order, we have:

Cats on Track (Anton & Cecil, Book 2) by Lisa and Valerie Martin

I love this series. 😍 The brother cats are absolutely delightful (there’s that sibling rep I love so much!) and the late 1800s vibes are fun. In this book they head out West after getting a mysterious cry for help from their mouse friend Hieronymous. There’s coyotes and prairie dogs and buffalo, lots of trains (obviously) and the very tough question: how do you find one little mouse in the middle of the vast wilderness?

The Eighth Ransom by Given Hoffman

This is probably the most orange of the covers I’ve chosen. 😆 This was the first Given Hoffman book I read, and it’s really good! Eight kids are kidnapped in a plot that affects national security (though one of them got involved unintentionally). All the characters feel very realistic, the stakes are high, and there’s lots of good tense action. Bonus points: a lot of the story happens in Mexico, which for some reason I really like that setting!

Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue by Chuck Black

Uh, no, I am not gonna stop talking about this book any time soon 😆 It’s so good! I know I’ve already said Carliss made it onto my list of Top 10 Heroines. And I really like the theme of this book; Chuck Black isn’t afraid to point out the dangers of escapism and some of its common forms. That could get a lot of people, especially his target audience, upset, but it’s important! But beyond the underlying theme, this book is INCREDIBLY atmospheric and tense – probably my favorite of the series so far.

Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques

This one counts as orange, right? 😆 In this book we finally get the backstory of Redwall’s founder and legendary protector. Be warned that it’s a heartbreaker; I don’t remember whether I cried or not – I think I got a little misty-eyed but didn’t end up full-out crying because I already knew what was going to happen. But as usual with Brian Jacques, there’s a whole lovable cast, including one of my favorite vermin ever – Cap’n Tramunn Josiah Cuttlefish Clogg, who is absolutely hilarious. 😂

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Anybody who’s been following me on Goodreads knew this was coming sooner or later. 😆 But seriously, I’m gonna take any opportunity to rant about this amazing book! For whatever weird reason, I have a soft spot for midcentury juvenile delinquents (“Leader of the Pack”, anyone?), and it scratched that itch perfectly. I love all the characters SO MUCH (found family AND a good sibling rep? I’m in!!! 🤌) and the themes are really, REALLY good. And it definitely DID make me cry, even though I knew what was coming. As a bonus it’s pretty clean – my full rant review has a list of content warnings.

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And that’s that, y’all! Have you read any of these, and if so, what was your favorite? Have I convinced you to add some books to your ever-growing TBR? 😜

Because I’m being lazy my head hurts, I’m not going to tag anyone specifically; instead I’ll leave this open for any opportunistic tag thieves. Have fun, stay gold (IYKYK), and don’t get sick like me. 😆