Remember to stay up to date with the world, listen to those facing atrocities and help spread awareness/donate where youāre able to.
I spent my childhood watching the Disney Channel and the films on VHS. However, I have never been to a Disney Park, nor have I ever wished to. But, this read-a-thon by @RachelCerys seemed so fun when I saw her announcement video that I thought I would visit in “spirit”. Her enthusiasm is wonderful!
You can do just one park, or several, or all of them. To complete a “park” you need to complete an attraction prompt, a snack prompt and a show prompt. Because I just felt like staying in one park and trying to read as many as possible, I just staying the Magic Kingdom.
The parks can be seen below in Rachel’s graphic:
Park Entrance
read a book you CANNOT stop thinking about
I started Outrageous! in February so the main reason I couldn’t stop thinking about it was because it was just staring at me… judging. Rachel also allowed us to read the “park entrance” prompt 2 weeks in advance of July, so I was able to start this book in LGBT+ History Month and then finally finish it in Pride Month!
Overall, this was very accessible in that Paul Baker has a distinct, friendly and natural narrative voice. It’s very well researched and I learnt a lot.
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I’m starting off this month by watching a classic, if you will, in “Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers” (2004). Because what is Disney without this cute little mouse?! Mickey Mouse in this gives Old Hollywood heartthrob ā„ It’s such a fun time and it’s been so long since I had seen it!
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MAGIC KINGDOM
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attraction: Tron: Light-Cycle
prompt: read a newer release (2023 onwards)
When Among Crows; Veronica Roth
āāā.5
“When Among CrowsĀ is swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear.
Pain is Dymitrās calling.
Pain is Alaās inheritance.
Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. But Dymitrās secretsāand his true motivesāmay be the thing that actually destroys them.”
For only being a novella of 165 pages, Roth really did well in creating depth to her characters, especially Dymitr. The Polish folklore and imagery throughout, with the strong elements of historical persecution and migration to America – for both the humans and supernatural beings – was a wonderful aspect to this book.
My main issue was that it should have been a full-length novel. I think this bite-sized novella could have been fantastic with a fully fleshed out plot and more information about these supernatural communities and how they interact. As well as the workings of the Holy Order. For what it was, the plot was well driven and it hit all the points it needed to.
I also get that some people can imagine what things look like in their heads, but as someone who doesn’t, I think it would have been so good to have illustrations. Especially in the style of the cover which is stunning!
When Among Crows was published this year – 2024.
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attraction: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
prompt: read a book with multiple covers
The Mystery of the Blue Train; Agatha Christie
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“When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again ā for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing.
The prime suspect is Ruthās estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie re-enactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on boardā¦”
This took a while to get into and I think the main reason was it took forever for Poirot to actually enter the picture. This meant for the most part it was just marital drama between characters I didn’t really care for. Although, I did enjoy Katherine and the people from her little village.
Overall, once the mystery got going it was fine, but the characters didn’t really feel fleshed out enough. It would have been stronger if the book had been longer and really built more upon the criminal history of the culprits as it felt rather far fetched once we were given all the details. I think some elements also hinged on Katherine’s love prospects, which needed to be better developed as it would have added a lot more to the plot.
For the prompt, all of Agatha Christie’s books have many, many different covers! I can’t even imagine how many there are for even just the original English novel.
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attraction: Winnie the Pooh
prompt: read a book that feels like a warm hug
A Fragile Enchantment; Allison Saft
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“…a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.
Niamh Ć Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.”
This was such an easy and fun read. There was drama, for sure, but it had a really cosy atmosphere and I didn’t feel truly concerned for any of the characters. The magic could have been better explained, but seeing it in action was really interesting and Niamh’s power was so imaginative.
The relationship between Niamh and Kit was cute and I really enjoyed how they developed individually the more they got to know each other.
Parts of the novel, especially the politics and struggles of the Machlish in Avaland were more surface level than I would have liked. However, as a YA standalone I can see why it’s more focused on Niamh and Kit’s development with this element being a booster for that.
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attraction: Peter Pan’s Flight
prompt: read a classic
Pride and Prejudice; Jane Austen
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“When Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr Darcy, she is repelled by his overbearing pride and prejudice towards her family. But the Bennet girls are in need of financial security in the shape of husbands, so when Darcy’s friend, the affable Mr Bingley, forms an attachment to Jane, Darcy becomes increasingly hard to avoid. Polite society will be turned upside down in this witty drama of friendship, rivalry and love.”
I was starting to get a bit slumpy towards the end of July, so I decided to read Pride and Prejudice, which always gets me out of a slump and it was due it’s yearly re-read ā„
Pride and Prejudice is my favourite book and Jane Austen’s wit, playfulness and heart is so evident and expertly crafted in the narrative and characters. Truly a charming and perfect book!
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attraction: Big Thunder Mountain
prompt: read the “wildest book in the wilderness”
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone; Benjamin Stevenson
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“I was dreading the Cunningham family reunion even before the first murder. Before the storm stranded us at the mountain resort.
There are plenty of killers in my family. But only one murderer . . .
We’ve only got one thing in common: we’ve all killed someone.
The thing is, us Cunninghams don’t really get along.”
I was expecting a lot more from this. The writing style is rather fun as our main character – Ernest – has a very chatty and straightforward voice. I also like when mystery books have their character talk to the reader. It’s set at a ski resort and that was pretty interesting, but overall, it didn’t actually add much to the plot. This could have easily taken place anywhere.
There were a lot of elements to the story and the family dynamics and while some were interesting, others were just fine. Some of the family members did feel a bit basic.
The twist was easy to spot and I don’t know if that’s because the set-up was somewhat handed to us. I would have liked to have had more agency and for the twists to have had more impact.
I read this via Audible and the narrator was great and made me realise that this was set in Australia, as I had no idea going into the book (also I’m very dumb and didn’t know that Australia has snow š) . I only know that this was very popular on BookTube and that Kayla from BooksandLala gave it 5ā. For the prompt, a ski resort is in the wilderness, don’t come for me!
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snack: Gaston’s Cinnamon Bun
prompt: read a big book (over 400 pages)
Girl, Goddess, Queen; Bea Fitzgerald
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“Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting.
Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.”
I love a Persephone and Hades retelling! This version gives Persephone complete autonomy over her actions as she is the one who goes forward with her plans. She is also the one who tended to formulate plans and the Underworld kind of had to just keep up.
I enjoyed the writing and for the most part, the plot was interesting. We saw Persephone grow into her powers and she did mature quite a bit, but also she didn’t. Several times it felt like we went in circles.
I loved the inclusion of Styx, she was essential to my enjoyment of this novel. I think it would have been great to be introduced more to the gods of the Underworld as they only really surfaced in the latter half. It makes sense because for majority of the book, it’s about Persephone learning about her power and building her relationship with Hades.
I had fun with Girl, Goddess, Queen and it’s a pretty easy read, but the dialogue at times felt a little juvenile when compared to the actual prose. I did love that Hades was an artist, but I think that taking away a lot of his power felt a bit disingenuous and an easy way to boost Persephone.
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snack: Dole Whip
prompt: read a booktuber favourite
Down Among the Sticks and Bones; Seanan McGuire
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“Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor Westās Home for Wayward Children.This is the story of what happened firstā¦
They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death andĀ choices.”
The glimpse of Jack and Jill’s backstory that we see in the first Wayward Children’s book sounded really interesting.
Learning the context of their family life and how they were raised was done really well and meant the shift to the magical world where those imposed characteristics were inverted was more impactful.
I found the world a bit boring and the time we spent there was rather brief – these books are novellas and this one is 190 pages – and we saw so much more of Jack’s life. I would have loved to have seen more of the relationship between Jill and the Master, and just more plot development.
Seanan McGuire and the Wayward Children series is a “BookTube Darling”. I feel like I’ve never seen anyone on that platform not love this series.
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show: Happily Ever After
prompt: read a book at night-time (1 night or multiple nights)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales From the CafƩ; Toshikazu Kawaguchi
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“From the author ofĀ Before the Coffee Gets ColdĀ comesĀ Tales from the Cafe, a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula’s time-travelling offer.”
The sequel to Before the Coffee Gets Cold is much the same as the first novel. Each short story takes place in the cafĆ© and each surrounds a character coming to terms with their current emotions regarding someone they’ve known in the past or who has died.
I thought the stories were well written and the characters were engaging. There was a lot of repetition though, especially with the rules. I read this in one sitting and it felt a little tiresome hearing the rules, in depth, each time.
My favourite part and what made me rate it a little higher, was having more development in Kazu’s character ā„
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show: Festival of Fantasy
prompt: read a colourful book
Wash Day Diaries; Jamila RowserĀ andĀ Robyn SmithĀ (Illustrator)
“Wash Day DiariesĀ tells the story of four best friends–Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie–through five connected short story comics that follow these young women through the ups and downs of their daily lives in the Bronx.Ā
The book takes its title from the wash day experience shared by Black women everywhere of setting aside all plans and responsibilities for a full day of washing, conditioning, and nourishing their hair.”
I really enjoyed the art style and following this friendship group and their struggles and joys. Each chapter did well to build the character of each woman, as well as showcasing their friendship circle dynamic and the importance of female community, and the elements of self-expression and self-care surrounding Black women’s hair.
I do wish that this was part of a series as quite a few of the topics are rather hard-hitting (trigger warnings for depression, stalking, dementia) so it didn’t feel a well paced as I would have liked.
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POINTS
I completed the whole Magical Kingdom park!! I didn’t think it would happen and while my average rating is basically 3ā, I’m still really happy!
Overall, I earnt 3,200 points! I was going to reward myself for certain points – maybe every 1,000 – but I don’t actually want or need anything… so I may just keep these in my back pocket to validate a future purchase š
Park Entrance Prompt = 600 points || Attraction/Snack/Show Prompt = 200 points each || Full Park = 800 points
Thanks for reading!
I hope youāre having a lovely day and staying safe ā„
DramaRambles šø 