What Do I Read Next?: Halloween Week

We thought for Halloween we'd take a walk on the dark side. Here's to paranormal, scary and magic. I've asked Doret and Ari to share their recommendations.

Ari:
Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith.
My favorite vampire story of all time. And it has guardian angels! Sounds like an unlikely mix, but Cynthia makes it work extremely well! I loved this book and it was a bit life-changing because it brings up some interesting issues about heaven, angels, vampires and who can and can't be saved.

Asleep by Wendy Raven McNair
Superheroes aren't scary but I really liked this book so I want to recommend it anyway (after all we dress up as superheroes for Halloween so it's appropriate). Asleep is a wonderful story that I first thought of as the 'Black Twilight' but as I continued reading I realized it was so much more than that (although it does need a bit better editing, it's self-published). The love story is sweet and the world of superheroes is a very interesting one that you'll want to learn more about (something I found interesting is that all superheroes got their origins from Africa and it's got some of the most powerful superheroes). The ending? Total cliff-hanger!

Doret:
Has a Halloween list at HappyNappy Bookseller. I'll highlight two here.

Ruined by Paula Morris
Rebecca Brown and her dad have always lived in NYC. Mr. Brown, travels on occasion for work. This time he will be gone too long for a neighbor to watch Rebecca. Rebecca is headed to New Orleans to live with a woman she has only meet once, Claudia and her twelve year old daughter, Aurelia. In order to get into the exclusive academy for her sophomore year, Rebecca must pretend she is Claudia's niece. Rebecca gets along very well with Aunt Claudia and Aurelia. Which is good since they live in a shotgun house and there isn't much room. Read full review at The Happy Nappy Bookseller.

Rogelia's House of Magic by Jamie Martinez Wood
15-yr-old Marina and Fern have been best friends since second grade. Marina's mom has taught her daughter to only cherish her Spainish roots and dismiss her Mexican Heritage. Marina's is embarrassed she can't speak spanish. Fern's loves nature and is involved in a cause to preserve the land . Fern love the barrio she live in, the same one Marina's mom looks down upon. While picking up an astrological chart for her mom, Marina and Fern also get a spell book for teens. See full review here.

My picks:
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier. Justine rocks. MOM was my first read by Justine and I loved it.
The first in a series, Magic or Madness is the story of a teen named Reason. Reason has been raised to embrace only the logical, to be independent, resilient and at all costs not end up in the care of her grandmother, Mere, an evil witch. Life with her mother, Sarafina has been a nomad’s experience but they are close and at fifteen, the threat of being taken by her grandmother is coming to an end or so Reason believed. Then Sarafina suffers a breakdown and Reason is sent to live with the woman she has been warned against her entire life, and she discovers that magic is real. Read full review at Black-Eyed Susan's.

Pemba's Song by Marilyn Nelson and Tonya Hegamin.
This has been on my tbr for awhile. Now that I've read both Ari's and Doret's reviews, I have to push this up. Wonder if I'll have an entirely different view.

Anything sound interesting? What's your picks? Leave us your recommendations.