This is the third time I’ve revamped/revived this series now. It was originally just about books from my teens but that gave me a very small amount of books to talk about. I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently and there are so many books I read when I was even younger that defined what I like to read today. So I’m now renaming (and restarting) this series Books that Defined My Childhood. There’s going to be a real mix of reading age and genre and potentially some classic kids books you also read.
Fang of the Vampire (Scream Street #1) by Tommy Donbavand
This book is where my love for all things paranormal and, let’s be honest, creepy, began. I was so obsessed with this series (other instalments will be making appearances in future posts) when I was around 9 or 10. I read this one in particular about four or five times, possibly more, as that’s what I did a lot as a kid. I had a very small collection of books, so unless I’d been to the library, I’d often read the same books multiple times.
I found out over Christmas that my nan has kept my entire collection of childhood books, including what I owned of this series and some others I’ll be talking about in these posts. Sadly, I never finished this series but if I did plan to review them as part of a ‘reviewing my childhood favourites’ series, I could buy the last few books. Would that be an interesting series to do?
I’ve also only just found out there was a TV show of this and I’m feeling sad for my child self that never got to watch it. However, I’m excited for my current self to experience it for the first time. It could be awful, but seeing a childhood favourite adapted as a show is always exciting.
Synopsis: Luke and his parents have found Scream Street to be a nightmarish world of the undead. Collecting six relics left behind by the founding fathers of the community is the only hope of opening a doorway out of the street, so with the help of his friends Resus and Cleo Luke sets out to retrieve the first item.
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare
I read City of Bones quite some time after the first Scream Street but it’s one I would say fits more into the teen portion of my childhood. I’m not sure exactly how old I was when I first read this book but I have the original cover, so quite some time ago. For a couple of years in my early teens I didn’t really read much as I fell out of love it with it a bit. Plus I’d just started secondary school and reading was not cool back then. However, I discovered this series and found my love for reading again. To this day, Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite authors.
I didn’t start using Goodreads until around 2014, so way after I started this series, but I think it was one of the first longer series I’d ever read. Also the first lore-rich world I got immersed in. Some may find this embarrassing to admit, but I absolutely wanted to be a Shadowhunter as a teen.
There are a few parts of this book that are a little strange now. Clary and Jace having romantic feelings for each other and then finding out they’re related (or are they? No spoilers here) was up there. But I choose to ignore that slightly creepy plot line as I know the outcome. I also didn’t think much of this as a teen as I was more interested in the fighting demons part of this book.
Anyway, I’m also up for reading this series again to review them. Teen me would rate everything five stars without giving the books an ounce of critical thought. So it would be interesting to see what I actually think of them.
Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Books I’m Removing From My Physical Shelves #13
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