Welcome to Top 5 Saturday! This is a weekly challenge hosted by Devouring Books, and this week’s challenge focuses on books with weapons on the cover.
Honestly, I really struggled with the prompt for this week. The kinds of books I read don’t typically feature weapons, and if I were to be shopping for books and I saw a weapon on the cover, that would actually be a turn-off for me and I would be less likely to add it to my cart. However, I managed to come up with a list that includes some books I’ve read and some on my TBR that feature weapons in some way on their covers. Here is my top five (in no particular order)!
1. “Woods Runner” by Gary Paulsen
- Genre: Historical Fiction (Middle-Grade)
I did this book as a read-aloud when I was student-teaching in a fifth-grade classroom! I believe that’s a musket on the cover? Maybe? I remember this book being dark and pretty violent at times, but with a lot of good information about the American Revolution. It was a great one to pair with our social studies unit about this topic.
You can find the Goodreads synopsis HERE.
2. “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman
- Genre: Fantasy
This one has a sword on the cover! I still haven’t read this one yet, but I’m hoping to get to it soon! It’s one of my all-time favorite movies.
You can find the Goodreads synopsis HERE.
3. “Dread Nation” by Justina Ireland
- Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Honestly, I have no idea what she’s holding on the cover, but it looks like a weapon to me! I discovered this one recently while attending a virtual book talk, and it sounded so interesting! It’s set during the aftermath of the Civil War (making it historical fiction), but it also has zombies (making it fantasy, too)! I find the combination of those two genres to be really intriguing, and I love to read historical fiction but don’t come across it often in YA novels. I don’t own this one yet, but it’s on my list!
You can find the Goodreads synopsis HERE.
4. “I Survived the American Revolution, 1776” by Lauren Tarshis
- Genre: Historical Fiction (Middle-Grade)
I think those are muskets again, right? In the background? Regardless, it’s definitely some sort of gun. The “I Survived” series is such a great option for historical fiction for kids. It makes history so accessible, and it makes reading exciting for resistant young readers! I haven’t read this particular installment in the series, but the few that I have read have all been great.
You can find the Goodreads synopsis HERE.
5. “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah
- Genre: Memoir
I’m not even going to try to name the weapons here, but those are definitely weapons on the cover. I haven’t read this one yet, but my husband has and frequently mentions how good it is. I’m grateful that he added this one to our library; it sounds like a powerful story and I look forward to reading it at some point.
You can find the Goodreads synopsis HERE.
Have you read any of these books? What would your top five be?
Let me know in the comments!
C.A. Hughes Book Reviews 