Reading Challenges, ebbs, and flows

I don't know how in the holy hell it's already May, but that happened. I've been chugging along with my reading and flying through books for a while, so I got really comfortable with that flow, and then the universe demanded balance and about a week ago my ability to focus on bookish things took a dive. Fortunately, my sister can always be relied on to share relevant and insightful TikToks in times of need, so I've been trying to keep this video in mind and be comfortable with my present trough when it comes to reading and blogging. No one can go 100% all the time, right?

I did manage to finish one of my April challenge books (Get a Life, Chloe Brown - I posted the review Friday!) and am working my way through the second now (loving it so far), so I'm not too far off track. And fortuitously, much more productive April me had the foresight to choose my books for May so I would be prepared! Thanks, past me. So, May's challenges:

9. Read a middle grade mystery - I'll be reading Chirp by Kate Messner, the story of a post-seventh grade girl trying to unmask the person sabotaging her grandmother's cricket farm

10. Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color - I have two for this one! First is A Phoenix First Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell, sixteen fantasy and science fiction stories centered around Black women and gender nonconforming main characters - the cover is BEAUTIFUL, and I can't wait to read this. The second is A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, fifteen short stories inspired by the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia. Another gorgeous cover, another story I'm eager to get into.

What would you read for each of these challenges?