To know me is to look at my bookshelves....

Juvenile Fiction

1. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary - the book that started it all. Read this in Kindergarten (the second time - I had to repeat this grade due to a move that included losing my school records). Re-reading this book a couple of years ago helped me gain patience when dealing with my kids because it reminded me that little people need understanding as much (or more so) than they can understand at the time. Ramona was NOT the chose one, she was not the popular or fashionable one, she was the rest of us and that was okay with her. 

Middle Grade/YA

2. Double Love (Sweet Valley High #1)/Secrets (Sweet Valley High #2)/Dear Sister (Sweet Valley High #6) created by Francine Pascal - I bought the first two books in the series the summer between first and second grade. My mom didn't notice that these books were rated for sixth grade (12 years) or older, she was just happy I was entertained by myself. The third book has the first "intimate" scene I have read (at age 8 - what would Ramona think?) and it has stayed with me long after I have read a ton of racier stuff - the scene where Bruce Patman gets to second base with Elizabeth Wakefield is by now the stuff of SV legend. I ended up reading any book in the series I could get at the school and public libraries and then moved on to the first eight books of Sweet Valley University by the time I hit 13 years old. 

And because everything is new again, I now listen to two podcasts that go book by book through the series and we (podcast hosts and listeners alike) think - WHY DID I READ THIS STUFF? So much toxic masculinity....

3. The Fowlers of Sweet Valley (Sweet Valley Historical Sagas #3) created by Francine Pascal - this book is special to me because it was my first historical romance book and it told the story of events in French history from the French point of view without adding in American or British biases into it. This is where I learned about French resistance during the World Wars - not my history books/class. I became a bit of Francophile in my teens and ended up taking five years of French (8th - 12th grades) because of this book. 

4. Kristy's Big Idea (The Babysitter's Club #1) by Ann M. Martin - this book started the series that was 180 degrees from Sweet Valley and the idealized California life in the 1980s. Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Dawn, Jessie, Mallory and the others were much more relatable to a kid growing up in NJ and PA. And surprising for kid lit in the 1980s, really diverse - disability/medical conditions (Stacey has diabetes), Asian-American family (Claudia and her family, including her grandmother who was in the internment camps of the 1940s) are just two examples of how Martin gave real girls a voice within the series.

Classics

5. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare - for me this is the story of Benedick and Beatrice and the rest of the cast is just there to witness their awesome banter and saving Hero. This is the play that made me realize I really love the enemies-to-lovers trope.   

I saw these books growing up, but had never read them. I know they were and still are very popular and difficult to find.

No book for Day 5. Third straight day I don't have a book for the category. Batting 1,000.

Day Six - 1st Book you bought in a book store

Sweet Valley High #1 Double Love

The cover was different back in 1986 but the cheese remains. I bought Secrets (#2) with it.

Day 7 - Last Book you bought in a book store

Non-fiction history book about the code breakers of Bletchley Park. I hope to read this book before seeing the movie.

Name, Date Finished, Rating, & Mini Review

So I read six books this month, which wasn't as many as I had hoped but it was still a fair amount seeing as I have a lot going on like working and spending time with family.  But I really enjoyed all of the books that I read, so I don't consider it a failed month for reading.

July Wrap Up

READ: Monday 7th

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige {4/5 Stars}

~This is the first novel in the Dorothy Must Die Trilogy...? Is it going to be a trilogy? I'm not really sure.  Anyway, it was a fast paced novel. A great start to the series.  Though it was slow at times through the middle when the world was developing which I understand was needed to show the contrast between the old Oz and the new.  Which was extremely interesting to read about

READ: Friday 11th

The Elite by Kiera Cass {3/5 Stars}

~ The second novel in the Selection Trilogy.  I usually don't agree with the general public when it comes to books.  I have to agree with everyone when they say that America is infuriating in this novel.  She seemed almost bipolar in this novel.  As well, I've never really enjoyed the idea of a love triangle, and it was sort of there in the first book, but I could ignore it.  In this novel it's a main aspect, and I find that the love triangle makes American another typical whinny YA character.

READ: Monday 14th

Head Over Heels created by Francine Pascal written by Kate Williams {3/5 Stars}

~ This is book eighteen in the Sweet Valley High series.  This follows Regina Marrow and Bruce Patman two side characters, along with the usual two main characters the Wakefield twins.  I enjoyed reading about Regina and Bruce.  I overall enjoy the Sweet Valley High series because of books like this where they tell the story of different characters throughout the town, so i really gives you the feeling that you're in Sweet Valley.  You get to see the entire community, which you don't often get to see in novels.

READ: Wednesday 16th

Tomorrow's Kingdom by Maureen Fergus {5/5 Stars}

An amazing conclusion to the Gypsy King Trilogy.  It was face paced throughout the entire book.  All loose ends were tied up very nicely and practically.  I absolutely loved the ending, it was extremely satisfying, in my opinion.  Just an overall great book.

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles {5/5 Stars}

The second novel in the Leaving Paradise Duology.  I have nothing but amazing things to say about this novel and the first novel.  I absolutely love the characters Maggie and Caleb.  Simone Elkeles always has the most amazing book boys who are ever so swoon-worthy! I love the change of scenery, and how different it is from the first book, and how it still seems to work.

READ Thursday 24th

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell {5/5 Stars}

A stand alone contemporary, although Rowell is reportedly working on or contemplating a squeal.  Everything about this book was phenomenal!  Eleanor and Park's relationship was adorable.  The novel was nicely paced.  Events and situations were real and relatable.  Eleanor was refreshing because plainness, she isn't the typical pretty, thin and bubbly character.  She's just a regular girl.  Definitely a work of art!

August TBR

1. Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout (& maybe the rest of the series...?)

2. The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks

3. Crash Into You- Katie McGarry

4. A Walk to Remember by Nicolas Sparks

I haven't kept up with the #Bookaday UK things since I sincerely don't have any books that fit in the day's theme - until today! Happy Bastille Day!

This is a re-read/keeper shelf that will be handed down to my daughter when she is ready. Yeah, this is the brightest gem in a great 80s YA series that stands up to my adult reading as well as my younger self's reading. A historical family saga set in both France and Sweet Valley, California.