What's my favorite middle school book?

This blog post is a prompt from a giveaway featured on thestorysiren.com for The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand. 

Having grown up outside of the US, I didn't read the typical books thrust on most middle schoolers in this country like - Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders, you know... the tried and true books of teenage angst and desires. They are great books in their own right, and as an adult reading them for the first time a few years ago, I enjoyed every story and wished that I could have discovered them earlier. However my favorite book or rather books to read when I was of middle school age was - The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton.   

The Famous Five was a book series written in the 1940s - 50s by English author Enid Blyton. 

The Famous Five are a group of children who have the sort of adventures most kids dream about, in a world where ginger beer flows and ham rolls are a staple diet. Julian, Dick and Anne get together with their cousin George in the first adventure, Five On A Treasure Island.  George is actually a girl who wants so desperately to be a boy she crops her hair and struts about doing boy things. She hates it when people call her by her correct name, Georgina.  She has a dog called Timmy - oh yes, and an island.  Most kid just have a dog, but George's parents own Kirrin Island and let her run around on it as if it were her play-thing. Her parents are known to Julian, Dick and Anne as Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny

 - www.enidblyton.net

Now even though the books were written in the 40s and 50s, I didn't come across them till the 1980s when I was in middle school, (I knew what you were thinking!) The Famous Five were a cooler and less annoying version of the Scooby-Doo gang, chasing criminals instead of monsters and ghosts.  They were timeless and I loved each and every character in the book.  They offered escape from my latch-key existence, taking me beyond the walls of our small apartment and romping around on the ever exciting Kirrin Island. I fell in love with Julian who was the oldest and the most mature.  George irritated me with her constant "tomboy-ness"and Dick and Anne were the perfect brother and sister I would have gladly traded my little sister for. 

I read all 21 books in the series over and over again, swapping copies with my friends and sneaking the stories with my sister under the covers with a flashlight at night, up way past our bedtimes.  When the Famous Five show came on the air, I was beyond excited and I diligently watched every episode I could. 

Now with a middle-scholar of my own on the horizon, I plan to sneak in all my old favorites into her summer reading book bag. Based on the YouTube video, trying to watch the shows with her might not work out, but I hope I find her one day, laying in the sun, reading about the antics of my famous five on Kirrin Island. 

Giveaway Alert!

Giselle at xpresso reads is celebrating the awesome milestone of having 2000 followers with not one, but three fantastic giveaways. Fans of giveaways, definitely check this out! 

WWW Wednesday • 8

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. WWW Wednesdays is a fun way to share what you're reading. To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you'll read next? 

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading 145th Street by Walter Dean Meyers. This is a YA collection of short stories set on 145th street in Harlem, New York. 

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished reading A Little Less Girl by Tess Oliver. Another great eReader Bargain find! Check out my review.

What do you think you'll read next?

The Chosen Soul by Heather Killough-Walden. This is an adult read that is cued up right after 145th Street.  In previous weeks, I mentioned that I was going to read Dreams of Joy, however I decided to obtain it via my local library. So I'm on the waiting list and I hope it shows up soon!

I'm always looking for the next best read, so please share what you're reading with me!

YA Reading - A Little Less Girl

Goodread synopsis
Everything has always come easy to Jake West. But when Amy, the girl obsessed with him, commits suicide, the entire town of Raynesville is quick to blame Jake. Now Amy's cousin, Dani, has moved into town. And suddenly Jake has an obsession of his own. Dani Spencer has always dreamed of a home and normal life. When her beloved cousin and grandmother die, her wild, impetuous mother inherits their house in Raynesville. With Amy's diary in hand, Dani intends on finding out what happened to her cousin. And there's an obvious place to start... Jake West, the guy who broke Amy's heart.


My review (also available on goodreads)
A Little Less Girl by Tess Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another quick and fun eBargain find.

Tess Oliver took us back to high school in this book. The beginning of a new school year, a town recovering from tragedy and now a new hot girl in town to rip open healing wounds. Tess Oliver's depiction of high school interaction read authentically. The cast of characters was small, but each played a pertinent part and played it well.

I fell in love with the two main characters - Dani and Jake. Dani's character was thoroughly likable - an intelligent girl, strong in mind and spirit, despite the hard knocks in life she suffered. Dani's move to Raynesville was the beginning of a new life for her - the end of a nomadic, chaotic expeirence with her mother, finding a place with her peers and developing a relationship with someone who cared about her just for her. I liked Dani because she served as a great role model for girls. Dani found a way to be caring and unbiased in her view of life. She was a thinker, with just enough spontaneity to be fun. Because of her mother's irresponsibility, Dani developed a maturity beyond her years and it was with this maturity that she set out to determine what truly happened to her cousin Amy. Jake, our male main was also great. A smart, handsome guy who was the town's golden child, yet not full of himself. Through the eyes of Amy and Dani, we find that Jake is also a caring character who took the time to spend notice the "invisibles" in his world. After the death of Amy, Jake found himself squirming under the heavy gaze of the town - the same gaze that had followed him adoringly all his life, was suddenly scrutinizing and judging. Jake was almost too good to be true, but not in a sickly sweet way.

I liked that Dani acknowledged very quickly in the story that she liked Jake and believed him innocent of Amy's death. Granted Amy helped Dani come to this realization, Dani was already walking the path of the thought from the moment she met Jake. I wish the dynamics between some of the characters was fleshed out a little more. For instance, the friction between Jake and his father seemed out of place and undeserved. Jake was as fresh as most teenagers often are, but he was also respectful of his parents. That example and some others felt contrived in the story.

The story telling was fast. It seemed that Dani found the answer she was looking for in like 4 weeks. I couldn't really get a sense of time passage, which left me a little disoriented, but did not the story negatively. For a cheap find ($0.99), this was a quick, simple and fun read. Brava Tess Oliver. Looking forward to reading more of your work.

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Adult Read Review - The Mill River Recluse

The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Mill River Recluse



The Mill River Recluse is the story of Mary McAllister, a quiet unassuming woman who struggled for most of her life to rise about the traumas of her life. Darcie Chan introduces us to Mary the night before she dies and then bounces back and forth between Mary at 16 and the events that occur after she dies, coloring in the details of Mary's life along the way in a story that spans time for the late 1930s to present day. There are a host of characters that fill out the story, from the wealthy McAllisters whom Mary joins by marriage to the present day inhabitants of Mill River who live in the sleepy town down hill from Mary's majestic home. Darcie tells us just enough of each character to serve as filler for her story, but not enough for me to form an enduring connection with them. The one exception was Father Michael O'Brien, Mary's friend and sole confidant for years. He is one of my favorite characters in the book. He was a priest wracked with the guilt of his own ongoing sin, but yet devoted his life to the service of one fragile soul and I fell in love with this character from the moment he first slipped. Other than him and perhaps as intended, Mary is my main connection to the story, and while she lived up to the challenge, I feel the other characters might have been a little gipped.

The overall theme of this story is redemption. Other reviews I have come across stated that the finale was overly positive and too saccharin sweet, however I felt inspired by Mary's battle and that of the other characters in the book. It was refreshing to read a story with a happy ending, especially when there had been so much pain. If you're seeking a simple read with a message of enduring and preservation, then consider this book.



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