#virginia euwer wolff

[the-end-of-art]

Best book I ever read!

I Saw You Reading by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Our buses idled at the red light, I looked through my window and yours, inches apart, at the cover of the book you wouldn’t look up from. It’s exactly the cover on my book. The one in my lap. Best book I ever read!

I jumped. I hit the window with my fist, others noticed and tried to help, in a moment 7 or 8 of us were banging on windows, shouting. “Hey, you! With the book! You! Hey! Look up! Hey! You! Look! The book! In your hands! Hey, you! You! Look!” You turned a page.

The light turned green, our buses slowly sighed and lifted off, yours turned right, ours ambled straight ahead, I’m still in chapter 9. You would have liked me, I know you would have. I know it.

[mygrowingcollection]

Virginia Euwer Wolff

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Virginia Euwer Wolff's groundbreaking novel, written in free verse, tells the story of fourteen-year-old LaVaughn, who is determined to go to college—she just needs the money to get there. When she answers a babysitting ad, LaVaughn meets Jolly, a seventeen-year-old single mother with two kids by different fathers. As she helps Jolly make lemonade out of the lemons her life has given her, LaVaughn learns some lessons outside the classroom.

[cecilyacat]

Inktober 2019

Day 27 - Coat

Allegra Leah Shapiro, the main character from "The Mozart Season" by Virginia Euwer Wolff - I highly recommend it!

[authorstalker]

My March & April Reads

Writers & Lovers, Lily King - I haven't loved a book this much since Normal People. Not to be dramatic, but it's perfect and I'm probably going to read it once a year.

So We Can Glow, Leesa Cross-Smith - I recommended this collection in an earlier post: Did Leesa Cross-Smith have a vision that the world would desperately need stories like hers right now? Bite-size, lyrical, delicious, with story titles like “Tim Riggins Wouldve Smoked” and “Girlheart Cake with Glitter Frosting.” It's a treat! And I will take this opportunity to once again recommend her previous book, Whiskey & Ribbons.

Love Lettering, Kate Clayborn - A delicious pandemic distraction, and it taught me about the hand-lettering business (clients are annoying in every industry!) and people who hate New York (I can't relate). A personal bonus: Love Lettering is set in my neighborhood, and I really loved/was devastated by all the descriptions of the small businesses that I miss so much right now.

Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino - Fiction is my life’s greatest love, so I consider it a triumph that I read an entire essay collection. My favorite essays were the one about literary heroines (shocker), the one about University of Virginia, and the one about the Houston mega-church. 

Godshot, Chelsea Bieker - Surprising, sad and intense, full of sparkly capes and unforgettable characters. The ending made me cry! Netflix should turn this into a movie asap.

Beach Read, Emily Henry - This book is so great, my god. Hot? Extremely. Funny? Laugh out loud. All-consuming? Hmmm....what quarantine, I have no idea what the news is going on about, Beach Read is my only reality. A trusted friend (what up Kerry) enthusiastically recommended it, but I wasn't prepared to be so blown away by its humor, clever plot, and incredibly appealing (yet believable) love interest. Do not miss this one, it's a gem!

The Switch, Beth O’Leary - Grab this one when you need a story that's funny, charming, and optimistic. Yes, there's romance, but The Switch is more a sweet celebration of family and friendship. I believe it comes out in the US in August, so read O’Leary’s first novel, The Flatshare (absolutely wonderful) while you’re waiting.

The Mozart Season, Virginia Euwer Wolff - A bit of childhood nostalgia, I probably read this 50 times in middle school. Let me tell you, it really holds up! What an incredible writer and a beautiful, intricate story. I finished it last night and spent all morning listening to the music the protagonist plays throughout the story. I also spent some time researching Mozart. Fun fact: dude was really into scatological humor. Anyway, read this masterpiece and rock out to Mozart.

[alisonsink]

“A good book is never finished—it goes on whispering to you from the wall.”

-Virginia Euwer Wolff

[book-worm18]

Side note 1:

I read this book but forgot to post about it, so here it is! It was so good and surprisingly, it had a fortunate ending for all characters that, at the same time, wasn’t too cheerful. It was realistic and depressing at times, but was still able to keep its hopeful theme by the conclusion of the story.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff

🍋👩‍👧‍👦💛

[cambridgeteenroom]

I Saw You Reading

Our buses idled at the red light,   I looked through my window and yours,   inches apart,   at the cover of the book you wouldn't look up from.   It's exactly the cover on my book.   The one in my lap. Best book I ever read!   I jumped.   I hit the window with my fist,   others noticed and tried to help,   in a moment 7 or 8 of us were banging on windows,   shouting. "Hey, you! With the book! You! Hey! Look up!   Hey! You! Look! The book! In your hands! Hey, you!      You! Look!"   You turned a page.   The light turned green,   our buses slowly sighed and lifted off,   yours turned right, ours ambled straight ahead,   I'm still in chapter 9.   You would have liked me,   I know you would have. I know it.

-Virginia Euwer Wolff

(one of my very, very favorites.)

[vialism]

.

[wepicy]

Inspirational Quote By Virginia Euwer Wolff “Rise to the occassion which is life!” - Virginia Euwer Wolff

[hpldreads]

Feeling nostalgic? Pick up a book that will transport you to the 90's!

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Make Lemonade series by Virginia Euwer Wolff

This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal

The Face on the Milk Carton series by Caroline B. Cooney

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

[senadimell]

comfort tag 🍯

I was tagged by @ladyzayinwonderland to share my favorite comfort things. Thanks for the thought, lovely!

comfort food: ah, the casseroles of my childhood. Noodles prepared in various chinese varieties (haven’t had proper beef noodles or sesame noodles in ages). Or velveeta shells mac and cheese with sweet corn, go figure. 

comfort clothes: Elephant billowy pants, hiking pants, soft t-shirts, my oversized thrift-store soft leather jacket, and the oversized chunky turtleneck that is somehow never too hot but somehow warm enough to wear out as a single layer in sub-freezing temperatures

comfort item: My dangle-charm ring. I like to twist it.

comfort character: Meg Murry, Frodo Baggins, Ninth Doctor, Allegra Shapiro (from Virginia Euwer Wolff’s The Mozart Season), Max McDaniels (Henry Neff’s The Tapestry series), Severus Snape, Data (Star Trek TNG)

comfort song: Star of Eärendil, Susan Boyle’s version of Proud, Before it’s Over from Dogfight, Kingdom Dance from Tangled, and Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Open the Door for Three’s version of Carrig River

comfort youtuber: Caitlin Doughty’s Ask a Mortician, Lindybeige, Jill Bearup, and How to ADHD!

comfort video game: nonono all videogames are the opposite of comforting>.<

comfort film: Little Women 2019(!), Emma 2020, Disney’s Mulan, Treasure Planet, Lilo and Stitch (which I had to wait ‘til college to finally see!)

comfort show: Doctor Who (Ninth Doctor’s run and the OG 1960s team), Star Trek Next Generation

comfort stim: heh, so unfortunately most of my stim-like stuff qualifies as BFRB (body-focused repetitive behaviors, like nail-biting and skin picking) and I’m looking for less harmful alternatives. I guess when I’m really happy I bounce on my toes!

comfort activity: writing meta, knitting+an eyes-and-ears activity, sitting outside and staring closely at plants

tagging: @brightbeautifulthings, @alwaysdramatizing, @phoenixrisesoncemore, @forever-food-and-fandoms, if you’re interested!

[confessions-of-a-bookworm]

Fav quote of the day:

"A good book is never finished - it goes on whispering to you from the wall"

-Virginia Euwer Wolff

[ferryboatpeak]

may I ask, what are some of your favourite books? are there any books you think are brilliant and everyone should read them in their lifetime? please give me some recommendations

i’m gonna kick myself ten minutes from now for missing some key books in my personal canon, but here’s a list off the top of my head (slanted toward YA because i am who i am, and almost all with outstanding female characters... harry, call me):

Gospel (Wilton Barnhardt) The Mozart Season (Virginia Euwer Wolff) Things Seen and Unseen (Nora Gallagher) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) Empire Falls (Richard Russo) Carry On (Rainbow Rowell) The Keeping Days (Norma Johnston) The Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood) The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks (e. lockhart) Dairy Queen (Catherine Gilbert Murdock) The Basic Eight (Daniel Handler)

[a-collection-of-nonsense]

You seem like a relatively well-read woman, do you have any recommendations for great feminist books? Not necessarily ON feminism, but books with great female leads or on great women of history? And especially books that would be great for preteens? I want to get a gift for a very smart and very bookish girl I know. She's at a great reading level, and already read a lot of stuff like Jane Austin, etc.

Wow I feel like my whole life has lead to this moment. YES I will give you some book recs!! These are some of my favorites, and the favorites of my students as well (I teach 11 year olds). Thank you so much for the ask, this is such a compliment!!

1. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

This is a no brainer to me. Inspirational story about a girl who fought for her right to education, and there’s a young reader edition available!

2. Any of the Royal Diaries books

This series introduced me to so many incredible women in history in such an accessible way (the books are all written when the leading women are in their teen years) and has given me a life long love of history!

3. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

I LOVED this book because it challenges the idea that girls have to fit into that hard, cold, tough girl mold in order to be the hero of the story. All kinds of girls are heroines!

4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

An absolute classic love story about friendship and sisterhood. Yes I will get all cheesy about this one.

5. Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff

A very impactful book for me as a kid. A bunch of girls on two rival softball teams post WWII deal with the repercussions of Pearl Harbor and the Japanese internment camps. Heavy material that is masterfully handled in the earnest voices of preteen girls.

Hope this helps!

[televinita]

Books Read in 2018: The Why

Third year in a row* of answering the self-imposed question: why did you read this particular book?

(*Although 2017′s is presently flagged by the garbage bot and under appeal -- WHY DO U HATE MY BOOK COVER COLLAGES, MR. ALGORITHM)

I am beginning to deeply regret the extra work involved to split them by category, so next year is probably just gonna be a numbered chronological list after the Quilt of Many Covers, but for now they are still divided into adult fiction, YA, middle grade/children’s books, and nonfiction

FICTION

True Valor - Dee Henderson. 2002. Read because: I went hunting for a military romance in which to cast Dalton and Jaz [The Brave]. This one at least guaranteed me Dalton (and included rescuing a female soldier lost/hurt in combat, so).

These Healing Hills - Ann H. Gabhart. 2017. Had this one in my back pocket for a while as a quality-sounding stock romance (nurse/soldier) waiting for players. When my need for a Barbie/Julia [Under the Dome] story reached a new high, I deemed it a match.

Shane - Jack Schaefer. 1949. This is the book Fourmile is based on, so I thought I could get a two-for-one casting thrill out of it.

The Lake House - Kate Morton. 2015. A gorgeous historic mansion hidden within an abandoned estate. A mystery from the past to be solved in the present. What are "things I am here for always."

Crimson Peak (movie novelization) - Nancy Holder. 2015. I LOVED the movie, and the only thing I love more than amazing movies is when I can have them translated into and enriched by prose.

Chasing Sunsets - Karen Kingsbury. 2015. Brush of Wings - Karen Kingsbury. 2016. I was hunting, desperately, for Ben/Ryan-shaped books [Off the Map], and "Brush of Wings" checked all the boxes (young woman who needs a heart transplant volunteers in a third world country, love interest has to find a way to rush her home when the situation turns dire). I only read C.S. first because I didn't want to miss where the romance started.

Rancher Under Fire - Vickie Donoghue. 2014. I was looking for a different book when I casually stumbled upon this title, and listen. I am not gonna turn down a ready-made Barbie/Julia AU* with bonus "single father" angle. (*cowboy/journalist)

Heart Like Mine - Maggie McGinnis. 2016. "Ben/Ryan, Sexy Hookup AU Version please."

The Mountain Between Us - Charles Martin. 2010. The request list for the movie was too long, so I decided to see if it was based on a book. Upon reading the back cover and finding out one character was a surgeon, I immediately forgot the movie cast as my brain exploded with Shondaland options.

When Crickets Cry - Charles Martin. 2006. "Doctor whose wife died young of a lifelong heart condition" sounded like the best book-shaped Ben/Ryan approximation yet, with bonus "watching out for a little girl who is sick in the same way" cuteness as well.

The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware. 2016. A woman at work recommended it to me, and I was like, "a well received general thriller? Sure!"

Listen to Me - Hannah Pittard. 2016. Put "road trip" into the library catalog --> picked 70% because "Gothic thriller" made me think of "The Strangers," and 30% because I was reliving the glory days of Derek And Addison and this marriage sounded similar.

The Lying Game - Ruth Ware. 2017. I enjoyed the other book of hers I read so my friend brought in the next one she had.

Hatter Fox - Marilyn Harris. 1973. Read in high school and forgotten until I reread the Goodreads summary, and "doctor drawn to help 17-year-old" set off my radar. Shippy or merely protective/caretaking, my radar reacts the same.

Vanished - Mary McGary Morris. 1988. The trailer for unreleased Martin Henderson film "Hellbent" whipped me into a frenzy so I did my best to find book-shaped approximations of it. (spoiler alert: this failed miserably, but I grudge-matched it out)

Thunder and Rain - Charles Martin. 2012. Former Texas Ranger who is a single dad. Rescuing & protecting a scared/abused woman and child. At his ranch with cows and horses. By an author who has proven his salt in the hurt/comfort and restrained-romance departments.

Before the Fall - Nick Hawley. 2016. Mostly I came for the dynamic between the young orphan and the passenger who saved him, but I also like witnessing the general aftermath of plane crash survivors.

The Perfect Nanny - Leila Slimani. 2018. My work friend loaned it to me with the statement, "This has such good reviews but I don't know if I 'got' it -- I am really curious to know what you think of it!"

The Girl Before - J.P. Delaney. 2017. She loaned me this one too, with a more glowing recommendation.

Everything You Want Me To Be - Mindy Mejia. 2017. Aaaand one last rec from my seasonal work friend before our projects took us in separate directions.

The Dog Year - Ann Wertz Garvin. 2014. Dog on the cover + synopsis was basically a list of tropes I love: a woman (a doctor to boot!) grieving loss of husband and unborn baby; dogs; a new love interest who is one of my favorite professions to pair with doctor (cop)...

Losing Gemma - Katy Gardner. 2002. "So basically this is the victim backstory to a Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders plot? Dude, sign me UP; I can so see this friendship!"

Uncharted - Tracey Garvis-Graves. 2013. The companion novella to a book I loved.

The English Boys - Julia Thomas. 2016. Mom checked it out of the library, "guy in piney unrequited love with his best friend's fiancee" intrigued me enough to open it, and by 3-5 pages in I was hooked.

The Broken Girls - Simone St. James. 2018. Abandoned boarding-school ruins, a murder mystery from the past being solved in the present day, possibly tied to a second murder from the past?? Yeah, give it.

Heart-Shaped Hack - Tracey Garvis-Graves. 2015. White-Hot Hack - Tracey Garvis-Graves. 2016. Proven quality romance writer's latest books feature a professional super-skilled hacker? Sounds right up my Scorpion-obsessed alley. First book was plenty good enough to launch me into Part II.

Shine Shine Shine - Lydia Netzer. 2012. In my continuing quest to find books in which to cast Walter/Paige, I searched the phrase "her genius husband" and this one's summary matched my desires well.

Learning to Stay - Erin Celello. 2013. Ever eager to expand my hurt/comfort scenario stockpile, I went looking for something where a husband suffers a TBI/brain damage that mostly affects their personality. The bonus dog content sold it.

The Fate of Mercy Alban - Wendy Webb. 2013. Came up on my Goodreads timeline. I read as far as "spine-tingling mystery about family secrets set in a big, old haunted house on Lake Superior" and immediately requested it from the library.

Rated PG - Virginia Euwer Wolff. 1981. I was rereading her Make Lemonade trilogy when I saw a quote in her author bio that said, "I did write an adult novel. Thank goodness it went out of print." Curious, I looked it up, and between its age and the fact that it sounded more like YA than a proper adult novel, I was immediately more intrigued by it than her boring-sounding middle grade books.

Someone Else's Love Story - Joshilyn Jackson. 2013. "Young single mom with genius son meeting a possibly-autistic scientist who protects them during a gas station holdup/hostage situation and later bonds with her son" was the exact literary approximation of a Scorpion AU I wanted in my brain. By the time I realized that was not the endgame ship, I had already flipped through it and fallen in love w/ William and his romantic memories of his wife instead.

Driftwood Tides - Gina Holmes. 2014. Cool title + I love the "young adult adoptee bonds with the spouse of their late birth mother" trope.

The Haunting - Alan Titchmarsh. 2011. Title caught my eye at the library near Halloween; I dug the "dual timelines" setup with a mystery from the past to be solved in the present, and hoped for ghosts.

The Lost Hours - Karen White. 2009. I searched "scrapbook" in the library catalog.  A family member's formerly buried old scrapbook, an old house, and unearthing family history/secrets? GIVE IT TO ME.gif.

The Etruscan Smile - Velda Johnston. 1977. Slim (quick read), attractive cover painting, an exotic Italian countryside setting in a bygone era, and a young woman investigating the mystery of her sister's disappearance all appealed to me.

Stay Away, Joe - Dan Cushman. 1953. All I could tell from the book jacket was that it was somehow Western/ranch-themed, possibly full of wacky hijinx and had once been deemed appropriate for a high school library. I just wanted to know what the heck it was about!

-------------------

YOUNG ADULT

(I’m kind of guessing at the line of demarcation between teen and middle grade audiences for some of these, especially the older ones -- another reason that I should give up on categories in the future -- but let’s just go with it)

These Shallow Graves - Jennifer Donnelly. 2015. Seemed like a YA version of What the Dead Leave Behind (which itself I was using as a Crimson Peak AU), from an author whose work has always impressed me.

Snow Bound - Harry Fox Mazer. 1973. Always here for survival stories! Also, this is a good author.

The House - Christina Lauren. 2015. I LOVE evil/haunted mansion stories.

The Masked Truth - Kelley Armstrong. 2015. It looked like Criminal Minds in a YA novel.

Things I'm Seeing Without You - Peter Bognanni. 2017. Went googling for stories that sounded like contemporary variations on Miles & Charlie Matheson [Revolution]. "Teen shows up at estranged father's door" fit the bill.

Even When You Lie to Me - Jessica Alcott. 2015. I always turn out for student/teacher stories, given enough suggestion of it being mostly an emotional connection rather than an illicit hookup.

Too Shattered for Mending - Peter Brown Hoffmeister. 2017. I also dig stories where teenagers have to take care of/fend for themselves in the absence of a parent/guardian.

The Devil You Know - Trish Doller. 2015. I enjoyed a previous book of hers, and I always like road trips and teen thrillers.

The Raft - S.A. Bodeen. Terror at Bottle Creek underwhelmed, so I thought I'd try a YA/female protagonist option for a survival thriller, not least because the girl on the cover reminded me of Under the Dome's Melanie.

Ghost at Kimball Hill - Marie Blizard. 1956. Picked up randomly at an estate sale; the vintage cover and incredibly charming first 2 pages won my heart.

A New Penny - Biana Bradbury. 1971. The rare idea of a teen shotgun marriage in this era -- when it would still be expected, but also more likely to fall apart and end in a young divorce or separation -- fascinated me; I was curious to see how such an adult situation would play out.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer - Katie Alender. 2013. I mean...it is really all right there in the title and/or the awesful puns all over the cover. ("Let them eat cake...AND DIE!") Pure unadulterated crack, combining my two fave specialty genres of history and horror? Yes ma'am.

Me And My Mona Lisa Smile - Sheila Hayes. 1981. I was looking up this author of a Little Golden Book to see what else she had, found one that suggested a student/teacher romance, and bolted for it.

To Take a Dare - Crescent Dragonwagon/Paul Zindel. 1982. 50% due to the first author's cracktastic name and my full expectations of it being melodramatic, 50% because I was still on my "Hellbent" high and looking for similar teen runaway stories.

To All My Fans, With Love, From Sylvie - Ellen Conford. 1982. The last one from my attempt-at-a-Hellbent-esque-storyline set -- girl hitchhiking cross-country is picked up by a middle aged man who may or may not have pure intentions, by an established quality author.

Be Good Be Real Be Crazy - Chelsey Philpot. Bright cover called out to me; I was in the mood for a fun road trip novel for spring/early summer.

This is the Story of You - Beth Kephart. Kephart's name always gives me pause due to her fuzzy writing style, but I loved Nothing But Ghosts, so I could not resist the promise of surviving a super-storm disaster.

A Little in Love - Susan Fletcher. "Eponine's story from Les Mis" on a YA novel = immediately awesome; I LOVE HER??? Also it's just my fave musical, generally.

Adrift - Paul Griffin. 2015. I've been really digging survival stories this year, and while stories about survival at sea aren't typically my fave, they keep popping up in my path so I keep poppin' em like candy.

Life in Outer Space - Melissa Keil. 2013. After delighting my brain with concept sketches for a high school AU, I set out to find the equivalent of Scorpion's team dynamics/main relationship in a YA novel, and by god I found it.

Everything Must Go - Fanny Fran Davis. 2017. The brightly colored cover drew me in, and the format of being like a scrapbook of personal documents/paper ephemera lit up the scrap-collecting center of my brain.

Going Geek - Charlotte Huang. 2016.

originally I thought it might be like Life in Outer Space, but once I realized the title geeks were all girls I shrugged and went, "Eh, still a solid contemporary YA novel at a cool setting (boarding school)."

Like Mandarin - Kirsten Hubbard. 2011.

By the author of my beloved Wanderlove, I was drawn in by the title, intriguing cover photo, rural Wyoming setting and the concept of a high school freshman girl latching onto/idolizing a cool senior girl.

Sixteen: Short Stories By Outstanding Writers for Young Adults. ed. Donald R. Gallo. 1984. Tripped over it at the library, and immediately wanted to consume a set of 80s teen book content from a pack of authors I know and love.

A & L Do Summer - Jan Blazanin. 2011. In the summer, sometimes you just want to vicariously relive the feeling of being a largely-responsibility-free teen in a small-town location.

The Assassin Game - Kirsty McKay. 2015. Looked like the (Welsh!) boarding school version of Harper's Island. (spoiler alert: it is rather less stabby than that, but still fun)

We Are Still Tornadoes - Michael Kun/Susan Mullen. 2016. "College freshmen? Writing letters to each other? Sure, looks solid."

Nothing - Annie Barrows. 2017. It looked relatable: like the kind of book that would happen if I tried to turn my high school journals into a book. (spoiler alert: dumber)

The Memory Book - Laura Avery. 2016. Contemporary YA about a girl with a(n unusual) disease, but mostly, the title and promise of it being a collection of entries in different formats.

Kindess for Weakness - Shawn Goodman. 2013. LITERALLY AU RYAN ATWOOD.

Make Lemonade - Virginia Euwer Wolff. 1993. True Believer - Virginia Euwer Wolff. 2001. This Full House - Virginia Euwer Wolff. 2008. I reread the first two so I could give them proper reviews on Goodreads, and then realized I hadn't read the last one at all.

Blue Voyage - Diana Renn. 2015. A hefty teen mystery in a unique exotic location (Turkey) -- with an antiquities smuggling ring! - called out to me.

Girl Online - Zoe Sugg. 2014. I was really in the mood to read something on the younger end of YA, something cute and fun, when I saw this at the library.

Wilderness Peril - Thomas J. Dygard. 1985. Reread of a book I rated 4 stars in high school but couldn't remember, which happened to be lying next to me on a morning where I didn't wanna get out of bed yet.

Survive the Night - Danielle Vega. 2015. The cover had a GLITTERY SKULL. Give me that delightfully packaged horror story for the Halloween season!

The Hired Girl - Laura Amy Schlitz. 2015. I've been digging into my journals and old family photo albums lately, really fascinated by personal historical documents (also recently obsessed over The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt), and when I saw a diary format book set in 1911 -- a housemaid's diary, no less; that must be interesting as far as recording grand house details -- it spoke to me.

Fans of the Impossible Life - Kate Scelsa. 2015. The colored-pencil-sketch cover gave me Rainbow Rowell vibes.

All The Truth That's In Me - Julie Berry. 2013. Someone who favorably reviewed The Hired Girl also recommended this one; the cover caught my eye, and it sounded like a thriller.

Girl In A Bad Place - Kaitlin Ward. 2017. I heart YA thrillers featuring girls.

Facing It - Julian F. Thompson. 1983. I was in desperate need of a book one night and my only option was to buy one off the library sale cart, so I snagged the one that looked like some entertaining 80s melodrama with a fun (summer camp) setting. (Spoiler alert: fun and entertaining it was not.)

A Good Idea - Cristina Moracho. 2017. "Rural literary noir," promised the cover blurb, and as I just mentioned: I heart YA thrillers.

Something Happened - Greg Logsted. 2008. Short/easy read + I was hoping for either a misinterpreted Genuinely Caring Teacher, or scenarios to use in an appropriate age difference context.

In Real Life - Jessica Love. 2016. My shipper radar pretty much looked at the summary and went "THE AU CHRISTIAN/GABBY SETUP OF MY DREAMS."

The Black Spaniel Mystery - Betty Cavanna. 1945.

Adorable cover (and dogs!) from an established quality author.

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CHILDREN’S / MIDDLE GRADE

The Cloud Chamber - Joyce Maynard. 2005. The cover made me think of Under the Dome, and the MC immediately reminded me of Joe McAlister.

Terror at Bottle Creek - Watt Key. 2016. After rereading Fourmile, I got a hankering for more books I might be able to cast with the kids from Under the Dome, and figured more Watt Key + a thrilling survival adventure was the ticket for that.

Swampfire - Patricia Cecil Haas. 1973. One of approximately 100 unread vintage horse books I own at any given time; finally in mood because it was short and sweet.

Baby-sitting Is A Dangerous Job - Willo Davis Roberts. 1985. Reread a childhood favorite in order to give it a proper review on Goodreads.

In The Stone Circle - Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. 1998. Same as above.

Wild Spirits - Rosa Jordan. 2010. Clearly the "Kat & Tommy take Justin under their wing" Power Rangers AU of which I have always dreamed, in my very favorite version of it: the one where Kat surrounds herself with animals.

Claudia - Barbara Wallace. 1969. Picked up cheap at a book sale, standard cute vintage Scholastic about a girl and her school life. Comfort food.

Reasons to be Happy - Katrina Kittle. 2011. The cover and the 5 reasons excerpted in the summary were so cute that I wanted to know what more of the reasons were.

Dark Horse Barnaby - Marjorie Reynolds. 1967. Needed a quick read and I'll p. much read any vintage horse book.

Runaway - Dandi Daley Mackall. 2008. Start of a companion series to my beloved Winnie the Horse Gentler, featuring some favorite themes: foster care + animal rescue.

Wolf Wilder - Katherine Rundell. 2015. Pretty cover, girl protagonist, historical Russian setting, wolves. All good things!

Backwater - Joan Bauer. 1999. Sounded like a beautifully tranquil setting.

The Dingle Ridge Fox and Other Stories - Sam Savitt. 1978. Animal stories + author love = automatic win.

If Wishes Were Horses - Jean Slaughter Doty. 1984. Overdue reread of a childhood favorite because I needed some short books to finish the reading challenge.

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NONFICTION

Junk: Digging Through America's Love Affair with Stuff - Alison Stewart. 2016. I mean, I am definitely an American who has a love affair with stuff.

Keeping Watch: 30 Sheep, 24 Rabbits, 2 Llamas, 1 Alpaca, and a Shepherdess with a Day Job - Kathryn Sletto. 2010.

As soon as I saw my favorite fluffy creature on the cover, I felt an immediate need to transport myself into this (dream) hobby farm setting.

(Side note: this is probably the lowest amount of nonfiction I have read in 1 year for a decade, but I was just so busy hunting down specific types of stories that I could not get distracted by random learning.)