sprinkling some extra nostalgia on your holiday season

fun and cool SIL returns with a list of books that raised her!

i was not literally raised by books: i do have a family

I’m back, bookworms! And in case you live under a rock, Lisi Harrison announced a modern reboot of her hit 2000s series, The Clique. I can’t wait to see what career path trust fund baby Massie Block takes and how Cuh-laire is stumbling through adulthood. Though I will never forgive this series for telling me that jeans from The Gap were not luxe. What do you mean $100 isn’t a lot for a pair of jeans???

This got me thinking about the other books that raised me and how reading shaped my personality. I grew up down the street from The Paperback Exchange, essentially a family-owned Half Price Books. You brought in your used books in exchange for store credit. This was before mom and pop shops went digital, so our store credit was noted on a lined sheet of paper that the clerk kept in a tower of filing cabinets. They hated to see me and my mom coming, because we’d racked up so much credit that we rarely had to pay (or at least this is how I remember it). I spent hours browsing the shelves, picking out new reads, and making note of what I should come back for later. The store closed while I was away for college, which felt like a beautiful and timely nod to the end of my adolescence. See how I made myself the main character there?

Anywho. Grab your Scholastic Book Fair catalog and fluffy pen, we’re marking our childhood favs!

The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin

The Paperback Exchange had an entire shelf devoted to The Baby-Sitters Club. My memory was much sharper back then, and I kept a mental log of which volumes I’d read. The girls in this series were sooo effortlessly cool — I didn’t have an older sister, so they taught me everything I needed to know. Netflix released a TV show adaption in 2020, so the sitters’ coolness clearly transcends both time and generational divides.

The cover of the 100^th book, Kristy’s Worst Idea, was published in metallic silver to commemorate the series milestone. This was basically my version of a holographic Pokémon card, and I was thrilled to finally snag a rare copy. Couldn’t tell you what Kristy’s idea was!

Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park

As an anxious and observant child, I took great comfort in the fact that Junie B. was always making a bigger fool of herself. She gave me confidence going into my first day of school and taught me to do my fair share of “sneaky peaky spying” on those around me. Me and my 20/20 vision were mad jealous of her purple glasses. The B stands for Beatrice, and don’t you forget it!

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Can you believe Jerry Spinelli isn’t a pen name? Iconic. This book graced every summer reading list for at least a decade, which meant that The Paperback Exchange had about 500 copies slowly decomposing on their shelves. If you haven’t read it, now is the time. It’s one of my earliest memories of learning to embrace your differences and the value of being authentically yourself. Important stuff!

Thanks to Stargirl, I also named my first (and only) pet hamster Cinnamon. May she rest in peace.

Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton

The Scholastic Book Fair introduced me to this series, and I was hooked. If you’re unfamiliar, the books are structured as diary entries written and illustrated by Jamie Kelly. This was my childhood version of Saturday Night Live, and I think it’s so important to teach young girls that they can have a witty sense of humor (read: not fart jokes). Part of me wants to re-read to see if the jokes hold up?

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

A coming of age story about a girl and a dog named after a grocery store? This won a Newberry award for a reason! It also taught my entire generation the definition of the word “melancholy.” I’m feeling melancholy just thinking about it… The movie adaptation didn’t hold up, unforch (have you read Mallory’s essay about an adaptation that does hold up?!).

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

This was my gateway into modern romance novels (next stop: Sarah Dessen and John Green). The story is told from the dual perspectives of neighbors Juli and Bryce over the course of six years. If you’re wondering why the cover art features a chicken, it’s because Juli’s family keeps them in their backyard. She kindly brings Bryce and his family chicken eggs, and they throw them away because they’re paranoid about salmonella and judge-y about her family’s farming practices. The drama! Of course they fall in love over time.

My ten-year-old self would absolutely loan you my copy of any of the above. What were your favorites? Did you haunt your local pre-loved bookstore/library/Barnes & Noble as well?