Recent Reads - The Terrifying Tales

The Terrifying Tales by Edgar Allen Poe - This collection of classic tales of suspense and horror is one of the spooky books that I inevitably pick up to read during October (my other favorite is Dracula). The only downside for me is this collection doesn't include my very favorite work from Poe - The Raven. The cover features a raven, so I think that's a bit of false advertising!

The collection begins with The Tell-Tale Heart, in which the narrator explains to the reader how and why he murdered his landlord. He describes himself as quite sane and brilliant in his planning, and yet as the events of the day in question unfold, his insanity becomes more chillingly obvious. This is the story I used in my creative writing class as the example of building tension through the repetition and rhythm of the heartbeat. Since the narrator is addressing the reader very directly, I considered this book as breaking the fourth wall for the 52 Book Club Challenge.

The Cask of Amontillado is another classic, and the narrator's planning and cold calculation to be rid of his enemy is so sinister. The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher are full of spooky atmosphere and fate. 

In The Murder in the Rue Morgue and The Purloined Letter, the narrator has struck up a friendship with the eccentric genius M. Dupin, who solves a puzzling and gruesome murder. The Murder in the Rue Morgue is considered the first modern detective story, and the manners and methods of M. Dupin are similar to the more well-known fictional detective Sherlock Holmes so it's easy to see how Poe's work became a model for other detective stories. 

The Pit and the Pendulum is the last in the collection, and is another atmosphere-driven short story. The narrator is a victim in a Spanish Inquisition torture chamber. The narrative focuses on the sensory experiences and the fateful knowledge that a horrific death is coming ever closer, building suspense and tension. With each new discovery of what is in his torture chamber, he finds that he escapes one terror only to realize that another worse fate awaits him.

For the October Mini-Challenge, I selected this book for Pick Your Scare Level, and while it's not the gory slasher style horror more common in today's books and movies, I consider it "Keep You Up All Night" level suspense.

This is a book that breaks the fourth wall (#25) for The 52 Book Club's 2025 Reading Challenge.

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This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

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Recent Reads - Mountain Interval

Mountain Interval by Robert Frost - Of course we know Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken" but I was not really familiar with his other works, so this collection of poems chosen by an online book club group was a good way to start off the reading year. Most of the works in this collection are short stories of life in small town and rural New Hampshire where Frost lived. The descriptions and stories are homey and often bittersweet or nostalgic. Some are tragic, such as "Out, Out--" and "The Hill Wife" while others are more contemplative. For example, "The Exposed Nest" and "The Sound of the Trees" were observations of nature and how humans interacted or reflected on the natural world. "Snow" was a longer poetic story that took a simple winter event and explored the hidden thoughts and feelings of the characters as they made decisions about whether to journey home through bad weather or wait it out, or whether being hospitable was better than urging a man home to his family. I especially liked "In The Home Stretch" which depicted a couple settling into a new home in the country and trying to fit into new surroundings. It was both wistful and hopeful as the couple braved the uncertainties they felt in their first day in the house.

From the back cover:

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood." These words, from "The Road Not Taken," form arguably the most famous single line in all American poetry. Taking as his theme the fine line between will and fate, Frost opens his third collection, Mountain Interval, with an undeniable masterpiece, setting the stage for the poems to come, for their attentive and plainspoken music.

This is a genre chosen for me by someone else (#37) for The 52 Book Club's 2025 Reading Challenge.

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Recent Reads - The Friendly Persuasion

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The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West - This is actually a collection of short stories following a Quaker couple through the years. Jess Birdwell is a gentle, plain-spoken man with a love for music and nature, and with a poetic way of seeing and thinking about the world. His wife Eliza is a Quaker preacher, and a practical and peaceful woman. They have very different ways of seeing the world, and some of the tensions in the stories arise from the contrast in how they and other characters view things.

Each chapter is a little slice of their life, and the character viewpoint shifts. Most are from either Jess's or Eliza's viewpoint, but occasionally one of their children is the lead character. The conflicts tend to be more quiet and homespun rather than fiery or harsh. The opening story, for example centers around a dispute over whether to have a musical instrument in the house, and how to settle it in a way that satisfies the consciences of both Jess and Eliza. There are mild disagreements and spirited competitions with neighbors, and worries and concerns as they age and consider their mortality. In each story there is gentle humor, kindness, and wisdom, and the Quaker manner of speech and quaint turns of phrase add charm and warmth.

Although this is the second time I've read it, I still was momentarily confused when children mentioned in the early chapters "disappeared" and other children's names appeared seemingly out of nowhere. There is a sense that there are stories of the passing years that are not included in this particular collection; stories that would fill in the gaps as Jess and Eliza grew older, their children grew up, and other children were born and grew up also. Towards the end we even meet a granddaughter as one of the stories is completely from her point of view.

I still love this sweet and slower paced set of stories and am so attached to Jess and Eliza that I was sorry to reach the end of the book. It remains a favorite and I'm sure I will read it again.

You can also read my 2020 review of The Friendly Persuasion HERE.

This book includes a funeral (#28) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

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Recent Reads - Pudd'nhead Wilson

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Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - The literature course I'm teaching at co-op focuses on conflicts between characters and worldviews, and this tale of switched identities and contrasts is a great introduction to the topic. Twain sets the stage in a small southern town that seems idyllic but has a very firmly established class system and prejudice. The title character, David Wilson, is a northern lawyer who settles in the town but one joke that the townspeople don't understand earns him the nickname "pudd'nhead" and dooms his law career for years. He's actually very intelligent and has a variety of interests and hobbies, including studying fingerprints, but his reputation of not being very bright will not be overcome.

Another lead character is the slave woman Roxy. Roxy has only one-sixteenth black ancestry, but her place as black and therefore a slave is not negotiable. Roxy has a baby boy at the same time as her mistress, and when the mistress dies, Roxy is nurse to both babies. Her son, only one-thirty-second black, looks very much like the young heir, and when the master threatens to sell his slaves down the river, Roxy hits upon a plan to switch the babies' clothing. And sure enough, no one is the wiser for about twenty years. When the master dies, his brother, Judge Driscoll, adopts the boy he thinks is his nephew and makes him his heir. However, the usurper, now known as Tom, grows up to be spoiled and mean and selfish and the real heir, known as Chambers, is abused and mistreated as a slave.

Eventually Roxy is set free and goes to work on the riverboats, trusting that once Tom comes into his inheritance, he will look after her financially when she tells him the truth. She returns to town some years later to find Tom deeply in debt because of his gambling, and the Judge ready to cut him out of the will. Roxy threatens to expose Tom as an imposter unless he provides for her, and Tom has some strong reactions to finding out he has "a drop of black blood". 

At that time, the town is fawning over two young foreigners who are visiting - the Italian twins. These twins settle in Dawson's Landing and challenge Judge Driscoll in the local elections, and this after humiliating young Tom. The Judge is found murdered and the twins are accused. When the case goes to trial, Pudd'nhead Wilson finally can practice law, as he defends the twins who steadfastly deny the murder even though their knife was the murder weapon. Pudd'nhead is convinced that he can identify the real murderer, if only he can find a match among all his records for the bloody fingerprints left on the knife.

This all leads to a dramatic courtroom scene, when the secret of the babies switched in the cradle all those years ago is finally revealed, the twins are cleared of the crime, and Tom gets what he deserves. Unfortunately, the real heir, despite being restored to his position, is still a victim of the prejudice and deception, and the ending is somewhat bittersweet.

Twain is a master of irony and his use of it along with some dry humor keeps his exploration of the weighty subjects of racial prejudice and injustice from becoming too oppressive. The main characters experience inner conflicts and conflicts with others and with their society, and none of the conflicts are easily resolved. 

I read this novel and studied it along with students in my high school literature co-op class. We learned about irony and foreshadowing as literary devices. We also discussed the various conflicts experienced by the characters, and debated which of the three main characters is the true protagonist of the story.

Our discussion and study was guided by the textbook Illuminating Literature: When Worlds Collide from Writing with Sharon Watson.

You can also read my 2019 review of Pudd'nhead Wilson HERE.

This is a book in which the chapters have titles (#5) for The 52 Book Club's 2022 Reading Challenge

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Recent Reads - Recitatif

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Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison - This short story is the only one published by Morrison, and is a quick but interesting read. Her purpose, in her own words, was "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial." And in that, she was successful. It's clear that race and racial identity plays an important role in the two characters' lives and how they define themselves and their place in the world. But at no point does the reader discover which woman is white and which is black. 

Twyla and Roberta meet when they are both eight years old and are placed together as roommates in a shelter. They are both "other" than the majority of the girls in St Bonny's because unlike the rest, they are not orphans but only there temporarily. The become inseparable friends for those few months, but lose touch quickly once they leave. They meet again once they've grown up, once at a diner where Twyla works, once at a grocery store, and finally at a protest over school integration. Their interactions are brief and a bit uncomfortable, especially when Roberta brings up an incident with one of the women who worked at St Bonny's - a woman that was mute and may have been mentally challenged. Roberta and Twyla remember the occasion differently but are haunted by whatever happened to that woman, and by their own participation and reactions.

Twyla is the narrator of the story, and nothing she says gives away her own race or Roberta's - only that race is an integral part of how they view themselves and society. It's a quick read, but thought-provoking. The ending is somewhat unsatisfactory as it leaves many questions unanswered - but then again, that is probably the point.

The introduction, written by Zadie Smith, is at least as long as the story itself, but is definitely worth reading as it does frame the story well and point out many of the elements to watch for. 

This is a book with a person of color as the main character (#50) for The 52 Book Club's 2022 Reading Challenge

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Recent Reads - The Twenty-One Balloons

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The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene DuBois - The Online Book Club theme for August was Newbery Medal Books, and when I started looking at the Newbery lists, this title caught my eye. The description of this Newbery Medal winner from 1947 looked charming. and this covert art was attractive too. The copy I read had a more bold and colorful cover design.

The introduction sets the stage for this story about Professor William Sherman, who wanted to live by himself floating along under a balloon, but instead briefly became a citizen of Krakatoa.

There are two kinds of travel. The usual way is to take the fastest imaginable conveyance along the shortest road. The other way is not to care particularly where you are going or how long it will take you, or whether you will get there or not.

Professor Sherman was an arithmetic teacher, and found it dull and unimaginative. He dreamed of being by himself in quiet surroundings, with nothing to do but float wherever the wind would take him. He designed a large balloon with a basket he could live in comfortably for up to a year. When he first floated up into the sky he enjoyed his adventure immensely and soon was high above the ocean. 

Trouble arrived in the form of gulls that eventually punctured his balloon. As he lost altitude he employed all his ingenuity in keeping the balloon as high above the water as possible until the last possible moment. It was with great relief that he was able to land on a small island, but he was quite surprised to find that he was on Krakatoa, and that it was NOT uninhabited, as everyone thought.

The unique citizens of Krakatoa have an unusual society but they welcome Professor Sherman cordially. He learns about how they came to live on Krakatoa, about their source of wealth, and about the interesting rules of their society. But just as he is starting to get settled, the rumbling and grumbling of the volcano indicate a dangerous eruption is imminent and they must all evacuate!

The story is imaginative and humorous, full of little ironies, and a witty blend of realistic and fantastical story telling. In some places it sounds almost believable, but there's a tongue-in-cheek type of humour that keeps it light. The illustrations throughout add to the light and witty tone. I thought the ending was rather unsatisfactory, but overall a very enjoyable book that I wish I'd been able to give to my kids when they were young.

Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal.

The original version of this review originally appeared on HS Coffee Break as part of the Online Book Club for August 2021

 

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Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for August 13, 2021

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Now Mrs. Frisby's spirits fell again, and she said, almost bitterly:

"You are joking, sir; you are not serious. No rat could move my house. It is far too heavy, much too big."

"The rats on Mr. Fitzgibbon's farm have - things - ways - you know nothing about. They are not like the rest of us. They are not, I think, even like most other rats . . . "

~From page 56 of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, and extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma. Winner of the 1971 Newbery Medal.

The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.

*Find a snippet, short and sweet.

*Post it, and share in the Linky.

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There are two kinds of travel. The usual way is to take the fastest imaginable conveyance along the shortest road. The other way is not to care particularly where you are going or how long it will take you, or whether you will get there or not.

~From the Introduction in The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene DuBois

Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal.

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.

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First Line Fridays is hosted at Hoarding Books

*We are thrilled to have bloggers join us by linking up with their own First Line Fridays posts.

*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.

*Link back to Hoarding Books within your post or grab a button.

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Connect Five Friday - War Between the States

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The Friday Five Link Up is a List Link Up hosted by The Book Date. It can be five connections of any kind. Books can have been read last year or any year. Books can be used more than once. They may not have been read yet. . . It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Maybe it's not a list of actual books, but things connected to books - e.g. favourite book shops, recipes etc. It might even be five movies related to books or five poems or five poets or five bookish moments, five thoughts about reading - be creative! The link-up will be open each Friday and will close on Thursday. Use the hashtag #connect5books

I started putting together this list the week of Memorial Day. Five novels set during the War Between the States. 

The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear - Union soldier Joshua Wheeler suffers a devastating injury at Chickamauga and is taken prisoner by the Confederates. Along with other wounded soldiers, he is billeted at a home nearby rather than being transported to Richmond. Pearl MacFarlane is loyal to the Confederacy despite her family's staunch opposition to holding slaves. She is still reeling with the news that all three of her older brothers lost their lives in battle when her cousin shows up with a wagonload of wounded Yankee prisoners and she is pressed into serving as a nurse.

To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander - This story is set immediately following the Civil War, with young widow Olivia Aberdeen going to live with family friends at Belle Meade Plantation.  Olivia's late husband was shot as a traitor to the South, so she is no longer accepted by society.  And since her marriage was an unhappy one, she is determined not to be under the thumb of any man again.  Ridley Cooper is from South Carolina, but during the Civil War, he fought for the Union.  An encounter during wartime with Belle Meade's head hostler affected him deeply and after the war, he returns to Belle Meade, hoping to learn from this 'horse whisperer'.  Of course, in order to get - and keep - a position working in Belle Meade's stables means keeping his Union Army past a secret. 

Company Aytch by Sam Watkins - This novel was required reading when my boys did American history in high school, and although I haven't read it, they said they liked it. Because it was very real and raw. It's the personal memoir of a private in the confederate Army, a series of firsthand observations and recollections from combat in the battlefields to encounters with famous leaders, grueling marches and confronting enemy soldiers. It's lively, witty, and told in an engaging style.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane - Here's another classic set during the American Civil War. It's the story of a young private in the Union Army who flees from the field of battle. He's so ashamed he longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage", to offset his act of cowardice. 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - The four March sisters and their hard-working mother are manage to support the family, help neighbors, make new friends, and have so much fun and learn valuable life lessons along the way. The interesting thing about this one is that I read it many times when I was growing up and never understood that it took place during the Civil War. I remembered that Mr. March was away from home serving with an Army, but I never clued in which army or made the connection. I'm not even completely sure I realized it was set in the United States! Anyway, at some point as an adult all the pieces fell into place, and I've continued to enjoy this sweet story of everyday at home during the war.

 ©2008-2020 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

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Recent Reads - The Friendly Persuasion

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The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West - This novel is really a collection of short stories that follow a Quaker couple through the years. Jess Birdwell is a gentle, plain-spoken man with a love for music and nature, and with a poetic way of seeing and thinking about the world. His wife Eliza is the Quaker preacher, and a practical and peaceful woman. They have very different ways of seeing the world, and some slightly different values, but they love each other and their family with an unshakable loyalty.

Each chapter is a little slice of their life, and the character viewpoint shifts. Most are from either Jess's or Eliza's viewpoint, but occasionally one of their children is the focus. The tensions they face are usually of a quiet and homely nature - a dispute over whether to have a musical instrument in the house, conflicts and competitions with neighbors, and concerns as they age and consider their mortality. In each story there is gentle humor and homespun wisdom, and the Quaker manner of speech and quaint turns of phrase add such charm and warmth.

I was a little confused when the children in the early chapters disappeared and other children's names appeared seemingly out of nowhere, but of course Jess and Eliza got older and so did their family. Towards the end we even meet a granddaughter as one of the stories is completely from her point of view.

Overall, I loved this sweet and slower paced set of stories and was so attached to Jess and Eliza that I was sorry to reach the end. I'm not sure how I've never heard of this book before this year, but it's become a favorite.

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Recent Reads - Pudd'nhead Wilson

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Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - I just re-read this classic for the Literature class I teach at our homeschool co-op. Twain is a master of wit and irony, and infuses just enough humor in this story of deception and prejudice to keep the serious theme from becoming oppressive.

The opening introduces us to the setting and the main characters. The title character is a lawyer from the north who is trying to establish his practice in Dawson's Landing. Unfortunately, David Wilson makes a joke that falls flat and the townsfolk label him a "pudd'nhead", which prejudices everyone from taking him seriously as a lawyer. Wilson is well-liked and cheerfully continues on as an accountant and pursues scientific hobbies such as collecting fingerprints.

We also meet Roxy, a slave woman who is only one-sixteenth black, and her infant son Chambers, who is only one-thirty-second black. Roxy is nurse to Tom Driscoll, son of one of the town's leading citizens, and the two baby boys are being raised together, but with clear distinctions in how they are dressed and treated. When Roxy's master threatens to sell all his slaves down the river, Roxy makes a bold move. She realizes that the baby boys look very much alike, and that the disinterested father can't tell them apart except by their clothing, she switches the infants in an effort to prevent her son being sold into slavery. Tom's father dies and Tom (now an imposter!) is adopted by his uncle, Judge Driscoll, and the deception continues unnoticed and unknown for twenty or so years.

When Roxy is set free, she goes to work on the steamboats, still the only person that knows of the switched identities. Tom grows up into a cruel and spoiled young man with a gambling habit that gets him into trouble. He treats the slaves of his household, and all blacks, with utter contempt and disdain, and isn't particularly nice to whites either. He turns to petty theft to cover his gambling debts, and this is how Roxy discovers him when she comes back to Dawson's Landing after her money has run out. She appeals to Tom for help and tells him the truth - that he is her son, and therefore black - and threatens to expose him unless he helps her financially.

The town is all abuzz over Italian twins that have settled in Dawson's Landing, and who challenge Judge Driscoll in a bitterly contested local election. When the Judge is found murdered, the twins are accused, and finally Pudd'nhead Wilson has a case! The outcome seems bleak but Pudd'nhead is sure that he can clear his clients if only he can match the fingerprints on the murder weapon to someone in his carefully cataloged collection. And when he finally makes that match, it makes for a dramatic courtroom scene that reveals the murderer and exposes the truth about the boys switched in the cradle so long ago.

Twain's novel features characters in conflict with themselves and others (the theme of our Literature curriculum), and is an ironic but solid indictment of racial prejudice and injustice and the further injustice of slavery. Even the ending, in which justice is meted out to the imposter Tom, hints that the real heir continued to be subject to unfair prejudice because he had been brought up as a black slave.

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Recent Reads - Little Women

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I recently re-read this lovely classic for two reasons - it was the book club pick for a Facebook group I recently joined; and it's required reading for my daughter's American History and Literature class. And perhaps more importantly, because it's a favorite book!

Of course, the 'little women' of the title are Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March; and the story takes place over a year's passing during the War Between the States. The young ladies are at home with their mother while their father serves in the army. Although they must live frugally and the oldest two girls are earning an income to contribute to the household, they are generous and creative. In fact, in the opening chapter, the girls are fretting somewhat about their reduced circumstances as Christmas is upon them, but when their mother comes in with news of a poor immigrant family in desperate straits, the girls give up their meal and comforts in order to help someone less fortunate. This act of generosity does not go unnoticed by their neighbor, Mr Laurence, either. And very soon, Jo finally has the chance to meet the 'Laurence boy' at a party, and she and Laurie quickly become fast friends.

Over the course of the year, the girls learn and mature as they take their Marmee's advice and work on overcoming the temptations to poor behavior that are very personal to each of them. Meg learns to be content with the blessings she does have and to be industrious and gracious, and earns the love of Laurie's tutor, Mr Brooke, in the process. Jo works to control her temper and to conduct herself as a lady without giving up her bold and boisterous personality. Although the girls think of their quiet sister Beth as having no faults, she is very timid and even she can be lazy or forgetful, so those are the challenges she faces. And little Amy is vain and selfish, but learns to think of others and to be helpful.

The charming domestic drama has little in the way of suspense or action, but the characters are real and well-developed, and the little day-to-day struggles and triumphs are realistic and relatable, even though the world they live in is far removed from modern entertainments and social expectations. The society the March girls fit into and the rules of behavior they try to follow are very different, but just like girls today, they had to balance fitting in with staying true to themselves and they had to deal with temptations to compare themselves to others, to focus on appearance and status, and to be envious. 

This book is a Book Adapted to a Movie for the Full House Reading Challenge 2018 hosted by The Book Date.

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