Dog Days of Summer Wrap-Up! (#ddsummer)

Best. Readathon. Ever.

Thanks so much to Heather and Andi for all their work in organizing this event. Check out the official event wrap-up post over at The Estella Society.

I decided to concentrate my reading around books and authors that got me super excited to read in the 4th and 5th grades. First up, I had to grab something by Christopher PIke. The book I most remembered was The Midnight Club which is about a bunch of kids with cancer who are in a hospice and meet at midnight to tell stories. What struck me most about my adult re-read was how poignant this story was, how well written, and how un-scandalous. I seemed to remember loving Pike because he felt naughty – sex, drugs, and other provocative things forbidden to pre-teens.

My second choice was Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. I read a lot of Sachar as a child, but these little stories in particular really stood out. Reading them now was still an absolute pleasure. They were so clever and completely enjoyable as an older person.

Next up, I grabbed the first Fear Street novel, The New Girl, by R.L. Stine. Yet again, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the writing and story held up after all these years. The book was genuinely creepy, much more so than most YA I read now. What did bug me was that the book had been edited and updated for the 21st century. Current musicians and iPods where mentioned throughout. I wanted my dated Walkman and music, dammit.

Today I focused on two final books. No nostalgic readathon would have felt right without some Judy Blume. I went with Blubber as my selection and adored it. Blume does not sugarcoat people or social issues. Bullying is handled rather well here and every single event just felt so realistic even in its ugliness.

Finally, I just wrapped up Kristy’s Great Idea by Ann M. Martin, the first book in the baby-sitters club series. This book more than the rest really worried me. I for sure thought I would be annoyed by how juvenile the whole thing might be, but not at all!! Loved this book and felt a great urge to continue reading the series. The only thing it lacked was the original cover.

So glad I participated and can’t wait for another weekend of nostalgia reading. I actually almost entirely ignored all social media because I was so absorbed. What a great way to spend a couple of days.