the books that raised me

I'm a lot of things and a nostalgic person is one of them. I'm always recalling little things about my past-self like how I loved a certain movie to the point of watching it for a week straight. It's like the more I grow, the more I feel like I'm truly understanding myself and why I am the way that I am, and a lot of that has to do with the media I've engaged in.

 

It was just yesterday when I audibly gasped because I'd rediscovered a childhood book series of mine and obsessed is an understatement for what younger me felt reading those books. After that happened, I'd watched one of my comfort booktubers, cari can read, talk about the book series that raised her and I started to think about the rest of the books I was severely attached to and had somewhat of an influence or impact in my life and this was the list that came about.

The Elementary Years

1. Beacon Street Girls by Annie Bryant

I was a girl who leaned on her girly side growing up. I was obsessed with girlhood, dressing up, the idea of hanging out with my best friends, gossiping, talking about and having crushes. I loved it all and it was for those reasons that I gravitated towards middle school/young adult chick lit books, in particular this series. Beacon Street Girls is the first vivid memory and detail of my life that comes to the forefront of my mind when I ponder on the books I read in those earlier years of my life. 

I honestly feel like these books should've been a rite-of-passage for every girl coming of age, and yet it seems like I was the only one (besides my sister who was equally obsessed) to know about them.

There are more than eight books within this series and it follows five best friends navigating their teen-hood. There's Charlotte Ramsey who's the writer of the group, Avery Madden, a Korean-American girl who's a sports enthusiast as well as an animal lover, Maeve Kaplan-Taylor, the outgoing one in her friend group and who had big dreams of being a movie star one day, Katani Summers, an African-American girl and the fashionista of them all, and finally Isabel Martinez, a Hispanic-American girl who's the new girl at Abigail Adams Jr. High and to the friend group.

This series was so refreshing, looking back at it now. They served "heavy" topics, heavy in the sense that one wouldn't think an elementary school kid capable of understanding (but very much did), like grief in various of ways, underage drinking, dating, body image. It's subtle ability to introduce these motifs that never felt over-the-top or over-done is something I seem to remember being fond of.

2. The English Roses by Madonna 

I'm not sure if anyone else read this series as well but The English Roses followed British pre-teens Charlotte, Amy, Binah, Grace, and Nicole. When I was little, I remember having the English Roses Friends for Life book, where anyone who had it could fill in questions, learn pieces of information of the girls, art they could colour in. It completely slipped my mind that Madonna had written these books so imagine my surprise rediscovering that information.

I don't know what it is but there's an evident pattern in my reading journey as a tween where I consumed a lot of media about a group of girl-friends. It reminds me a lot of the way I absolutely adored the MyScene films (if you know you know).

3. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

You just had to be there for this one. The Princess Academy books are my prized possessions. They've survived many purges in my house, juice spills inside the pages, an overstuffed backpack for nine hours a day. It's almost like a treasure trove that opens up to my pre-teenhood. I mean, I loved princess narratives growing up and a part of me today still does. The fantastical worlds feel cozy yet so far out of reach. 

The idea that normal, ordinary girls could become princesses, royalty, enthralled the little girl who truly believed that anything in this world was possible. In this series, Shannon Hale presents Miri who lives a life of simplicity on a mountain as the ones before her did, when she hears word that the prince is going to find his bride from among the girls within the village. Thus begins the academy where every teen girl in the village needs to attend to learn how to become a princess. Miri faces friendship, rivalries, and even romance.

 

In a lot of ways, these books remind me of The Selection series by Kiera Cass, another one I loved, and I know there were so many Selection girls and as was I, but this series was lowkey my version of it.

4. The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin

This doesn't need any explanation because everyone either knows of or has heard of The Baby-Sitters Club, whether that's because you've read the books and/or watched the film. Clearly, I was obsessed with friendship groups and though I don't have one now, at least not in the way it's depicted in these books, I still get inspired by the support and community the girls in these stories built together. I appreciate and love girls supporting girls!

5. Rainbow Magic by Daisy Meadows

I don't remember much from this series but I do know I was a big enjoyer of fairy/magic media. It was during a time I was watching Winx Club, Ever After High, PopPixie that I started to read this. 

Something about this series just scratched an itch in my brain. I definitely feel as though I was one of very few to have read this series. 

Scholastic Apple Paperbacks 

 6. Elsie Edwards Series by Barthe DeClements

Scholastic books, particularly their apple paperbacks, ruled my life at one point. The first one I can remember reading is Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements which was apart of the Elsie Edwards series and let me just say that re-reading the blurb of it now, I can't possibly picture what was going through my head reading this book. I remember loving the slumber party chapter but the constant fat-shaming holds up to be extremely problematic. Elsie was perceived as fat and disgusting, and to top it all off, she steals people's lunch money to buy more food for herself.... 

I guess, in a sense, this is perhaps what I love the most about books: you don't have to love it to find it engaging and this one was certainly an interesting one. And, I'll give it some grace considering the time period it was written in as well as the fact the author had written it with her students. 

 

One thing that I can really appreciate though is the old-timey vintage covers that scholastic often sported back then. It's possibly one of my favourite looks/designs for a cover.

7. Candy Apple Series by Multiple Authors

Oh to go back to being a pre-teen in the early 2010s. The early 2000s going into the 2010s was a time to be alive for the tween chick-lit genre. This era had books written about such trivial things that felt major in a kid's life like crushes, popularity, friendship, the pursuit of stardom, birthdays, gossiping. 

 

You had Meg Cabot, who created The Princess Diaries, one of the more prominent series in that genre that is still talked about to this day. Ally Carter who made Gallagher Girls, books I'm surprised have never been adapted because there was an audience who craved the espionage boarding school niche (I'm the audience).

 

The Candy Apple series was simple, fun, lighthearted. It was exactly the types of books I needed in that time of my life. It had the usual topics that came with pre-teen drama like getting attention from a boy you liked, attending a new school, finding new friends, running for class president and so many more.

 

I mean this was all the rage growing up and I cannot deny that it lended me some type of character building moments no matter how small they were.

Everytime I think about it, I truly feel so upset for the young elementary/middle school girls who don't have novels like these to consume anymore. Not saying it's completely non-existent but it's slowly on its way to rarity. I wish there was space like this for young readers today, boys and girls alike. It seems as though in replace of series like these ones, we have the younger generation turning to social media for that sense of entertainment and community. 

 

So, Scholastic, if you're somehow reading this, please bring back the apple paperbacks for the pre-teens (and me) so they can experience the same highs as I did, I would do anything. 

8. Poison Apple Series by Multiple Authors

Again, Scholastic had been thriving within the chick lit genre. Instead of the Candy Apple series which was light and had a lighthearted air about it, the Poison Apple dives into the darker, more haunted aspects: think vampires, gothic themes, ghosts, bones, werewolves, etc but girls at the center of the narratives. 

I never actually finished the entirety of the series, as I was turning towards other genres but it still remains such a graphic part of my childhood memories especially as a consumer of the classic Goosebumps stories and an avid watcher of the R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. 

Might have to do a re-read....

9. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry & The Lemonade War by Jaqueline Davies

In my elementary class, we'd read The Little Prince and although, I believe I was too young to truly realize how universal it was, I still had enough discernment to know this was one of those books that changed my life or me in different ways. The writing itself is masterful and one of my favourite quotes from it has to “All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.”

 

On the other hand, The Lemonade War was gifted to me as a graduation present by my principal in the fifth grade and though I don't remember much, I do remember taking it home with me and finishing it in a day. 

 

These books were full of life lessons important to children and this is where I shifted into more "dark" plots and coming of age narratives.

 

The Middle School Years

10. Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery

I can't possibly talk about childhood reads without mentioning Anne of Green Gables. This story revolved around a young orphan, Anne Shirley, who gets sent to live with two siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert because they need help with their farm in Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. It was about her trauma, what she went through, and her life meeting people that she soon calls friends, family and even romantic love on this island.
 
Anne Shirley was one of the earliest characters who inspired me because in the face of everything that she's lived through, there's moments where she'd see the world in such a beautiful heartbreaking way. I felt seen by her despite looking nothing her. She had such a rich imagination and let that carry her through day-to-day activities and as means to survive trying circumstances.
 
I remember sitting under the big cove-like space with colourful bean bags and brick-walls completed with rows of books at my local library and letting myself fall into the world of Anne Shirley and loving every minute so for that, L.M Montgomery deserves all her flowers.

11. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Just like Cari talked about in her video, there was this common theme of orphans that I indulged in and A Series of Unfortunate Events was apart of that. This series, for those who haven't read, is about the Baudelaires siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, who lose tragically lose their parents and become orphans.
 
Enter: Count Olaf, who sees this as an opportunity to take guardianship over these kids, using it as an excuse for his own villainous attempts at stealing their inheritance. The kids go through many trials and tribulations at attempting to flee from whatever plan Olaf carries out next.
 
This series has stuck with me because not only did I start it with my entire class at the time, but I also went on to watch the show and it became a constant for me, something I was so excited to press play on for a good few years. I just loved the siblings so much and continued to root for them in the face of Olaf's devious ways but in certain points of the show, it shockingly had me feeling bad for the latter. 

12. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

The earliest memories I have of Les Misérables was searching through my parent's drawer they kept in their room and finding a copy of it. The title drew me in first, especially as I was going to French school at the time. I became obsessed with reading, I mean my every thought was consumed to the point I couldn't wait to come home from school to go back into it. I was utterly consumed by all things Les Mis. The songs, Cosette, the movie.... you had to pry this out of my hands and recollection.

13. My Sister the Vampire Series by Sienna Mercer

I can recall this series so vividly, especially the first book. I use to re-read it anytime I was at the school library. Vampire media was something I started to really gravitate towards, especially with the rise of Twilight in my middle school years. They just don't make books like this and it upsets me because it was books like this and the candy/poison apple ones that were the definition of my girlhood.

14. The Clique Series by Lisi Harrison

The Clique series was my Gossip Girls. You had your typical mean girl, Massie Block and her group of friends, Dylan, Alicia, and Kristen who were very popular and rich. You had the new girl, Cassie Lyons who joins the picture only to deal with snarkiness, and trying to fit in among the bubble of petty girl drama and popularity contests.

This series was definitely a guilty pleasure but it wasn't one I ever hid. And yes, I do still re-watch the movie.

15. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney & Dork Diaries by Rachel Russell

This was around the time I started to fall deeply in these coming of age narratives. Diary of a Wimpy Kid needs no introduction. Everyone has either read it or seen it in their local libraries, at school, or perhaps tuned into the films. It was just one of those silly books that I kept coming back to. 

This was also the case for the Dork Diaries. Clearly, there was something intriguing about reading someone's diary. 

16. Ms. Marvel by Gerry Conway & Drama by Raina Telgemeier

 

I wasn't a huge graphic novel girl growing up but there were a few that I let myself read and Ms. Marvel was one of them. I remember picking this comic off the standing transparent shelf that my middle school library had and it changed me. 

 

This was the first time I had the pleasure of reading about a Muslim-American girl in a superhero role, so rare in a Universe as grand as the Marvel Universe and she had her own story that didn't revolve around the typical stereotypes the Western media tends to include when it comes to Muslims and Islam in general. But she still dealt with internal issues regarding her faith, and her new-found powers一typical teenager things really.  

 

The other graphic novel series I could remember enjoying was Drama. While I can't recall much of the plot, it still holds sentimental value during that era of my life. The author also created the Smile series which was something I also read. 

17. Wonder by R.J Palacio

 

Wonder was one of the books that changed the trajectory of my life. As a kid, I was still ignorant to certain things in this world, certain perspectives and experiences and this book helped open my eyes to a life so different from mine. I feel as though I'm a better human for it. I remember how I cried the first time reading it and even harder when I saw the film.

 

One of my favourite quotes from the book is this: “The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you.”  

This quote is a reminder that the things we do on this earth matter so we should always aim to be kind to others.  

18. The Fault in Our Stars & Paper Towns by John Green

John Green was the author of my young tween-hood. My coming-of-age was warped into the idea that it'd somehow look like a John Green book or feel like a John Green movie. I don't know why, seeing as how tragic The Fault in Our Stars was but there was still so much life lived through and by the characters he crafted一unlike the one I lived and currently do.

 

My life has never quite felt like a coming of age but the closest feeling to that was reading John Green's books and I'm so glad I did.

The High School Years

19. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

To be honest, The Great Gatsby was one of those classic books on the English class curriculum that I thought would be insufferable but I was wrong. I read this and it has stuck with me even after all these years, same with To Kill a Mockingbird. While there are many problems I have with it and with F. Scott Fitzgerald as a person, I fully understand why people love this book and why it's seen so often on a course reading list. It does help that the movie is extremely well-done, in my opinion.

20. Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead

I knew about Richelle Mead because of her well-know series, Vampire Academy, and while I never read the books, I knew of them and even watched the movie of it when it first came out, eventually the TV show as well. I was clued into this universe and randomly decided to pick up Bloodlines一which is about Sydney Sage and Adrian Ivashkov who were first introduced in the VA series一and I'm very pleased with the version of myself that did.

 

These characters quickly became my favourites and Syd-rian were rising 

up on my top fictional ships list. The forbiddeness, found family, paranormal elements一just so good. I will never stop raving or recommending this series.

21. One of Us is Lying Series by Karen M. McManus

While I've always been a reader, I noticed my high-school years, I'd been slowing down but it quickly changed when I was introduced to Karen M. McManus' One of Us is Lying series. It's a murder mystery, young adult take on The Breakfast Club and it was the exact thing I needed to get me out of that slump. I'm very parasocial about this series and these characters, especially Nate and Bronwyn. And when it was announced they were coming to life, I burst out into tears (it's that serious to me). It also helped that I found some of my closest friends through bonding over this series.

 

In Recent Years 

There's a lot I've read after high school, a lot of favourites found. These are the ones, among other ones not pictured of course, that have stood out to me and I know I'll re-read over how ever many years to come. I'm always striving to chase that feeling you get when you find a five star book. There's nothing quite like that high. 

I went through a binge of romance books一dark, contemporary, fantasy一basically anything that had to do with people falling in love, I was there. It wasn't until I'd read Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising that it settled in my mind how there's whole other worlds out there, narratives not necessarily about romantic love but complex relationships, character driven stories that give so much more to me than anything I've read. While I still read romance, my taste has developed to include stories way beyond that genre.

If you're looking for cozy, cute romances read Out on a Limb, Promises me Sunshine, Happy Place, and Foolish Hearts. If you want something more gut-wrenching, pick up Lie with Me and Talking at Night. If you're looking for more action-driven plots with your romances, read Legendborn and The Kingmaker, or just more character driven stories, then Malibu Rising, The Perfect Couple, Kiss The Sky are a must. And if you want something that feels like you're watching an early 2000s rom-com, read the Sex, Love, Stiletto series in its entirety.