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Paperback Crush
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction | Gabrielle Moss
97 posts | 51 read | 80 to read
A hilarious and nostalgic trip through the history of paperback pre-teen series of the 80s and 90s. Every twenty- or thirty-something woman knows these books. The pink covers, the flimsy paper, the zillion volumes in the series that kept you reading for your entire adolescence. Spurred by the commercial success of Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters Club, these were not the serious-issue YA novels of the 1970s, nor were they the blockbuster books of the Harry Potter and Twilight ilk. They were cheap, short, and utterly beloved. PAPERBACK CRUSH dives in deep to this golden age with affection, history, and a little bit of snark. Readers will discover (and fondly remember) girl-centric series on everything from correspondence (Pen Pals and Dear Diary) to sports (The Pink Parrots, Cheerleaders, and The Gymnasts) to a newspaper at an all-girls Orthodox Jewish middle school (The B.Y. Times) to a literal teen angel (Teen Angels: Heaven Can Wait, where an enterprising guardian angel named Cisco has to earn her wings "by helping the world's sexist rock star.") Some were blatant ripoffs of the successful series (looking at you, Sleepover Friends and The Girls of Canby Hall), some were sick-lit tearjerkers la Love Story (Abby, My Love) and some were just plain perplexing (Uncle Vampire??) But all of them represent that time gone by of girl-power and endless sessions of sustained silent reading. In six hilarious chapters (Friendship, Love, School, Family, Jobs, Terror, and Tragedy), Bustle Features Editor Gabrielle Moss takes the reader on a nostalgic tour of teen book covers of yore, digging deep into the history of the genre as well as the stories behind the best-known series.
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Kimberlone
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Of course hardbacks are preferred for collecting and look so much nicer on bookshelves, but for practical reasons (cost, size, weight) I much prefer paperbacks.

TheNeverendingTBR Paperbacks for reading, Hardbacks just because they look good on the shelf 😜 1y
Patchshank Whichever one is cheaper. If they cost about the same i usually prefer paper back 1y
Kimberlone @Patchshank I agree! Cheaper is nice both for the cost, as well as I care less about the book getting damaged (I also like to annotate and don‘t feel as bad about doing it on a paperback). I also loan out books to friends and don‘t worry about not getting a paperback back since I can usually replace it with another cheap copy! 1y
44 likes4 comments
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TheSpineView
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ShyBookOwl What a great cover! 2y
TheSpineView @ShyBookOwl 👍🌞😊 2y
Soubhiville This was a fun book! 2y
See All 6 Comments
Eggs Perfection 💖📚❤️ 2y
52 likes1 stack add6 comments
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jlhammar
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🌸 Thanks for the tag @Sparklemn 🌸

I. I like both hardcovers and paperbacks (trade, not mass market). I probably have more hardcovers in my library just because I can be impatient when it comes to getting my hands on new releases. Tagged is a fun, nostalgic read about the paperback pre-teen series of the 80s & 90s.
II. Screened-in front porch when nice. Inside with a blanket and hot beverage once temps drop.
III. Fall

#WondrousWednesday
@Eggs

melissajayne I don‘t like mass market paperbacks either 2y
Eggs The tagged sounds like a fun book! 2y
44 likes2 comments
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Kangaj1
Pickpick

I finished both my #bookspin (tagged) and #doublespin (The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington) today. Both were also #TBRDeckOfCards.

I LOVED the tagged book - so much fun! The other one had fantastic writing, but I hated all of the characters.

@TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick

Clwojick Woohoo! Way to go! 2y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 2y
20 likes2 comments
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DGRachel
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Pickpick

I loved the 80s/90s nostalgia, as many of the books mentioned were staples of my preteen years. I loved the Nancy Drew reboot and the horror/thriller novels of Christopher Pike. My only quibbles are (a) there‘s so much focus on Babysitters‘ Club and Sweet Valley High, that one could almost think they were the only books written for the YA crowd, and (b) the book ends so abruptly that I thought my audiobook was abridged (it wasn‘t).

52 likes1 stack add
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EH2018
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💕📚

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Julz422
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Pickpick

I definitely enjoyed this book- so nostalgic! I‘ve been an avid reader my whole life so the author‘s descriptions of many of the YA books I read in the 80s and 90s brought a smile to my face

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slategreyskies
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Bailedbailed

I tried to like this, I really did. In the end, I decided to bail on it because I was doing whatever I could to avoid picking it up again. A bummer, because it‘s an interesting idea. I did enjoy parts of it, for what it‘s worth.

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booklover3258
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Pickpick

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faI9tKj0OYs

Enjoy!

keys_on_fire This was such a fun book! Trying to read as many as I can that are mentioned in the book. Even created a shelf for them on Goodreads. Super nerdy fun right there! 😂 🤓 3y
32 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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DebinHawaii
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My finished soup—Chickpea Alphabet Soup, a vegan take on a classic. Lots of veggies, pasta & fun to eat. I paired it with a fun nostalgic book that I hope to do more than flip through soon. I‘m going to feel bad if the quarantine ends & libraries here reopen & I still have not finished the stack of books I checked out before things shut down. 📚📚😬📚Reading in general is such a struggle for me right now.
Link to soup recipe👇🏻

Hooked_on_books I just loved this book! It was a fun stroll down memory lane. 4y
rabbitprincess With you on the library books thing! My library is closed until June 30 so I really ought to be able to get all the books done by then 😅 4y
keys_on_fire Reading has been a struggle for me right now too. I‘ve been playing a lot of animal crossing instead 😂 4y
67 likes4 comments
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Jen2
Pickpick

This book was so much fun!!!

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kyraleseberg
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So much nostalgia!! This covers all the teen fiction you remember from childhood.
All the 😍 for Sweet Valley and Judy Blume!

AkashaVampie i've seen this around. I was wondering if it was any good. I was born at the end of 1985. So i was more of a 90s kid. 4y
megnews I ❤️ this! 4y
kyraleseberg @AkashaVampie Same here! This book covers it all, so there's plenty I'm familiar with and some I hadn't heard of before. It's a fun look at the authors, publishers, and series that helped shape YA. 4y
AkashaVampie @kyraleseberg that's awesome. I will definitely have to look for it now. 4y
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Eyelit
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Daria! This was such a lovely surprise. 🥰 Thank you for the fun and fabulous #galentinesday gift. I hope you had a Happy Galentine‘s Day yesterday (such a great holiday, yes?) #kindlitsy 💜📚💜

dariazeoli Enjoy! 4y
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Andrea313
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Pickpick

Paperback #Crush was such a fun trip down memory lane! As an 80s/90s kid, I devoured The Baby-Sitter's Club, Sleepover Friends, the Camp Sunnyside Girls, and the Fear Street series like nobody's business. This book also reminded me of a bunch of fun one-offs that I wish I still had. Highly recommend the nostalgia! #FebruaryFeels @Eggs

Eggs Sweet💖💖 4y
16 likes1 comment
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megnews
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Pickpick

Drumroll please! Paperback Crush is my last book of 2019. For a book I wasn‘t sure I was going to commit to at the moment, it sucked me in & was a delightful trip down memory lane, visiting the books & authors that solidified my life as a reader. The interview with Christopher Pike in the last chapter was intriguing.
My first book of 2020 is my January book club selection, The Tattooist of Auschwitz (unless a comic book sneaks ahead).

#lastfirst

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megnews
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Confession:
I was 10 when the first Babysitters Club came out. I gobbled up the series. We moved to a new neighborhood when I was 14. Lots of young kids. Inspired by BSC I made a sign with pull off tabs with my name & phone # & posted it at a nearby Convenient. I babysat almost every kid for blocks & had full time summer jobs for years. And since there were no other teens in the neighborhood, I didn‘t even have to share my profits with a club!

MelissaSue81 I wanted to babysit so badly because of those books! 4y
Megabooks But did you make Kid-Kits??? There were too many teens and not enough little one around me! 4y
29 likes2 comments
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megnews
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Too true. Too true. 🤣

Sace I loved this book! 4y
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megnews
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I‘m not embarrassed to admit that Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins & High were as much a part of making me a reader as Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables.
I‘m not sure I‘m going to commit to this book right now but I wanted to check it out. Love this highlight.

Hooked_on_books I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun trip down memory lane. So many books I had forgotten about. 4y
Soubhiville I had fun reading this too 😊 4y
30 likes2 comments
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mrp27
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#selfimprovementsept

Thus far September has been a roller coaster so catching up on some photo prompts. Indulging today in some #selfcaresunday in my #favoritereadingspot

squirrelbrain Love that chair! 5y
OriginalCyn620 That is a cool chair! Nice book haul too! 5y
41 likes3 comments
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sparingqueen
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So much nostalgia!

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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

This is a fun and nostalgic romp through the books that populated my pre-teen years. It‘s full of the covers of Sweet Valley, Fear Street, And Christopher Pike books. (To Name just a few!) The author discusses the different themes common in teen fiction, and reminds us of tons of our favorites.

I did begin to get bored with the plot summaries by the end, but to be fair, a lot of these books were pretty similar!

tpixie Fun concept!! 5y
bookandcat I loved this book! 5y
Hooked_on_books I loved this one. Such a great nostalgic romp. 5y
73 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Soubhiville
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Froedrick has decided it‘s time for a break from reading. Okay buddy, I can give you a little lovin‘s now.

LauraJ Froedrick, you gorgeous beast!🖤 5y
wanderinglynn Aw, what a cutie! ❤️🐱 5y
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Leftcoastzen Love his cute wrinkles! 5y
hermyknee I love the look on his face 😹 5y
aa_guer2021 😻😻 5y
Hooked_on_books What a look! Bindi will climb on my lap and collapse down, making me quickly grab the book out of the way lest it be crushed. They really know how to express themselves, don‘t they? 😂 5y
Soubhiville @Hooked_on_books they sure do. Froedrick is very demanding and pushy. Igor is more likely to just stare at me longingly and just hope I notice and pet him, he wouldn‘t go this far. Bindi‘s a big girl for lap collapsing! She certainly could crush a book 😂. 5y
98 likes8 comments
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Soubhiville
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I think when two of your Litsy friends send you “book nerd” book marks for your birthday, it must be true. 💕 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks and @Mitch

Currently reading for #LLB2019, #LittenLoveBingo2019, for the prompt “picked by @LibrarianRyan

LibrarianRyan You picked a good one. 5y
Mitch Hahaha that‘s so funny. All power to the #booknerds 💕🏆💕🏆💕🏆💕🏆 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Hahaha!!! 😘😘😘 5y
83 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Gnora
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Pickpick

I devoured this one with the same dedication and fever I devoured these tweenybopper books of my youth. So much fun!!

#nonfiction #BooksAboutBooks #LitsyLovesLibraries

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Oryx
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I've been reading the tagged book (it's bringing back lots of memories of awesome and some less awesome 80s/90s teen fiction), and found a new book for your tbr @TrishB

TrishB 😂😂 I absolutely did want to be PM in my teens....then did a politics degree and ran a mile. But the urge has come back in recent years , either because I‘ve developed a thick skin or I am now convinced I could do a better job!! I love this pic though..... 5y
Oryx @TrishB we can use this for your campaign posters 5y
TrishB Lol 😂😂 no one will ever recognise me then ! 5y
58 likes3 comments
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NotCool
Pickpick

I never read widely in the genres covered in this history. But it was interesting learning where the books that made up such a big part of Children‘s Department of the local library of my youth came from, what forces created those pastel covers.

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Brie
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Pickpick

This was a fun, nostalgic history of those popular mass produced paperback series geared towards teens in the ‘80s and ‘90s like Sweet Valley High, Goosebumps, etc. I remember reading a lot of the books mentioned. It‘s organized by genre and there‘s lots of cool vintage covers to look over. I just wish it had an epilogue at the end to wrap things up, because it just sort of trails off.

Megabooks I enjoyed this as Well! Nostalgia! 5y
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Bookwormjillk
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Pickpick

This was a fun bit of nostalgia.

25 likes1 stack add
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Bookwormjillk
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Some nostalgia and #Litsylove to end the day. ❤️

46 likes1 comment
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elizabethlk
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Pickpick

Paperback Crush is entertaining, funny, fun, nostalgic, and critical, and it is all of these things in the best possible way. This was a great exploration of teen fic from the 80s and 90s and I had a ton of fun walking down memory lane with that critical eye and sense of humour Moss brings to the book. Definitely recommended!

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KimmyM
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I'm about halfway through this one and it's so fun! I remember reading soooo many of the books mentioned! I'm really enjoying this so far.
#CurrentlyReading #Nonfiction

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karajay
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Pickpick

🌟🌟🌟🌟
This book was a fun flashback to so many books that I loved while growing up. It reminded me of so many books and memories I had during that time. I recommend this to anyone who always wanted to be in the BSC, to live on Fear Street or wanted a twin like the Wakefields.

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TheLudicReader
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As if I was walking out of the bookstore without this book today! I wish there was one that looked at books from the 1970s, but still....nostalgia!

Hooked_on_books I loved this one! 5y
11 likes1 comment
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

If you were a Scholastic book fair lover in the 80s and 90s like me, this is the book for you! Extremely well researched and very hilarious, Moss takes a look at the gamut of YA/MG novels available to tweens and teens in that era. Love the color covers in the ebook.

I had Baby-Sitters Club 1-88ish plus the Super Specials, and my mom gave them away about 15 years ago. But these Gymnasts books remained!

#somethingyoupick #nonfiction2019

Bookwormjillk I really need to read this 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m just a bit older, the Sweet Valley High generation....I had tons of those! 5y
bunny OMG I remember these! What a blast from the past. 🤸‍♀️ 5y
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Megabooks @Bookwormjillk It‘s awesome! 5y
Megabooks @Riveted_Reader_Melissa oh those are definitely in there!! It covers a lot of early to mid-80s. I‘d say about ⅔ 80s and ⅓ 90s. 5y
Megabooks @bunny 😁😁😁 5y
Bookwormjillk Have you listened to the Baby Sitters Club Club podcast? It‘s my favorite. 5y
Megabooks @Bookwormjillk No, but I will check it out! I don‘t listen to podcasts much. Any BSC is 👍🏻😁😁😁👍🏻 (edited) 5y
Purrfectpages I can‘t wait to read Paperback Crush and I remember this series! 5y
Megabooks @Purrfectpages Yay! Fantastic! 🎉📚 5y
Reviewsbylola I‘m not familiar with the Gymnast series but it looks like one I would have liked! 5y
Megabooks @Reviewsbylola It didn‘t run very long, but I loved it. Not as much as BSC, though 😉😁 5y
84 likes3 stack adds12 comments
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Megabooks
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How did I miss this book!? 😵😵😱😱😱

EKonrad I added several books to my TBR after reading this book! 😆 5y
Megabooks @EKonrad I totally should have done that! Are you able to find them? 5y
EKonrad I actually was able to track them down through the library because they have so many older titles that are out of print. 😊 5y
Megabooks @EKonrad Oh that‘s awesome! 5y
Reviewsbylola I would have been all over this. 😂 5y
77 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Expandingbookshelf
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Guys! GUYS! There I was, reading “Paperback Crush,” about the teen fiction I grew up reading. Then I find out... WE‘RE BRINGING BACK THE BABYSITTERS CLUB 🎉🎊💫
Nine year old me is losing her fucking mind. Now give us the Sweet Valley High movie, you cowards.

Erinreadsthebooks 😂😂😂 Yes! We want our Sweet Valley movie NOW!! 5y
8 likes1 comment
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Megabooks
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Look what I checked out for funsies! I hope it is nostalgic as it sounds!

Cinfhen Fun 💕💕 5y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I hope so! 😁 5y
EKonrad Loved this one! 😊 5y
Hooked_on_books I thought it was a ton of fun! 5y
77 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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megnews
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As seen on the library shelf tonight. How did it take so long to write this? A nostalgic trip down memory lane including Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High. I didn‘t get it tonight but I‘m sure to be back for it.

callielafleur This cover is amazing. 5y
megnews @callielafleur isn‘t it? 5y
22 likes2 comments
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KimmyM
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karajay
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Is the pinnacle of book obsession? Reading a book about books? 🤷‍♀️ #paperbackcrush

4 likes1 stack add
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Cityofamber
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Pickpick

This was more of skim, but I‘m counting it. 😂🤷‍♀️

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Kmatti
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Ready for all the nostalgic feels with this one. On to book 2! #24in48 #readathon

11 likes1 stack add
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SeeJanRead
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Pickpick

Nostalgic and wonderful! Brought me back to my Junior High-High School Days, when I had a paperback with me at all times. #24in48 #youngadult #yalibrarian

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SeeJanRead
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#24in48 is underway!

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SeeJanRead
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Getting ready for #24in48. Excited to curl up with a good book.

12 likes1 comment
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SeeJanRead
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Presently reliving my teenage years! #ya #yabooks #80skid #90steen

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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

What a fun wander down nostalgia lane! I have fond memories of many of these books and appreciate the various asides like the above discussion of creating covers and the interview with Christopher Pike. I think anyone who enjoyed 80s and 90s YA would get a kick out of this book.

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Hooked_on_books
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I read SO many of these Sunfire books! I don‘t remember them as romances, just as historical fiction featuring a teenage girl, and I thought of them as the “name” books. I loved them.

This book is already a fun romp down memory lane.

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JoScho
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Amy thanks so much for this amazing #giveaway. This book is so great! It is bigger and more beautiful than I even expected. Thanks for all the extra goodies-love those fuzzy socks, sticky notes and bookmarks. Thank you so very much! 💜😊💜

bookish_wookish Youre very welcome! Enjoy it! ☺️ 5y
rubyslippersreads Those socks! 😻 5y
Velvetfur The ickle sockies are so cute!! 🐱 5y
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tracey38 Nice! 💜 5y
erinreads This was such a fun read! 5y
JoScho @rubyslippersreads @Velvetfur so cute and so soft!!! 5y
JoScho @erinreads I have only flipped through it but it is awesome! 5y
JoScho @tracey38 😊💜 5y
108 likes1 stack add8 comments