Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: Secret Vampire (Night World, #1) by L.J. Smith

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book review secret vampire night world 1 lj smith
Before Twilight, there was The Vampire Diaries and Night World, both series written by the phenomenal L.J. Smith (a.k.a. Lisa Jane Smith). The first book in the Night World series is entitled Secret Vampire and was published in June 1996. 

Sixteen year old Poppy North receives news that she has only months to live. When her best friend, and crush, James Rasmussen visits in the hospital, Poppy sees another side of James when he offers to make her a part of the Night World and leave her loved ones behind.

Secret Vampire (Night World, #1) was my first introduction to books on the topic of vampires when I was a teenager. I still have yet to read Dracula or Interview with a Vampire. Although, I have seen the movie of the latter many times. I recently picked up the book for a reread as I hadn't read it since I was a teen and couldn't remember much about it.

What I loved about Secret Vampire (Night World, #1) is that it deals with a serious life and death situation and choices. I won't spoil what it is, but I don't know how I would handle the situation had it been me (either as Poppy or her family). The story was exceptionally well-written, and L.J. Smith can still suck me into almost every one of her stories, even with me being an adult. And, she has a way with character development . . . there are characters you love, hate, and find annoying. On top of that, the series isn't limited to just vampires . . . it includes witches and werewolves too! I think this would make a great movie or television series.

I definitely recommend this book to those who like stories about the supernatural. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed Secret Vampire (Night World, #1), I only gave it four out five stars. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because L.J. Smith wrote other books that I love more (i.e. The Secret Circle, Dark Visions, and The Forbidden Game).


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