The Running Bibliophile

Wish You Were Here: France by Robin O’Neill follows a teen tour group run by Getaway Tours, a company that sends teenagers on week-long, chaperoned trips to destinations around the world. For this particular excursion, Tim and Francine Atkinson serve as the tour guides as they lead five girls and two boys through the south of France. Their journey begins in Carcassonne, located in the Languedoc region, a place steeped in medieval history. While exploring the area, Luci, Jay, Glin, and Logan learn about the legendary Cathar treasure that is rumored to be buried somewhere nearby. Intrigued by the mystery, they set out to uncover the truth behind the legend and discover where the treasure might be hidden. In high school, I stumbled across a new book series by Robin O’Neill called Wish You Were Here, and it immediately captured my attention. The first book in the series, Wish You Were Here: France , was originally published in July 1996. However, the release timing must have bee...

Zoey Finds Out by Katherine Applegate is the first book in a young adult book series that goes by two different names. The original book series is called Boyfriends/ Girlfriends and includes eight books, which were written by Katherine Applegate. Then, the series was renamed Making Out and an additional twenty books were ghost written under Applegate's name. The age range for this series is twelve through seventeen.  I first came across this series when I was fourteen year old freshman in high school, and I absolutely fell in love with it. The cover shown here is the reprint when the series was renamed, and the original cover is way better from what I remember. This series is very reminiscent of the television show Beverly Hills, 90210 with all the high school drama and deals with serious topics. The biggest serious topic throughout Zoey Finds Out is drinking and driving and the consequences. As an adult rereading Zoey Fools Around , I find that the writing and story...

In 1986, a movie called The Worst Witch was aired on television, and as a seven year old child, I absolutely fell in love with it. A few months ago, I thought about how much I loved it and decided to see if it was available on Netflix. It was not available, but it had been made into a television series back in 2017 and that was available. I did watch a few of the episodes and thought they had been done well. It made me research the original movie, and I found out that it was based on a book series from the 1970's. How I did not know this I'll never know, but I decided to buy a used copy from ThriftBooks.com.  When I received the book The Worst Witch (Worst Witch, #1) by Jill Murphy, I couldn't wait to read it and see how closely the original television movie compared to the book. I wasn't disappointed. The 1986 movie did a phenomenal job in adapting the book for television. The Worst Witch (Worst Witch, #1) by Jill Murphy is about twelve year old Mildred...

The Antique House Murders (Oakwood Mystery, #2) by Leslie Nagel is the the sequel to The Book Club Murders (Oakwood Mystery, #1) , and it starts off with quite a bang. When the old, decaying mansion called Mulbridge House in upscale Oakwood, Ohio is set to be torn down and the belongings inside to be auctioned off, the town becomes divided. Half the town is in agreeance with S.O.A.P. that the home needs to be preserved and turned into a museum. The other half of town sides with the heirs who want to build fourteen homes on the property. When Calvin Prescott, owner of the company auctioning off the belongings of Mulbridge House, is found murdered in his office by Charley Carpenter, her boyfriend, detective Marcus Trenault, makes the connection between Prescott's death and a string of burglaries in the area. Unable to stay out of the investigation as an amateur sleuth, Charley uncovers a massive scheme involving the mansion and the land being developed for the homes.  It...

Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake, #3) by Rachel Caine opens with Gwen Proctor, also known as Gina Royal, reluctantly traveling to the remote and mysterious town of Wolfhunter after receiving a phone call from a woman named Marlene Crockett. Gwen is immediately wary, fearing that helping Marlene and her daughter could be some kind of trap. Despite her concerns, Gwen will go to extraordinary lengths to protect her family while uncovering the dark secrets lurking within this seemingly quiet town. What can I say about Wolfhunter River other than … WOW! This latest installment of the Stillhouse Lake series completely captivated me. I found myself staying up well past my bedtime multiple nights in a row, unable to put the book down. The story is fast-paced, action-packed, and relentlessly gripping, with page-turning suspense that kept me on edge from start to finish. There were no slow moments, and I have to admit, this might be my favorite book in the series yet. The characte...

When Jenny Thorns original plan for her boyfriend Tom's birthday party had to change, she has to scramble to come up with something that will interest every one in their small group. Coming across a store called "More Games", she's not sure she'll be able to find something that will please the entire group. When the store clerk Julian suggests a game in a white, unmarked box, Jenny decides to buy it, and the entire group is in for a huge surprise. See you at nine . . . Not sure she heard Julian correctly, Jenny has second thoughts about the game once she gets home. However, she's overruled by the group. Part Jumanji and part Nightmare on Elm Street , the friends are in for the ride of a lifetime.  I stumbled across The Hunter (The Forbidden Game, #1) by L.J. Smith while I was in high school. Ecstatic that one of my favorite authors had another book out, I immediately bought this book. I loved this book as a teenager and read this book and th...