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: The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2) by R.L. Stine

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YA Horror Book Review of The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2) by R.L. Stine
The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2) by R.L. Stine.  After Evan died in the Fear Street woods, everyone changed, and Ellen moved away. When Meg Dalton heard Ellen was coming for a visit, she thought it would be a great idea to throw Ellen a surprise party. With party plans under way, Meg begins receiving threats to cancel the party. Who would go to such drastic extremes?

As a part of rereading my way through my childhood, the Fear Street books by R.L. Stine were a must read for me, and The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2) brought back some great memories for me. Mentions of trapper keepers, Molly Ringwald, Daryl Hannah, and Esprit clothing gave me all the feels. I wonder if kids today even know what a trapper keeper is and have ever heard of the Esprit clothing line?

I only vaguely remembered the storyline of The Surprise Party and thought I had the "bad guy" figured out from the get go only to find out I was wrong. How can I be so wrong about the whodunnit even as an adult? 

What I loved about this book, other than the nostalgia, were all of the twists and turns that R.L Stine provided and the red herrings. For a YA Novel in the horror genre, I thought it was exceptionally well written and was enjoyable even as an adult. I loved that several of the characters from The New Girl (Fear Street, #1) made cameos in this edition of Fear Street.

I gave The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2) five out five stars, and I'd definitely recommend it to tweens and teens. I'd even recommend it to adults for nostalgia. 

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