Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...
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Book Review: Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine

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Book Review: Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine

YA Horror Book Review of Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine
Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine is the eighth book in the Fear Street Book series. Justine Cameron is throwing a Halloween party for nine specially picked students. The kicker is that none of the nine people really know Justine, and they wonder why they were invited. When the lights go off and come back on, there's a body with a knife in it. Is there a murderer amongst them?

I'm in the process of rereading my way through my childhood, and I decided to read the Fear Street book series again . . . this time in order. I must not have read Halloween Party because I didn't have the book. I purchased the book through ThriftBooks.com, and I have to say that I didn't remember anything about the storyline, with the exception of the nickname for Niki sounding very familiar. 

The Fear Street books are a more mature horror book series than R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book series. I loved reading these books in middle school and high school. Halloween Party was filled with typical high school drama that took me back to my younger days. 

book review halloween party fear street 8 rl stineI loved the fact that the storyline was a "locked room" mystery, and it's the perfect book to read during the Halloween holiday or on a Friday the 13th. I didn't really see the ending coming, but I feel like there were a few plot holes that didn't allow for one to figure out what would happen. As a kid, I would have likely overlooked this and not cared. I also liked the fact that there were characters brought back from previous books in this series. I don't think I noticed this the first time around since I had read them out of order (and read a lot of other books in between).

The only real complaint I have is that I felt like Niki's nickname of "Funny Face" was a bit offensive seeing as the character had a hearing disability. With that being said, I loved the fact that there was a character with a disability represented. I don't remember there being too many characters with disabilities being in books from the 1980's or 1990's.

Halloween Party (Fear Street, #8) by R.L. Stine was a fun and enjoyable read. I don't really have any complaints, and I gave it four out of five stars.

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