Told in three perspectives, this family drama, as the title suggests, takes place over a single summer at a MA country club. Mayhaven‘s membership is down, Ned Birch‘s role as president lacks authority. Darcy, his teenage daughter, works there for the summer but refuses to golf after playing since she was a child. Flick, the new teen next door to the Birches, struggles to fit in. This may lead to interesting discussions if you get over the pace.

Bob Burnett, AKA “Mooseboy”, and Jessica‘s penpal from AK comes to #SweetValley for a visit. Not yet the boy-crazy twin she comes to be, Jessica is horrified— making lists of activities the rest of the class can do with him. Liz recognizes Bob‘s hurt feelings— and his frustration that all the kids want to talk about is snow. Bob just wants CA, summery fun! Lila‘s dad even Rey‘s a snow machine! Jessica does bond with Bob over pineapple pizza!

I‘ve loved Lackey‘s Valdemar series since elementary school, and though I read and enjoyed some of her non-Valdemar books, I never felt quite the same fervor for them— and I never listened to anything of hers on audio. But I got this one on an Audible sale a couple years ago, and I loved it. The world-building is unique, involving dragons (a creature Valdemar lacks!) but the situations the characters are in feel familiar to her style & I loved it!

In this 7th (& final!) #SweetValleyHalloween for the second grade class, they go on a field trip to a pumpkin patch only 10 minutes from the Wakefield house. Jessica‘s convinced it‘s haunted & that Ms. Cratchet is a real witch! No costumes this time, but there‘s a fun pumpkin decorating contest. Jessica turns hers into Cinderella & Elizabeth‘s becomes the coach! When Jessica accidentally smashes Liz‘s pumpkin, she overcomes her fear of the patch!

This haunted house story manages to brush against all kinds of horror from gory ghosts, domestic violence, continued trauma, but tempered with a surprising bit of humor and heart. A dark story for sure with menace that rises as steadily as the blood pours from the faucets and walls, but one that kept my attention from start to finish. A strong audio performance, too makes this all in all a promising debut novel!

Mr. Crane takes the 2nd grade class to the Sweet Valley Art Museum, inspiring them to have their own art show. Todd‘s caricatures cause a stir, as do Winston‘s abstract drawings. Jessica makes a crown & Caroline struggles to make a doll out of a potato. The whole class loves Elizabeth‘s macaroni pony. When they return from recess, it‘s been destroyed! After jealous Caroline is accused, it turns into a paint fight until the guilty party comes out!

This one came highly recommended to me and I am so glad that I finally picked up my copy! I literally read it in one sitting! Of course, I loved Six-Thirty and Mad. And while I am not into either cooking or chemistry, I loved Elizabeth‘s passion for both. While not unpredictable, it‘s certainly engaging from start to finish! I loved the characters and I‘m curious to check out the TV adaptation now!

It‘s the second class trip to the beach— right after Jessica & Lila have their worst fight yet. Already arguing over playing dress-up, Steven gives Jessica a note that Charlie Cashman gave him on the bus— a note Jessica dropped from Lila with her secrets inside. Then Elizabeth gets mad at the state of their room, leaving Jess to feel lonely. When she finds a note from someone who sounds just as sad, she writes back. Of course, it‘s actually Lila!

My #BookClub meets tomorrow to discuss this one and I‘m definitely curious to see what everyone else thought of it! Though fast-paced, I found the plot predictable and wished there was more to the narrator‘s development to better balance him out, bringing him more authentically to life. I do enjoy a locked room mystery but there wasn‘t much of a surprise here… I enjoyed the remote island setting & while I disliked the characters, I was hooked!

The end of an era! Beloved Mrs. Otis retires to go take care of her granddaughter (presumably from her first marriage to Mr. Becker?). With the help of the “Animal Guy” science teacher, Mr. Crane, the class plans a surprise going-away party. But the animals cause a ruckus— the class bunny goes missing, Winston‘s fat wreaks havoc on the decorations and Mrs. Otis gets some nice vases! Oddly, Eva‘s not on the soccer team anymore though!

While the story feels a bit familiar, it doesn‘t take long to love its protagonist, Joe-Nathan. On the spectrum and with OCD, Joe-Nathan finds comfort in his routines. He loves working at The Compass Store, watching Friends and looking at trees. He has his mom to help him— and her words of wisdom to guide him in the daily use blue book. When his circumstances change, he rises to the challenge & even makes new friends along the way. A sweet story!

Another first for the series— class picture day! The photographer is running late, so while everyone starts the day looking good, after art, science, recess and lunch, no one is pristine! I especially loved how Jessica purposely ruins her own outfit so that she will have an identical picture with her identical twin!

A new illustrator also joins the books here, changing the overall look and style inside.

The second Porter Beck mystery wastes no time in becoming quite the page-turner! The sheriff of Lincoln county faces fentanyl related deaths, hackers taking over classified drones & his own failing vision. With great characters, plenty of action & an exciting plot, I absolutely couldn‘t put this down! I gasped aloud, was literally at the edge of my seat & I can‘t wait to see where the series will go next! It‘s fun to follow a new series!

The twins‘ new friend, Billy, from Fantasy Forest, sends them a roller coaster of their own to have in their backyard (clearly no HOA on Calico Drive!). It comes with an operator, too, and soon “The Wakester” is the hit of the neighborhood and among all of their friends! But Lila gets jealous, causing a fight. Soon, all the Wakefield kids are sick of the coaster and plot to get rid of it! Oddly, spelling bee winner Jessica is a bad speller here!

I‘ve always thought of Cussler‘s novels as inherently “Dad books” but I am also always up for nautical adventures, which many of his covers seem to promise. This first in the #FargoAdventuresSeries has been on my TBR for ages, and I decided to dive in finally. While it‘s certainly nonstop action for the married treasure hunter couple, I wanted a bit more character development to help balance things out. The historical puzzles are fun though!

The Wakefield family (plus Steven‘s friend Joe) go to the family run amusement park, Fantasy Forest. Everyone splits off and the twins make a new friend, Billy, who gives them special passes to skip lines, play arcade games for free (with double prizes!) & free snacks! They‘re having a great time… except a muscled man seems to be following Billy! Luckily, this is just Billy‘s bodyguard— his family runs the park! As usual, the twins help everyone!

Against the glorious backdrop of an exclusive resort in the Maldives, this summer thriller makes for great reading! Camilla, Darcy & Kate are celebrating Darcy‘s divorce while a younger honeymoon guest has far from a picturesque time with her older groom. Multiple perspectives keep the tension mounting— though some twists are easier to spot coming than others. Entertaining despite characters that aren‘t always likable, I couldn‘t put it down!

After a Wakefield family meeting, all three kids agree that their next vacation should be to the amusement park, Fantasy Forest. But they can‘t agree on a second choice— Steven wants to see a Dodgers game & Liz wants to go to a dude ranch. When Jessica wins a radio contest, she lies to say she is 13 to collect. First they try to dress Steven up, but he wimps out when he spots Tina. Jessica dresses with makeup & continues to lie. Liz saves the day!

I‘ve been catching up on this year‘s #SharkWeek, and this made for the perfect listen! Part romance, part love of sharks, I enjoyed this one from start to finish! Maeve, at age 10, was bitten by a blacktip reef shark, setting her on a course to love sharks. But after the breakup of her engagement to her childhood sweetheart, she thrust herself into her work. On a break between grants, she returns to the book-themed hotel to find her past is back.

In this second #SweetValleyEaster, Alice takes the twins to visit an old friend at a farm. Marty gives Elizabeth an egg that she found that her favorite chicken laid. Elizabeth takes such good care of it, that it hatches! At first, Ned insists that Sneeches goes to the farm, but soon he‘s as attached as the rest of the family, making Sneeches the first official Wakefield pet! Also, farm fresh eggs are only $1 a dozen here!

Despite their differences, Abby and Gia have been best friends since they met at age 12. Gia‘s birthday approaches and things have been strained since Abby refused to participate in Gia‘s wedding to a man she had only known for a month! But when Gia doesn‘t show, Abby and Gia‘s brother are worried. Gia‘s manuscript about her marriage make up the other half of this riveting summer thriller. The Grecian island backdrop adds to the fun of this debut!

It‘s the fifth #SweetValleyValentinesDay and this one is the first from Steven‘s POV. Alice signed him up for ballroom dancing lessons. At first, Steven and his best friend, Bob, have fun playing pranks (stomping on toes, pulling hair, etc) but it takes only one conversation for Steven to fall in love with his dance partner, Tina. The twins play pranks on their brother and tease him to retaliate against the fake Valentines he wrote to each sister!

I feel like I‘ve been waiting forever for Sager‘s latest! With ‘90s nostalgia, ghost story overtones and a cul-de-sac under the microscope, this one is right up my alley! I couldn‘t put it down! Main character, Ethan, slept in his backyard tent when his neighbor & best friend, Billy, went missing. 30 years later, Ethan is back in his parents‘ house & is more determined than ever to do anything to uncover the truth in this twisting, thrilling plot!

The stable where Elizabeth and Amy take lessons is hosting a riding show and both girls are excited to compete. But when Liz takes her horse out alone, she gets thrown! Though unhurt, she‘s scared and soon Mrs. Otis‘ whole class knows it! But when a younger girl gets into trouble, Liz overcomes her fear to save the day! And Jessica steadfastly defends her twin throughout!

What a fun summer thriller! This debut novel, set against the beauty of the Bahamas, is a fast and fun read. Sawyer and Dani, thanks to some money troubles, have stalled in their attempt at circumnavigation and are hanging out with fellow cruisers in beautiful Exuma. But the island police are hardly prepared when Dani goes missing. Multiple perspectives keep the pace moving quickly—& while the main twist may be easy to see coming, it‘s a fun ride!

This sixth #SweetValleyChristmas is the first non-special edition one and the first one from the new first person format to come from a non-Wakefield twin! Lila‘s mom moved out and she hasn‘t heard from her in months—though she hasn‘t told any of her friends. When the twins host a cookie party for kids and parents, Lila knows her secret will come out. Luckily a ghostly guardian angel shows up to help Lila come clean and become closer to her dad.

Still needing a book set in #NewMexico for this year, I jumped into this supernatural thriller. Forensics photographer Rita Todacheene shares a talent for photography with both her grandmother and mother. But Rita‘s eyes capture more than film can… she sees ghosts. While some are benign, the book‘s opening and brutal crime scene comes with a ghost desperate for justice. With cinematic flair, this makes for an exciting debut to a new series!

The sixth #SweetValleyThanksgiving is a #SweetValleyKidsSuperSpecial! Ned represented a farmer and he invites them to celebrate the holiday with the whole Wakefield family. The farmer sends the turkey… except Tom is very much still alive! Soon, the family falls in love with the bird, taking him for walks and even dressing him up! How can they bear to actually eat him?! Not even Great-Aunt Helen has an idea for how to save poor Tom the Turkey!

When Ben is abruptly sent to a reform wilderness camping program instead of juvie, he isn‘t relieved since it means leaving his younger brother with only their mean aunt. Plus, right away, something feels not right about the leader and counselors of the camp. This unfolds slowly & though there‘s originality to the plot, it takes a while to get there. Ben‘s own character development feels contradictory at times, too, but it is entertaining.

It‘s the sixth #SweetValleyHalloween and this time, the Wakefield twins host their entire second-grade class for a spooky party. When Winston dares to steal the spotlight from Jessica by telling a werewolf story, Jessica makes up a Wakefield gold-mining ghost story. She also starts a bit of a prank war to prove that girls aren‘t fraidy cats. More fake bugs are put to good use! The twins dress as spooky skeletons!

Lyons‘ newest book opens up 17 years after the apparent execution of Anahrod for breaking into a dragon‘s hoard. Thrown from the heights of the cloud cities, only her special magic saved her & thrust her into a different world at sea level, known as the Deep. But when the dragons realize she is alive after all, multiple plots & secrets turn this adventure-heist into a fun & action-filled listen! It hooked me in so deeply, it made me miss my exit!

A new 3rd grader moves to Sweet Valley who takes an immediate dislike to Elizabeth after she politely asks her to move out of their regular bus seat. She goes on to purposely squash Liz‘s fingers, steals her book bag, breaks her new necklace, pulls her hair & relentlessly teases her. Nothing works to stop Patsy— not Jessica, Steven or Liz standing up for herself. There‘s another science fair & only Liz saving Patsy Payne from a spider that works!

Family drama center with this one! Morgan and Benji are getting married after secretly dating for years. Their families are reunited for the event in Maine, and for the first time start truly dealing with Benji‘s older sister‘s suicide a decade earlier. From multiple perspectives, this character-driven novel reels you in from the start! Definitely would make for a good book club pick, as there is plenty to discuss!

The circus comes to Sweet Valley, prompting Alice to spoil a bit of the magna edition WAKEFIELDS OF SWEET VALLEY by telling them about Jessamyn who ditched the family farm for the circus. Inspired, Jessica demands to be called Jessamyn and suddenly wants to ride a show pony! Elizabeth feels boring and easily left behind, but goes after her when she leaves home. And Jessica gets to try out tricks on Tony the Pony!

With a twisting plot, Rosenfelt‘s latest installment (the 29th!) in the #AndyCarpenterSeries makes for another fast & fun read! The dog lover wrongfully accused this time comes from Marcus‘ request for a favor. One of his mentees allegedly committed a workplace mass shooting! It‘s not long before the usual cast tracks down leads to uncover a lethal conspiracy! With its consistent humor & tension, this is a fun read with your best furry friend!

The second grade class heads to the Los Angeles History Museum for an exhibit on the recently excavated tomb of King Ramses III. Liz teams up with Andy Franklin for their report on mummies and superstition. Learning about King Tut‘s curse has them all on edge, when the power goes out, Liz realizes Andy is missing! With her twin, she heads back into the museum encountering loose cobras, a woolly mammoth brought back to life, a thief & a mummy!

Colleen Moore‘s Fairy Castle has been my favorite exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry for my whole life, so I was thrilled to hear about this novel inspired by the castle and Moore‘s life as a silent film star. Though well-performed on audio, this fell short of my admittedly high expectations. The blending of fact and fiction felt almost arbitrary & became more of a distraction. The characters felt more wooden than the fairy furniture!

Ellen Riteman‘s cousin, Jessica Farrell, comes to school with Ellen for the week. Ellen makes it clear that she‘s NOT looking forward to it because her cousin may be nice to your face, but she‘s mean behind your back and lies all the time! At first, Jessica thinks Ellen is wrong but it doesn‘t take long for Jessica F. to show her true colors! Plus I love that a twin switch saves the day, forcing Jessica F. to apologize and mend her mean ways!

My first experience with this author, I enjoyed this one about a very delayed sort of coming of age. At 52, Jack is considering selling the restaurant his grandmother started years before on the Delaware seashore. It was never his passion and lately he‘s wallowed in how alone he is. Exploring his past relationships while developing the found family he truly has makes this an engaging & emotional read— despite Jack‘s frustrating behavior at times!

This isn‘t the first party Lila has hosted in the #SweetValleyKids series, but is her first birthday party! It‘s a fancy dress party, complete with ponies, clowns & a magician! Eva‘s dad had to temporarily close his restaurant, making Eva worry that she can‘t afford a fancy enough gift for Lila. Liz helps her & she makes a homemade seashell necklace that ends up being Lila‘s favorite gift because of how much thought & how beautiful it turned out!

Opening in 1975, a teenage camper is missing. This kicks off not only the present investigation but also the 1961 story of another disappearance in the same family. Told across multiple perspectives, this makes for a riveting read! I can certainly see why this was a #BookOfTheMonth selection since it‘s sure to start interesting discussions! Moore‘s characters all come to life and even camp legends are deftly solved in this satisfying summer read!

Despite Elizabeth and Eva being on the soccer team since the 15th book, a new rival team starts giving the Sweet Valley one a hard time for having girls on it. Todd knows one of the boys from soccer camp and when he starts getting teased about Elizabeth being his girlfriend, he starts being so mean that Liz and Eva quit! It‘s only when all the boys beg them back, do they rejoin and put the Seaside Slammers in their place!

Whew… I read this in one very tense sitting! Despite it being broad daylight, and delightfully warm in the yard where I read the majority of this spooky book, I had genuine goosebumps and even my ankles tingle just thinking about Other Mommy. Told from young Bela‘s perspective, Other Mommy started off nice, but lately she‘s different… and when Mommy and Daddo see her, everything changes. Fast-paced & actually scary, this is my favorite of his yet!

It‘s hard to believe there are firsts left this deep in the series, but this is the first #SweetValleyEaster! The second grade class is having an egg hunt with the prize being an actual bunny! Both twins want to win, but Elizabeth‘s high score on her social studies test means she gets to hide the eggs. When she writes down her list of ideas, Jessica can‘t help but cheat to win! Jessica‘s ultimate confession leads to the class getting another pet!

I always look forward to Ware‘s latest; while this isn‘t my favorite, I still had fun reading it! The first third or so drags quite a bit with the setup & cast intros. Lyla begrudgingly agrees to accompany her wannabe actor boyfriend to a remote Indonesian island to film a couples-based reality show. She & Nico make a plan of their own, but one storm changes everything and making this far from a staged competition for survival. The pace picks up!

Jessica narrates this one where she bets Winston Egbert that she beat him at juggling— though she doesn‘t know how! Luckily, their new 8th grade babysitter, Molly, dates a high schooler named Jack who does know how to juggle. When they break up, Jessica enlists her sister to help get them back together with love notes, so Jessica can win her bet. This one makes for a cute read and the showdown between Jessica and Winston is hilarious!

By coincidence, I started listening to this #nonfiction book revolving around the conflict and violence in Northern Ireland while reading Flynn Berry‘s novel about two sisters and a more modern story involving the IRA. This one is loosely organized around the 1972 abduction and disappearance of Jean McConville, a mother of ten. It details many of the incidents of that time period almost to the present. Fascinating, sad and well-researched!

Well, the whole series shifts with this book from third-person to first! Though I hadn‘t previously read all of the other #SVK books, from here on they‘re all new to me! It‘s a bit jarring (all the more so because this one has Jessica convincing Elizabeth to act stuck-up on account of their new Sweet Valley Cable TV show!). It‘s a weird book from Liz‘s point of view & one that is full of bickering and fights, though obviously it all ends well.

I absolutely loved this start to a new Nordic inspired fantasy series! Freya‘s story hooked me from the very start and the flirting and banter between her and Bjorn was delightful! I may have figured out the major plot twists pretty early on, but it didn‘t detract from my reading experience at all! It‘s nice to be right! And I cannot wait for the sequel! A great #BookofTheMonthClub choice for sure!

This fifth #SweetValleyChristmas marks the transition from Super Snoopers to the first #SweetValleyKidsSuperEdition! The Wakefields head to LA for some browsing on Christmas Eve at the grand opening of a new 8 floor department store. While the twins plan to buy their mom a gift, a thief has other plans for their pooled money. In a Home Alone-esque plot, the twins are abandoned at the store but catch the thief—& even bring cheer to the manager!