The Running Bibliophile

Vacation Fever  by Marjorie Sharmat  is a young adult romance novel originally published in 1984, sometimes under the pseudonym Wendy Andrews. The story begins with seventeen-year-old Mia packing for vacation with her parents, fifteen-year-old brother Ted, and eleven-year-old sister Heidi. Although Mia's best friend insists vacations are the perfect place to meet guys, Mia isn't exactly thrilled about spending so much time with her family. Follow Mia on her journey and mishaps. This is a novel that I received as a birthday gift from a friend when I was in middle school. I had never heard of it, but it sounded promising. I remember thinking it was just okay at the time, but since it's been years, I decided to reread it as part of my journey to relive my childhood through books. The story quickly came back to me as I made my way through the book. It was a really fun read, even though it didn't have much depth or character development. One thing I did appreciate was how th...

Caller Unknown  by Gillian McAllister  opens with Simone arriving in Texas from the United Kingdom to meet up with her daughter, Lucy, for one last vacation before Lucy goes off to university. From the moment she arrives, everything seems to go wrong, beginning with her lost luggage. After finally making it to the cabin and reuniting with Lucy, Simone wakes in the early hours of the morning before drifting back to sleep. But, when she wakes again a few hours later, Lucy is gone, having left behind her cell phone, and there's another phone on the bed containing ransom text. Forced to follow a series of terrifying demands without involving the police, Simone must race against time to save her daughter. Will she reach Lucy before it's too late?  First and foremost, I'd like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for approving my request for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Caller Unknown  by Gillian McAllister. I hadn't read anything by this author before, so I was eage...

Alice with a Why  by Anna James  opens with Alyce living with her grandmother Alice after the war. Not really believing the stories her grandmother tells of her time in Wonderland, Alyce receives a waterlogged invitation to a tea party. Now, she's not so sure that those stories of her grandmother were made up. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Flamingo Books for approving my request for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Alice with a Why  by Anna James. I found the synopsis of the book intriguing and always love a good reimagining of an older tale. I received a digital copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion. Not having read Lewis Carroll's original story Alice in Wonderland , my only frame of reference going into this reimagining was the  Disney movie, and it's been quite some time since I've seen that. The concept of this story is amazing and thoughtfully presented. It did take me the briefest moment to keep both Alic...

A Poisonous Pour (Cece Barton Mystery, #3)  by Maddie Day  opens with the city of Colinas, California celebrating Memorial Day weekend with various activities including a car show and picnic. While co-sponsoring a booth at the car show with local mechanic Josie Jarvin, Cece witnesses one of the attendees, Regan Greene, getting into multiple arguments with others. Aside from that, everything goes well. That is until the next morning when the town finds out that Regan is dead, and it looks like she was murdered. With multiple people having motives, Cece utilizes her amateur sleuthing skills to find out who actually committed the dirty deed. I was approved for and received a digital copy of an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of A Poisonous Pour by Maddie Day from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. A huge thank you goes out to both for providing me a copy for free in exchange for my honest opinion. Maddie Day's Cece Barton series has become one of my favorite cozy mystery series, an...

The Escape Game  by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss  opens on the set of a reality television show called "The Escape Room" where one of the season four contestants, Alicia Angelos, is found in a coffin on set ... dead. Fast forward to season five where Sierra Angelos, the murder victim's younger sister and suspected killer, has been brought back to the show and paired up with Beck, Adi, and Carter. Sierra wants to find justice for her sister, but when Sierra and her teammates start uncovering clues about the true killer, they must figure out how to survive the game. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for approving my request and providing me with a digital copy of The Escape Game  for free in exchange for my honest review. I was immediately drawn to the title and cover of the young adult novel. Throw in the plot being about an escape room, and I was completely sold on the story before even reading it. The story is told from the perspective of fou...

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...

Who doesn’t love a good challenge, especially when it pushes you to read outside your comfort zone or discover a new author? I’ve always wanted to join a reading challenge or reading bingo, but so many of them feel repetitive. So, I decided to create something a little different. It doesn’t mean a challenge like this isn’t out there; I just haven’t come across one myself. Introducing The Running Bibliophile’s 2026 Holiday Reading Challenge, a fun and unique way to expand your reading list while celebrating the spirit of the year. This challenge features 14 books of your choice, with one key twist: each book’s plot must revolve around the specific holiday mentioned. The challenge runs for January 1 through January 31, 2026. To keep things exciting, you may not duplicate any books on the list. By the time you've completed the challenge, you will have read 14 new books to diversify your reading list. To kick things off, the first prompt is simple: choose any holiday-themed book as l...