Book Review: Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis

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Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis is the first installment in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series, a cozy mystery series centered on private investigators. The story follows Sandra Wallage , the wife of a U.S. senator and the newly elected president of Portland High School’s PTA, who becomes the latest target of a vicious gossip website called Dirty Laundry . After a heated PTA meeting, Sandra crosses paths with Maya Kendrick , a private investigator who has uncovered the identity of the person behind the gossip site. When the two women attempt to confront the culprit, they instead discover a dead body. Was it really a suicide, or did someone have a motive for murder? I’m a longtime fan of books by Lee Hollis , which is actually the pen name for sibling writing duo Rick Copp and Holly Simason . They’ve written several cozy mystery series, and what I appreciate most about their books is that they aren’t overly kitschy, unlike some other cozy mysteries I’ve ...
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Book Review: Second Best (Sweet Valley Twins #16) Created by Francine Pascal

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Middle Grade Book Review of Second Best (Sweet Valley Twins, #16) created by Francine Pascal
In an effort to meet my reading challenge on Goodreads.com, Second Best created by Francine Pascal is one of four books I read in the Sweet Valley Twins book series. It is the sixteenth book in the series. 

Growing up, these books targeted kids eight years old up to twelve years old and in third grade through seventh grade. However, I think they have changed the target ages to younger age groups because children are learning to read much earlier and growing up a lot faster than when I was kid.

Second Best (Sweet Valley Twins #16) deals with seventh grader Dylan McKay feeling like he is second best to his younger brother Tom McKay, who is in the sixth grade. Tom is the popular kid who does well at everything he does . . . making friends, playing sports, and getting good grades. When Dylan learns that he hasn't been invited to Kimberly Haver's party, but his brother has, Dylan decides to run away.

The first thing I have to mention that I never noticed until I reread Second Best is that one of the main characters in this book, Dylan McKay, shares a name with a very popular character in the television show Beverly Hills 90210, which came out only a year or two after this book was published. What makes it even more interesting to me is that the first time I read Second Best was when I was watching the popular television show, and I don't think I ever noticed this.
Something I don't understand is how Tom and Dylan's parents realize how unhappy Dylan is and how he is acting out. One of major ways Dylan acts out is by trying to fist fight his brother and ends up punching Tom in the nose causing it to bleed. The other way he acted out is by running away. I know that these things happened during and right after school, but he had to be acting out at home too. As a kid, I know I didn't give this a second thought.
sweet valley twins # 16 created by francine pascal

Usually, there is only a lesson in each book for kids to learn, but in this case, I feel like there is a lesson for parents too. The lesson for kids is not to judge people before getting to know them. The bigger lesson is for parents to pay attention to their kids acting out, getting to the bottom of the problem, and fixing it.
The kids lesson was resolved, but we don't know if the parents ever did anything on their part to rectify the situation. However, I think that solving the bigger issue would be too deep for the target audience and the reason why the author didn't get into that end of it.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this children's book, even as an adult. I recommend both kids and their parents reading it and discussing it afterwards.



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