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 Secret Sisters by Avi

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book review the secret sisters avi

The Secret Sisters by Newberry Medal-Winning Author Avi opens with Ida Bidson on her way to live her biggest dream thus far in her life . . . to go to high school so she can eventually become a teacher.  The Roaring Twenties is in it's hey day, and Ida is learning a lot of new things from using a telephone for the first time to seeing her first moving picture to learning how to speak "flapper".  But, when she corrects the principal in front of her class, she worries that she may not last long at the high school.

A huge thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Secret Sisters by Avi.  Having heard of the author, but having never reading any of his books, I was intrigued by the synopsis of his latest middle grade book and requested to read it.  When I was approved, I was absolutely delighted.

Although I'm not the target audience, I found The Secret Sisters to be fun and engaging . . . and even educational!  I loved the fact that Ida and her friends were learning how to speak "flapper" from one of their more modern friends and learned how to dance the Charleston.  What was fascinating was that these things were frowned upon by some people in the town.  This story was a great reminder that this time in history was vastly different than it is now.  Even though I knew that many people in the twenties and thirties didn't get their high school education, especially those who lived on a farm, it was a great reminder to me, and I'm sure a new lesson to kids nowadays.  This book is a great historical fiction novel for children between the ages of eight and twelve.  I enjoyed reading this story immensely and now want to read its predecessor.

Four out of five stars is what I gave The Secret Sisters by Avi.  The expected publication date is August 29, 2023.  It's sure to be a winner with kids and adults alike.

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