Lizzie SkurnickRessenyes

A collection of essays by women about the various words that are used to belittle them, hold them back, or otherwise make them feel less. Skurnick has collected a diverse range of voices, including several essays from women who live outside the US. For those who are interested both in feminism and language, this is an intriguing read.

More of a solid 3.5 but I’m rounding up.

I knew I had to read this book as soon as I saw the title. Every single word that the authors discuss in this collection of essays has a history of dehumanization and insult when attributed to women, even though some of them don’t feel so on the face. Some of these personal stories were very relatable, some interesting to get to know while others didn’t leave that much of a mark - but ultimately, this is a noteworthy collection of essays, not just to understand the implications behind using these words, but also to see if there are ways we women ourselves are using them to put down other women or if we can reclaim them for ourselves.

Too by Adaora Udoji

The author really drives home the point that woman are shamed and made to question themselves very often because they are “too” much of something, and that it’s a word which is used over and over to make women shut up and stick to their lanes. The author talks about how it affected her personally and how important it is for us to not let go of our voice and keep telling our stories, even if they are too much.

Professional by Afua Hirsch

As a black woman studying to be a barrister, the author talks about how the word “professional” in and of itself is a barrier to her and most women like her, how professional standards are often defined in a way conforming to White men and anyone not automatically falls short of those standards. From being told to tone down the voice, to dress properly to not keeping natural hair, the burden of being a professional is too much on women and the author tells how it took her very long to realize that she didn’t have to conform to those standards which were never made for her anyway.

Effortless by Amy S. Choi

This was a very important essay about women (especially of color) are expected to adhere to white beauty standards but we are also expected to make looking beautiful feel effortless; how we should never talk about all the things we have to do and juggle and buy to get that perfect look and behave as if we just wake up that way. The author’s message that - if we put all the time that we use to make everything look effortless into actually loving ourselves the way we are and just talk openly, we would save so much effort - felt really important and resonated with me a lot.

Princess by Carina Chocano

The author talks about how nothing much has changed in the depiction of princesses in pop culture from her childhood to her kindergartener’s childhood, it’s still a young girl without much agency who is swept away by a prince. My hope is that we are seeing little changes these days and that they will get better in the future.

Ugly by Dagmara Domiñczyk

Ugly is a word that is often used to make a woman feel powerless says the author, and there’s always a lot more meaning hidden behind using that word, but people use it because it’s easy. She asks us to embrace ourselves, both the beautiful and ugly sides of us, and whichever we want to be whenever we want to be.

Shrill by Dahlia Lithwick

This was a brilliant essay and something I felt deeply in my heart - how shrill is a word that is used for women not because there’s something wrong with our tone but because we have dared to speak up in a public space, and how we have been conditioned to lower our voice and soothe the men around us so that they can finally listen to the actual crux of the matter. And the author justifiably asserts that in recent times when we are having more discussions about female anger, she doesn’t care who calls her shrill anymore and she will express her unfiltered opinions. Maybe we should too.

Lucky by Glynnis Macnicol

The author talks about how the word “lucky” is used almost as a sly remark while referring to her because she is a forty year old single women - the meaning behind its usage that she has escaped all the responsibilities women are supposed to have like marriage and motherhood and is leading a charmed life, but she is never congratulated for her accomplishments like a man would be. Everything about her is attributed to “luck” and not all the hard work she had put in over the years. But she also understands that she is lucky indeed to be born in a generation when women can lead independent lives and have control of their destiny.

Mom by Irina Reyn

I think the author was talking a bit about imposter syndrome and not feeling worthy of the word, but I unfortunately didn’t understand the message in this essay.

Mature by Jillian Medoff

The author talks about the dichotomy of the word mature - how when she was young it meant her body was too noticeable and men couldn’t stop staring or commenting on her big breasts; but now as a fifty five year old professional, mature means she is too old and slow and sliding into obsolescence and may not be considered worthy of her job despite her decades of experience. Mature is a word that might have a gender neutral positive meaning but it never does when applied to a woman of any age.

Ambitious by Julianna Baggott

Ambition in a woman in definitely scorned and the author talks about how she was derided directly or just as an aside about how she could possibly be balancing her writing while being a mother of four, their point being that her ambition to publish and her later success made her a bad mother. And while she doesn’t necessarily believe in reclaiming the word, she thinks ambition just means figuring out what we want to do and desiring to do it well.

Victim by Kate Harding

I understand the author’s wish to be called a victim and not a survivor because that’s her choice, but at times I slightly felt she was dismissing the others’ choice to call themselves survivors. Or maybe I misunderstood it. I just didn’t completely get what the author was trying to say except that we should be able to choose individually what we want to be.

Disciplined by Laura Lippman

The author’s story about how she was repeatedly called disciplined and organized for being able to write one mystery novel per year while working and winning awards, but never a genius or natural because that word is usually reserved for men. She is absolutely right when she says that neurotic and eccentric men are hailed as geniuses while women who work jobs, fulfill their passions and also run a home and take care of children are never called the same for being able to do it all, maybe even derided for being so passionate about their dreams. So she has decided to not wait for anyone and claim whatever word she wants for herself.

Yellow-Bone by Lihle Z. Mtshali

The author’s take on how colorism and the self-hatred of being too dark persists until today despite decades after abolition of apartheid in South Africa, really resonated with me. It’s so painful to know that while black people won political power, the influence of white people on economics and culture still remains and their standards of beauty are still considered the norm.

Zaftig by Lizzie Skurnick

While talking about how much hardships they overcame on both her Black and Jewish sides of the family, the author wonders if she is squandering their legacy by spending too much time worrying about her weight, and if she should instead reclaim the words that were used as slurs against her. Interesting food for thought.

Crazy by Mary Pols

The author’s personal experience itself wasn’t relatable but when she talks about the word “crazy” is used to talk about any woman who doesn’t fit the boxes the men have made for her, when she tries to be more, or when the men are trying to gaslight women to cover up their own mistakes - it was too hard not to resonate because we have all heard it. The word has been so extensively used that even we women shame ourselves for being called crazy and the author implores us not to fall into that kind of self-hatred and just be what we want to be.

Small by Beth Bich Minh Nguyen

Small is not a word I would have associated with myself because I was always the tall one, and even the big one. But the whole idea of small being used in the context of making ourself take up less space, diminish ourselves and not voice our thoughts loudly is something I feel deeply about and I don’t know when I’ll get into the process of unlearning it all, I’m so glad that the author is much more comfortable in her body and confident in herself that the word small doesn’t bother her anymore.

Funny by Meg Wolitzer

I’ve never been a funny or humorous person, but I still felt it when the author says how her over my expression of humor and being funny and acting it out became a bit distasteful to other men as she grew up because in our gendered society, it is they who are allowed to express themselves fully but women never have the same freedom.

Sweet by Monique Truong

Tracing the origins of how sugar became such a prominent food group with its link to slavery and colonization, and using the example of Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford, the author talks about how we just love to diminish the worth of a woman and all her qualities and accomplishments to the single word “sweet” as if that single word can encompass the complete personality of a woman.

Nurturing by Racquel D’Apice

The author talks a lot about how giving birth to a baby doesn’t make anyone a natural at nurturing, but loving and and trying to take care of the baby gradually does. And that is why she says it is very condescending when men use the word nurture in terms of saying women are good at it because they are more emotion rather than practical or logical. I thought the author did a great job trying to dissect this myth about nurturing and talking about it as a realistic process that anyone can and should develop.

Pretty by Stephanie Burt

The author tells us that pretty is often used as an infantilizing word, meaning not really beautiful, not upto the mark, not perfect. But it all stems from the patriarchal beliefs that feminine presentation is somehow weak. And that’s why as a trans woman who transitioned late in her life, the author talks about embracing the word pretty and everything that comes with it - being feminine, the pink, the tulle, the makeup and et al - because there is power in them too.

Intimidating by Tanzila Ahmed

As a desi myself, I related so much to the author’s experiences - how we are taught to be educated and independent, but don’t act too smart or intelligent with guys because they don’t like feeling intimidated by their partners; how we should stay silent and listen and take care of them and let them take care of us even though we are perfectly capable ourselves. I know I’ve done it myself and it’s frustrating but I actually liked knowing that the author has managed to not have to sacrifice her sense of self for the sake of a relationship but also a bit sad that that she is still single probably because the guys can’t handle a well educated smart woman.

Good by Tova Mirvis

Growing up in an orthodox Jewish community with her name literally meaning “good”, the author talks about how her whole upbringing was divided into being good and bad, with good being obedient and quiet and religious and everything else being bad. Her struggle between good and bad, trying to suppress herself to ensure that she was being good was tough to read but I loved that she managed to break out of it and her lesson that we should just live our truth instead of asking ourselves if it’s good or bad, is very important.

Tomboy by Winter Miller

The author’s journey of being called a tomboy but unable to accept it and then trying to find the right word to identify herself from lesbian to gay to queer to dyke to androgynous, it’s a fascinating read and I liked how confident and comfortable the author seemed in being exactly herself.

Aloof by Elizabeth Spiers

This was another very relatable topic where the author talks about how a woman is always expected to be a validator a man, especially so if she is a woman with some sort of power, in which case she has to make all other men around her feel comfortable. But when a woman has both some form of power of agency but is so shy, reserved and silent, sinister designs are attributed to her and called as aloof whereas a man in the exact same situation would be called “the strong, silent type”. The author talks about this hypocrisy with many examples and I realized how true it is, but there’s also nothing we can really do to change it.

Exotic by Emily Sanders Hopkins

I’m actually not sure what to say about the author’s essay except that it made me a bit uncomfortable and I’m not sure what to take away from it.

Fat by Jennifer Weiner

As someone who’s heard talk about my fat body, the need to not be lazy and diet and exercise and many other snide comments for lots of years now, this essay hit me hard. And I think I just don’t wanna say anymore except read this one. It’s important. And don’t fat shame.

Feisty by Katha Pollitt

I used to attribute the word feisty to some of my favorite fictional characters in my reviews until I realized the negative connotations of the word, how it’s just another word for angry woman disguised as a compliment; and the author explains it very well through her own experiences.

Words You Shouldn’t Call Women

There is a whole list of words and animal names detailed in this section which are still used to describe women, some of which are positive compliments when applied to men but definitely not in case of women. Knowing some of their origins makes it sound hilarious but their usage in our daily life is definitely not.

This was a different book than I thought it was. Not that this was a bad thing exactly, but it threw me a bit.

The different essays in the book are all interesting and go through the different young adult books in some depth. Overall, I really did like it, but it wasn't that memorable.

The author and other notable guest writers revisit and analyze YA classics through their youthful memories and now-adult perspectives. I only read the essays about the books I remember reading and it is amusing to realize how much went completely over my head as a youth. Some of the essays didn't seem to have much of a point (what was she trying to say about "Then Again, Maybe I Won't"???) but in general YA lit lovers will be entertained by this YA review and its chatty tone.

"Book reports" on titles, mostly from the 1960s-1980s, that played a seminal role for reader girls. Chapters divide the books into mysteries, paranormal, romances, etc. Witty writing and great insights into the books, even those that weren't really all that well done, but books the author argues were influential nonetheless. This book would probably be most enjoyable for those women who actually grew up reading the books described. There are classics in here, however, that are still being read today and anyone who loves good book discussions will like the thoughtful, funny and relevant examination the author lends to each title.

A very fun book to read. It brought back great memories of many books I read as a child and a teen. There are many I many have to go back and read and many I will check out for the first time. Lizzie talks about these books with humor and insight. It is interesting to decide which book turned us into readers. I would have to say mine would be Dorrie and the Blue Witch. Skurnick divides the books into several categories such as heroines, girls gone wild, and she comes by it supernaturally. She talks about the themes and how they affected us as teen girls and also how they still stand today. A fun book for those of us who were passionate readers as children.½

My friend Miriam's sister wrote this book! It was lots of fun! I love revisiting books I read when I was younger! My faves in this book are: Jacob Have I Loved, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Summer of My German Soldier. Give it a read! :)

The other day Stacey lent me this (subtitled The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, A Reading Memoir) because we have a bad habit of sharing library books. I had read Jezebel's Fine Lines column and come across this title somewhere, and when Stacey put it into my very hands I could not resist what was otherwise a low priority.

It was a delightfully fun read; Lizzie Skurnick clearly loves golden age YA fiction. But does she love the books enough? There were some ridiculous errors. In addition to reproducing a phrase in the first paragraph of Jacob Have I Loved as "first site of the island" (151), she makes the even less, the much less, forgivable error of saying that, when Louise and her mother have their most important conversation while washing the windows and her mother says that one word that always reduces me to blubs, her mother reaches up and "ever so lightly smoothes" her own hair, not Louise's (156). (The one word is "More," but if you needed to be told that I don't know what you're doing here.)

Other spelling or near-homophone errors: Sally J. Freedman gives her father kisses "on the news" (160). That's kind of funny. Telekenetic (twice) before telekinetic (once) (272-276).

Additional crazy-ass errors make it seem like maybe Skurnick and her copyeditors haven't read and obsessively reread all the books but only skimmed them. Skurnick quotes the first lines of Daughters of Eve, but sets it in California even though Duncan says "Michigan" not much farther on (117). She marries off Miss Edmunds in Bridge to Terabithia (using the title "Mrs." on p. 177). It's Laurie Stratton, not Lia, who has to adjust to a different family and boyfriend in Stranger with My Face (253). And the same damn problem as in John Sutherland with seeming unfluent speakers of English doing the fact-checking: Richard Peck's title is The Ghost Belonged to Me not The Ghost Was Mine (256). In his Ghosts I Have Been, Minerva didn't kill herself "nearly 100 years ago" but when Miss Dabney was a little girl (260, but she's not too old to travel to England and fall in love on the boat). She puts Jack alongside the Shores of Silver Lake (405) instead of (sob!) allowing him to make his exit in the only second chapter, before the Ingalls arrived in the Lake's Dakota Territory, and says there were three children despite Grace having been thoroughly born by then. She calls Earth's Children a quartet even though the fifth part (of a planned sextet) was published seven years before this book saw print (also 405, and yes, Ingalls and Auel appear in the same chapter). And Skurnick says Ayla is four when she's orphaned, despite that Creb and Iza continually estimate her age to be five, and further despite her own recalling the scene where Creb taught Ayla numbers by using her age. Also she lists the Clan's weapon as a slingshot, not a sling (407).

Other reviews detail the typos, homophones, and flat out errors sprinkled liberally throughout this book. I won't dwell on them here other than to say that they really detracted from the reading experience. I never know if the author or the editor should be held accountable, but either way it's inexcusable- especially in a book about books the author ostensibly loves and reveres.

I read the majority of these books as a kid (with the exception of the scary ones, and the dreck like V.C. Andrews) and remember them fondly. It was interesting to read another perspective on them, even when I didn't agree. I never found Frank Gilbreth abusive, for instance, rather a man of difficult genius.

The book suffered, in my opinion, from what I think of as "Cosmo syndrome" wherein MANY words are CAPITALIZED or italicized for emphasis and Other. Annoying. Punctuation. Devices are used. Gah! OMG ZACHARY GRAY!

Interesting as a trip down memory lane, for sure.

I'm about halfway through this (it's a hard book to read cover-to-cover, straight through) and frankly I'm a little disappointed in it. I don't know what I was looking for, exactly--insightful essays about the cultural significance of each title, maybe?--but this isn't it. Mostly each entry reads as a lengthy plot synopsis, though written with snark and affection in roughly equal measures. When they entries are on books you also know and love, you don't really notice the detailed plot so much (it's almost like talking to a friend about books you both loved), but the straight synopsis becomes really obvious when you hit a string of books you've never read.

It may pick up. It's fun enough, but it's not going to stick with me. It's nice to know that other people loved these books, too (even the dumb ones) (uh, the dumb books, that is, not that dumb people loved these, though maybe they did), but there's not a whole lot here.

**Now that I'm finished: I think what's not really doing it for me is that this book is subtitled "A reading memoir," and yet doesn't have all that much content I'd consider memoir-ish. So it's not really what I was expecting--the personal content to it is mostly "man, I loved this book" without a whole lot of information beyond that.

Overall: it's okay, and worth a skim from pretty much any readers who are around my age (there are definitely some titles here you'll recognize, and agree with any snarking comments Skurnick makes), but it's not something I'd catapult to the top of your to-read list.

A mission goes awry and Sydney is suspected of being a double agent.

It's pretty obvious early on (to the reader) who the real bad guys are, though how and why doesn't come out until later, and then rather oddly in some alternating perspective first-person chapters. It's a stylistic device that isn't entirely effective; it's unclear if the text is supposed to be written, like a journal entry, or spoken, like an extended internal monologue.

As usual, a fun story for fans of the tv show but not a particularly good book.

Skurnick, Lizzie

Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading
2009. 448pp. $14.99 pbk. HarperCollins Publishers. 978-0-0617-5635-1. Grades 9-12.

Despite the subtitle "The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading," this book mainly profiles children's and young adult books written in the 1960s and 1970s and read by the authors when they were younger. The short profiles of young adult and children's novels by Lois Duncan, Judy Blume, and others will appeal to teens or children whose young adult reading interests are wide and varied. Though teen readers invested only in the newest books may express limited interest, adult readers who read young adult books in the same era as the authors may also be intrigued by writers’ depictions of their own reading experiences when they were children and teens. The descriptions of various young adult books may remind readers of books they read when younger, or may compel them to seek out earlier young adult titles they have not yet read. Recommended for bibliophiles who want a nostalgic look back at young adult literature in an earlier era.

This book was a fun early summer read...Skurnick managed to love many of the same books I did...the ones we never studied in adolescent lit. and often have forgotten about but that we loved for a time (and many that were truly weird). It seems there are a few that were too racy for the Waldenbooks at my local mall, but there are many more that I read and reread...and now I look back and think, "They really let us read that stuff?" She got it all in here...from "The Great Brain" to "My Sweet Audrina".

This is a book of essays about old YA lit from the 60's and 70's. It's kind of like a trip down memory lane with a girlfriend who loved much of the same books you did, dissecting their appeal, the underlying messages, and how freaky some of them were (Flowers in the Attic? what the heck?). Fun book. Points off for occasional poor copy editing, and a lack of a slightly deeper more academic & interrelated look at the books, but for humorous nostalgia it's great.

Shelf Discovery is a great book for anyone who grew up reading YA in the 1970s and 80s. Lizzie Skurnick writes the Fine Lines column for Jezebel.com, and this book is a collection of her posts on the YA books that she read as a teen.

One thing to know about this book is that it's not about contemporary YA, although current readers might enjoy this look down memory lane. Skurnick is writing about teen classics by authors like Lois Duncan and Madeleine L'Engle, and about books that never belonged in the teen genre (Jean Auel? V.C. Andrews?) but were nevertheless popular with young readers. Not only did I enjoy reading about favorite books that I had forgotten about, but as a reading teacher, it was helpful to be reminded that controversial topics are hardly new to YA fiction.

While this book probably won't appeal to teens, it's essential reading for anyone who came of age with the Wakefield twins. If you don't know who the Wakefield twins are, then this probably isn't the book for you.

In an increasingly popular sub-genre of memoir, the blog-turned-book, Lizzie Skurnick reminisces about her favorite children's and teen novels, with a smattering of guest essays by authors such as Meg Cabot and Cecily von Ziegesar. Despite the reference to "teen classics" in the heading, many of the books featured fall more in the range of upper elementary reading. Skurnick herself often recalls reading them as an eight- or nine-year-old. Conversely, several adult books are featured because they were read for their risqué content. There is a lot of love for certain authors (Judy Blume, Madeline L'Engle, Lois Duncan) while other seemingly obvious books and authors are completely omitted (where is L.M. Montgomery?). As a chronicle of one person's youthful reading, this is understandable, but perhaps guest essayists should have been chosen to round out the selection, rather than reinforcing the author's own preferences to the point that one book (The Clan of the Cave Bear) is featured twice. Meanwhile, the entire genre of fantasy is completely omitted, though paranormal books get their own chapter. This, despite the fact that the late '70s and early '80s saw the rise of the strong female protagonist in fantasy fiction with works like Alanna: The First Adventure, So You Want to Be a Wizard, and Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast.

These informal essays spend more page space summarizing plot, reveling in bits of delicious description, and comparing the merits of various favorite characters than in performing actual literary criticism, but as a self-described "reading memoir," literary criticism can, and perhaps should, take a back burner to the author's own memories and preferences. However, while a smattering of typographical and factual errors may be acceptable in a blog, they grate on the reader's nerves when transferred to book format apparently without benefit of editing or proofreading.

That's not to say that there's nothing to like or admire in this book. On the contrary, it does admirably at what it sets out to do, which is to evoke fond memories of books read by girls growing up in the '70s and '80s. Readers from other generations may enjoy this book, though those who have not read a majority of the titles listed may find that they lack necessary context. All in all, a mildly enjoyable title with a few glaring issues.½

So I got this book because I love(d) reading YA novels and this book discussed many that I have read and enjoyed. However, I was disappointed in these essays because I felt that they did not offer any depth or insight into these books. I know the author is a blogger and the book read like blog posts without being fleshed out for its book form. If I can get blogs for free, why should I then buy a book?

However, I liked to see that others had read the books I had loved and my friends had ...more So I got this book because I love(d) reading YA novels and this book discussed many that I have read and enjoyed. However, I was disappointed in these essays because I felt that they did not offer any depth or insight into these books. I know the author is a blogger and the book read like blog posts without being fleshed out for its book form. If I can get blogs for free, why should I then buy a book?

However, I liked to see that others had read the books I had loved and my friends had never heard of like The Witch from Blackbird Pond and that I was not the only one who found guilty pleasure in VC Andrews.

This book gives an overview of some of the popular teen books from the 1970's and 80's. I remember and own many of them. A review as well as remembrances of each book are given. Now some of these books were not considered fabulous literature, and some of them may have been books your mother wouldn't let you read but they were books that stuck with you. An interesting compilation.

Before my time.

I really enjoyed reading this; I was familiar with so many of the authors and titles discussed. It's definitely for people who grew up in the seventies/eighties, though. A lot of the titles discussed have lost their currency and definitely aren't as widely read among teens today.

The author did a good critical overview of many genres/authors/titles. She made some really intriguing points about the racial/sexual politics of YA novels from this time period. I found myself wanting to reread some of my favorites from those she discussed, as well as crack open a few that I'd missed back in the day.

One critical thing I will say is that it's written in a somewhat distracting informal style (it's a book based on entries from a blog and it definitely reads like that). There are also numerous copy editing errors; I'm not a picky person and don't usually notice things like that. So you know that if I notice the poor editing that it's pretty bad. Otherwise, this is a really fun, engaging read!

Okay, it’s indulgent—and the “teen” a little misleading, because books routinely read by younger kids are heavily featured—but I’d missed talking and thinking about those books, the ones you wore out, the ones that taught you about sex, love, murder (The Grounding of Group Six! I thought I was the only person who loved that one), how to make maple candy by pouring the syrup on snow, etc. Like a hot cup of cocoa on a cold day.

I love Alias, I cannot help it. I found Alias through the Blockbuster mailing Netflix wanna be program and fell in love. It was during the third season on television and my roommate and I got all of them and would watch it for hours as a marathon until we ran out of discs and then would run to the mailbox to mail them off and wait two days until the next influx of discs would come. It was completely addictive and made me forget about my depression. The only anti-depressive I have ever had to work, other than my husband's smiles, cheesy I know. But I think it is because in every single episode things can change so quickly an emotions go on a fast roller coaster and almost always end well. I think that my emotions follow them and I forget my reality of being depressed for no good reason and I'm whatever the emotion is at the end of the episode. Now that I have found the books it is as if it continuing and I'm very excited and I do love them. If you didn't like the TV show, then you just don't understand. Either you get it or you don't, that's just the way it is.

I love Alias, I cannot help it. I found Alias through the Blockbuster mailing Netflix wanna be program and fell in love. It was during the third season on television and my roommate and I got all of them and would watch it for hours as a marathon until we ran out of discs and then would run to the mailbox to mail them off and wait two days until the next influx of discs would come. It was completely addictive and made me forget about my depression. The only anti-depressive I have ever had to work, other than my husband's smiles, cheesy I know. But I think it is because in every single episode things can change so quickly an emotions go on a fast roller coaster and almost always end well. I think that my emotions follow them and I forget my reality of being depressed for no good reason and I'm whatever the emotion is at the end of the episode. Now that I have found the books it is as if it continuing and I'm very excited and I do love them. If you didn't like the TV show, then you just don't understand. Either you get it or you don't, that's just the way it is.

Talk about a walk down memory lane! Lizzie Skurnick is about my age and she is a long time bookworm. So of course our childhood reading was going to overlap to a large extent. Skurnick has written about the some of the most important books both in terms of forming who she is and in terms of her reading education. These are certainly not the books we read in school as a class. Come to think of it, I can't remember the titles of any of those. But I do vividly remember reading many of the books spotlighted in this collection of essays.

Skurnick's collection is separated into thematic sections: heroines we wanted to be, danger girls, historical fiction, after school special novels, the supernatural, girls on the verge, tear-jerkers, living in the wild, romances, and books we probably shouldn't have been reading. And any girl reader worth her salt who grew up in the 70's and 80's would have dipped into many of the listed books. Now, unlike the implication of the sub-title (The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading), these books are not really teen classics. They're more of the middle grade, tweenie variety, but they are no less fileld with nostalgia for that fact.

In each of her essays, Skurnick provides a general plot summary and often the effect that reading that particular book had on her as a person. The essays are mostly just pure fun and enjoyable for revisiting a book that loomed large in so many young girls' lives. There is some analysis of the themes within the books and what made them so appealing to their target demographic but not enough to really call the essays a critical look at the books. They are more pleasing reminiscences than anything so someone going into the book looking for a more in depth scholarly examination will be disappointed. But reading the book in the charming, skimming the surface spirit in which it was meant provides a happy reading experience. And because the essays are short, this is a book you can dip into slowly over long periods of time without ever missing anything or losing the thread of a narrative.

Reading about some of the books I didn't read as I was growing up, I am inspired to pick some of them up and go through them now. Just see if they still have magic or if they were definitely of a certain time and place. While Skurnick read a lot deeper in certain novelists' canons than I did (she clearly adored Madeleine L'Engle while I loathed A Wrinkle in Time and never read any further), as girls of around the same age with bookish interests, we might very very have been library partners. And I would have happily introduced her to some of the books I read during those formative years that she clearly missed in her reading life.