Main Street

I literally read this series 10 years in a row, every summer. It’s just so comforting and wholesome. It starts with the orphaned Northrop sisters, Flora and Ruby who are taken to live with their grandmother, Min (short for in a minute) in Camden Falls, MA. It’s not so tragic as they’ve been there before so they already know their neighbors and have made friends. It’s very much a regular amount of sadness for the loss of their parents. It’s realistic, which is the tone of the series. It peeks into the lives of everyone in town following the seasons and their activities for the 100 years of Camden Falls festival to making secret book clubs. One might find it mundane, but I find it comforting. That it’s so simple that you can curl up and join them in their hardships and joys. Plus in its realism it tackles common topics that can happen to anyone like abuse, adoption, mental illness, grief, caring for a loved one with Alzheimers etc.

Family Tree

This quartet starts in the early 1900s with Abby Nichols of Maine as she goes to school, plays with her friends and even flirts with her close friend, Orin. A boy whom her father hates because he is Irish. Therein lies the appeal for me. Not the family which is interesting and the heart of the story, but how well-researched the story is in each time period 1900s-2010. Showing the changes in how the autistic spectrum is viewed, the changes in race relations, etc. as the book goes through the four generations. Each with a secret that haunts the next generation through their parenting. But it also speaks to the importance of family and maternal bonds.

The Babysitter’s Club

I’ll keep this short as it is so iconic and obvious why everyone loves the BSC. It has the appeal of being on your own, following your entrepreneuring spirit while also touching on those universal themes of friendship, and coming of age. Plus with each distinct girl, you can find someone to relate to.

Here Today

This novel set in the early 1960s, about Eleanour “Ellie” Dingman also follows the thread of maternal bonds. Though this is not as enduring. Ellie’s mom is a flighty, beauty queen who longs for more out of her life, to be a model, to be an actress, not so much a mother. Exemplified by how she insists her kids call her by her name, Doris, so she’ll feel younger. That leaves most of the mothering to Ellie who is also having a hard time at school after she stands up for her friend against the anti-semetic popular girls. Then Doris goes off for her big break in NY, and though she says she’ll be back, Ellie has her doubts. It’a coming of age story that touches the heartstring as Ellie realizes the power of choices, her own and others and to seek the close comfort of her friends in the neighborhood.

The Doll-People

Another book I read a lot when I was a kid. I really enjoyed the illustrations here and the Toy Story-esque idea of dolls coming to life and having adventures of their own.

Honorable Mentions: A Dog’s Life, A Corner of the Universe