The Rocky Road Trip of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang: I love road trip stories so this one gets the top spot as Lydia and Julie get to spend the summer across the American West and East Coast encountering giant dinosaurs, mutant blueberries, and earthquakes. But more dangerous than the rattlesnake (possibly flat tire) they encountered on the road is the family drama as Lydia stays with her estranged Dad and his hyper active sons as well as Julie dealing with her homophobic grandparents. The two learn family is what you make of it and that self-worth can only be determined by you, not your family’s approval. Surprisingly those words of wisdom come from Melody whose trip abroad has turned her back to blonde which may be one of the craziest revelations of all during that summer.

The Popularity Papers: The intro to Julie and Lydia’s world is relatable, hilarious, and creative to the max when these best friends decide to scientifically study and analyze the popular girls of their schools in order to attain popularity of their own. (Un)Fortunately their attempts go ridiuclously haywire from singing about a mockingbird that earns Lydia the ire of the entire musical cast to Julie’s attempts at field hockey, it’s a fun blast that explores the real meaning of popularity and friendship.

Love and Other Fiascos with Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang: With the new year, there’s new loves in the air with some expected and unexpected pairings. Ms. Goldblatt is tying the knot with Coach Eric which is bringing the formerly peppy Melody back to her dour demenour while Lydia picks up the slack in the wedding planning department. Julie and Roland are finally going on their first real date if only Papa Dad wouldn’t be so overprotective. Ignatow does a good job in portraying the difficulties of navigating first relationships with Roland and Julie who like each other but have difficulties being themselves admist all the expectations of what couples should be like and shoud be doing like kissing parties and couple double dates that make them both feel uncomfortable. And remember what I said about unexpected romances? Ignatow also keeps the humor going with Jamie’s wild urging for Lydia to go out with him.

The Awesomely Awful Melodies of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang: While there isn’t as much character development in this book, it sure is a lot of fun as the formerly prissy Jane, and ertswhile nemesis of Lydia invites herself into Lydia and Julie’s new band-The Macarme Owls. And from there, drama and chaos ensues as they try to make decent songs and get their first gig. Seriously their time playing for a kid’s birthday is worth a read alone, it’s hilarious.

The Less Than Hidden Secrets and Final Revelations of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang: While all this was going, Lydia and Julie had been sure their journal of secrets, observations and ideas had been a closely guarded secret between them. Not so much as they find out during their school’s merging with another local high school. A merging that has led to hostile tensions and rivalries which only ups the ante for Julie and Lydia when their journal gets stolen and copied around the school. Now the girls are phariahs, more than last year, and its up to them to clear their name as well as save the last dance. A fine conclusion. But even though the new kids were entertaining. I wished there had been less of them so we could have more closure with the original friends and characters I’ve enjoyed throughout the series. But the character developement and peaceful conclusion is enough that is more of a nitpick of mine.

The Long Distance Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang: This gets the second to last spot because while Lydia and Julie have fun adventures even apart with Lydia in England, this is the start of Lydia’s bossy era. She gets better but its hard to read sometimes as she obliviously acts like the aggressive American who doesn’t get why people call her the aggressive American. Meanwhile, Julie is a bit lost on her own, losing her old friends and falling in with a bad crowd of eight-graders called the Bichons whose popularity is one that she doesn’t want to emulate despite Lydia’s urging. Nonetheless, it’s a good book that demonstrates the girls’ flaws and allows set-up for growth later on.

Words of (Questionable) Wisdom from Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang: This book gets last spot because while it is amusing, it doesn’t reach the heights of hilarity as the above ones do. You see, Lydia and Julie have decided to switch their goal from popularity to goodness, continuing their journey of growth. This is good but painful to see as they continuously fail each attempt at making themselves better people. It’s so painful to see the school shun them thanks to Della Dawn’s machinations and Jane’s hysterics. Though trying to write graffiti in the boy’s bathroom isn’t always the best way to go when trying to repair one’s reputation. Okay, it is funny as the other’s now that I think about it.