Flashback Friday #1: Like Sands Through the Hourglass, These Are the Books of My Youth!

Over at GotYA, we're beginning a weekly blog segment called Flashback Fridays. We'll be talking about everything from books to movies to first loves to favorite vacations as well as relating them to the YA literature scene. We'll be "flashbacking" on our own blogs, but most of all, we want YOUR participation as well. So, mark Fridays as your blog days to gaze into the past and smile! The first ever Flashback Friday is on the books we grew up with. The ones that have stuck with us after all these years for both good and bad reasons. Think of the books that have meant something to you over the years.

So without further adieu, here's my favorite books from back in the day.

Betty Ren Wright and Mary Downing Hahn: OMG! These women had the ability to scare the pants off of me. With Wright’s books like Christina’s Ghost, The Dollhouse Murders, Ghosts Beneath Our Feet and Hahn’s Wait Til’ Helen Comes and The Doll in the Garden, they reigned supreme in the ghost and spine tingling chills genre. Wait Til' Helen Comes is still one of my all time favorite ghost story books from my childhood. I bought another copy when I was in highschool since I loved it so much.

Creepy Back in the Day Cover and now the new creepy cover!

And no collection would be complete with Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. I read my copy so many times that it eventually fell apart. I went years without being with Margaret, and it was tough. So a few months ago, I bought a Judy Blume boxed set. I so experienced everything that Margaret did from first loves to wanting my first period, etc. It's one of the greatest books of my life.

The Babysitters Club Books: I don't know where my childhood would have been without these books. When I say I was fond of them, that's a mild understatement. I had the books, the videos(ooh, did you not know about the series? It was tight!), the board game(what would you do if Jackie Rodwosky caught himself on fire?)--yep, I had it all. I even dressed up as Mary Anne in a "Dress Like a Book Character" Contest. My BFF went as Claudia. I have a huge loft left of books that were mine and then I got some of my cousins when she was selling them at a yard sale. However, there were some Super Specials that I really missed....so, once again, Ebay came to the rescue. I got 10 BSC Superspecials for $10, yes, $10 bucks! SOOOO exciting!

The Sleepover Friends: I plucked my first Sleepover Friends off the bookshelf in Mrs. Lemeska 5^th grade class. You could say it was love at first read! I immediately started devouring the rest of the books in the series—it's a pretty ease feat since they’re light on the wordage. I loved the antics and adventures of Lauren, Kate, Stephanie, and Patty. After so many years, I didn't have but a few random ones left. I’ve been wanting to reread the books for a long time, so I went on Ebay and found a lot of 16 books. I can’t wait to get to return back to Riverhurst!