Mallory's favorite genre is contemporary realistic fiction. She adores reading about girls like her and what they're going through. Mallory is also obsessed with soccer. Therefore, Mallory adores Nancy Rue's Lucy series. There are four books in the series all revolving around Lucy, a feisty middle schooler who not only plays soccer, but also is trying to maneuver her way through family issues, friends and frenemies, school and faith. Nancy Rue has an authentic voice for middle schoolers, truly reaching them where they are. She tackles real problems with honesty and grace. Not only has Mallory gobbled up every word in the series, but she's reading them all over again. 

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid has nothing on Wally McDoogle! Everyone says how hard it is to find books boys like. Most boys enjoy some slapstick, physical humor. Thus the success of the Wimpy Kid series. But long before those books hit the shelves Bill Myers was writing positively hysterical, witty, and clever books with a message of faith about a klutz of a kid with a great heart named Wally McDoogle. Maguire has been devouring these books. I loved Myers' adult novel, Eli, and decided to read this Wally McDoogle to see why Maguire was laughing so hard. I couldn't help cracking up at some of the antics. Yes, there are a few burps thrown in, but there are also real situations like grumpy gym teachers and friends who make bad decisions. There are lessons learned that aren't preachy, but real, that will hopefully equip little boys everywhere to make good choices.

Mallory has been reading the Scenarios series by Nicole O'Dell. Specifically, she's reading All That Glitters. This tween novel is the story of a twin who wants to be an individual. Drea longs for her own identity so fiercely, she begins to make some bad choices in order to gain popularity and attention at school. When she's gotten pretty far along on her downward spiral, she hits a fork in the road. Drea will either need to tell yet another lie, break another set of rules, and put herself in another questionable situation OR come clean with her parents and put an end to the madness. The fun part? The reader gets to choose which path the protagonist will take. These books are great, because they give a tween reader a choice, something they crave to be able to make on their own, but in the safe setting of fiction. The Scenario books also give the reader a view of the consequences of both a good and bad choice without actually having to face those consequences in real life. I read this book too, and it launched great conversations between Mallory and I on making good choices even when they're hard. Some of the content is geared towards teens (drinking, brief mention of drugs, and making out with boys), but as Mallory and I chatted about, it's good to discuss these things before you're actually faced with them, so you are more prepared to say, "No", when the opportunities arise. 

Maddie is reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson for her assigned summer read for freshman English. Speak is disturbing Maddie quite a bit. It is a book about depression. It is a book about date rape. Date rape is something no one wants to talk about. But it is critical that we address this trauma. One out of three women is sexually assaulted by the time she graduates from college. One out of three! It is such an important topic to me that I wrote a novel about date rape last year, It's Complicated. While I was writing It's Complicated, Maddie and I had several chats about date rape. She wondered why I would write about such a horrific topic. I explained how important it is for survivors to find faith and hope to get through this terrible ordeal, to realize they're not alone and that IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. I told Maddie non-victims need to be informed, so they can help victims, so they can be aware, so they can make a difference. Because it frightened Maddie so much, and because this is a topic near and dear to my heart, I read Speak, too. Laurie Halse Anderson does a beautiful job with this novel. Her voice for the victim, high school freshman, Melinda, is so spot on, I felt like I was actually in her head. Anderson nails high school and brings to our attention the silent suffering so many teens experience. I highly recommend this novel. But to who? Maddie said she "hates" it. That's strong, especially from her. She's a great reader and a diligent student. But the content is like a nightmare nagging at her brain. When It's Complicated released I recommended it to 16 year olds on up, due to the content. However several younger teens have shared with me how it helped them with their personal struggles. So, how much do we protect our teens? When is it time to share? When are we ready to read about date rape? Probably never. But when should we? I'd love your input.