Kids today have Harry Potter and Twilight. I had The Babysitter’s Club. We are not the same. There was something different about the erratic series marketed to tweens in the 80s and 90s. For better or worse, these books were where you learned about friendship, responsibility, and sex (or tried to) and Gabrielle Moss is ready to take you cover-by-cover through this bygone era of fiction. They truly don’t make ’em like they used to.
I loved getting a deeper understanding of this genre’s evolution. You can see how these books paved the way for the tween reads of today, which, thankfully, left the more problematic content (and lack of diversity) in the 80s and 90s where it belongs. Many of the books Moss analyzes, like Sweet Valley High and The Face on the Milk Carton, graced my own bookshelves and propelled my love of reading. I only wish the book leaned a bit harder into the absurdity of some of these novels. Of course, they’re oh-so-serious when you’re 12, but looking back some of the plots are wild and let’s have a real laugh – not just a small chuckle – about it. I can tell Moss is snarky and I’d love for her to truly unleash that. Or maybe [more likely] I was just looking for the author to insert herself into the book more vs. providing a timeline of teen fiction. The prologue where she explained why she ventured down this nostalgic path was gold – more of that!
3.25 out of 5 stars.
Pair with: Sprite
Peaches to Apples 