Di Brandt's Speaking of Power (2006) I came across Di Brandt's work shortly after university when I was finally able to read what I wanted to read from the library shelves, my trusty alumnus card in hand, borrowing from the HQs and PRs like nobody's business. This was in the
Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes (1936) Bonnie and Paul Zindel's A Star for the Latecomer (1980) I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up. My best friend and I practiced the five positions (complete with leaping and twirling in and out of them) on the couch in her family
Robert C. O'Brien's Z for Zachariah (1975) When my copy of Z for Zachariah came through on library loan, I was a bit disappointed: it was a relatively new paperback and the cover wasn't anywhere near as disturbing as I remember the cover of the edition that I read as
Elizabeth Smart’s Autobiographies (1987) I vividly recall my first attempt at By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept; I read about one page and set it aside because I’d been looking for a quick read. Despite its slim form, Elizabeth Smart’s work is the sort that, for me,
I really hadn’t planned to re-read more than one of Lois Duncan’s novels for the Shelf Discovery Reading Challenge but I enjoyed Down a Dark Hall so much that I re-considered. I was really expecting it to feel more dated (and maybe it would have if I wasn’t approaching it
