Books like Secret Scribbled Notebooks — picked by fans

This is the middle-grade novel that I so wish I had written. Kate DiCamillo is the best kids’ author writing today, and I devour everything she writes. She really gets kids, and Winn Dixie is my favorite dog in books.

The story of ten-year-old Opal and her found dog, Winn Dixie, makes me laugh, want to snuggle my dog, cry and reach out to hug motherless Opal every time I read it (usually once a year). I love the remarkably imperfect people Opal and her dog befriend, and the language is rich and authentic to the story. This is an unforgettable story about making a home for yourself against the odds.

This story’s protagonist is a caring, trustworthy, thoughtful young man. Harry’s life holds its share of loss. His loving dad is raising two boys alone because their mother has died. My heart both bled and soared as I watched Harry, a deep-thinking soul, make sense of the world. His tale holds timeless flavours of the past sprinkled with plenty of honesty.

Free verse delivers so much story in very few words. Each verse is a poem that stands alone and, besides reading from start to finish, I often dip into it in random places to enjoy glimpses into the heart of a wonderful male role model. It’s no wonder that the United States Board on Books for Young People placed it on their Outstanding International Book List.

I picked this up at a jumble sale. It sat on my shelves unread for years, many associates in publishing telling me it was still their favourite book. Supernatural romance isn’t my thing but respect for others is, so I was delighted when finally reading it. Not only about good versus evil, it showcases relationships of all kinds. Without any didacticism, it compares right from wrong, particularly with regard to not crossing lines for personal gratification.

Sorensen, who joins protagonist Laura in her journey, is an admirable and timeless role model for every male. Despite fighting his own demons, he behaves honourably. His interactions with Laura revolve around the dangers of inviting trouble upon yourself. Each of them learns to value the magic within themselves and to accept who they are. No wonder it won the 1984 Carnegie Medal.

Thank goodness those in Nashville’s world are nurturing and full of common sense. He’s like no other child but his story shows that difference doesn’t need fixing. His adoptive family doesn’t always expect him to adapt to the way they do things, sometimes adapting their own behaviour. I love how Nashville and his sister bake cake every night because there are 364 non-birthdays to celebrate each day.

Nashville’s tale embraces the idea that impossible is a ridiculous little word and shows that no matter how different we are, we share the same hopes, fears and a need to stay true to ourselves. One of my favourite lines in the book relates to a life-changing injury Nashville accidentally causes to another being. The vet says this little bird will just have to make do. It’s true for any of us in many situations.

This is a children's book – the story of the three Fossil children, their peculiar upbringing, and the ups and downs of their lives at stage school – but it is a wonderful read at any age. Brilliantly infused with the texture of daily life in 1930s London, it creates a really specific and compelling atmosphere. The food they ate, the cost of clothes, transport, the make-up of their household, even the quality of the air they breathed, is all described, as part of a warm and engrossing tale. Nothing I've read quite transports you to that time in the way that this does. 

V.C. Andrews was my first dive into gothic fiction. Fans often fawn over Flowers in the Attic but something about Andrews' only standalone book (let's not talk about the sequel!) really spoke to 14-year-old me.

I loved the isolating setting of the aging Whitefern estate. I hated every member of the family. Audrina herself is an unreliable narrator who assures the reader just how unreliable she is. And so, of course, when a boy shows her interest, she dives headfirst into her only source of comfort.

Teenage me was smitten with this book, and adult me now sees all the red flags these characters wave. Andrews might not have been the best writer, but her storytelling ability sure cut into my coming-of-age female psyche like no other writer could.

I love everything Juliet Marillier writes. She is so good at using her knowledge of folklore to create magical stories in which the heroine must save the day. This book departs from her usual Celtic setting, taking us instead to Transylvania in the time of the Ottoman Empire and a reimagining of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.

The setting takes five sisters from a crumbling castle at the edge of the Wildwood to the Faerie Kingdom at the heart of that wood. I love how the Wildwood seems to tailor itself to the ages and personalities of the sisters. So, five-year-old Stela spends her time with cute and playful creatures, while elder sister Tatiana falls under the spell of Sorrow, one of the Night People. Protagonist Jena has her own love story with the talking frog Gogu.

I love that this book makes you feel like you are right there getting to know the characters. The author does a great job describing their actions and personalities and makes you fall in love with them. Even though this is a book for kids, as an adult, I wanted to finish reading it after I had read the first page. It is hilarious in a fun, not silly, way.

My first experience reading a book with dual storylines, this novel held me spellbound cover to cover. McMahon has since become an auto-buy author for me, thanks to this fantastical story that puts a magnifying glass on the life of two sisters, a childhood friend, and an unexplained disappearance. The story moves between past and present and revolves around the Tower Motel in Vermont, now a ruined shell that refuses to yield its secrets. Secrets the girls discovered while playing games there as children. 

An unexpected splash of the paranormal and the use of letters from one sister to Mr. Hitchcock (yes, that Hitchcock) add the perfect touch to this disturbing gem.

Austen writes sisters like no one else, and the dynamic between tempestuous Marianne and practical Elinor is the template for so many novels that have followed.

Austen keeps the two sisters from becoming caricatures by making them more alike than different, and the love that anchors their relationship is at the heart of the novel.

I first read this as a freshman in college, and I still think about it every time I’m writing sisters. A classic.