5 Books You Haven't Read Yet

I don’t know if you’re like me, but if you are you love a good, clean, beautiful book and a hot drink more than once a week. It is very easy to run out of good books to read, and sometimes a reread just won’t cut it, so here are my top 5 books for teenage girls that you probably haven’t read yet. 

1. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
   

I just discovered the world of Betsy and Tacy and found myself wondering why I didn’t find them sooner. If you live in the midwest these books may be more common for you, but as a New Englander, I had never heard of them until I began reading the Mother-Daughter Book Club series.
The Betsy-Tacy books start out with Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly as five-year-olds. The first four books cover their adventures as young girls - don’t skip these. For one they are really cute and stress-free reads, but they are important to understand the high school books. These books also boast adorable pictures illustrated by Lois Lensky.
The high school books though are where it’s at. Many fans of the Betsy-Tacy series talk about how Betsy, though being from the early 1900s, is so modern. She cares about how she looks, is boy-crazy, but also has a deep sense of family and strong faith in God.
The high school books are fun and full of life. They give a compelling view of early public high school. All in all, these are great reads! It’s no wonder they boast a huge fan club!

1. Pat of Silverbush by L. M. Montgomery
   

You may have read the Anne books or the Emily books by this same author. But I’ll bet you haven’t read the Pat books!
Pat’s story begins at a very young age, her world circles around her family, their housekeeper - the Irish storyteller Judy, and her home - Silverbush. Pat hates change of every kind and the two books cover her as she learns how to deal with the births of new siblings, going to school, and having older siblings get married. 
Her older brother Sid has always been her best friend, the only one who understands her, but then she meets a boy named Hilary - who is called Jingle - and she finds an even better friend. Someone who wants to run through the fields with her and almost believes Judy’s stories about fairies and witches. 
I loved these books and really related to the character of Pat. It was refreshing to see a heroine who didn’t like change, and who wasn’t always hiking up her skirts to be the change, Pat is just a girl who is happy to be at home!

1. Dust and Shadow by Kara Swanson
   

I am not a huge fan of contemporary fiction, but Kara’s world of real and magic, hope and light overcoming darkness has found a special place in my library.
The books follow two characters, Claire Kenton, a 19-year-old girl who has been at the mercy of the foster care system her whole life and has unexplainable dust exuding from her skin. Her twin brother Conner disappeared at the age of fourteen and according to a note left in a copy of Peter Pan, he went to London with Peter himself. Claire gets thrown into a wild journey of trying to uncover what happened to her brother and finds herself at the mercy of angry pirates, lost boys, and a boy and a tribal princess who claim to be the only ones who still care about the integrity of Neverland.
The story also follows Peter, the very Peter who had speckled Connor’s fantasies, the very Peter whose guts Claire hates. Peter is growing older, and he does not like it. His own lost boys hate him and he knows there is only one person who can save Neverland from what is killing it, and that person is Claire, Claire with her unexplainable dust that can kill people - pixie dust.
These books, while not explicitly Christian explore what it means to let light win out over darkness, and being who the creator made you to be.
As a warning these books can be darker, Claire had moments of insanity in the past that lead her to almost kill herself, and a few of the characters struggle with self-harm. But the whole theme of the story it hopeful, and Kara, as a Christian writer herself, demonstrates how we can be made new from our pasts through her writing.

1. An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
   

I think it would  impossible for me to make a book list without including at least one
Alcott book and I don’t think it’s surprising that this is the one my blog is named after!
    This book is about Polly Milton, a “country girl” who goes to spend winter with her cousins in the city. The book is in two parts and covers two different city experiences of Polly’s, one as a younger girl and one as she goes to live independently as a music teacher.
    Polly is exposed to a world completely different than hers. A world where families fight and young girls rebel against their parent's rules. Where girls go off alone with boys, and girls gossip excessively and try to make themselves prettier with makeup.
    Some of the things Polly faces may seem silly from modern eyes, but I think it is all very relatable. All of us 21st-century girls face people (especially other girls) who do and say things we know we should never do. But we have to be willing to risk being called “old fashioned” because we believe in what is right and pure, good and true. Polly gives us a different kind of heroine to look up to, one who does what she knows is right even in the face of people who think what she does is strange. Yet, her simple and pure ways prove attractive to the other girls and many want to model her.
    I was recommended this book by a friend a few years ago, and when I read it I found a girl in it who was so much like me.

1. The Witch Of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

It is quite possible that you have read this gem of a book. But it is considered a classic for a reason. The story follows Kit Tyler as she goes from Barbados to Saybrook, Connecticut. Her grandfather has died leaving her with no choice but to seek out her Puritan aunt. 
When she arrives on American soil she finds that the people there aren’t really like her. Women don’t swim - you can be considered a witch if you do, women also don’t wear bright colors. Children don’t play act, and it is only acceptable to read religious works. 
Kit catches the eye of one of the town's most eligible man, but she finds that the life he has for her in Saybrook isn’t really the life she wants to live.
Kit deals with many prejudices and challenges as she lives with this community of people. 
Eventually, she finds herself in the comfort of the home of an old Quaker woman who lives far from the rest of the town. This woman - Hannah Tupper - is considered to be the witch of Blackbird Pond. She really isn’t evil at all, she is a good old woman who was wrongly treated throughout her life. She teaches Kit many things and both find a friend in each other. 
But soon, Kit gets into further trouble and is accused of being a witch, she has to save herself and Hannah’s reputation in order to live with these people. Or even live at all. A favorite historical novel of mine that challenges legalism and delves into the Puritan beliefs that caused the Salem witch trials.
Kit is, like the other heroines I have mentioned in this article a relatable one.

So friends, here are my 5 books for you! Enjoy, grab a hot drink, and get to reading!
(all photos are from Goodreads with the exception of The Witch of Blackbird Pond which is from Amazon)

Which of these have you read? What were your thoughts on them?
Which would you like to read?
​

Belle Thomas

​Belle is the writer behind An Old Fashioned Girl. She is passionate about Jesus, good books, and living a beautiful life.