Merry Wanderer of the Night + TIME

Memory Monday — Hellooooo Melissa!

Today's Memory Monday guest is Melissa! She was one of the first real blogger connections I made when I started using Twitter, and I just loves her! I'll let her introduce herself, but you should definitely head on over and check out her blog after you read her awesome post!

"I'm Melissa... also known as Mel, or Missy. I'm a 24-year-old blonde currently living and loving life in a tiny town in New Hampshire after having lived in Salt Lake City, Florida and New Jersey. I grew up swimming competitively, and after 4 years of NCAA I fell in love with open water swimming (hence, i swim for oceans). I'm a marketing director by day, but my passion lies in literature — with the reading age of a perpetual teenager. My website, i swim for oceans, is a great please to read about and discuss the endless sea of YA literature."

Memories:

I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember, but you know those books that make you feel like you’re finally actually a reader? Those are the books that stick with me and will always have a special place on my bookshelves because they defined my taste in literature today. I remember wanting desperately to read mysteries when I was younger, but I couldn’t connect with Nancy Drew. Go figure. So, my mum (being the incredible mum that she is) went scouring to find a young reader’s mystery story that was part mystery and part adventure.

What she came up with was a book called, Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, the very first book in the Mandie series by Lois Gladys Leppard. The books are defined as Christian MG fiction, but they don’t feel preachy, and they certainly weren’t boring for a young reader like me. I was hooked. I asked my mum to buy me the rest of the books. What I didn’t realize was that there were many…MANY books in the series. In fact, today there are 40 books in the Mandie series.

Each book was its own little story in and of itself. Mandie was endearing with her constant desire to find a family with whom she can grow after losing her father and lifeline. She’s got her faith, she finds friends, and she has strong morals that are prevalent throughout the series. I call that Christian-lite. Not preachy…just wholesome. Plus, there’s a sweet and innocent love triangle in the series that’s just perfect for a young MG read! I’m still collecting the books today. I loved the mysteries, I loved the characters, and I’m so glad I started the series when I was little.

Another series I got hooked on when I was little was the Redwall series. I’ll admit, I read the first book, Redwall, when I was around 9 just because I wanted to carry a big book around and look smart. (Was I the only kid like this?) Anyhoo…the book is about a world of animals without humans, and the animals are every bit as human as we are. They live in castles, fight wars, grow as families, and become heroes. I was hooked from page one of this world where mice, shrews, moles, badgers and more live in harmony in an amazing place called Redwall Abbey – a place they must always defend. Brian Jacques got me hooked on another long series that’s continuing to this day, and I still read the books! It’s straight fantasy, but it’s realistic in a way that’s hard to describe (especially to a little kid).

Obviously, there are more books that defined my literary taste today, but I wanted to share the books that made me the reader I am now. These two series are ones that I’ll cherish forever, and I hope that my future kids read them, too because they’re amazing!

Thank you so much for joining us today Melissa! I was definitely one of those kids that liked to carry around big books to show off how cool and smart I was! Ha... Sometimes I still do that!: P Melissa is so awesome! If you would also like to be a Memory Monday guest blogger, in my blog for more information and fill out the form! Let me know what you would like to share!

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Memory Monday — Hellooooo Melissa! + TIME