I've always been a fast reader which meant that even as a kid I made my way through book after book. Looking back at my childhood memories of going to the bookstore, the school library, and the community library are still very vivid. That is why when I came across Paperback Crush, I couldn't wait to read it. This was my heyday of reading. Just the sight of an Apple Paperback gets me giddy. I'm ridiculously in love with the Retro Reads Instagram account. I knew this book was going to be perfect for me.

And it was. When I think back on what I read as a kid, I think of the Sweet Valley books, Baby-Sitters Club, R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. These were all covered in this book and it also brought to mind many other books and authors I had forgotten about including Paula Danziger, Lois Duncan, Eve Bunting, the Nancy Drew Files, Lois Lowry's Anastasia Krupnik series.

The book is divided into 7 sections covering the dominating theme of YA books of the time - Love, Friends, Family, School, Jobs, Danger, and Terror and through these topics covers a multitude of books. This book is the ultimate throwback, the most fun, and the perfect weekend read for every reader who came of age in the 80s and 90s

I spent a significant amount of time as a teen at the library and at various Borders/Waldenbooks.  I may not have read all of these books but I read many of them and the others I recognized the covers.  How many hours I whiled away on the Fear Street books, how I made sure my name was on the top of the waiting list at my local library for Christopher Pike’s or Richie Tankersley Cusick.  I read BSC, the spin-offs, I had shelves of V.C. Andrews.  Of course there was the book where the girl dumps her boring blonde jock boyfriend for the brooding dark haired new boy who was also a werewolf you know that book.  This book is a reminder of my teenage reading habits, so many hours on horror novels.  I did have a Sweet Valley phase as well.  I devoured this book in a day I absolutely could not help myself.  This book brought back many great memories of all the books I have loved before.

This book was a lot of fun to read.  It seemed very well researched and brought back some memories for me.  A lot of the books that were discussed were before my time (70s and 80s), but it was fun to read about the various themes in YA books.  I think I need to go back and revisit some authors/book series!

While I was definitely more of a mid-90s paperback reader, this book brought on a wave of nostalgia for Kristi, Mary Ann, and the Wakefield twins of series past. As a librarian, I found it super interesting to read about the history and evolution of YA books, and the added bonus was reading about characters that I held near and dear to my heart as a developing reader. I loved the format of the book, and the photos brought me back to a time where I was in my childhood library’s basement, looking through the assortment of well-read and well-loved “vintage” (at the time) 80s YA books that I considered to be my version of romance novels! This was a light, fun, interesting read that I want to share with everyone! Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

More like 4.5. I had to immediately request this book as soon as I saw it. I have been impatiently waiting for this book to come out and it did not disappoint. When I was reading this, I truly felt like the author wrote it just for me, someone else understands my love of 80s and 90s YA fic. Gabrielle Moss, you are my spirit animal!

This will make for a perfect Christmas present for women with teen children. Not only will it give the mother a bit of nostalgia and a spring board to talk to their children; it could even inspire more reading on both sides. Many of my students have been coming into school with their mother’s books recently... I can see this book sparking that trend.

Paperback Crush writes about the paperback YA series in the 80s and 90s and trends in the newly developing YA category. This is a fun read that brought back a lot of childhood memories of the books I used to read growing up.  I think this will be a must read for anyone 30 and older.