This is cool, Maud Hart Lovelace died on March 11. So we will be discussing her book almost exactly 41 years after her death.

Emily of Deep Valley! If you are a digital book person, it’s available for purchase on Kindle, and is probably available through your library (check Hoopla and Overdrive). If you are a physical book person, it might also be available through your library, and is available easily by mail order, and might be at your local bookstore.

I have to confess, I haven’t read it straight through myself, but it sounds very VERY good. Teenager graduates high school and then, while all her friends go off to college, is stuck home taking care of her grandfather. She decides to set her own reading list and educate herself, and starts volunteering in her community. In the end, her “lost year” turns into a year of great personal development. Also, there’s supposed to be cool stuff about immigrant rights as she gets involved in the Syrian refugee community moving in to town! And a little bit of romance, but not much, because it’s mostly personal development.

Also, look at this awesome old-fashioned cover! How can you not want to read it????