23′ and Me: The Books That Made Me
I know that not all of us have been readers since we were tiny humans. Not all of us were lucky enough to have that exposure! I was one of those fortunate enough to start reading very early, as my parents are both big readers. My friend Brooke (who I met on Bookstagram) is also someone who started reading early. To celebrate that, and the books we read as youngsters, she create a rereading challenge for 2023. It is called “23 and Me – The Books That Made Me.” It’s about rereading the books that were super formative for you! The information post from Brooke is below, along with the specific prompts.
I’m going to be doing rereads throughout the year, but I wanted to also write some blog posts to go with the challenge. In this post, I’ll just tell you which book (or series) I’m going to be reading for each prompt. In later posts, I’ll go a bit more in depth to how these books shaped who I am now. Okay so let’s get into the prompts!!
- Childhood favorite = Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
- Middle grade = Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
- Published in the 90s = Page by Tamora Pierce (but I’ll probably read the whole series)
- Chosen one trope = The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale
- MC on the cover = The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- A classic = The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett (and the rest of ASOUE)
- Animal companion = Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (again…I’m reading the whole series lol)
- Became your whole personality = Alanna: The First Adventure (yes, this is an excuse to reread Tamora Pierce again)
- Published in the 00s = Graceling by Kristin Cashore
- Young adult = Sabriel by Garth Nix
- Published in the 10s = Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (but I’ll read the first two books of the series first as well)
- Ensemble cast = Sandry’s Book by TAMORA PIERCE MY QUEEN OBVIOUSLY
You all already know, I’m sure, that Tamora Pierce was the ultimate author for me as a kid. And this list above just proves it haha. I also pretty much only read fantasy when I was younger, no sci-fi! But also back then I think it was harder to find YA and MG sci-fi novels. Thankfully that’s changed now!
Have you read any of the books that I’ve mentioned? Please leave a comment if so, I definitely would like to make more friends who’ve read these books!! Also, if you were choosing your own books for these prompts, what books would you choose?
This is a fun idea and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the books that you reread.
thank you! im excited to share
I love the idea of this challenge but this would be hard for me because I don’t remember a lot of the books I read when I was a child, besides Alanna. There are also many books from back then that I don’t want to revisit for Reasons :/ But so excited to see you reread Tortall as it is soooo good. Maybe I’ll make a high school adaptation of this for myself lmao!
yeah there are definitely those with the Reasons. you should definitely do a high school version!!
Are you sure this isn’t a game of How Many Times Can I Mention Tamora Pierce? 😉 I knew (KNEW) she would be on here, haha. And I thought Artemis Fowl might be too (hmm, the audiobooks were fun… I should go back to my reread via audio…).
I remember friends at school getting into Lemony Snicket, but I never did. I was into that magic school series, Artemis Fowl and Alex Rider. And I also enjoyed Louise Rennison’s books!
Can’t wait to see later blog posts around this prompt – such a fun idea. 😀
listen steph!!! i already called myself out you don’t have to do it too!! hahahaha. Oo maybe i should try artemis fowl on audio then??
omg alex rider, i was definitely into those. i don’t know Rennison though – wait i just looked her up haha. i definitely remember seeing those books but i never read them! maybe they were more popular in england than here in the US
Ooh, maybe? I think it’s a fun way to reread 👀
I loved Alex Rider up until like the spacey one, hahaha. Oh, and I forgot another series I liked – the C.H.E.R.U.B ones. Also spy-ish. And yes, I think Rennison’s books are probably quit British 😂
I think I also fell off the Alex Rider books somewhere around there hahaha
If I did this, mine would be dominated by Tamora Pierce as well. 😂
i mean she’s just the queen
I’ve reread A Series of Unfortunate Events a few times since I was a child and I’ve loved it every time… I should do it again soon. I hope you enjoy it just as much! 😄
i hope i do too! i had been wanting to do a reread to watch the netflix show but never actually got around to it. so maybe now i’ll finally be able to watch the show after i reread it this year hahaha
Oh I hope you love the show too! It was really well done! 😄
How fun! I read Sabriel last year for the first time and would love to finish the trilogy. It was an easier read for me, so I feel like I can work through them pretty quickly. I…think I’ve read the Lightning Thief? Honestly, I can’t remember, but I think I read some Percy Jackson stuff forever ago.
Ahhh yes please do finish the series!! I love all of the Old Kingdom books so much! I love Percy Jackson, it definitely got me into a Greek mythology phase as a kid haha
I knew Tamora would be on here! 🥰 great list! Apart from the books that shall not be named, i liked His Dark Materials, Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nichols series and Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries. Although I probably read all these between 11-13 😂 I definitely read when i was younger than that but can’t remember what! & I reread His Dark Materials during the pandemic and hated it. I think I’d still enjoy the other though.
Ohhh Steph also mentioned Louise Rennison!! I never read her books but I did occasionally see them around. I think they might have been more popular over there in the UK. So interesting that you hate HDM on reread!! I think I read them slightly too old to really fall in love with them, and honestly don’t really have an urge to reread.
Oh my goodness I love this idea!!! (and Tamora Pierce—already doing a little reread there).
Do I join in? Do I add another challenge to my wobbling tbr??
I mean, you know I’m going to say absolutely yes do join in hahahahaha
lol my post goes live on the 9th 🙂
YAAAS CAN’T WAIT
SO MANY HORSE BOOKS
This is so cute! I can’t wait to hear more about what these books mean to you
hehe thank you!
[…] Mackenzie @ Colour Me Read shared her picks for the childhood rereading challenge ’23 and me […]
Maybe I should reread Tamora Pierce with you! It’s been a few years since my last reread. I don’t even know how many times I’ve read/listened to them in total. 😂
YES DO IT WITH MEEEEEE. but also same, its a number that is too ridiculous to count tbh