My daughter and I have just finished our ... 11th book in the Alice series by Phyllis Naylor. The series starts with Alic in grade 4 and there is a book for about every 1/2 year of each grade. We just finished one from grade 9. The series is well written which is its true strength, and it also deals with issues of single parents, death, abuse and bullying and lots of other stuff as well from the eyes of a young girl. The section that described another girl coming out to Alice that she had a crush on her was well done. The other series we are reading is called "Our Canadian Girls" - I know there is a similar American Girl series. Each series consists of 4 books about a girl from various historic periods and from various places across the country. The story of a Metis girl and her love of horses was a big hit, as was the series about a girl from Halifax when there was a massive explosion in the harbour wiping out half the town. She had to move to Montreal to live with a grandmother. The Harry Potter series has also been a big hit. I don't know about writing (how many times did Dumbledore's eyes twinkle) but no one can 'plot' a story like J K Rowling, she's a master at that.