The Diary of Janie Ray, Books 1-5: Box Set!

By: Lila Segal

Narrated by: Melissa Gorr

Do you believe in time travel? Yeah, I don't blame you - neither did I...

Hi! My name is Janie Ray, and I'm 11 years old. When I first got this diary from my mom, I didn't think I'd have all that much to write about. I mean, let's face it - fifth grade isn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world.

But then, really strange things started happening. Like last week, my best friend Sheila and I were hanging out in our clubhouse, drinking lemonade and trying to figure out what to do about Marcia the Snob, when we suddenly noticed a weird inscription on this old medallion I found when I was little. The crazy part is, it was written in a secret code Sheila and I made up for our clubhouse just this year! At first, we figured someone was playing some kind of a trick on us. But then, before we realized what was happening, we ended up in the forest with an exceedingly odd girl who kept insisting the year was 1739.

Let's just say my life isn't quite so boring anymore. And that's an understatement.

A fast-paced, exciting adventure perfect for ages eight to 12!

Series description:

Eleven-year-old Janie Ray can't believe it's only been a few weeks since she first discovered the mysterious inscription on her old medallion. But things have already started changing. For the better.

For one thing, Janie isn't so sure her mother doesn't get her anymore. I mean, once you've seen your mom get grounded, you've got to assume she understands something about being a kid. And even RJ, Janie's little brother, isn't getting on her nerves as much as he used to. Let's just say time travel makes it, er, easier not to sweat the small stuff.

But some things will never change. Like MTS, a.k.a. Marcia the Snob, who goes out of her way to make Janie's life miserable. And school, which is still...you know - school.

Join Janie and her BFF Sheila as they explore the hidden mysteries of the medallion, while trying to survive the mad jungle that is fifth grade.

©2011, 2015 Lila Segal (P)2015 Lila Segal

Great series for middle grade girls

This was really fun set of books for middle-graders. I listened to the Audible audio version with my almost-7-year-old and almost-8-year-old, and even though they're not quite at the middle grade level yet, even they enjoyed the books. I enjoyed them, too, and it brought back to memory what it was like being a 12-year-old girl - all the drama and excitement, etc. I liked all 5 books in the series, but I think the last one, "Baking With Frenemies" was my least favorite, but it was still good. The premise just seemed a little mean-spirited. If you want a series that your middle-grader can enjoy (especially girls), I recommend giving this series a try.

Really great time travel book for kids

Diary of Janie Ray is a series of chapters about Janie and a few BFFs who are able to travel back in time and see what it's like to be in their parent's and other adult figures in their lives. It's hard to write a book that resonates with teens--they are pretty sophisticated these days, and a book is hard to compete with Instagram. However, Ms. Segal does a good job of keeping the story interesting with the fun time travel twist. The narrator is okay--a little squeaky. Overall, it's a fun series that my 12 year old daughter enjoyed as much as I did.

So exciting!

Any additional comments?

The book is so exciting you feel like you can't even hear the next part because it's so so exciting. You get goose pimples because it's so exciting what's going to happen next. The person narrating the story can make different voices of different people in a good way. Lila has a really good imagination and a really good way of telling a story. All 8 and even 7 year olds and up should read it! (Written by 8-year old boy)

Great middle grade book!

I like the whole idea of the bearers and medallion storyline. I think my two granddaughters would love this series and would wish they could travel through time! I can imagine me thinking that at 9-10-11 years old. Now it's time to start reading the next one in the series.

Pure Fun!

Fun listen! Janie's diary was so typical that anyone who has ever been a young female can feel it! The time travel adds a fun dimension and there are even some history lessons thrown in. I found this to be an imaginative fun series that I would happily gift to any tween-age girl! I did receive a complimentary copy of this set in exchange for an honest review but I immediately had to rush to purchase Books 6 & 7 because I just had to know what happened next (or with time travel maybe I should say "what happened before...")