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Cedar River Daydreams — by Judy Baer
Cedar River Daydreams Series in Order: 28 books
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New Girl In Town
Book - 1
Her family had moved, and Alexis Leighton never dreamed it would be so difficult to make new friends. Back in her home town, Lexi had been constantly going out and doing things, but here no one seems to care about her at all.
Finally a date wit...
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Trouble With a Capital "T"
Book - 2
Minda is the leader of the Hi-Fives and very popular and powerful at Cedar River High School. No one's ever stood up to her before, but now Lexi Leighton has refused to compromise and Minda is mad!
When Lexi tries to befriend Minda, it only mak...
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Jennifer's Secret
Book - 3
Lesxi Leighton and her friends all are excited about the beginning of a new school year-all but Jennifer, that is. Jennifer is so uptight she seems like she's about to snap. Lexi decides to investigate. She discovers that Jennifer totally hat...
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Journey to Nowhere
Book - 4
Matt is Cedar River High's rebel wild, scary and mean. He's known around school for his fighting, and his messed-up home life seems to reinforce his actions. Matt is dangerous to himself, some feel he's dangerous to others, and his name has become sy...
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Broken Promises
Book - 5
Lexi Leighton's friend Peggy has become Chad's close friend--very close--to the exclusion of everybody else. Despite the warnings, spending all their free time alone is bad news--for them and their friends. Then comes the day when the fun sto...
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The Intruder
Book - 6
Having made the big adjustment to life at Cedar River, Lexi Leighton thought her family had settled into a routine and life was normal again. She couldn't have been more wrong!
Lexi senses that something's bothering her mother; she's so quiet a...
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Silent Tears No More
Book - 7
Lexi Leighton's friend Binky is interested in a guy at school but feels out of it. Her clothes, her hair everything seems out of style. The perfect solution seems to be a babysitting job that will allow her to get a new wardrobe. Everything begins to...
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Fill My Empty Heart
Book - 8
Cedar River High has just taken on a new practice teacher who's envied and talked about by the entire school.
Mr. Cartwright, a weightlifter and football player in college, is everybody's idol perfect muscles, handsome, and he knows it.
B...
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Yesterday's Dream
Book - 9
Lexi Leighton has always been there for her friends--a consistent source of help and stability for those in need. But an early morning phone call from the hospital begins a series of events that starts her personal life on a downward spiral. The ...
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Tomorrow's Promise
Book - 10
In Yesterday's Dream Lexi Leighton's personal world collapses around her and her faith in God is shaken, but in the end she is assured that He is still with her. Yet her beloved grandmother only gets worse and so does the darkness of the circumstance...
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Something Old, Something New
Book - 11
Lexi Leighton's friend Peggy is returning to Cedar River, and only Lexi knows the reason why she left to have her baby and give it up for adoption Lexi wonders whether Peggy will have changed and whether they'll still be friends.Meanwhile, Le...
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Vanishing Star
Book - 12
Although Lexi doesn't like it, many of the kids in Cedar River have gotten into horror flicks, especially the not-so-nice Hi-Fives. Even her friend Binky is fascinated with them and has gotten hooked on the thrill. Cedar River is such a bore in compa...
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No Turning Back
Book - 13
Though Lexi Leighton is thrilled at Todd's new position as quarterback, she wonders if Peggy's and Chad's problems will ever end. Now that Peggy finally looks like she can pull her life together, Chad seems to be falling apart. Chad h...
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Second Chance
Book - 14
Lexi's boyfriend, Todd Winston, has had everything going for him quarterback of the high-school football team, handsome, a great personality, and smart. Then comes a serious injury in a football game that leaves his whole future in uncertainty. Much...
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Lost and Found
Book - 15
Peggy Madison had been through an incredible year, but all her friends hope that the worst is behind so that she can get a fresh start on life. The facts soon become obvious though: Chad's death has left hurts that aren't yet healed. Her behavior has...
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Unheard Voices
Book - 16
Lexi Leighton thinks she knows all about how tough it is to be the new girl in town until the late fall day when Ruth Miller is introduced to her class. So sweet looking, so pale and frightened, Lexi's heart aches for her. Then it turns out that ...
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Lonely Girl
Book - 17
Lexi Leighton first noticed the pretty new girl in the dark hallways long after school had let out. Why would anyone hang around school so late? Seeing the same girl early the next morning getting ready for school in the restroom, Lexi's curiosit...
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More Than Friends
Book - 18
Lexi Leighton was so excited she could hardly wait to tell the news to her friends at Cedar River. Her very best friend from Grover's Point was coming to visit, and they'd all finally get to meet the girl Lexi had told so many stories about! ...
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Never Too Late
Book - 19
Todd's older brother, Mike, has a new girlfriend and it shows! The body shop he owns has become a disaster area, and Todd's been left to organize the mess and juggle both of their responsibilities. Lexi thinks Nancy's really great, but To...
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The Discovery
Book - 20
Everyone is excited when Todd's older brother, Mike, announces his engagement to Nancy Kelvin. A pediatric nurse at the Cedar River Hospital, Nancy is bubbly and outgoing, just the opposite of her husband-to-be. Mike and Nancy's spring weddin...
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A Special Kind of Love
Book - 21
Jennifer Golden's latest excitement is the party she's secretly planning for her parents' 30th anniversary, and she's got Lexi and the rest of the gang helping her make it a success. They've dug out old pictures, letters, and clippings to put into a ...
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Three's a Crowd
Book - 22
Brock Taylor is the new guy in Cedar River, and he's very interested in getting to know Lexi better much better. In fact, Brock seems determined to ignore the friendship Lexi and Todd have built over the years. Lexi's flattered, but Todd ...
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Silent Thief
Book - 23
Strange symptoms dizziness, clumsiness, confusion have been plaguing Lexi Leighton's mother for weeks. Sometimes it appears as if her mom is drunk! Tripping over her feet, dropping food on the floor, wearing sunglasses inside the house what is go...
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The Suspect
Book - 24
Egg and Binky McNaughton are thrilled to be named class managers for the School Store and when they take over, the little hole-in-the-wall shop becomes a top-notch retail store. Sales are way up and things are going great until money starts disappear...
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Heartless Hero
Book - 25
When a hotshot football star moves to Cedar River, students are buzzing with excitement. Roger Mason is one of the state's top-ranked players but is he worth the trouble? Egg and Binky McNaughton have dark memories of Roger from grade school, whe...
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Worlds Apart
Book - 26
When Todd's family takes in a seventeen-year-old exchange student from Greece, Lexi and her friends learn a great deal about the handsome boy's home country and watch him become the center of attention at school...
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Never Look Back
Book - 27
Angela Hardy seems like the least likely person to cause trouble. Quiet, sincere, and always sweet, Angela is one of Lexi Leighton's favorite friends. But almost without warning, Angela's behavior begins to change. Her boyfriend, Egg McNaughton, noti...
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Forever Friends
Book - 28
As Egg McNaughton graduates from high school and heads for college, much to the dismay of his sister Binky, Lexi must rely on her Christian faith when her parents insist that she break up with Todd because they seem to be getting too serious, and she...
Series Premise
The core premise centers on a group of close-knit teenagers living in the fictional small town of Cedar River, Minnesota. The stories follow their everyday lives as they face typical adolescent experiences—school pressures, family changes, friendships that evolve, budding romances, moral dilemmas, and the joys and heartaches of growing up—while trying to live out their Christian faith in practical ways. Each book usually focuses on one or two central characters dealing with a specific challenge, such as peer pressure, jealousy, grief, identity questions, or difficult family situations. The narratives emphasize how faith, prayer, and the support of caring friends and family help the teens make wise choices and grow in character. The series gently weaves in Christian values without being preachy, showing rather than telling how belief shapes decisions and relationships.
Cedar River Daydreams Series Reading Order
🔄 Best Read in Order · Start with Book 1: New Girl In Town
Standalone stories, but characters and relationships develop across the series.
The series is best read in sequential order for the richest experience, although the books can be enjoyed fairly independently. The stories build a continuous community and character development over time, with friendships deepening, relationships evolving, and subtle references to past events creating a strong sense of continuity. Early books introduce the core group of friends and establish the warm, supportive atmosphere of Cedar River, while later volumes show the natural progression of the characters through high school and into early adulthood. Reading chronologically allows readers to fully appreciate the emotional growth and the way earlier challenges influence later ones. That said, the self-contained nature of each story, combined with gentle recaps, means new readers can start with almost any title and still feel oriented.
Explanation of reading order types
Cedar River Daydreams Series Characters
The central characters form a tight group of friends whose personalities complement one another and drive the emotional heart of the series. Lexi Leighton often serves as a primary viewpoint character in many of the early stories—an intelligent, sensitive, and somewhat introspective girl who grows in confidence and faith as she faces various challenges. Her best friends and the core ensemble include Todd, Peggy, Binky, and others who bring different strengths, weaknesses, and perspectives to the group. These teens are portrayed as realistic and relatable, each dealing with their own insecurities, dreams, and questions about faith and life. Supporting and recurring characters include caring parents and siblings who provide guidance or create conflict, youth pastors and teachers who offer wise counsel, and various classmates whose actions create the social dynamics and moral dilemmas at the center of many plots. The sense of a supportive friend group and a loving (though imperfect) community is one of the series’ greatest strengths.
Setting of the Cedar River Daydreams Series
The setting is the fictional small town of Cedar River, Minnesota—a charming, close-knit Midwestern community that feels both safe and realistically imperfect. The stories unfold in familiar teenage spaces: the local high school with its hallways, classrooms, and extracurricular activities; family homes filled with dinner-table conversations and sibling dynamics; the church youth group where faith is lived out in community; and local hangouts like the soda shop or the park. Seasonal changes—crisp autumn football games, snowy winters, blooming spring, and lazy summer days—add texture and rhythm to the stories. The atmosphere is cozy and inviting, with a strong sense of community where neighbors know one another and look out for each other, yet still face real-life challenges such as economic pressures, family conflicts, and the universal struggles of adolescence.
Tone & Themes of the Cedar River Daydreams Series
Tonally, the books are warm, gentle, and optimistic, with a sincere and encouraging voice that feels like a caring older friend offering guidance. Baer’s prose is straightforward and accessible, blending light humor, tender emotion, and quiet moments of reflection. The mood is consistently uplifting and hopeful, acknowledging real teenage struggles such as insecurity, disappointment, and temptation, but always pointing toward grace, forgiveness, and growth. The themes emphasize the importance of faith as a practical guide for daily life, the value of strong friendships and healthy family relationships, the courage to stand up for what is right, the beauty of forgiveness and second chances, and the idea that God’s love is present even in difficult circumstances. The series gently encourages personal integrity, compassion for others, and the understanding that being a Christian teen means living with both joy and responsibility.
In the end, the Cedar River Daydreams series by Judy Baer remains a tender, encouraging portrait of teenage life lived with faith, friendship, and hope. Baer reminds us that growing up is rarely easy, but it becomes far more meaningful when surrounded by people who care and a God who walks alongside every step. These stories wrap young readers in the warmth of a small-town community, the comfort of loyal friendships, and the quiet strength that comes from trusting God with both the ordinary days and the difficult ones. For anyone who remembers the joys and heartaches of high school, or for today’s teens seeking clean, uplifting fiction that respects their intelligence and their faith, the Cedar River series offers a timeless invitation: walk the halls of Cedar River High, sit with friends at the soda shop, and discover that even the most ordinary life can be filled with extraordinary grace when lived with an open heart and a trusting spirit. In Judy Baer’s gentle world, daydreams have a way of turning into answered prayers, one faithful step at a time.
Books in this series fall into the following genres
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