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The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
I'm Adrienne Haus, survivor of a mother-daughter book club. Most of us didn't want to join. My mother signed me up because I was stuck at home all summer, with my knee in a brace. CeeCee's parents forced her to join after cancelling her Paris trip because she bashed up their car. The members of "The Unbearable Book Club," CeeCee, Jill, Wallis, and I, were all going into eleventh grade A.P. English. But we weren't friends. We were literary prisoners, sweating, reading classics, and hanging out at the pool. If you want to find out how membership in a book club can end up with a person being dead, you can probably look us up under mother-daughter literary catastrophe. Or open this book and read my essay, which I'll turn in when I go back to school.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2012
38 people are currently reading
1433 people want to read
About the author
Julie Schumacher
26 books408 followersJULIE SCHUMACHER grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Oberlin College and Cornell University, where she earned her MFA. Her first novel, The Body Is Water, was published by Soho Press in 1995 and was an ALA Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her 2014 novel, Dear Committee Members, won the Thurber Prize for American Humor; she is the first woman to have been so honored. She lives in St. Paul and is a faculty member in the Creative Writing Program and the Department of English at the University of Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews
July 2, 2012
This book starts off full of promise- it appears to be a rather mocking, more gritty version of the often maudlin "Traveling Pants" series as well as the even more saccharine Mother-Daughter Book Club series for younger readers. Four very different girls are thrown together by their mothers, who met in yoga class. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
The story is written by Adrienne, as an assignment for her Advanced Placement Literature class. She is 15 and frustrated by an injured knee and the lack of a strong self identity. The knee injury has canceled out her summer plans for travel and adventure, ans she is stuck in West New Hope Delaware. She is joined in the club by CeeCee, a rather stereotypical popular girl, Jill, an adopted Asian brainiac, and Wallis,an enigmatic loner. The author has a charming style and uses evocative imagery to conjure up scenes. Her humorous banter shows that Adrienne is a smart girl, though she doesn't drill herself with flashcards by the pool, as Jill is known to do.
Here's an excerpt I enjoyed from the first scene: "I wasn't sure if she was talking to me: I wasn't the sort of person CeeCee Christiansen usually talked to. The two of us chatting? It was like a dolphin hanging out with a squirrel." Despite her apprehension at being addressed by CeeCee, the two girls continue chatting and Adrienne finds that she doesn't dislike CeeCee. It takes the whole summer for the group to gel and then tragedy (not a spoiler, as it is spelled out at he beginning of the novel) strikes and nothing will ever be the same.
The story is directed at teens and contains some more mature subject matter, though there are no sex scenes. There is a girl/girl kiss, an unlicensed teen joyriding in a "borrowed" vehicle, underage drinking (complete with vomit!), but no actual sex scenes, which I find rather refreshing in a Young Adult book. The book club discusses real works of literature and one of these features hermaphroditic characters, so that is another topic covered obliquely.
My feeling is that the story starts off with a bang and gets lost a bit as things slow down in the middle. The ending is less than satisfying, as it resolves some things but leaves others hanging.
Comment
The story is written by Adrienne, as an assignment for her Advanced Placement Literature class. She is 15 and frustrated by an injured knee and the lack of a strong self identity. The knee injury has canceled out her summer plans for travel and adventure, ans she is stuck in West New Hope Delaware. She is joined in the club by CeeCee, a rather stereotypical popular girl, Jill, an adopted Asian brainiac, and Wallis,an enigmatic loner. The author has a charming style and uses evocative imagery to conjure up scenes. Her humorous banter shows that Adrienne is a smart girl, though she doesn't drill herself with flashcards by the pool, as Jill is known to do.
Here's an excerpt I enjoyed from the first scene: "I wasn't sure if she was talking to me: I wasn't the sort of person CeeCee Christiansen usually talked to. The two of us chatting? It was like a dolphin hanging out with a squirrel." Despite her apprehension at being addressed by CeeCee, the two girls continue chatting and Adrienne finds that she doesn't dislike CeeCee. It takes the whole summer for the group to gel and then tragedy (not a spoiler, as it is spelled out at he beginning of the novel) strikes and nothing will ever be the same.
The story is directed at teens and contains some more mature subject matter, though there are no sex scenes. There is a girl/girl kiss, an unlicensed teen joyriding in a "borrowed" vehicle, underage drinking (complete with vomit!), but no actual sex scenes, which I find rather refreshing in a Young Adult book. The book club discusses real works of literature and one of these features hermaphroditic characters, so that is another topic covered obliquely.
My feeling is that the story starts off with a bang and gets lost a bit as things slow down in the middle. The ending is less than satisfying, as it resolves some things but leaves others hanging.
Comment
March 17, 2012
I like the idea of this book more than the execution. I like all the literary references, especially for a big-time reader who reads this book. It's cool to recognize characters of other books when Adrienne remarks on them and inserts them into conversation and her narration. I was interested in reading this book the whole way through (Schmacher does a good job of the chapter endings that make you want to keep reading) but by the end I was kind of underwhelmed.
The characters promise to be more than they are. I still don't feel like I know or get any of the characters. And this cover is kind of misleading given what the story is actually about.
My advice: walk, do not run, to get this from the library (do not buy this). Stop for ice cream on the way. Don't worry if you never read this; you're not missing anything.
The characters promise to be more than they are. I still don't feel like I know or get any of the characters. And this cover is kind of misleading given what the story is actually about.
My advice: walk, do not run, to get this from the library (do not buy this). Stop for ice cream on the way. Don't worry if you never read this; you're not missing anything.
May 8, 2020
When mothers who are taking a yoga class together, all have teenage girls the same age, decide to have a Mother-Daughter book club for the late summer.
Four girls, all different in personality and class structure " lightly bond" over the books and antics a youngster might experience during a summer around a poolclub.
I encourage you all to read this YA book.
Four girls, all different in personality and class structure " lightly bond" over the books and antics a youngster might experience during a summer around a poolclub.
I encourage you all to read this YA book.
April 6, 2014
This book was a really good one. I really liked the personalities of the characters and the message the author conveyed was that friendships sometimes grow in the least expected way, but sometimes the least expected friendships are also the most true.
December 30, 2014
This was a pretty good book. I enjoyed reading it. It is about these girls that their parents force them to do a book club on books they have to read for their school book reports.
May 19, 2012
You guys, do not make the same mistake I did and be misled by this cover and summary: this is NOT a cute summer read. It's just not. I had expected it to be about girls bonding and forming genuine friendships while being in the book club and discovering everything wasn't so bad after all. Or something like it. I had expected it to be funny.
I was dead wrong.
The main character, Adrienne, is a bratty, whiny teenager. Seriously, I REALLY disliked her. I mean, sure she's hasn't had the best of luck lately and having to cancel her summer trip with her best friend because she banged up her knee is tough. But really, she was just so annoying! I found myself rolling my eyes at her 'woe is me and my mom sucks'-attitude, I got it after the first few times it was mentioned. I didn't really get why the other three girls would even want to hang out with her. Her only redeeming quality to me was the fact that she loved reading, but other than that, she was kinda bland.
Also, CeeCee REALLY annoyed me as well. There was no sense to her actions and I never really got what drove her to be the way she was. Jill and Wallis were actually much more interesting, but I just didn't feel invested in any of their stories really.
For the most part I had hoped that we would really delve into all the characters and discover secrets and friendships would be formed and YES, I know pretty much on the first page it's said that someone dies, but well, I guess I was still expecting some sort of happy to be had first. Also, a LOT of questions I had about them all never got answered. I mean, what was going on with CeeCee? What exactly was wrong with Jill's mom and dad and what was the deal with Wallis and her mother??? And seriously, WHO is Adrienne's dad? And why is her mom being all skeevy about not telling her? I felt no sense of fulfillment whatsoever when I finished the last page.
Basically, I felt that nothing had really happened in The Unbearable Book Club For Unsinkable Girls. I don't think any of the girls will in fact be 'changed' because of the big and potential life-altering moment that happened at the end of it. I didn't feel like Adrienne had learned anything from her summer apart from her best friend or from any of the stupid things she did.
I did like Adrienne's doctor, he was probably one of the only ones with a positive outlook in life and I did like the scenes in which Adrienne visited him for her check-ups.
I mean, I don't need a happily ever after, though I do like them, but there was just not even a sense of hope for the future.
I guess this just wasn't the book for me, sadly.
My rating: 1,5 stars
I was dead wrong.
The main character, Adrienne, is a bratty, whiny teenager. Seriously, I REALLY disliked her. I mean, sure she's hasn't had the best of luck lately and having to cancel her summer trip with her best friend because she banged up her knee is tough. But really, she was just so annoying! I found myself rolling my eyes at her 'woe is me and my mom sucks'-attitude, I got it after the first few times it was mentioned. I didn't really get why the other three girls would even want to hang out with her. Her only redeeming quality to me was the fact that she loved reading, but other than that, she was kinda bland.
Also, CeeCee REALLY annoyed me as well. There was no sense to her actions and I never really got what drove her to be the way she was. Jill and Wallis were actually much more interesting, but I just didn't feel invested in any of their stories really.
For the most part I had hoped that we would really delve into all the characters and discover secrets and friendships would be formed and YES, I know pretty much on the first page it's said that someone dies, but well, I guess I was still expecting some sort of happy to be had first. Also, a LOT of questions I had about them all never got answered. I mean, what was going on with CeeCee? What exactly was wrong with Jill's mom and dad and what was the deal with Wallis and her mother??? And seriously, WHO is Adrienne's dad? And why is her mom being all skeevy about not telling her? I felt no sense of fulfillment whatsoever when I finished the last page.
Basically, I felt that nothing had really happened in The Unbearable Book Club For Unsinkable Girls. I don't think any of the girls will in fact be 'changed' because of the big and potential life-altering moment that happened at the end of it. I didn't feel like Adrienne had learned anything from her summer apart from her best friend or from any of the stupid things she did.
I did like Adrienne's doctor, he was probably one of the only ones with a positive outlook in life and I did like the scenes in which Adrienne visited him for her check-ups.
I mean, I don't need a happily ever after, though I do like them, but there was just not even a sense of hope for the future.
I guess this just wasn't the book for me, sadly.
My rating: 1,5 stars
July 27, 2012
Adrienne is sure her summer is going to be a disaster. Instead of spending it on a wilderness canoe trip in Canada with her best friend, she’s stuck at home in West New Hope, Delaware with a knee injury. And if that isn’t bad enough, her mother is forcing her to be in a mother-daughter book club with girls she would never hang out with. CeeCee is popular and a bit of a spoiled, rich girl, Jill works at the pool and her mother thinks she doesn’t socialize enough, and Wallis is a sort of recluse who for some reason actually wanted to be in the club. Her mother never attends meetings and no one has ever met her.
The girls choose to read five books from their AP English list for junior year, but it’s clear from the beginning that reading and books isn’t at all what this club is about.
Until reading The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher I had never considered the possibility that mother-daughter book clubs could actually be a bad influence on girls. Even though this reading group bears no resemblance to real-life groups that I know of, the issues brought up are important ones.
The story is told from Adrienne’s perspective. She loves to read, she’s comfortable around her best friend but not in broader social circles, and she’s not much of a risk taker. But CeeCee, who has a knack for creating trouble, starts to get under her skin.
As the two of them spend more time together Adrienne finds herself doing things she never would have otherwise, as though she’s trying on a different personality for the summer. She questions who she is and thinks about who she wants to be, but the questions create turmoil and the answers don’t come easy. The moms also have issues they are dealing with, and it’s clear that there are different levels of parental supervision and involvement in each of the girls’ lives.
As a side note, girls and their moms may also want to explore the titles in the summer reading list this book club takes on: The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Anna Perkins; Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley; The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula LeGuin; The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros; and The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. Each book resonates in some way with the girls, and their discussions about them are interesting. Girls in mother-daughter book clubs with girls ages 14 and up will find a lot to talk about when reading The Unbearable Book Club.
The author provided me with a copy of this book to review.
The girls choose to read five books from their AP English list for junior year, but it’s clear from the beginning that reading and books isn’t at all what this club is about.
Until reading The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher I had never considered the possibility that mother-daughter book clubs could actually be a bad influence on girls. Even though this reading group bears no resemblance to real-life groups that I know of, the issues brought up are important ones.
The story is told from Adrienne’s perspective. She loves to read, she’s comfortable around her best friend but not in broader social circles, and she’s not much of a risk taker. But CeeCee, who has a knack for creating trouble, starts to get under her skin.
As the two of them spend more time together Adrienne finds herself doing things she never would have otherwise, as though she’s trying on a different personality for the summer. She questions who she is and thinks about who she wants to be, but the questions create turmoil and the answers don’t come easy. The moms also have issues they are dealing with, and it’s clear that there are different levels of parental supervision and involvement in each of the girls’ lives.
As a side note, girls and their moms may also want to explore the titles in the summer reading list this book club takes on: The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Anna Perkins; Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley; The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula LeGuin; The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros; and The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. Each book resonates in some way with the girls, and their discussions about them are interesting. Girls in mother-daughter book clubs with girls ages 14 and up will find a lot to talk about when reading The Unbearable Book Club.
The author provided me with a copy of this book to review.
January 17, 2014
So if you don’t know already, I am doing the United States of YA Challenge from Epicreads. It really isn’t a challenge because all it is a list of one book that takes place in every state in the United States and this year I challenged myself to read every one of them. One of the books on the list was The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! It wasn't what I expected it to be and it even had a plot twist that through me for a bit. Each chapter of the book starts with Adrienne explaining English terms like plot, climax, simile, etc. It was cool to read her definitions and they went along with what was going on with the chapter. The story is about a group of four girls coming together with their moms for a mother-daughter bookclub. In a way it was your typical book where four girls that aren't friends come together. You have the gorgeous girl that can get away with anything, the book smart girl, the average girl that is always the main voice, and the weird girl that no one really talks to.
All of the girls are fifteen and going into AP English and are going through that phase when they don't get along with their mom. This is a major conflict in the book and I found it very annoying. The reason I found it annoying was because I've already gone through that phase and I'm past it, but I think if you're fifteen and reading the book it wouldn't bother you at all and you'd be able to relate to it.
Along with having the typical girls in every coming together book, the usual 'we aren't friends but somehow we became friends and when the climax happens we come together again and solve the problem.' Even though it's one of those plots that are over used, I was able to enjoy this one because even though it had the typical stuff, it was written in a way that didn't feel so typical.
I only had one problem with the book, and I'm not going to say what it was here, but overall I highly recommend the book and I really think you should read it. It's only a little over 200 pages so it's quick and easy to read, and the story flows well.
If you want to read my other reviews, you can visit my blog at http://teenscenereading.blogspot.com/
If you want to take part in the Epicreads United States of YA visit the website at http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-uni...
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! It wasn't what I expected it to be and it even had a plot twist that through me for a bit. Each chapter of the book starts with Adrienne explaining English terms like plot, climax, simile, etc. It was cool to read her definitions and they went along with what was going on with the chapter. The story is about a group of four girls coming together with their moms for a mother-daughter bookclub. In a way it was your typical book where four girls that aren't friends come together. You have the gorgeous girl that can get away with anything, the book smart girl, the average girl that is always the main voice, and the weird girl that no one really talks to.
All of the girls are fifteen and going into AP English and are going through that phase when they don't get along with their mom. This is a major conflict in the book and I found it very annoying. The reason I found it annoying was because I've already gone through that phase and I'm past it, but I think if you're fifteen and reading the book it wouldn't bother you at all and you'd be able to relate to it.
Along with having the typical girls in every coming together book, the usual 'we aren't friends but somehow we became friends and when the climax happens we come together again and solve the problem.' Even though it's one of those plots that are over used, I was able to enjoy this one because even though it had the typical stuff, it was written in a way that didn't feel so typical.
I only had one problem with the book, and I'm not going to say what it was here, but overall I highly recommend the book and I really think you should read it. It's only a little over 200 pages so it's quick and easy to read, and the story flows well.
If you want to read my other reviews, you can visit my blog at http://teenscenereading.blogspot.com/
If you want to take part in the Epicreads United States of YA visit the website at http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-uni...
August 3, 2024
Fun for booklovers/bookclubs! Hope there's a sequel (hint there might be: Adrienne's mom--a big fan of Jane Austen--suggests they read some of the latter's books, after the official club ends).
August 2024 note: The following are not really spoilers, more advice to keep your eyes open. Delightful novel is about how books can influence readers, like character in Austen's Northanger Abbey which novel also includes "reading list" of Gothic novels, and author Austen addressing readers with her own defense of genre disparaged by literary snobs.
On re-reading again, realized other books refered to in UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB seem to include Cherry Ames Boxed Set #1: Student Nurse; Senior Nurse; Army Nurse; Chief Nurse (20 titles in series available in 5 set e-book compilations) & Paddington Treasury. Maybe also The Great Gatsby, The Outsiders & (reminded by Tom Lake), Our Town: A Play in Three Acts?
Another "literary allusion" just clicked, poem by Edward Lear The Complete Verse and Other Nonsense:
There was an Old Man with a beard.
The following was written years ago. If you are knowledgeable about works of Jane Austen, maybe skip until after reading UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB to see if you too will catch author's entertaining re-imaging of some characters. If you don't have much literary background, hints may help you enjoy book more on first time thru.
In either case, re-reading will still be very enjoyable, with perhaps new discoveries each time. At least it was so for me!
====
Some of the girls in the book club have similarities to Austen heroines: Adrienne's mom tells her daughter she is like impressionable Catherine of Northanger Abbey. CeeCee shares qualities with Emma "handsome, clever and rich" (not to mention manipulative), and Jill is adopted for reasons something like Fanny Price in Mansfield Park "to have a better life".
Wallis "Gray" (aka "Lily War Gas")I'm not sure about... In some ways she's so mysterious, so maybe could be partly inspired by woman of mystery for much of EMMA, intelligent intended-governess Jane Fairfax. (Epiphany! Girl genius author of Frankenstein, daughter of feminist, Mary Wolstoncraft Shelley.)
Shady character Jeff might be version of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights--or could his nickname "the Eel" refer to Mr. Elliot in EMMA? (whom title character tries to match up with Harriet Smith--parallels with Cee Cee prediction for Adrienne).
BTW, Adrienne's mom (nameless in UNBEARABLE) is something like Jane Austen's largely off-stage unwed mother characters like Colonel Brandon's lost love in Sense and Sensibility. Didn't realize until later she is unmarried mother named Jane in previous novel for adults, The Body Is Water (Adrienne says something like "only two hundred years kept her mom from being Jane Austen's best friend"--one of the clues that story has parallels with Austen's novels.)
Another tie to Northanger Abbey is name of AP English teacher, Ms. Radcliffe, which must be reference to Ann Radcliffe, author of Catherine's favorite gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho. (Might CeeCee's French teacher Monsieur CROWNE become her Mr. Knightly?) Jeff is like Dick Musgrove in Persuasion in that he had first proposed to one sister, then ends up with another.
Ending sentence of NORTHANGER could apply to at least one of the girls in UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB (who finally gets what had been denied as a punishment): "...I leave it to be settled, by whomsoever it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny, or reward filial disobedience."
Final chapter of UNBEARABLE includes understated reminder that life continues, when Adrienne's mother visits neighbors with newborn baby. Adrienne's earlier remark in her definition of "symbolism" is also "foreshadowing": while much in real-life seems random mass of unrelated events, in creative works such as books, movies & telenovelas the audience should realize there is purposeful reason for inclusion of many elements.
There's actually a term for tendency of human beings to see meaning in world that surrounds them (something espoused by New England's Transcendentalists--perhaps mentioned in review of book The Diamond in the Window or Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: The Original Screenplay/ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay--tho exact word escapes me at the moment.
(BTW, remark by A's mom about babies smelling so good is reference to hormones that bring humans together, literal "chemistry" sometimes used to describe attractions of protagonists in books, films and real life partnerships--I might add that explanation to review of The Enchanted Hacienda (to find, "search review text" for keyword "Hollywood") to counter sceptism of other reviewers on seeming illogic unrationality of Insta-Love. for centuries known as love at first sight, being shot by Cupid's arrow--in Spanish "flechada".)
P.S. UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB also reminds me a little of 1966 teen novel by Margarent Leighton, Canyon Castaways See my review relocated from earlier version of this one.
If you read those 5 books, you may see other things in common: Jill's Magic 8 Ball may be echo of prophetic Seers in Rocannon's World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS and fortune tellers/rhymes in HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. And is neighbors' cat Mr Finkle (with his many little "victims") in a way Frankenstein's monster?...
If there's a sequel, it might deal with how UBC's mothers were influenced--perhaps changed--by books they read: CeeCee's parents might be modern version ofMansfield Park Sir Thomas & what author of A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter calls his "trophy wife" (or might they be like Lizzie Bennett's parents in Pride and Prejudice "The Dad" always separated from his family by his job, rather than hiding in his library like Mr. Bennett? Maybe we'd finally meet Jill's father who has Multiple Sclerosis (only his expensive medication appearing "on screen" in this book)--perhaps inspired by invalid father in Austen's Emma?
Besides reading novels that the characters read together, I'm planning to read some authors from Adrienne's mother's book shelves, many of which appear on www.ala.org list of "Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners", possibly what Ms. Radcliffe (11th Grade English teacher) gave her future students to choose from.
I've already readRebecca, "modern" version of Jane Eyre, probably mentioned (by Wallis) to add to atmosphere of mysteriousness and foreboding--delicious! Wallis also recommends The House of the Scorpion commenting "it's about clones"--SO appropriate as Adrienne is watching her borrow clothes, her Mom's shampoo etc, becoming a clone herself (in REBECCA, a character has a struggle with clone-dom too)
Adrienne also tells Wallis she hasn't read Brave New World--I wonder if she knows anyway that it includes early concept of "test tube babies" with no close links to parents--Adrienne, who never knew her father, might feel she has something in common with that book too.
All the girls have secrets that Adrianne uncovers--even practical Jill, who discovers that everything doesn't always go as she planned.
(see also review by LibraryBookGroup)
Don't judge a book by its cover (or title)! The four books chosen by the mothers' of the unsinkable girls (from list provided by Advanced Placement English teacher) were all written for adults and are included on American Library Associations "Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Life-long Learners".
Many authors on home bookshelves of Adrienne's teacher mother include others on ALA lists:
"Alvarez, Abbott, Achebe, Atwood, Atwood, Anderson, Andersen, Amis, Adiche, Allende, Allen, Agee, Austen, Austen, Austen, Austen, Austen" (list is not alphabetical, because Adrienne was given task of doing this).
Comments by the girl members at club meetings could have come out of the mouths of many older adults when talking about books (for example, CeeCee's passing along the hilarious Freudian/Feminist interpretation of The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Stories from her older sister's college class. Look for Adrienne's amusingly tongue-tied response to Leguin--spot on! And inclusion of Anagram finder website/Scrabble game might be nod at one of the ways that authors can give clues about symbolic interpretation of their work (Work by experimental author/father in charming "classic" novel I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith might give some other examples).
By the way, Adrienne's name was likely chosen so that it was easy to abbreviate to "A" by Cecile Christiansen (aka CeeCee)--which sounds like Genly Ai, character in The Left Hand of Darkness whom Adrienne says she most identifies with (in part, because she feels as lost and lacking in understanding of world she lives in as this interplanetary explorer did studying another race and culture.
Cover was inspired by one of the photos CeeCee takes with her phone to put on book club blog she begins as a "creative" way to fulfill class assignment. (Oher blog photos & comments may trigger actions of Wallis and her mysterious mother.)
In case you didn't guess first names of authors listed above, probable/possible answers:
Julia Alvarez (In the Time of the Butterflies is told by DeDe, only surviving sister of 4 involved in attempting to overthrow Haitian dictator Trujillo),
Edward Abbott (author of classic geometric fantasy Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions,
Achebe (African author of Things Fall Apart
Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale(Handmaid's Tale, Edible Woman, and other feminist classics)
Sherwood AndersonWinesburg, Ohio: & The Triumph Of The Egg
Hans Christian Andersen
Kingsley Amis (Lucky Jim is about university academia)
Adichie (Nigerian woman author) Another example of "cultural diversity" like Jill's mom requested--but most of her novels sound like they might upset Jill's mom even more than the abuses in HOUSE ON MANGO STREET (Jill's comment on writers is classic!)
Isabel Allende--Exiled Chilean author of many novels and autobiography(Description of Paula from ALA list: "At the bedside of her dying daughter, Allende spins tales of childhood, of ancestors, and of becoming a novelist".)
Sarah Addison Allen, author of magical realism novels such as The Sugar Queen & Garden Spells
James Agee A Death in the Family
Austen: Probably all six of her major, finished novels. Try non-fiction book A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter for overview, an entertaining read in itself.
August 2024 note: The following are not really spoilers, more advice to keep your eyes open. Delightful novel is about how books can influence readers, like character in Austen's Northanger Abbey which novel also includes "reading list" of Gothic novels, and author Austen addressing readers with her own defense of genre disparaged by literary snobs.
On re-reading again, realized other books refered to in UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB seem to include Cherry Ames Boxed Set #1: Student Nurse; Senior Nurse; Army Nurse; Chief Nurse (20 titles in series available in 5 set e-book compilations) & Paddington Treasury. Maybe also The Great Gatsby, The Outsiders & (reminded by Tom Lake), Our Town: A Play in Three Acts?
Another "literary allusion" just clicked, poem by Edward Lear The Complete Verse and Other Nonsense:
There was an Old Man with a beard.
The following was written years ago. If you are knowledgeable about works of Jane Austen, maybe skip until after reading UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB to see if you too will catch author's entertaining re-imaging of some characters. If you don't have much literary background, hints may help you enjoy book more on first time thru.
In either case, re-reading will still be very enjoyable, with perhaps new discoveries each time. At least it was so for me!
====
Some of the girls in the book club have similarities to Austen heroines: Adrienne's mom tells her daughter she is like impressionable Catherine of Northanger Abbey. CeeCee shares qualities with Emma "handsome, clever and rich" (not to mention manipulative), and Jill is adopted for reasons something like Fanny Price in Mansfield Park "to have a better life".
Wallis "Gray" (aka "Lily War Gas")I'm not sure about... In some ways she's so mysterious, so maybe could be partly inspired by woman of mystery for much of EMMA, intelligent intended-governess Jane Fairfax. (Epiphany! Girl genius author of Frankenstein, daughter of feminist, Mary Wolstoncraft Shelley.)
Shady character Jeff might be version of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights--or could his nickname "the Eel" refer to Mr. Elliot in EMMA? (whom title character tries to match up with Harriet Smith--parallels with Cee Cee prediction for Adrienne).
BTW, Adrienne's mom (nameless in UNBEARABLE) is something like Jane Austen's largely off-stage unwed mother characters like Colonel Brandon's lost love in Sense and Sensibility. Didn't realize until later she is unmarried mother named Jane in previous novel for adults, The Body Is Water (Adrienne says something like "only two hundred years kept her mom from being Jane Austen's best friend"--one of the clues that story has parallels with Austen's novels.)
Another tie to Northanger Abbey is name of AP English teacher, Ms. Radcliffe, which must be reference to Ann Radcliffe, author of Catherine's favorite gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho. (Might CeeCee's French teacher Monsieur CROWNE become her Mr. Knightly?) Jeff is like Dick Musgrove in Persuasion in that he had first proposed to one sister, then ends up with another.
Ending sentence of NORTHANGER could apply to at least one of the girls in UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB (who finally gets what had been denied as a punishment): "...I leave it to be settled, by whomsoever it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny, or reward filial disobedience."
Final chapter of UNBEARABLE includes understated reminder that life continues, when Adrienne's mother visits neighbors with newborn baby. Adrienne's earlier remark in her definition of "symbolism" is also "foreshadowing": while much in real-life seems random mass of unrelated events, in creative works such as books, movies & telenovelas the audience should realize there is purposeful reason for inclusion of many elements.
There's actually a term for tendency of human beings to see meaning in world that surrounds them (something espoused by New England's Transcendentalists--perhaps mentioned in review of book The Diamond in the Window or Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: The Original Screenplay/ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay--tho exact word escapes me at the moment.
(BTW, remark by A's mom about babies smelling so good is reference to hormones that bring humans together, literal "chemistry" sometimes used to describe attractions of protagonists in books, films and real life partnerships--I might add that explanation to review of The Enchanted Hacienda (to find, "search review text" for keyword "Hollywood") to counter sceptism of other reviewers on seeming illogic unrationality of Insta-Love. for centuries known as love at first sight, being shot by Cupid's arrow--in Spanish "flechada".)
P.S. UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB also reminds me a little of 1966 teen novel by Margarent Leighton, Canyon Castaways See my review relocated from earlier version of this one.
If you read those 5 books, you may see other things in common: Jill's Magic 8 Ball may be echo of prophetic Seers in Rocannon's World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS and fortune tellers/rhymes in HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. And is neighbors' cat Mr Finkle (with his many little "victims") in a way Frankenstein's monster?...
If there's a sequel, it might deal with how UBC's mothers were influenced--perhaps changed--by books they read: CeeCee's parents might be modern version ofMansfield Park Sir Thomas & what author of A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter calls his "trophy wife" (or might they be like Lizzie Bennett's parents in Pride and Prejudice "The Dad" always separated from his family by his job, rather than hiding in his library like Mr. Bennett? Maybe we'd finally meet Jill's father who has Multiple Sclerosis (only his expensive medication appearing "on screen" in this book)--perhaps inspired by invalid father in Austen's Emma?
Besides reading novels that the characters read together, I'm planning to read some authors from Adrienne's mother's book shelves, many of which appear on www.ala.org list of "Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners", possibly what Ms. Radcliffe (11th Grade English teacher) gave her future students to choose from.
I've already readRebecca, "modern" version of Jane Eyre, probably mentioned (by Wallis) to add to atmosphere of mysteriousness and foreboding--delicious! Wallis also recommends The House of the Scorpion commenting "it's about clones"--SO appropriate as Adrienne is watching her borrow clothes, her Mom's shampoo etc, becoming a clone herself (in REBECCA, a character has a struggle with clone-dom too)
Adrienne also tells Wallis she hasn't read Brave New World--I wonder if she knows anyway that it includes early concept of "test tube babies" with no close links to parents--Adrienne, who never knew her father, might feel she has something in common with that book too.
All the girls have secrets that Adrianne uncovers--even practical Jill, who discovers that everything doesn't always go as she planned.
(see also review by LibraryBookGroup)
Don't judge a book by its cover (or title)! The four books chosen by the mothers' of the unsinkable girls (from list provided by Advanced Placement English teacher) were all written for adults and are included on American Library Associations "Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Life-long Learners".
Many authors on home bookshelves of Adrienne's teacher mother include others on ALA lists:
"Alvarez, Abbott, Achebe, Atwood, Atwood, Anderson, Andersen, Amis, Adiche, Allende, Allen, Agee, Austen, Austen, Austen, Austen, Austen" (list is not alphabetical, because Adrienne was given task of doing this).
Comments by the girl members at club meetings could have come out of the mouths of many older adults when talking about books (for example, CeeCee's passing along the hilarious Freudian/Feminist interpretation of The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Stories from her older sister's college class. Look for Adrienne's amusingly tongue-tied response to Leguin--spot on! And inclusion of Anagram finder website/Scrabble game might be nod at one of the ways that authors can give clues about symbolic interpretation of their work (Work by experimental author/father in charming "classic" novel I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith might give some other examples).
By the way, Adrienne's name was likely chosen so that it was easy to abbreviate to "A" by Cecile Christiansen (aka CeeCee)--which sounds like Genly Ai, character in The Left Hand of Darkness whom Adrienne says she most identifies with (in part, because she feels as lost and lacking in understanding of world she lives in as this interplanetary explorer did studying another race and culture.
Cover was inspired by one of the photos CeeCee takes with her phone to put on book club blog she begins as a "creative" way to fulfill class assignment. (Oher blog photos & comments may trigger actions of Wallis and her mysterious mother.)
In case you didn't guess first names of authors listed above, probable/possible answers:
Julia Alvarez (In the Time of the Butterflies is told by DeDe, only surviving sister of 4 involved in attempting to overthrow Haitian dictator Trujillo),
Edward Abbott (author of classic geometric fantasy Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions,
Achebe (African author of Things Fall Apart
Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale(Handmaid's Tale, Edible Woman, and other feminist classics)
Sherwood AndersonWinesburg, Ohio: & The Triumph Of The Egg
Hans Christian Andersen
Kingsley Amis (Lucky Jim is about university academia)
Adichie (Nigerian woman author) Another example of "cultural diversity" like Jill's mom requested--but most of her novels sound like they might upset Jill's mom even more than the abuses in HOUSE ON MANGO STREET (Jill's comment on writers is classic!)
Isabel Allende--Exiled Chilean author of many novels and autobiography(Description of Paula from ALA list: "At the bedside of her dying daughter, Allende spins tales of childhood, of ancestors, and of becoming a novelist".)
Sarah Addison Allen, author of magical realism novels such as The Sugar Queen & Garden Spells
James Agee A Death in the Family
Austen: Probably all six of her major, finished novels. Try non-fiction book A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter for overview, an entertaining read in itself.
June 17, 2017
This book was interesting. I enjoyed the concept. I also enjoyed the format.
September 23, 2020
Teenagers being teenagers, with a high concentration on the pity party, no empathy moments. It was clever for the author to use the class assignment as a format for the book, though I’m not sure the chapters tied to their vocabulary word headings well enough to warrant a good grade on the assignment. The writing style was loose and gave personality to the main character. Unfortunately, stereotyped characters did what they do, and because there was no change in the characters, I didn’t really care about them enough to even be upset that none of their issues got resolved.
March 21, 2021
Can someone just tell me what happened in the end? I am so confused. And mad. Because I def teared up/was about to cry only to discover that what I THOUGHT happened... didn't. And what DID happen... ???
This book hinted at a lot of things. But only one of its mysteries (what happened to a missing bottle of pills) was answered. And even that felt.... unsatisfactory.
This book hinted at a lot of things. But only one of its mysteries (what happened to a missing bottle of pills) was answered. And even that felt.... unsatisfactory.
December 23, 2023
I so enjoyed reading The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher. The format is an essay written for A.P. English. I do love a nontraditional story format. I am not a book club person at all, so I could relate to the apathy the girls have at being forced to participate in a summer book club with their moms. That being said, the books they read are definitely some of my faves, and I loved the integration of the books into the overall story. There is a little hint of a mystery but for the most part, it's a humorous, sometimes dark, story about one summer in the lives of four teenage girls. If you like The Breakfast Club or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, this could be a good fit.
May 6, 2012
The opening chapters of this book really appealed to me, and, though I enjoyed the book as a whole, it definitely flagged as the book progressed. This is probably the least effectual book club ever that actually manages to meet up (my friends and I haven't even managed that yet...wah wah). Even so, every mention of a book club makes me desperately want to discuss literature in person. I loved the sections where they actually discussed the books, but these were unfortunately brief.
The main issue this book had was the plotting. The ending was pretty obvious from the opening. In an attempt to create suspense, and to have a dramatic opening to the story, the ending is spoiled. Well, it might surprise some, but I definitely saw it coming. I just found it hard to care about most of the lead up.
The characters also had some serious issues. The only one who felt full-fleshed was Adrienne, the main character, but I'll discuss her more momentarily. Cee-Cee never really comes off as anything more than a bored popular girl, messing with people for her own amusement. Jill, who I actually like most perhaps, never really gets any focus and is dismissed as boring. Wallis is WEIRD. I kept expecting to learn what her deal was, and, in fact, I'm pretty sure I KNOW what was up with her and her mom, but we're never actually told. In fact, what's so weird about all of this is that none of the characters ever stop being their stereotype. At the end of the summer, they're all still the same people they were, even, perhaps, Adrienne.
The book's saving grace, besides the literary references, was Adrienne's character. Adrienne has her flaws, a boatload of them. However, she did feel real to me, largely because a lot of her thoughts are totally on my wavelength. For example, she often thinks like this:
"Teachers often referred to me as a student with 'a lot of potential.' This meant they expected me to be smart; but in fact my mind was often packing a mental suitcase and wandering off on its own. I sometimes pictured all the things I had learned during the previous week at school jumping into brightly painted railroad cars and disappearing into the distance on a speeding train." (6)
I always personify things, and laughed to see someone else having the same thoughts about the elusiveness of all the knowledge entering the brain. She also struggles with identity. She feels as though she has no discernible personality and that no one would even care if she died. I definitely felt that way too, so I could identify with that. Her responses to this feeling, which mostly involved doing really stupid things for Cee-Cees benefit, I didn't approve of, but did seem rather possible. People will do any number of idiotic things for attention in hopes of being liked.
The other part that I really enjoyed was whenever Adrienne was reading. I wish I could read like this girl, although I certainly would not be able to read anywhere near the volume of books I currently read. She seems to be pushing it to get through two books a month. However, when she reads, she really gets into the story. She dreams the story. She gets so deep down into it that she cannot hear people talking to her. I so wish I had that focus. It was amazing how you could feel her slipping into another world. That part was awesome writing.
All told, this was a really great idea, and I feel like it could have been a fantastic book. I feel like with a bit more work, like more details on Wallis' situation and Adrienne's dad, along with more book talk, this could have been a darker, young adult version of The Jane Austen Book Club. As it is, it's a pleasant enough read, but just does not quite make it.
The main issue this book had was the plotting. The ending was pretty obvious from the opening. In an attempt to create suspense, and to have a dramatic opening to the story, the ending is spoiled. Well, it might surprise some, but I definitely saw it coming. I just found it hard to care about most of the lead up.
The characters also had some serious issues. The only one who felt full-fleshed was Adrienne, the main character, but I'll discuss her more momentarily. Cee-Cee never really comes off as anything more than a bored popular girl, messing with people for her own amusement. Jill, who I actually like most perhaps, never really gets any focus and is dismissed as boring. Wallis is WEIRD. I kept expecting to learn what her deal was, and, in fact, I'm pretty sure I KNOW what was up with her and her mom, but we're never actually told. In fact, what's so weird about all of this is that none of the characters ever stop being their stereotype. At the end of the summer, they're all still the same people they were, even, perhaps, Adrienne.
The book's saving grace, besides the literary references, was Adrienne's character. Adrienne has her flaws, a boatload of them. However, she did feel real to me, largely because a lot of her thoughts are totally on my wavelength. For example, she often thinks like this:
"Teachers often referred to me as a student with 'a lot of potential.' This meant they expected me to be smart; but in fact my mind was often packing a mental suitcase and wandering off on its own. I sometimes pictured all the things I had learned during the previous week at school jumping into brightly painted railroad cars and disappearing into the distance on a speeding train." (6)
I always personify things, and laughed to see someone else having the same thoughts about the elusiveness of all the knowledge entering the brain. She also struggles with identity. She feels as though she has no discernible personality and that no one would even care if she died. I definitely felt that way too, so I could identify with that. Her responses to this feeling, which mostly involved doing really stupid things for Cee-Cees benefit, I didn't approve of, but did seem rather possible. People will do any number of idiotic things for attention in hopes of being liked.
The other part that I really enjoyed was whenever Adrienne was reading. I wish I could read like this girl, although I certainly would not be able to read anywhere near the volume of books I currently read. She seems to be pushing it to get through two books a month. However, when she reads, she really gets into the story. She dreams the story. She gets so deep down into it that she cannot hear people talking to her. I so wish I had that focus. It was amazing how you could feel her slipping into another world. That part was awesome writing.
All told, this was a really great idea, and I feel like it could have been a fantastic book. I feel like with a bit more work, like more details on Wallis' situation and Adrienne's dad, along with more book talk, this could have been a darker, young adult version of The Jane Austen Book Club. As it is, it's a pleasant enough read, but just does not quite make it.
August 13, 2012
Minnesota author, Julie Schumacher, has written a Language Arts teacher's, a librarian's, and a female teen reader's dream book! "The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls" has garnered several positive professional reviews - and deservedly so (though now that I look at the goodreads reviews I see that the reviews are mixed - I will have to investigate this). I really liked "The Black Box" by Schumacher - but loved this even more!
The story concerns four teenage girls who are brought together in a mother-daughter book club the summer between their sophomore and junior years: Adreinne, CeeCee, Jill, and Wallis. Because their mothers arrange the group at a yoga class, the girls are at first reluctant (with the exception of Wallis), but the club ends up changing them and their relationships as they try figure each other and themselves out. The girls will all be part of an Advanced Placement course in the fall, for which they are required to read several books and write an essay about what they've read. The book is Adrienne's essay and is told from her first person perspective.
What is to love about this book? It is very "literary" in the sense that each chapter begins with a literary term which is exemplified in the chapter (part of the essay assignment is that students demonstrate that they have learned the literary terms on a list that the instructor has given them. The book is also very literary in that it is beautifully written. The imagery and use of figurative language is terrific.
Another aspect of the book is that the four teen characters are all unique, quirky, flawed, and multi-dimensional. However, Schumacher leaves the reader to answer unanswered questions. What is Wallace's real story? What really happens in the climax of the story? What is the truth about Adrienne's mom and the dad she has never met? I can't decide whether or not I liked this. On one hand, I like it when the writer believes in the intelligence of the reader - this is indeed a "smart" book. On the other hand, I really wanted to know the truth about some of these characters. Is there, possibly, a sequel in the making? I also appreciated it that there were adults present in the lives of these teens. Though we don't get to know the mothers well, we know enough to see that they care about their daughters - and that raising a teenage girl is fraught with all sorts of difficulties.
Finally, there is a plethora of thematic material here that would be perfect for...well, perfect for a book club. I intend to use this with my high school book club this year. And there several things that have led me back to the classics lately - anyone read "The Phantom Tollbooth"? So I am also going to do a classic with my book club and work the classics into my programming - probably one of those mentioned in the pages of "The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls." We have really worked on developing a culture of reading at our school, and I think the some of the kids are ready to make this leap.
Congratulations, Julie Schumacher! I LOVED this book!
The story concerns four teenage girls who are brought together in a mother-daughter book club the summer between their sophomore and junior years: Adreinne, CeeCee, Jill, and Wallis. Because their mothers arrange the group at a yoga class, the girls are at first reluctant (with the exception of Wallis), but the club ends up changing them and their relationships as they try figure each other and themselves out. The girls will all be part of an Advanced Placement course in the fall, for which they are required to read several books and write an essay about what they've read. The book is Adrienne's essay and is told from her first person perspective.
What is to love about this book? It is very "literary" in the sense that each chapter begins with a literary term which is exemplified in the chapter (part of the essay assignment is that students demonstrate that they have learned the literary terms on a list that the instructor has given them. The book is also very literary in that it is beautifully written. The imagery and use of figurative language is terrific.
Another aspect of the book is that the four teen characters are all unique, quirky, flawed, and multi-dimensional. However, Schumacher leaves the reader to answer unanswered questions. What is Wallace's real story? What really happens in the climax of the story? What is the truth about Adrienne's mom and the dad she has never met? I can't decide whether or not I liked this. On one hand, I like it when the writer believes in the intelligence of the reader - this is indeed a "smart" book. On the other hand, I really wanted to know the truth about some of these characters. Is there, possibly, a sequel in the making? I also appreciated it that there were adults present in the lives of these teens. Though we don't get to know the mothers well, we know enough to see that they care about their daughters - and that raising a teenage girl is fraught with all sorts of difficulties.
Finally, there is a plethora of thematic material here that would be perfect for...well, perfect for a book club. I intend to use this with my high school book club this year. And there several things that have led me back to the classics lately - anyone read "The Phantom Tollbooth"? So I am also going to do a classic with my book club and work the classics into my programming - probably one of those mentioned in the pages of "The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls." We have really worked on developing a culture of reading at our school, and I think the some of the kids are ready to make this leap.
Congratulations, Julie Schumacher! I LOVED this book!
June 13, 2012
Well, like many of the other reviewers, I was ready to be done with the book in the first 50 pages. But alas, the only thing that kept me reading was to find out who bit the dust at the end. The cover flap makes you think its going to be a funny lighthearted book, but as the first page suggests, the events to come changed the main characters life, and she was never the same, and yes, book clubs can kill you b/c someone ends up drowning in the end. So says the first page.
As I was finishing this book, at the end, I had an epiphany. How to describe this book?? Then it hit me,the way this book just breezes through and barely scratches the surface of its characters reminds me of the old movie "The Breakfast Club". A bunch of teens from different worlds thrown together, we get to know a little about each one, but when its all said and done, we have only glimpsed into a small part of the world of these teen lives. So goes this Unsinkable book. Although I do wish that we got to know the other characters a little bit more. Like, why was Wallis the way she was? Quiet, elusive, and the only one who actually *wanted to join the book club. My biggest gripe was that the main character, Adrienne, call 'A' by stuck up CeeCee, attached to Ceecee so quickly?? Lets face it, Ceecee was that superficial, stuck up, play with peoples lives just for the fun of it who thought they were better than anyone else, and assumed everyone wanted to either be her, or be around her, just because. Why did Adrienne let CC pierce her ear in the beginning?? And as it got increasingly infected, STILL didnt remove it?? Things like that, that just didnt make sense, annoyed me. First meeting of the book club, thrown together by their mothers, and CeeCee points out how 1 girl is almost an orphan, and another one IS an orphan, abandoned by fathers or parents. How rude! Yet the moms dont say anything. I think parts like that in the book were a little too hard to believe, yet none of this seemed to bother Adrienne as she continued to be Ceecees pet. The only believable thing was the relationship between Adrienne and her mother. Ok..now why I finished..
Chapter 16, thats when things get realllly good. The book picks up, Im determined to finish. And, beleive it or not, I liked the ending, alot. Once I realized that this book wasnt supposed to be deep, touching, existential, or even remotely intellectual (no offense) but simply an easy breezy read, a blip on the "Ive read this" radar. The ending was actually good. After reading the last page, I sat for a while, and pondered what this book was really about. All in all, its amazing how an ending can make or break a book. Its why there are 3 stars up there and not 2. When its all said and done, read the book. Will it change your life? Probably not. But it is an incredibly fast read, and, like me, you might just find yourself with a little smile on your face as you close the last page.
As I was finishing this book, at the end, I had an epiphany. How to describe this book?? Then it hit me,the way this book just breezes through and barely scratches the surface of its characters reminds me of the old movie "The Breakfast Club". A bunch of teens from different worlds thrown together, we get to know a little about each one, but when its all said and done, we have only glimpsed into a small part of the world of these teen lives. So goes this Unsinkable book. Although I do wish that we got to know the other characters a little bit more. Like, why was Wallis the way she was? Quiet, elusive, and the only one who actually *wanted to join the book club. My biggest gripe was that the main character, Adrienne, call 'A' by stuck up CeeCee, attached to Ceecee so quickly?? Lets face it, Ceecee was that superficial, stuck up, play with peoples lives just for the fun of it who thought they were better than anyone else, and assumed everyone wanted to either be her, or be around her, just because. Why did Adrienne let CC pierce her ear in the beginning?? And as it got increasingly infected, STILL didnt remove it?? Things like that, that just didnt make sense, annoyed me. First meeting of the book club, thrown together by their mothers, and CeeCee points out how 1 girl is almost an orphan, and another one IS an orphan, abandoned by fathers or parents. How rude! Yet the moms dont say anything. I think parts like that in the book were a little too hard to believe, yet none of this seemed to bother Adrienne as she continued to be Ceecees pet. The only believable thing was the relationship between Adrienne and her mother. Ok..now why I finished..
Chapter 16, thats when things get realllly good. The book picks up, Im determined to finish. And, beleive it or not, I liked the ending, alot. Once I realized that this book wasnt supposed to be deep, touching, existential, or even remotely intellectual (no offense) but simply an easy breezy read, a blip on the "Ive read this" radar. The ending was actually good. After reading the last page, I sat for a while, and pondered what this book was really about. All in all, its amazing how an ending can make or break a book. Its why there are 3 stars up there and not 2. When its all said and done, read the book. Will it change your life? Probably not. But it is an incredibly fast read, and, like me, you might just find yourself with a little smile on your face as you close the last page.
March 15, 2013
I lovelovelove this book!
“Thesis statement: Book clubs can kill you. (This essay ends with a person drowning. It turns out you don’t need much water for a person to drown.)…I want to apologize for some of the things you’ll read in this essay: they may not be appropriate for the assignment. In The Left Hand of Darkness Genly says, ‘I’ll make my report as if I told a story.’ That’s what I’m going to do. And I’ll explain how the books affected me – because whoever I was at the beginning of the summer, I am not that person anymore.” (i)
“The joke about West New Hope was that there was no East New Hope, and there was No Hope. We lived in a flat, oversized suburb west of nothing, a dot on the map in a state people drove through to get somewhere else.” (9)
Here Adrienne imagines her Library of Congress description. “Haus, Adrienne. 1. People with knee ailments –- Biography. 2. Bored fifteen- year-old Delawareans –- Non-fiction. 3. People without hobbies who have only one friend, and that friend is away for the summer. 4. People who have never met their fathers.” (20)
15. EPIPHANY: Probably because I once saw my third- grade teacher use an EpiPen, driving the point of it into Jordan Wersall, who’d been stung by a bee, I think of an epiphany as something that gets injected into the main character so she suddenly sees things differently.” (184)
“Edna and Esperanza and Genly and Frankenstein’s monster and the crazy woman in the yellow room: it seemed they all wanted to tell me something. They wanted to talk to me about this person Adrienne Haus.” (227)
I love this book because Adrienne tells us how she changes with the books she reads. She learns about the girls in the book club and their moms through the book club. And it’s a really nice look at the books the book club reads, two of which I’ve recently read (The Yellow Wallpaper and Frankenstein) and three I want to read or reread. (The Left Hand of Darkness, The House on Mango Street, The Awakening.)(Interlibrary loan, 50 States+ YA Challenge, Delaware)
“Thesis statement: Book clubs can kill you. (This essay ends with a person drowning. It turns out you don’t need much water for a person to drown.)…I want to apologize for some of the things you’ll read in this essay: they may not be appropriate for the assignment. In The Left Hand of Darkness Genly says, ‘I’ll make my report as if I told a story.’ That’s what I’m going to do. And I’ll explain how the books affected me – because whoever I was at the beginning of the summer, I am not that person anymore.” (i)
“The joke about West New Hope was that there was no East New Hope, and there was No Hope. We lived in a flat, oversized suburb west of nothing, a dot on the map in a state people drove through to get somewhere else.” (9)
Here Adrienne imagines her Library of Congress description. “Haus, Adrienne. 1. People with knee ailments –- Biography. 2. Bored fifteen- year-old Delawareans –- Non-fiction. 3. People without hobbies who have only one friend, and that friend is away for the summer. 4. People who have never met their fathers.” (20)
15. EPIPHANY: Probably because I once saw my third- grade teacher use an EpiPen, driving the point of it into Jordan Wersall, who’d been stung by a bee, I think of an epiphany as something that gets injected into the main character so she suddenly sees things differently.” (184)
“Edna and Esperanza and Genly and Frankenstein’s monster and the crazy woman in the yellow room: it seemed they all wanted to tell me something. They wanted to talk to me about this person Adrienne Haus.” (227)
I love this book because Adrienne tells us how she changes with the books she reads. She learns about the girls in the book club and their moms through the book club. And it’s a really nice look at the books the book club reads, two of which I’ve recently read (The Yellow Wallpaper and Frankenstein) and three I want to read or reread. (The Left Hand of Darkness, The House on Mango Street, The Awakening.)(Interlibrary loan, 50 States+ YA Challenge, Delaware)
December 26, 2012
I always seem to like books that, while reading them, I know are going to fall onto the banned books list. If this one isn't already on the list, you can be certain it will be. It talks about sex and drugs and smoking and sneaking out of the house and all the fun things you're really not supposed to do as a teen but inevitably do anyway.
Adrienne is stuck home all summer, due to a bum knee, and her mother forces her into a mother-daughter book club with a group of girls that she doesn't really know. Jill, CeeCee and Willis are all forced to come to, starting on this book club they all come to regret a little.
My favorite part of this book? The inordinate amount of book references. You get at least one a chapter and I just adored it. It's what I like to call a "smart book." You have to be well read to get a lot of the references and I love books that do that. It could essentially be entirely different experiences based on how many books you've read.
I also liked that, by the end of the book, there are still a ton of questions. I thought that this book was going to be really predictable, but it surprised me by... not being that way. There were things that happened that I didn't see coming at all and other things that I expected and didn't happen. Usually, I hate unanswered questions but this was not the case.
I loved that it was four, independent girls, trying to figure themselves out. They stood up to parents, snuck out of houses and generally were up to no good. I love that some of the girls are good, but end up pushing boundaries and others kind of toned it down.
The only thing I didn't like (which, is really minor) is that Adrienne has a busted knee and still does all this stuff she just... wouldn't. She climbs things, walks for miles and all that happens is that it gets a little inflamed. Take it from someone who has had broken bones: even when the cast is off, things like walking hurts. So I couldn't see her walking so much. It really bugged me.
I really recommend this to high-school aged girls. It's a great book and interesting and the characters are really relatable.
Adrienne is stuck home all summer, due to a bum knee, and her mother forces her into a mother-daughter book club with a group of girls that she doesn't really know. Jill, CeeCee and Willis are all forced to come to, starting on this book club they all come to regret a little.
My favorite part of this book? The inordinate amount of book references. You get at least one a chapter and I just adored it. It's what I like to call a "smart book." You have to be well read to get a lot of the references and I love books that do that. It could essentially be entirely different experiences based on how many books you've read.
I also liked that, by the end of the book, there are still a ton of questions. I thought that this book was going to be really predictable, but it surprised me by... not being that way. There were things that happened that I didn't see coming at all and other things that I expected and didn't happen. Usually, I hate unanswered questions but this was not the case.
I loved that it was four, independent girls, trying to figure themselves out. They stood up to parents, snuck out of houses and generally were up to no good. I love that some of the girls are good, but end up pushing boundaries and others kind of toned it down.
The only thing I didn't like (which, is really minor) is that Adrienne has a busted knee and still does all this stuff she just... wouldn't. She climbs things, walks for miles and all that happens is that it gets a little inflamed. Take it from someone who has had broken bones: even when the cast is off, things like walking hurts. So I couldn't see her walking so much. It really bugged me.
I really recommend this to high-school aged girls. It's a great book and interesting and the characters are really relatable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2014
Kill Your Darlings
If you aren't familiar with the phrase, allow me to share with you, Kill Your Darlings is a common writer's term which means as the God of the story, you have to be brutal but true with the story, sometimes that means killing a beloved character and sometimes it means cutting those parts of the story that do not;
1. Add to character development in a meaningful way, or
2. Advance the story.
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls really needs more of this kind of brutality, because frankly my dears, it is bogged down in darlings.
Allow me to the set the setting (fix the stage, whatever, I'll give you a brief rundown of what's happening). Three girls all very different join their mothers in a book club, some voluntarily, the others unwillingly.
This is why I sorta liked the idea of the story, because a mother/daughter book club sounds fairly hideous to me.
The intro to the girls was fairly standard and oddly familiar;
CeeCee Christiansen - the Princess
Adrienne Hause - the basketcase
Jill - the nerd
Wallis - the jock
Sorry, it's like my brain got highjacked by the John Hughes movie, the Breakfast Club, Wallis is not the jock, she's another nerd-y type. Anyways, I loved The Breakfast Club and I guess I thought there would a be little bit of that spirit to the story, the coming together of misfits against adversity.
But instead the story kinda drags, then picks up a little when the book club starts, here's a line that I thought was pretty interesting and pretty much sums up the interactions between the characters; 'We're like a penal colony, with books.'
There were some fun parts about books, The Yellow Wallpaper, a must read for all feminists, Frankenstein and The House on Mango Street.
I guess what really spoiled my enjoyment, aside from all the unnecessary descriptions and lagging action parts was the lack of credible growth in the characters. To me none of them seemed transfigured by their experiences, maybe Adrienne, a little bit, but everyone else was nearly the same as when the book started.
If you aren't familiar with the phrase, allow me to share with you, Kill Your Darlings is a common writer's term which means as the God of the story, you have to be brutal but true with the story, sometimes that means killing a beloved character and sometimes it means cutting those parts of the story that do not;
1. Add to character development in a meaningful way, or
2. Advance the story.
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls really needs more of this kind of brutality, because frankly my dears, it is bogged down in darlings.
Allow me to the set the setting (fix the stage, whatever, I'll give you a brief rundown of what's happening). Three girls all very different join their mothers in a book club, some voluntarily, the others unwillingly.
This is why I sorta liked the idea of the story, because a mother/daughter book club sounds fairly hideous to me.
The intro to the girls was fairly standard and oddly familiar;
CeeCee Christiansen - the Princess
Adrienne Hause - the basketcase
Jill - the nerd
Wallis - the jock
Sorry, it's like my brain got highjacked by the John Hughes movie, the Breakfast Club, Wallis is not the jock, she's another nerd-y type. Anyways, I loved The Breakfast Club and I guess I thought there would a be little bit of that spirit to the story, the coming together of misfits against adversity.
But instead the story kinda drags, then picks up a little when the book club starts, here's a line that I thought was pretty interesting and pretty much sums up the interactions between the characters; 'We're like a penal colony, with books.'
There were some fun parts about books, The Yellow Wallpaper, a must read for all feminists, Frankenstein and The House on Mango Street.
I guess what really spoiled my enjoyment, aside from all the unnecessary descriptions and lagging action parts was the lack of credible growth in the characters. To me none of them seemed transfigured by their experiences, maybe Adrienne, a little bit, but everyone else was nearly the same as when the book started.
May 1, 2014
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Review: Wow. I just can't comprehend this book one bit.
Adrienne: She seemed like such a nice girl, and seemed very real to me... and then I just got confused. Just because she hung out with CeeCee, apparently her life is SO bad, she succumbs to peer pressure. Yes she was nervous about doing it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. Like...she just DID it, especially after the first time she just went and did it again. Can I say WEIRD! An okay character. I can't say I hated her, because I did like her, I just think her real character got lost in what the author was trying to say.
CeeCee: Please PLEASE help her. I personally think she's crazy. I liked her in the beginning, as her character seemed snotty-ish, and curious. She was rich. Personally I think that should have been her personality. But then I had a slight idea we would be such book buddies anymore. After that my liking for her, went down hill. Her personality became sort of rocker chick, popular girl, bad girl kinda thing. Just.... Jeez. This girl is nuts. Anyway... she just freaked me out.
Jill: Oh Jill, I actually liked her. But she wasn't included that much. WHY? I don't understand it was more about a book club, but yet CeeCee showed up more. Like Adrienne I understood, but I actually liked Jill and her character. Yeah, I can't say much, because she wasn't included much!
And finally, Wallis: I didn't get it. I didn't understand her though. Just... No.
In the end, I liked the book, although there was definitely some things I didn't like. The story is good, but I can't quite agree with the characters. Hmm...
http://natashaslittleworld.blogspot.c...
Review: Wow. I just can't comprehend this book one bit.
Adrienne: She seemed like such a nice girl, and seemed very real to me... and then I just got confused. Just because she hung out with CeeCee, apparently her life is SO bad, she succumbs to peer pressure. Yes she was nervous about doing it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. Like...she just DID it, especially after the first time she just went and did it again. Can I say WEIRD! An okay character. I can't say I hated her, because I did like her, I just think her real character got lost in what the author was trying to say.
CeeCee: Please PLEASE help her. I personally think she's crazy. I liked her in the beginning, as her character seemed snotty-ish, and curious. She was rich. Personally I think that should have been her personality. But then I had a slight idea we would be such book buddies anymore. After that my liking for her, went down hill. Her personality became sort of rocker chick, popular girl, bad girl kinda thing. Just.... Jeez. This girl is nuts. Anyway... she just freaked me out.
Jill: Oh Jill, I actually liked her. But she wasn't included that much. WHY? I don't understand it was more about a book club, but yet CeeCee showed up more. Like Adrienne I understood, but I actually liked Jill and her character. Yeah, I can't say much, because she wasn't included much!
And finally, Wallis: I didn't get it. I didn't understand her though. Just... No.
In the end, I liked the book, although there was definitely some things I didn't like. The story is good, but I can't quite agree with the characters. Hmm...
http://natashaslittleworld.blogspot.c...
March 17, 2012
It kind of feels like the author read The Mother-Daughter Book Club, was nauseated, and felt the need to rebut.
In theory, a good call. In execution, Julie Schumacher had not the talent. The characters are uninspired - CeeCee is almost interesting, as the flippant "popular girl" type with a surprising interest and insight into the books. But the narrator (Adrienne? I've already forgot) is as bland as everyone informs her she is; Jill also treads the "almost interesting" line (though behind CeeCee) but ultimately swings between being every club president you've ever met, and feeling overlooked and thus whiny about it; and Wallis is as awkward as her name, in every stereotypical, awkward, social-maladjusted way possible. She doesn't even ever hit us with cliched hidden depths. She remains pathetic.
Nothing here struck me as original. Not the relationships - CeeCee pushes Adrienne around in breaking-out-of-the-shell antics that we've seen in EVERY tale about Boring Girls Meets Quirky Girl. Not even the setting (a summer story set largely at/around the pool - how novel!). The only relationship that feels remotely genuine is that between Adrienne and her mother. They push and pull each other in ways I remember from teenagerdom, where every parental question is an invasion, but the lack of any is neglect. Schumacher captures that moody restlessness very well.
...Which is probably why this book got two whole stars. That and
In theory, a good call. In execution, Julie Schumacher had not the talent. The characters are uninspired - CeeCee is almost interesting, as the flippant "popular girl" type with a surprising interest and insight into the books. But the narrator (Adrienne? I've already forgot) is as bland as everyone informs her she is; Jill also treads the "almost interesting" line (though behind CeeCee) but ultimately swings between being every club president you've ever met, and feeling overlooked and thus whiny about it; and Wallis is as awkward as her name, in every stereotypical, awkward, social-maladjusted way possible. She doesn't even ever hit us with cliched hidden depths. She remains pathetic.
Nothing here struck me as original. Not the relationships - CeeCee pushes Adrienne around in breaking-out-of-the-shell antics that we've seen in EVERY tale about Boring Girls Meets Quirky Girl. Not even the setting (a summer story set largely at/around the pool - how novel!). The only relationship that feels remotely genuine is that between Adrienne and her mother. They push and pull each other in ways I remember from teenagerdom, where every parental question is an invasion, but the lack of any is neglect. Schumacher captures that moody restlessness very well.
...Which is probably why this book got two whole stars. That and
May 7, 2012
When this book showed up on NetGalley, I grabbed it. But I left it on my Nook, debating if I wanted to read it or not. But I decided to read it-I've kind of been on a Contemporary kick lately and wanted another one. Immediately I was hooked. This book was just so much MORE than I could have hoped for!
The story starts with an assignment page for an 11th Grade AP English class. Adrienne Haus is the protagonist (to use some of her literary terms) and she is the voice of the novel. At the end of her essay opening she states "And I'll explain how the books affected me-because whoever I was a the beginning of the summer, I am not that person anymore." This statement set the tone for the novel and I needed to know HOW she was different.
Four girls, three mothers, one summer book club. And none of the girls are friends or even really know or like each other, but somehow, it works. Through Adrienne we learn about each girl, and we see how the summer affected them and brought on growth for them. Will the events that took place during the fifth and final meeting mean the end for their tenuous friendship, or will the school year bring on something completely new and different?
I loved Adrienne's voice. She was snarky, sarcastic, yet lovable and lost. I felt connected to her and hurt when she hurt. Her relationship with her mother felt real-more real than other YA novels.
You will not be disappointed with this book!
The story starts with an assignment page for an 11th Grade AP English class. Adrienne Haus is the protagonist (to use some of her literary terms) and she is the voice of the novel. At the end of her essay opening she states "And I'll explain how the books affected me-because whoever I was a the beginning of the summer, I am not that person anymore." This statement set the tone for the novel and I needed to know HOW she was different.
Four girls, three mothers, one summer book club. And none of the girls are friends or even really know or like each other, but somehow, it works. Through Adrienne we learn about each girl, and we see how the summer affected them and brought on growth for them. Will the events that took place during the fifth and final meeting mean the end for their tenuous friendship, or will the school year bring on something completely new and different?
I loved Adrienne's voice. She was snarky, sarcastic, yet lovable and lost. I felt connected to her and hurt when she hurt. Her relationship with her mother felt real-more real than other YA novels.
You will not be disappointed with this book!
January 7, 2016
This book would probably be best for teenage girls between 8th and 12th grade, but could also be used when teaching about what book clubs are and the benefits they have. When looking at the cover of this book I thought it would be a lighthearted book about teenage girls in a summer book club. The book wasn’t as lighthearted as I had originally hoped, but it still had some good qualities. I liked how relatable the four main girls were. Each was very different from the others, but had qualities that could connect to most types of girls in high school. Three of the four juniors were forced to join a book club with their mothers for the summer. I also thought that young girls could relate to being annoyed by the fact that their mothers are a part of their social “club”. Although relatable to some, I didn’t like the fact that I found myself searching for the rest of the story and never really seemed to find it. The plot seemed to drag on, before a sudden twist right at the end. This twist, although sudden, didn’t really feel as shocking and surprising as I would hope for. All in all, this probably isn't something I would recommend to my peers, but if future students wanted to read the book, I would let them know beforehand that it isn't as lighthearted as the cover makes it seem.
July 10, 2012
This story has a great premise with interesting characters, yet it falls flat. I was left turning pages looking for the rest of the story. Adrienne narrates this tale of four vastly different girls thrown together in a mother-daughter book club during the summer. A - as one of the girls calls her - has a single mom who is an English teacher. Jill is the only child of adoptive parents, CeeCee is the poor little rich girl woefully neglected by her parents, and Wallis is an enigma who actually wants to join the book club, yet never brings her mother and continually makes flimsy excuses for her.
The story never really ends - it just stops. Throughout the story, interesting questions are raised about the girls' situations - few, if any of those questions are answered. Most prominently is the question of who Adrienne's father is. She does not know who or where he is. Questions to her mother are answered with questions. She reads an email between her mom and aunt in which they write about her mother's "mistake" - A assumes that she is the "mistake." This perception is never addressed with her mom. Bottom line - the book was disappointing.
The story never really ends - it just stops. Throughout the story, interesting questions are raised about the girls' situations - few, if any of those questions are answered. Most prominently is the question of who Adrienne's father is. She does not know who or where he is. Questions to her mother are answered with questions. She reads an email between her mom and aunt in which they write about her mother's "mistake" - A assumes that she is the "mistake." This perception is never addressed with her mom. Bottom line - the book was disappointing.
May 24, 2014
This book is so sad, so happy, it just.. URGH!! words cannot explain it. It made me cry, it made me laugh, and it made me angry (at some characters of course!). It is about these 4 girls, with different personalities and with different worlds. And they are basically forced by their parents to have a book club and read their summer reading books and talk about it, as a book club should do. But, more crazy problems come their way, and when I say crazy I mean CRAZY, like CRAY CRAY crazy. I totally recommend this book because this book well, it just awesome. You'll have to read it to believe it. :)
August 9, 2018
I actually found this book quite enjoyable. The reason was because the main character, Adrienne Haus was a lot like me.
We both enjoy reading, we're always absentminded, and we have no idea what our future is gonna look like. Like Adrienne, I also try to relate to the protagonist of the book I'm reading.
Ughh but the double plot twists though.... That's what I'm upset about. Jeff didn't deserve to die!
Also, one last thing, I felt that Wallis was still so mysterious, I mean she was pretty much the same throughout. The author didn't dig into her backstory much.
We both enjoy reading, we're always absentminded, and we have no idea what our future is gonna look like. Like Adrienne, I also try to relate to the protagonist of the book I'm reading.
Ughh but the double plot twists though.... That's what I'm upset about. Jeff didn't deserve to die!
Also, one last thing, I felt that Wallis was still so mysterious, I mean she was pretty much the same throughout. The author didn't dig into her backstory much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2012
When I saw the title for Julie Schumacher’s new YA novel, I couldn’t imagine a book club being unbearable – at least not at first. Then I read the publisher’s brief description and cracked up. Yep, I thought, that could definitely become unbearable very quickly. A bit of trivia: If you read The Body Is Water, Ms. Schumacher’s first novel, the character Jane Haus in that novel is the mom sixteen years later in this novel. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=3840.
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August 19, 2012charming and funny-a collection of types, the overachieving adopted from Asia girl, the mean rich girl, the follower with no self confidence and the mysterious and weird genius read the classics, with their mothers Read this one on the plane. Toward the end of the flight the teen boy sitting next to me asked me what I was reading, he'd been reading over my shoulder and liked it.
August 27, 2016
This book was.... OK, I guess. The plot was nothing special, and the final big plot twist.... Kinda anti-climatic. What I did like was the main character's sarcasm and her description of literary devices-were pretty amusing.
All in all, though, the book was pretty mediocre.
All in all, though, the book was pretty mediocre.
July 12, 2016
Descent story, just a little too for teens/young adult readers!
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