The Mother-Daughter Book Club

The Mother-Daughter Book Club #1

by Heather Vogel Frederick

The book club

is about to get

a makeover....

Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma's already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.

But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can't help but wonder: What would Jo March do?

Acclaimed author Heather Vogel Frederick will delight daughters of all ages in a novel about the fabulousness of fiction, family, and friendship.

Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Books About Books, Childrens

237 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2007

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is adorable and if a 200-page book about twelve-year-olds navigating friendships and reading Little Women with their moms doesn't sound like something you want to read right away, I simply don't know what to say to you.

also there are a lot of mentions of cookies, and that's something I'll always love.

basically this book was short (needed) and nostalgia-inducing (lovely) and filled with Little Women references (one of two books I've five-starred so far this year). it was, for me in this moment and for middle school me long ago, sheer perfection.

bottom line: HURRAY.

---------------
currently-reading update

attempting to catch up on my reading challenge the only way I know how: by binge reading children's books I half-remember from my youth

[Ginny Messina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overall concept of this book really appealed to me, and I approached it with the highest expectations. I loved the Concord setting and the fun facts related to LMA and Little Women. Unfortunately, there were too many issues that kept me from enjoying it. On a minor note, it was hard to follow and I had to frequently flip back to see whose voice I was reading. Not a big deal, but I’m glad I didn’t read it on my Nook.

I didn’t find the book to be at all believable. The girls, especially Emma, felt older than 6th graders, and none of the dialog among the mothers sounded the least bit plausible. The penultimate chapter in NYC, where the characters all fall into once-in-a-lifetime kinds of opportunities was so over-the-top, just completely preposterous. Maybe this would play better with the intended audience--girls in the 9 to 12 year age range--but I’m skeptical.

Mostly, though, two things about this book really bugged me. One was the depiction of Mrs Wong—the vegetarian environmentalist and feminist. Such a ridiculous, shallow, dated stereotype, right down to the hard-as-rock vegan cookies, the carrot crunchies (give me a break) and the request for “tofu dogs.” It read like something from 1992; I actually flipped back to the copyright to see if the book had in fact been written in the 1990s.

I have no problem with poking fun at vegetarians and tree huggers. But I don’t like books written for young girls that play up stereotypes—especially in ways that seem dismissive of what most people would (hopefully) consider to be admirable values. (I would have been just as annoyed had the stereotype focused on conservative Christians, or librarians, or some other group to which I don’t belong.) And it’s bothersome that the only character in the book who is presented as a silly ninny is the one who cares about the environment, social justice, and women’s issues.

But the truly egregious thing about this book was the constant reference to the size of Mrs. Chadwick’s butt, and how all the girls and their moms laughed at it. Really? A book written for young girls--the most fragile people on earth when it comes to issues regarding body image and self-esteem--that laughs at fat people? For that reason alone, I would not recommend this book.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been trying to find books to suggest to my 6th grade daughter. Apparently all of her friends are now reading Twilight, Hunger Games, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I've read all of these young adult books and have really enjoyed them, but I'd like her to wait a little longer before reading what I would consider books with older teen issues. We looked through goodreads for some suggested books and stumbled upon the Mother-Daughter Book Club. One person's review mentioned that it was a great pre-cursor to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I was sold. My daughter isn't a "girly-girl" so the pink cover through her off a bit, but she liked the idea of the book so she read it anyway.

****As a note, the characters read Little Women in their book club. I would highly recommend reading this book first because there are spoilers!****

My daughter loved the characters who were dealing with problems sixth graders often face, and she felt the characterizations were true to life. I thought the characters were a little one dimensional, but I'm not in sixth grade so I'll go with my daughter's judgement! The information about Louisa May Alcott in the story is a little forced, but I love the fact that the girls are relating the book to their lives in interesting ways. I also feel that you get to know the Alcott family in a unique way, and I learned some things about them that I didn't know before.

We're now interested in reading more in the series which is great for me since it's hard to keep up with my daughter's reading. Since each book is based on the girls reading another book--we get two book ideas at once!

I would definitely recommend this book for 5/6th grade girls (and their parents). Great discussion ideas at the end of the book, too!

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDITED TO ADD IN JANUARY 2020: I am in the process of revisiting those instalments of Heather Vogel Frederick's Mother-Daughter Book Club series which I have already read, as for one, I want to finally finish the series (reading the books I have not yet tackled and are languishing on my to-read pile and on my Kindle) and for two, I also want to check and verify whether my original star rankings are holding up to my rereads, if they are too high, too low or just about right. And indeed, after now having reread books one to three, I do think that my rather lukewarm responses at best were and remain pretty well spot-on (and indeed, the only reason, I am actually going to continue with the Mother-Daughter Book Club is simply that I do have the entire series in my possession and kind of want to finish what I had originally started).



ORIGINAL REVIEW: While I did end up somewhat enjoying Heather Vogel Frederick's The Mother-Daughter Book Club, I remain rather majorly conflicted and up-and-down, both hot and cold. And I guess I am in fact more than just a bit disappointed with The Mother-Daughter Book Club, as this was such an appealing and promising premise, not only the concept of a mother-daughter book club, but also that one of my all time favourite books, namely Louisa May Alcott's Little Women would be read and discussed, and the magic I was expecting, it never really did all that much materialise (there were indeed a few hints of brilliance, and I did and do appreciate the historical and literary details on both Little Women and the Alcotts, but I was not even remotely as enthralled by the narrative, by the plot, as I had fondly and eagerly expected and hoped to be).

So the bullying described in The Mother-Daughter Book Club (especially in the beginning chapters) was and remains a trifle hard to stomach (although yes, that might well be due to this hitting a bit too close to the proverbial home for me). And in fact and indeed, after having now finished The Mother-Daughter Book Club, I realise that I actually have far more issues and annoyances with some of the mothers, with many of Heather Vogel Frederick's adult characters than with the featured and encountered school bullying and nastiness. For example, while I know that Cassidy's mother basically just wants to keep the family safe (after the father's tragic death), her dictatorial refusal to allow her daughter to try out for hockey (Cassidy's one joy, and her main connection with and to her deceased father), this is not only amazingly sad, but incredibly thoughtless and indeed rather putridly selfish if not deliberately cruel, not to mention simply stupid, stupid, stupid (and I do well realise that Cassidy herself often seems to act in a similar manner, but come on, she is a child of eleven, and someone who after her father's death feels like an absolute alien in her family, as she is in all ways, her father's daughter, athletic, tomboyish, while her older sister Courtney is more similar to the mother, a former fashion model). And I have to and perhaps with some guilt admit that I totally applauded and cheered Cassidy for swearing at, for totally mouthing off against her mother in a major way (and when the family counsellor to whom Cassidy's mother then drags her reluctant daughter actually agrees with Cassidy that her mother is being unreasonable and self-centred to not allow hockey, that was and remains for me, just pure gold).

And Megan's mother (whom I consider one of the most stereotyped and typecast characters of The Mother Daughter Book Club, period) is to me (even considering my disdain for Mrs Chadwick) probably the one mother whom I (at this point) consider the most clueless and frustratingly grating, infuriating even (so much so that I actually started to actively feel sorry for Megan, bully that she is notwithstanding). Mrs Wong seems to and for me the typical "modern" (and wealthy) activist parent, who might have some good ideas about saving the environment, who might even in many ways have her heart in the right place, but who also has no clue as to what her daughter actually needs (such as some criticism and consequences for her nastiness and bullying behaviour, especially towards Emma and Jess) and what she desires, where Megan's talents lie. Mrs Wong blithely states that Megan will be and wants to be an environmental lawyer (come on, she is just eleven), willfully ignoring and even rather nonchalantly and carelessly publically dismissing her daughter's artistic talents and that her interests clearly lie in the realm of fashion design.

But also, with Jess's mother not in appearance (as she is in New York for most of the story), the ONLY mother with whom I could really identify in any way was Mrs Hawthorne, Emma's mother (and by that extension, with Emma as well, although Jess does come a close second). I like how Emma and her mother are obviously close, and while she cannot fully protect her daughter from Becca Chadwick's bullying, she is also at least both willing and able to confront Becca directly. That being said, seeing that Concord is not a large urban area, and while I can understand that Emma's family is not wealthy, is on a tight budget, I think it is potentially a bit problematic that Phoebe Hawthorne makes her daughter wear second-second hand clothing from a well if not universally known local donor (Nicole Patterson), as this seems to just increase the bullying Emma experiences and gives especially Becca and company increasing ammunition (it is in my opinion akin to painting a huge target on poor Emma's back, and therefore, I for one think that Mrs Hawthorne should have been getting Emma's second hand clothing from somewhere else other than Concord).

And with regard to the amount of bullying and nastiness that is part and parcel to much of the content and thematics of The Mother Daughter Book Club, and whether the same might be a bit over the top and too exaggerated, I have reached the personal conclusion that while Becca Chadwick and her cohorts are definitely a bit overly exaggerated, there is also (and unfortunately) much reality portrayed, as painful as that might be to fathom and consider. Personality types such as Becca, Ashley and Jen do exist, and so do exaggerated parental types à la Mrs. Chadwick and Mrs. Wong (thus I consider The Mother-Daughter Book Club somewhat exaggerated and stereotypical, but still ultimately realistic, in other words, exaggerated reality). However, I do find it more than a bit disconcerting that Heather Vogel Frederick seems to majorly wallow and glory in negativity, problems and even cynicism until almost the very end of the novel (there seems to be relatively little unadulterated joy displayed and depicted, and then suddenly, like a deus ex machina, Jess's mother returns to Half Moon Farm for good and everything is suddenly fine and lovely for everyone).

Finally but importantly, as to the general organisation and conceptualisation of The Mother Daughter Book Club, I personally do find the constantly shifting viewpoints and narrators quite taxing and trying. Nothing against alternate viewpoints and narrators, but if an author utilises this device, the narrators must have strong independent voices, so that potential readers can easily distinguish them from one another, and this simply does not all that much happen with the four "daughters" (I kept having to flip back to check who was narrating, as especially with Emma and Jess, their voices are not always distinct and even Megan sometimes sounds confusingly wishy-washy, as really, only Cassidy seems to have a voice that is always distinctly her own). And finally, while the events portrayed and narrated in The Mother Daughter Book Club happen in grade six, when the girls are eleven years old, many of the musings do not sound (at least to and for me) like the thoughts of eleven year olds, but rather what individuals a couple of years older, say, around thirteen or fourteen might think and proclaim (for when I was eleven, I generally did not think along those lines, with crushes on boys seemingly the be all and end all, even for Emma). All in all, not a great, not an outstanding novel, but a decent enough offering (and introduction), as I did end up finding The Mother Daughter Book Club a mildly enjoyable, although at times rather annoying and uncomfortable read, with for me, certain problematic issues of structure and style (as well as too much stereotyping). I do appreciate the premise and concept, but must admit that I for the most part am considering continuing with the series mostly because I own the entire set and thus feel somewhat obligated to continue (and thus, I do hope the sequels will get a bit stronger and increasingly interesting).

[Kate Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was seriously such a fun concept! Contemporary fiction with a theme of classic literature? Yes, please!

I was expecting the book to be more about the book club meetings than it actually was, but I still enjoyed what it ended up being. ;) Also, you don’t have to be a Little Women expert to enjoy it. I’ve only seen the movie, and I loved guessing which March sister each character paralleled. (Once I figured it out, it was really cool to see that the plot had a few Easter eggs.) ;)

The author did a good job making the girls and their families unique. I related most to Emma, though Jess was great too. And Darcy was actually a really cool older brother. :D (And a huge high five for literary-minded parents!)

There were many delightful events in this book, but the Independence Day celebration was probably my favorite. Their “little” town is so rich with history! (That picnic at Louisa May Alcott’s house closely rivaled it, though.) ;)

Unfortunately, this book had a lot of negative middle school drama. Cliques, boy competitions, and verbal bullying--basically everything everyone wants to forget about being a young teen. ;) Some parts were so embarrassing or cringeworthy (a testament to the author’s writing skill, I guess!) for the characters that it made things much less enjoyable to read. Hopefully, because the mothers are now taking an active interest in their daughter’s lives, things will change for the better. They already are by the end of this book, I think. ;)

Just a note, rebellious and unkind attitudes abound for a large part of the book. Also, one character’s mother temporarily abandons her family to become an actor. Her daughter is watching her show on the tv and finds it weird to see her mom kissing someone other than her dad. Agreed. That wasn’t cool.

Altogether, this was an okay read. ;) I may dip into the series again sometime. We shall see. ;)

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Mother-Daughter Book Club, there are four girls. Megan who loves clothes, Cassidy who loves hockey and baseball and hates girly things, Emma who loves books and food, and shy Jess who is best friends with Emma and her mother left her family to go o New York to become her star on broadway. As you can see they're all very different. Their Moms put together a book club and none of them want to go. Near the end of the story they all love book club and are all friend even though they are all so different.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Michaela Pallante aka "Mickey" for TeensReadToo.com

Megan, Cassidy, Emma, and Jess are as different as four preteen girls can be. Yet, their mothers are friends and have invented a mother-daughter book club to spend more "quality time" with the girls. The book that they have chosen- LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott.

Emma, whose mother was the brains behind the book club, has already read this book and many others. As an aspiring writer she reads any book she can get her hands on. It also helps that her mother just happens to be a librarian.

The book club is the last place that Megan wants to be. She would rather be at the mall with her friends, taking notes for outfits she would like to design one day. Her mother, on the other hand, has great dreams in mind for Megan. Dreams that involve science and math camp and Harvard. Megan hates that.

Cassidy would rather be out playing hockey then spending time in a book club. She is proud of her tomboy status but her mother, an ex-model, is less than thrilled. Cassidy knows that this book club is just another way to try to make her more girly and she hates it.

Jess is best friends with Emma and has fun with her in the book club. The only problem is that her own mother has temporarily moved to New York to be a soap opera star. This means that Jess usually has to go to these book club meetings alone -- or worse, with her dad.

At the beginning of this book none of the girls are into the book club and would all rather be doing something else. However, with a little help from Louisa May Alcott and a few other interesting events, the girls really come to love it.

This book was really, really good. The characters are easy to relate to and the storyline is amazing. This book did leave me a bit teary-eyed, but it was a good teary-eyed. Pick up a copy of THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB and start reading it right away; you won't be able to put it down. While you're at it, pick up a copy of LITTLE WOMEN, too. There are some fun questions at the end of this book that go along with it and that book is also amazing.

[kinley ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun, but definitely for younger ages, I kinda read it for fun, so I expected it not to be as fun! But definitely recommend it to younger people!!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

By the time kids are in sixth grade, which I assume is the intended audience for this cusp-of-YA book, they should be reading books that challenge stereotypes, not reinforce them. If the examples in this book are to be believed, all rich teenagers are mean and obsessed with makeup; all environmentalists dress in beat-up jeans and bake rock-hard, disgusting vegan cookies; all girls who like sports are ill-mannered and hate to dress up; all bookworms are shy and cry at the drop of a hat... do you see where I'm going with this? I thought the overall themes of friendship and tolerance were good ones, but they were presented in an entirely thoughtless manner. Potentially good for reluctant readers, but I'd hesitate to out-and-out recommend it. A read-alike that isn't so stereotypical is Lara Schaefer's Tea Shop Girls duology.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mother-Daughter Book Club definitely gave me some Little Women vibes. Not in a bad way either but I will admit that this was a bit slower for me to get through. Which, is weird if you think about it because I listened to the audio book. Plus I feel like I have always had a love/hate relationship with the Little Women books.

Now I loved the first one but the the entire series as a whole - not my cup of tea. As for the movies? Yeah, I tend to go towards those first because it's easy for me to digest when I just want to really relax. That being said, this book was pretty good for the first on the series. Even if the whole 'book club' part caught me off guard. One would think we would get a bit more book club meetings than anything else but that wasn't the case with this one either.

Definitely a nice surprise and something that I actually ended up enjoying. Other than that, the characters themselves were okay. Nothing really caught my attention or made someone more memorable than the other. They were all pretty likable and easy to get to know.

In the end, I'm glad that I took a super random risk on this book and I might have to look for the next one now.

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I CANNOT recommend this book.

The concept is so great -- mother-daughter book club! What could be better?! My 11 year old daughter and I took it on with gusto. We even bought four in the series! Ugh.

About 15 minutes in I had the full picture. Okay, I know, it's written for preteens, so no wonder that as the mother I could predict it all. But still... The book was uber-disappointing.

Lots of ugly bullying. In some books, this can be done well and provide a lesson for girls. In this case, the bullying was met with "the book club" basically ganging up back, including the mothers against the bully's mother! MISSED OPPORTUNITY -- how to deal with a bully effectively and gracefully, and spread positivity in the world! Ugh!

The mothers were brutal. My daughter and I had lots of conversation about them. I/we couldn't relate AT ALL to them. They were all basically snobby, rich women, saying things, doing things that were just non-relatable in every way. For instance, there's a scene where all the mothers convince the 11 year old girls to dress up in 1800s clothing and have a party -- and the moms did too! There isn't any way that would happen in our lives. Even if I could convince my friends to get their daughters to (which would be virtually impossible), in reality, would all the mothers as well!? And then yip around in glee, hugging and jumping on the spot? Really?? And there is a weekend in NYC that must have cost THOUSANDS of dollars, thousands and thousands... this is just not a book that relates to our lives...

These kind of gaps made the book difficult to read and relate to, which is too bad for what was meant to be a book of conversation between my daughter and I. I mean, I guess it got us talking, but it didn't enrich us, and I even worry that it was a bad influence on her.

Even worse, there was a ton of talk about:
- "her round tummy"
- "her ample behind" (TONS of talk about this)
- shopping, nails, fashion, modelling
- a dumpy, silly dad
- drama of every variety, from crying in bathroom stalls to shrinking away from boys who notice fashion and beauty (at at grade 6 dance?!)

I know some girls are into fashion and beauty -- mine is for sure, to some degree -- but I wanted this book to give a better balance. Less high-maintenance girly stuff (with your token nerd, sporty girl, fashionista, all white, with one token Chinese) and more deeper quality issues.

My daughter and I both agree that we won't be going forward with other books in the series. So disappointing!

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the first few pages, I could tell it would be a cute middle grade read. The writing style is charming and quickly drew me in.

The story is about a group of girls (about 12 years old), and their moms, starting a book club together. Their first literature pick? One of my personal favorites... Little Women!

Now, sometimes the girl-talk can get incredibly girly, when they chat about all the drama of middle school, boys, etc... some of this I skimmed through, to be honest (me, reading as an adult). For younger readers, I'm sure they enjoy all those details better than I.

Some negative concepts are covered, such as cliques, bullying, and dysfunctional families. (Conservative readers may not appreciate all of this.)

However, I did find myself drooling (figuratively) over all the literature-themed "Easter eggs" sprinkled throughout the chapters, relating to the great authoress Louisa May Alcott, to Concord, and Orchard House itself. Some of these scenes jumped to life for me, as real as watching a movie version of it (which could be cool, by the way).

Overall? It's cute. Could definitely be used as a companion story to Little Women, when introducing the great classic to young readers (feed the reading flame!).

[Bridgette_E1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a very nice quick read about a group of girls that you would never expect to friends. Thier friendships start merely because of their mom's. all the moms came together to started a book club. all the girls hated it but after time they learn how to get along and be friendlier to each other. related to this book in many ways, but the biggest connection that I found was how the 4 girls are very similar the girls in "Little women". With all their differences they still find a way to connect and become friends.

[Veva Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma, Megan, Cassidy, and Jess are made to join a book club with their mothers where they are reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for the year. Will they become good friends and be able to get along through the book club and their first year of middle school? Read on and find out for yourself.

This is the first book of the mother daughter book club series and it was pretty good. I'll definitely continue with this series at a later time. If you like books about book clubs and friends, def check it out. It is available at your local library and wherever books are sold.

[jade 🥯 · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay yes i know this is like preteen gr 7 book, but COMFORT BOOK its so good i feel so nostalgic when i read this 😭😭💗💗💗💗

[CuriousLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was torn between giving this book 2.5 stars and 3. It's not so bad that it deserves 2 stars though.

This book is the rather cliche story of four girls who don't like/know each other very well, who become friends over the course of the book. You've got four girls with very distinct personalities to map to the March sisters. Unfortunately, the author chose to write the book from all four perspectives (alternating chapters) but largely fails to distinguish their narrative voices. The book would have been improved by an omniscient narrator.

She does write and describe Concord quite well, so that's a real plus from a MA librarian's perspective. It's not that this book is poorly written, it's just that it's so very cliche with little to distinguish it.

My other big gripe is that she gave away all the major spoilers in Little Women to a cohort of readers who likely had not yet read the book, and might have been inspired to pick it up after reading this one.

For grades 5-8.

[ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

when the childhood fav still hits!!!! i've probably read this more than 30 times in my life 🫡

[Ally Buchek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best middle school series ever!

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Michelle Gragg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've started reading books alongside my daughter to encourage her to read. We take turns picking books. I wanted to pre read this book because I had heard it was popular but didn't know enough to feel comfortable recommending it. I was so disappointed. The writing is poor. It passes back and forth through four narrators. But they all have the same narrative voice which is confusing. The characters are very stereotypical. Also, the last section (summer) is sensational and wholly doesn't match the rest of the book. It is far reaching and completely lost me. The other writing point that bothered me was the way the author struggled to interject the historical connections into the story. For the most part they start with the same mother always saying "you know girls the Alcott's did x, y, and z." Subtlety is completely unknown in this book.

What bothered me most and why I won't be suggesting it to my daughter is because of the heroines in the story continually acting out the same mean girl behavior they are the victims of. The author seems hyper sensitive about weight because it is a criticism of the main villain (repeatedly and inappropriately) and even one of the main narrators. These two characters scarcely get referred to without their weight being part of the description. The girl who is pudgy also happens to be the one who has the best mother daughter relationship. Almost as if to say: you can be close to your family or you can be pretty but not both. There is one non-white dyad in the book. Unfortunately they are portrayed as the stereotypical tiger mother, daughter duo. On the whole I found very little of value in this book. I hate when authors feel that poor writing = younger audience. I also hate when they feel that girls need to continue to be marginalized the way they have been in other novels. I hope some author tries a concept like this again with more depth, better writing, and stronger mothers. The mothers in this book are just mean girls grown up who aren't open to accepting their daughters.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it fair to say I'm "friends" with Heather when I've not yet met her personally? Melody?

*****Read this straight through in a few hours and was SO pleased to find that it's absolutely charming! It's exactly the kind of YA that I always lament isn't around anymore (the Beverly Clearys, Anne Emerys, etc.). Like some of my friends who have read the series it took me a bit of time to be able to distinguish among the girls, but I liked them all, and their mothers. It's been years since I've read Little Women, but that didn't matter as the Club focused on the high points. Only caught one B-T reference ("Purple and yellow are complimentary colors" which I ADORED since I used those colors in my own wedding as I thought of Tib.) and I wonder if I missed others.

My few quibbles - I almost wish Megan hadn't been redeemed quite yet - I love the idea that a "mean girl" is forced to co-exist with the girls she torments and would like to see that carried along a bit further. And everyone got TOO happy an ending, but, again, I guess that's good for the target audience.

I enjoyed this so much I think I might seek out the others tomorrow...I just hope they are in stock. I can't wait to see what she does with our beloved tomes (for those of you who are wondering what I'm babbling about, Heather is as addicted to the "Betsy Tacy" series as I am, and volume five in this series has the club reading the books. I'm smiling just thinking about it!).

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so cute! Although the chapters are very episodic, leading to abrupt time jumps, I love the idea of the club and all the characters are great, though Emma and Jess are my favorites. Emma because she's shy and geeky and loves to write, and I love her family SO MUCH and was sorely disappointed at first when I realized the whole book would not be from her perspective, and Jess because I love both her dad and her wonderful organic farm with all its animals, and because her mom's absence with apparent intent to divorce made my heart hurt so much.

I also love how quotes from and allusions to Little Women are slipped in throughout, enough to please people who've read it (it's one of my all-time favorites), but not so heavily that someone who hasn't read it would be lost. The mothers are also very creative in coming up with tie-in activities, and there are lots of great extras in the back, including recipes and a long list of potential discussion questions if you wanted to use THIS book for a book club.

Its only flaws are some tired running jokes of the insult variety, mostly the incessant use of "Goat Girl" and the obsession with mocking Mrs. Chadwick's weight behind her back -- all the more bizarre because it seems to have been spearheaded by Emma's mom, who works with her (Chadwick is mean and judgmental/kind of a bully, but I still don't think that should be treated as justification the way it is, especially in a kids' book).

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept of the series, and the book was enjoyable, but there were several times when I felt that the voice of the various pre-teens just did not ring quite true. They did, in fact, read too much like an adult writing what was happening, rather than a teen's thinking or speaking. I know that, for instance, the character Emma, being a bright girl and a big reader, would speak with a larger vocabulary than many 12-year-olds, but the particular word selections & turns of phrase just didn't, for me (as a parent of an Emma-type daughter), ring true.

I also had a hard time keeping track of the adults. The girls all went solely by first name, so I could fairly quickly begin to distinguish among them, whereas the adults were referred to with a larger variety of names at different times -- a mixture of first names like "Phoebe" or "Clementime" and kid-referring-to-adult terms such as "Mr. Delaney" and "Becca's mom," so that I was forever thinking, "Wait, now WHO is Mrs. Sloane?" or "Which one is Phoebe?"

I am sticking with the series, as I'm exceptionally excited to see the entry that will utilize the Betsy-Tacy series(!). Hopefully the adult characters will become more fully planted in my brain as I move forward.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have probably given this book 5 stars if not for one thing that rubbed me the wrong way. The book was fun and creative. It may perhaps inspire girls to read Little Women. Although reading this book before LIttle Women would spoil several aspects of it.
I enjoyed the multiple points of view. The setting was very appropriate for a book about books and a book club. I did think that the occupations of the parents were a bit unrealistic, but they made for a unique story and opened up lots of fun possibilities.
The thing that bothered me was several references to the unlikable mother being fat. She was unlikable because of her personality. We did not need to know that she was overweight. It's like the author thought that would make her more unlikable, which is totally irrelevant and doesn't send a good message to young readers.

[Charlotte Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Would recommend for 11-13 year-old girls. But any age or gender could like it!!!

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was enjoyable. I will be reading more in the series.

[L Y N N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely delightful read that made me laugh out loud off and on, as well as giggle and chuckle. I had purchased this book very cheaply at a library book sale, knowing nothing about it. I was a bit thrown as I started reading, until I checked and discovered it is a juvenile/YA book. This was “just right” and just what I needed right now! I own the second book as well and will definitely acquire the rest of the series. Highly highly recommend!

And now I am even more motivated in my reread of Little Women since that is the book they discuss in this book! :)

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this was good, but some was bad. There is a lot of fat shaming in this. This should not be in a middle school book. There was also a lot of hatred towards other girls and I just didn't like it. Some of the mothers were just as bad if not worse. Some of the mothers were great. There are a lot of tough subjects happening, and I understand kids are like this everywhere, but in order to change this type of attitude and behaviour, take it out of books.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good! I’m definitely past the age of the intended audience, but felt i should at least read it (My sister loved it) and it was still a good read for me. :)