"The Mother-Daugher Book Club" by Heather Vogel Frederick

I am excited to say that I have now read the first book in The Mother-Daughter Book Club series!   I am also excited to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.  The book starts off on a very different note than the following books.  Later in the series, Emma, Jess, Cassidy and Megan are best friends, but they didn’t start out that way.  In the first book, Megan is a member of the “fab four” the queen bees of the school who spend a good amount of their time mocking Emma’s hand-me-downs and Jess’ life growing up on a farm.  Megan is the new girl, having recently moved to Concord from California after the sudden death of her father.  Jess and Emma are the only girls out of the four that are already friends. 

Much to the dismay of the girls, their mothers decide to start a mother-daughter book club which will begin with Little Women.  The club is especially difficult for Jess as her mother is a soap opera actress living in New York City and doesn’t have the opportunity to participate in the club with her daughter.  The club leads to tension between the girls which is escalated when Megan’s friends steal Emma’s journal and reads a private poem aloud (in the presence of Emma’s crush, the subject of the poem).  Of course we know (assuming you’ve read my other review) that the girls resolve their problems and end up becoming friends, but it was interesting to see where the girls started and how their friendship grew.

This was a fun book to read and I recommend it and the rest of the series to young girls.  I also suggest that readers of this series read the book club’s books too (I am anxious to re-read Little Women now that I’ve been reminded of it’s wonderful story!).

Keep up with all of the Mother-Daughter Book Club’s reads!

The Mother-Daughter Book Club: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Much Ado About Anne: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Dear Pen Pal: Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Pies and Prejudice: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Home for the Holidays (October 2011): A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Happy Reading!

-Melly

"The Mother-Daughter Book Club" by Heather Vogel Frederick

Sadly I am going about this series the wrong way.  So far I have read book two, Much Ado About Anne and am in the middle of book four, Pies and Prejudice.  I am having a lot of fun with this series and look forward to getting copies of books one, The Mother-Daughter Book Club and three, Dear Pen Pal.  In addition, I’d like to read Home for the Holidays when it is released in October.

The series is a bit what you’d expect, based on its title.  Though I am not completely sure how it was formed (does it really make sense to review a series I have not completed?  Oh well….) it’s what I would think it would be about, four young girls are in a book club with their mothers and use the events taking place in the novels to help inspire them to solve the problems taking place in their lives.  The books are not just about the classic literature the girls are reading (so far I've encountered Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice).  Each girl has her own distinct personality; the jock, the fashionista, the farm girl, and the reader.  Though they are all different, this works for them.  Again, I don’t know much about the events of the first book, but during Much Ado About Anne, the girls are working to save Jess’ wonderfully named, Half-Moon Farm.  From their readings and personal skills the girls come up with a plan and put it into action.

This is a great book for late elementary/middle school readers who may not be ready for (or interested in) the vampire romances or intense topics currently popular for young adult readers.  I love that the girls in this series tackle their problems head on and while they involve the adults in their lives, they take control of their actions and work to get things done.  If I had to pick something to complain about, it would be the length of the chapters.  Though they don’t drag, I often find the individual chapters to take a long time to end and I seem to read these books in shorter spurts than normal.  However, I am enjoying reading and I will certainly be finishing this series!

Check out Heather Vogel Frederick's website!

Happy Reading! 

-Melly