Digging through the archives...
A few years ago, Emma and Megan were best friends. Then Megan's dad "invented some computer gizmo and made a bazillion dollars, and that was the end of that." Now Emma tries to blend into the woodwork and Megan is a follower of the Queen Bee, Becca Chadwick. Jess is just trying to survive another miserable year of school. Cassidy hates girly stuff and just wants to play hockey.
Emma's mom is a librarian.
She thinks a book club would be a good idea.
A mother-daughter book club.
Reading Little Women.
As the girls and their mothers struggle to read and relate, their lives change. There are growing pains to deal with, and some bad mistakes are made. Friendships are broken and renewed. Nothing goes as planned.
In the end, everything isn't perfect. But there's hope - and more understanding between old and new friends, mothers and daughters.
This is a sweet, warm read. A little over the top with the happy endings, but that's fine by me. I like to read stories of how the world should be - and this is definitely one of them.
Verdict: Strongly recommended - this will be a favorite with tween and middle school girls, and their moms.
Revisited: This series definitely has staying power. It's popular not only with tween girls, but with a lot of adult women I've met and many who read it along with their daughters. The last title in the series, "Mother-Daughter Book Camp" features the girls, now graduated from high school, coming together for one last book club before college. Although the series features increasingly older characters throughout high school, it's still acceptable middle grade fare with just a hint of romance. A definite must for most collections.
ISBN: 978-0689864124; Published April 2007 by Simon and Schuster; Purchased for the library
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