Name: The Mother-Daughter Book Club
Rating: 3.931034482758621 (29 reviews)
ISBN: 9780689864124

Heather  Vogel Frederick

The Mother-Daughter Book Club #1

The Mother-Daughter Book Club

Chapter Two

Jaclyn Graybill

Contrary to TMDBC, this was my first time re-reading the second book in a very long time. Like with any series, once my love is established with the first book, it takes a lot for me not to fall in love with the rest. Given that my feelings for this series was pretty well established in my review for The Mother Daughter Book Club, there isn't much else to say about Much Ado About Anne that I haven't already said. However, the second installment did have plenty of moments that made me weepy, surprising to myself.
I think it has something to do with revisiting a story that was so important to you when you were younger. Seeing it with fresh and older eyes gives me a deeper appreciation for the girls and their tribulations. At this point, I have now felt and experienced almost everything that the girls do in this story. I remember what it feels like to fight with your bestfriends, to be torn between past and future, and all of the fear and sadness that comes along with it. I love this book because it states these facts plainly, it doesn't trivialize the struggles that these girls go through, and it sees them through beautifully to the end. I think what I love most it is just a little reminder that life is tricky, difficult, beautiful, and lively, and doesn't need to be illustrated in lofty themes and metaphors to be conveyed. Reading these books again is a breath of fresh air from my own chaotic world, and I'm excited to see it through.

Tonight's binge is one of my favorite stories. As I peruse through the more "adult" world of fiction and literature, every once in a while I like to come back to the stories that made me fall in love with reading. While I may have aged out of the demographic for The Mother-Daughter Book Club, I nevertheless find comfort within the lives of these four girls in Concord, more than 10 years since I first picked up this book.
Heather Vogel Frederick does a great job when it comes to writing for pre-teens, and it is because it is simple without being condescending. Mean girls, embarrassing parents, and cruel practical jokes may not necessarily hold as much weight with us as we grow older, but they are experiences that teach us how to deal with the harder things in life as we grow into "Little Women" (side note: the book club's choice of Little Women in the story 100% cultivated my love for the classic, and if you know me, that is huge. I am forever grateful). I myself first read TMDBC when I got my first dose of the "real world" out of childhood. It was comforting to know that my own thoughts and experiences were being mirrored in those pages, in a time where big changes are beginning to happen with little to no warning. I was inspired by Emma's creativity, Jess's kindness, Cassidy's fearlessness, and Megan's courage. I became a fledgling writer, a fierce reader, a strong athlete, and a dreaming creative. I've held a piece of this book with me ever since, reminded of how much I looked up to these characters, and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the affect they had on me as I grew.
I think that is an important part about stories that we often forget, especially when sharing our reading journey with the world like we do here on goodreads. So much of the book world is incredibly welcoming and opening, but just like with anything, there is pressure to come across as sophisticated and well read with our book choices. In my opinion, we should be taking the time to read books like this, that remind us of our basic human needs to be loved and accepted, to find friendship and community. The most important stories are the ones that we can learn and grow from, no matter our stage in life.
And, reading a book in one night again? Felt just like that little girl once more, finding her voice in the pages for the first time. The Mother-Daughter Book Club feels like coming home.

Milana Marie Waller

Fast paced ( a little too much ) but very good. I liked all four girls. It was like you were reading four books at a time that were really good. I ordered the next four off amazon

The Mother-Daughter Book Club The Mother-Daughter Book Club #1

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