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appaloosa05's review
3.0
Overall series thoughts:
This was a decent series. Certainly not my favorite realistic fiction titles, but engaging enough that I took the time to listen to the entire series. I do enjoy the chance to follow the same characters over seven books; you get to know them better and really see their growth, especially since they start as 6th graders and are high school graduates at series' end. I am a blend of Emma, and Jess, with a little bit of Cassidy; personality and interest wise. The nice thing about this series is that any reader will probably find they relate to at least one of the young women. I also appreciated the quotes from the books sprinkled throughout, and the fact that I learned about some books I've never read (I recently started the Betsy-Tacy series, inspired by the Mother-Daughter Book Club). What I didn't like was that throughout the series, I felt that the main characters tended to jump to conclusions, instead of taking the time to get to know others that maybe they didn't click with immediately. There was also a great deal of name calling, and fat phobia. Additionally, some of the things that happened were a little too good to be true. Overall, nice fluff listening for my long commute, but probably not a series I would go out of my way to read again.
This was a decent series. Certainly not my favorite realistic fiction titles, but engaging enough that I took the time to listen to the entire series. I do enjoy the chance to follow the same characters over seven books; you get to know them better and really see their growth, especially since they start as 6th graders and are high school graduates at series' end. I am a blend of Emma, and Jess, with a little bit of Cassidy; personality and interest wise. The nice thing about this series is that any reader will probably find they relate to at least one of the young women. I also appreciated the quotes from the books sprinkled throughout, and the fact that I learned about some books I've never read (I recently started the Betsy-Tacy series, inspired by the Mother-Daughter Book Club). What I didn't like was that throughout the series, I felt that the main characters tended to jump to conclusions, instead of taking the time to get to know others that maybe they didn't click with immediately. There was also a great deal of name calling, and fat phobia. Additionally, some of the things that happened were a little too good to be true. Overall, nice fluff listening for my long commute, but probably not a series I would go out of my way to read again.
eggjen's review
4.0
Hard to believe the book club is heading to college! This was a fun farewell story. I'll miss this series.
sallyavena's review
4.0
Cute ending to a cute series. While the girls were all grown up, graduated and getting ready to head off to college, their "voice" didn't seem too grown up...not juvenile either though.
missbryden's review against another edition
4.0
Loved for introducing another great old "classic" I'd not known before (along with the Jean Webster and Maud Hart Lovelace books): Understood Betsy, which I read alongside this second time reading.
The camp sounds like a lot of fun, and I like how the girls grew through having to take care of the younger girls.
Might be flavored by the narrators of the audio I was listening to this second time round, but I found Emma annoying now (Jess, too, a bit) and find Becca more interesting and sympathetic.
Annoyed by some of the girls' reactions to their own personal trials, and how they treat some others, like Felicia, because they're different and they don't understand them - haven't they learned yet? But I guess it's realistic and just because they're "all grown up" at 18 doesn't mean they won't continue to make such mistakes, but I wish the story had made clearer that those kind of behaviors are mistakes.
The camp sounds like a lot of fun, and I like how the girls grew through having to take care of the younger girls.
Might be flavored by the narrators of the audio I was listening to this second time round, but I found Emma annoying now (Jess, too, a bit) and find Becca more interesting and sympathetic.
Annoyed by some of the girls' reactions to their own personal trials, and how they treat some others, like Felicia, because they're different and they don't understand them - haven't they learned yet? But I guess it's realistic and just because they're "all grown up" at 18 doesn't mean they won't continue to make such mistakes, but I wish the story had made clearer that those kind of behaviors are mistakes.
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
The Mother Daughter Book Club is one of my favorite series that I have read in awhile and I am so sad to see it come to an end. But this was a perfect book to wrap-up the series, as it featured a new generation of book club girls at camp which was so cute.
As you may know, I am a huge fan of summer camp and this book was a great choice to start my summer themed reading.
I love these characters and getting to see them already graduated high school and ready to go off to college made me feel like I was saying goodbye to close friends. This book was a great way to tie up the series, I love that we get to see each perspective and how each character has really grown up.
The setting of summer camp is fun and sweet, all the moments really making you feel like you’re really in the story with them.
If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend it!
As you may know, I am a huge fan of summer camp and this book was a great choice to start my summer themed reading.
I love these characters and getting to see them already graduated high school and ready to go off to college made me feel like I was saying goodbye to close friends. This book was a great way to tie up the series, I love that we get to see each perspective and how each character has really grown up.
The setting of summer camp is fun and sweet, all the moments really making you feel like you’re really in the story with them.
If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend it!
stellarae2000's review
5.0
I just love this series so much. It’s so nostalgic for me. This is my first time reading this book but I read the rest of the series when I was little but I think it fit perfectly with the rest of the series.
delaney572e4's review
2.0
The Mother Daughter Book Club was one of my favorite series when I was in middle school. So naturally, when I learned there was another book I had to read it. I'm not sure if it is truly that this book was not as good as the others, or if my taste has just gotten better (it has been six years, so I would hope so). But I have to say that this book was just not great.
I wanted to start this review by talking about the things I liked, but when I actually thought about it, I could barely come up with anything.
I liked seeing the girls in leadership positions and having to deal with the younger girls. Some of the things the younger girls said were pretty funny.
All in all the book was kind of fun, but it wasn't like, interesting. There weren't any overarching themes, there wasn't any character development, there wasn't any nuance.
To be fair, I imagine it's difficult to write about 18 year olds with an audience of 12 year olds. You have to write their more mature problems for kids who can't imagine them.
The rest is a lot of bland. The relationships are bland. The girls themselves are kind of bland. Cassidy is always a bit of a character, and Becca definitely had the most interesting storyline being undecided about her college major. But Jess was just inextricably boring and Mary Sue, and Emma was mopey and also out of character.
Then there's other stuff. I definitely didn't like the Felicia plotline. She wasn't actually a bad person or anything, she was mostly just weird. Girls deciding that they should include Felicia in their activities, even give her the spotlight every so often? Good. Deciding they need to help "fix" her and make her more normal? Bad, gross. Then on top of that, the entire plotline is just totally half-baked (you will notice that I chose not to use an expletive in my middle grade review, but that was what I was thinking). It could have at least led to some type of "you guys are too judgy, I like myself just the way I am, not everyone has to be just like you to be happy" and teach the girls a lesson the way most of the other books did. But the plotline is never even resolved. It just sits there at the end.
There's also just general heteronormative stuff. I'm glad that Emma didn't get a new boyfriend band-aid, but I also wish we could have ACTUALLY seen her be happy without a boy, rather than her mom mentioning it at the very end of the book and not getting to see her transformation.
And finally, we get to my own personal vendetta. We have three main characters and none of them are in STEM?! Cassidy is out here breaking barriers with her hockey playing, but no girls in STEM. It just bugs me because Jess is super into nature, and also was super smart, and very good at science and math. And for some reason she is going to college for singing? Now don't get me wrong, if you're a real person who is good at science but passionate about art, you are valid for choosing art. But 1. Jess doesn't have any conflict about "I feel pressured to get a science degree because it's stable but I love art" 2. She's a character in a book and the author can make her do whatever she wants.
For all my complaining about the romance, I do love Cassidy and Tristan and there were zero Cassidy and Tristan moments, very sad.
Bottom line: disappointing. Very inspired by 20th century girls series, but I really hoped that at this point we could do better.
I wanted to start this review by talking about the things I liked, but when I actually thought about it, I could barely come up with anything.
I liked seeing the girls in leadership positions and having to deal with the younger girls. Some of the things the younger girls said were pretty funny.
All in all the book was kind of fun, but it wasn't like, interesting. There weren't any overarching themes, there wasn't any character development, there wasn't any nuance.
To be fair, I imagine it's difficult to write about 18 year olds with an audience of 12 year olds. You have to write their more mature problems for kids who can't imagine them.
The rest is a lot of bland. The relationships are bland. The girls themselves are kind of bland. Cassidy is always a bit of a character, and Becca definitely had the most interesting storyline being undecided about her college major. But Jess was just inextricably boring and Mary Sue, and Emma was mopey and also out of character.
Then there's other stuff. I definitely didn't like the Felicia plotline. She wasn't actually a bad person or anything, she was mostly just weird. Girls deciding that they should include Felicia in their activities, even give her the spotlight every so often? Good. Deciding they need to help "fix" her and make her more normal? Bad, gross. Then on top of that, the entire plotline is just totally half-baked (you will notice that I chose not to use an expletive in my middle grade review, but that was what I was thinking). It could have at least led to some type of "you guys are too judgy, I like myself just the way I am, not everyone has to be just like you to be happy" and teach the girls a lesson the way most of the other books did. But the plotline is never even resolved. It just sits there at the end.
There's also just general heteronormative stuff. I'm glad that Emma didn't get a new boyfriend band-aid, but I also wish we could have ACTUALLY seen her be happy without a boy, rather than her mom mentioning it at the very end of the book and not getting to see her transformation.
And finally, we get to my own personal vendetta. We have three main characters and none of them are in STEM?! Cassidy is out here breaking barriers with her hockey playing, but no girls in STEM. It just bugs me because Jess is super into nature, and also was super smart, and very good at science and math. And for some reason she is going to college for singing? Now don't get me wrong, if you're a real person who is good at science but passionate about art, you are valid for choosing art. But 1. Jess doesn't have any conflict about "I feel pressured to get a science degree because it's stable but I love art" 2. She's a character in a book and the author can make her do whatever she wants.
For all my complaining about the romance, I do love Cassidy and Tristan and there were zero Cassidy and Tristan moments, very sad.
Bottom line: disappointing. Very inspired by 20th century girls series, but I really hoped that at this point we could do better.