It's hard keeping up with Isabelle's reading! She picked this one up randomly from the local library. She said she would give this book 6 stars if possible! Alas, I am giving it 3 1/2 stars. Reading this book, I was really torn between things I liked and things I didn't like.
The main characters are four sixth grade girls who are in a mother-daughter book club. I think the book tries hard to have enough variety that most readers would find something to identify with in someone. Emma loves to read and belongs to a financially modest family. Megan is a Chinese-American who loves fashion and bucks the model minority stereotype, much to the chagrin of her wealthy MIT-educated parents. (Megan's tiger mom has the added quirk of being super into all-naturalness in a really over the top way that is, unfortunately, not at all a flattering representation of the vegan / eat local / environmental community.) Jess loves animals, is a whiz at math and science, has an organic farmer for a dad, and a soap opera actress for a mom. (What? Yeah.) Cassidy, a transplant from CA, is an athlete with a former supermodel for a mom. (Huh? Yeah.)
As this book got started, I really thought it had so much potential, despite the crazy portraits of the tree-hugger / supermodel / actress moms. Each chapter is written from the first-person perspective of one of the daughters, which I thought was a fun twist for young readers. The narrative sounds natural and flows well. The girls have typical middle school problems, and I can easily see how this book would appeal to late elementary and early middle school girls.
I loved that the book club was reading Little Women. Each chapter started with a relevant quote from the book, and interesting tidbits about the book and Louisa May Alcott popped up here and there. Additionally, the book takes place in Concord, MA (Louisa May Alcott's hometown), and I liked how information about the Revolutionary War was incorporated, too.
Unfortunately, there was also lot I didn't like about this book. Members of the Chadwick family were either sadly unfortunate or one-dimensionally unlikable. A queen bee daughter, an unpleasant my-daughter-can-do-no-wrong mother, a brother characterized only by his lack of athletic talent, and even a father with an ancestry worthy of ridicule. They had no redeeming qualities, no nuanced character development. And even though this mother-daughter pair were the bullies of the book, I didn't like the way the members of the book club - mothers and daughters alike - made fun of the mom for being overweight. Just not the type of behavior I want my daughter thinking is acceptable or funny.
Having knowledge of Little Women isn't necessary to read this book, but it would be helpful as references to the March girls and their experiences are strewn throughout the book. Many young girls in elementary school probably will not have tackled Little Women yet, but reading this book might inspire them to do so. Unfortunately - and I really can't forgive the book for this shortcoming - this book includes three MAJOR spoilers which, honestly, could ruin a person's Little Women reading experience.
The book has an over-the-top fairy-tale ending for just about everyone, and though the cheese factor was high, I can see how the happy ending would appeal to young girls.
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