The Mother-Daughter Book Club (The Mother-Daughter Book Club Series #1) Book

The overall concept of this book really appealed to me, and I approached it with the highest expectations. I loved the Concord setting and the fun facts related to LMA and Little Women. Unfortunately, there were too many issues that kept me from enjoying it. On a minor note, it was hard to follow and I had to frequently flip back to see whose voice I was reading. Not a big deal, but I'm glad I didn't read it on my Nook.

I didn't find the book to be at all believable. The girls, especially Emma, felt older than 6th graders, and none of the dialog among the mothers sounded the least bit plausible. The penultimate chapter in NYC, where the characters all fall into once-in-a-lifetime kinds of opportunities was so over-the-top, just completely preposterous. Maybe this would play better with the intended audience--girls in the 9 to 12 year age range--but I'm skeptical.

Mostly, though, two things about this book really bugged me. One was the depiction of Mrs Wong'the vegetarian environmentalist and feminist. Such a ridiculous, shallow, dated stereotype, right down to the hard-as-rock vegan cookies, the carrot crunchies (give me a break) and the request for "tofu dogs." It read like something from 1992; I actually flipped back to the copyright to see if the book had in fact been written in the 1990s.

I have no problem with poking fun at vegetarians and tree huggers. But I don't like books written for young girls that play up stereotypes'especially in ways that seem dismissive of what most people would (hopefully) consider to be admirable values. (I would have been just as annoyed had the stereotype focused on conservative Christians, or librarians, or some other group to which I don't belong.) And it's bothersome that the only character in the book who is presented as a silly ninny is the one who cares about the environment, social justice, and women's issues.

But the truly egregious thing about this book was the constant reference to the size of Mrs. Chadwick's butt, and how all the girls and their moms laughed at it. Really? A book written for young girls--the most fragile people on earth when it comes to issues regarding body image and self-esteem--that laughs at fat people? For that reason alone, I would not recommend this book.