This is literally one of my favorite series - and no one has heard of it. Apart from a few technical mistakes that really shouldn't have slipped by the editor, this series is a really good story about middle and high school friendships and relationships. Yes, they are a little unrealistic, such as the biggest brat in the school probably wouldn't become friends with the nerd group of the school, but it does have good morals and is worth the read. Now let me introduce each of the characters and then the books (I will also be ranking them) - but please don't read this unless you want spoilers. (Yes, this will be a long article, but I'm bored, and, you, too, are probably bored.) First up is Emma Hawthorne. Yes, I'm pretty sure she is a descendant of Nathaniel Hawthorne, because: she lives in Concord, MA with the rest of her book group, her father is a writer and her mother is a librarian, and Emma herself is an aspiring writer. In Pies & Prejudice, her family moves to England for one year, swapping houses with a British family. She dates Stewart Chadwick, Becca Chadwick's older brother, but the story has them break up. Her older brother Darcy, who was named after Mr. Darcy, dates Emma's best friend Jess. Jess(ica) Delaney is Emma's best friend. She lives on Half Moon Farm, and she loves it there. When Becca was mean, she would call Jess 'Goat Girl' because of her farm-iness. But then she got a full scholarship to Colonial Academy, the local private school, and roomed her first year with the infamous Savanah Sinclair. They hated each other, but after a certain incident with smelly blue cheese, they worked everything out. Jess dates Darcy Hawthorne, Emma's brother, and they are literally the best couple ever (just an opinion).
Cassidy Sloane is probably my favourite character. Whenever a chapter title comes up with her name on it, I always perk up. She love-love-loves hockey (and basically all sports) and hates fashion. Cassidy has red hair and is really outspoken. Her dad died in a car crash, so her mom, a former fashion model, moved Cassidy and her older sister Courtney to Concord. Cassidy mostly hung out with boys at first, but warmed up to the rest of the girls slowly but surely. In Pies & Prejudice, Tristan Berkley, the boy that swapped houses with Emma, forms a rivalry with her. Cassidy is forced to work with him to keep him in shape for an 'ice dancing' competition, but they end up being kinda cute together.
Megan Wong is totally fashion-obsessed. She is super-rich, but her mom is always trying to give their money away to 'charitable causes' and making gross, organic, vegan concoctions. Megan was part of Becca Chadwick's clique for a while, but the book club opened her eyes to how mean she was being. Her boyfriend is Simon Berkley, Tristan's brother, and even though their relationship is long-distance and there are a few bumps in the road, they stick through it. She has a line of baby clothes as well, which was started when she was in 8th-grade by her equally-rich grandmother Gigi.
Becca Chadwick is not an original to the book club but is definitely a part of it. Her mother is deemed 'the snapping turtle' by Emma's dad, and she certainly lives up to the title. Becca is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty who knows it. She chases after poor, poor Zach Norton for a while until she takes a trip with her grandma to Minnesota and meets Theo, who tops Zach. There is a shock when she finds out that he keeps copious amounts of snakes in his room, but unlike most girls who see them, she gets over herself and supports his love of reptiles instead of admonishing it, showing that there is more to her than meets the eye.
Now I will describe each book in turn, starting with the original Mother-Daughter Book Club.
(3) This one is the first in the series, and the group is rather discombobulated. Emma and Jess are besties and not really keen on the idea of opening up their tight circle, Cassidy is lonely, sad, and grumpy, and Megan is 'too cool' to hang out with nerds. They read Little Women, and it sort of brings them together in the end.
(4) Next up is Much Ado About Anne. They read Anne of Green Gables the year that Becca joins the club. In this one, they manage to put on a fashion show modeling Megan's designs to save Jess's Half Moon Farm and go on a terrible camping trip as a bridal shower for Cassidy's mom, who is getting re-married, much to Cassidy's dismay.
(5) Dear Pen Pal is one of the heftiest books in the series. Jess moves schools to Colonial Academy, and she rooms with Savanah Sinclair. They hate each other, and when it comes down to Cassidy having to cut her hair off, they decide to stick a package of stinky blue cheese into her designer suitcase set. But in the end, they work it all out. Also in this book Zach Norton kisses Cassidy, which grosses her out, and they go to Gopher Hole, WY, and stay at a dude ranch.
(1) Pies & Prejudice a keystone of the series. Well, literally, because it's in the direct middle. But it has a lot of details that you cannot miss. This is the one where Emma does a house swap and goes to live in England, meanwhile in Concord, Megan pairs off with Simon and Cassidy is forced to work with Tristan. But their hate for each other turns slowly (very slowly) into love, and when the book club visits England, she steps up to the plate after his ice dancing partner hurts her ankle and gets him to third place in an ice dancing competition.
(6) Home for the Holidays is kind of depressing, really. Though all the troubles end up being solved, (except for the tragedy of Emma and Stewart, but that comes later) it starts with Simon breaking up with Megan over an email and Jess breaking her leg so that she can't go on a skiing trip to Switzerland. To add to problems, all of their Secret Santa presents get mixed up and everyone is mad at each other. This is where I kind of stop wanting to read, but push myself forward so I can get to Wish You Were Eyre.
(2) Speaking of which, this book (Wish You Were Eyre) is better than the last book but not as good as the first 3. That kind of shows that I am partial to the middle school books, but anyway, this one is where Megan finally gets to go to Fashion Week in Paris with her rich and stylish grandma, Gigi. Becca also finds Theo in this book, and it makes us all happy that she can stop annoying poor, poor Zach
(7) Mother-Daughter Book Camp is the final book in the series and the second-worst according to me. This is right before they go to college, and it really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series. It has that same kind of sadness (for the reader) as Anne of Ingleside when you realize that she is grown up and no longer the main character.
Thanks for reading and stay safe and healthy! (Also, sorry if this one didn't make a lot of sense. I was tired)
