The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

Author Heather Vogel Frederick works some magic by writing a cool middle school tale about four unlikely friends who are forced together by their mothers for a book-club. At first the girls simply hate one another and can't come to friendly terms. Cassidy is a tomboy who enjoys hockey, Megan would rather be at the mall and hang out with a different group, Jess is going through some hard family issues, and Emma is always being picked on for her "thrift-store" wardrobe. Soon the girls discover that they do need eachother and have more in common than they imagined. The mothers are just as different and have some issues to work out as well. As they read along to the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, they also discover that they too have things in common with the book's characters. This is a fun middle school read that many young girls would enjoy. It also includes a few tidbits from Little Women that classic readers will enjoy. I don't know if I enjoyed this book enough to read the entire series, however teens in grades 5 and 6 might find this book to their liking.