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Much Ado About Anne

October 18, 2008 by Jennifer

Much Ado About Anne is the second book in the Mother Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick. I never read the first book, but since hearing about it, I had always been curious about the series since I enjoy reading and discussing books with my daughter.

The novel introduces a group of twelve-year-old girls whose mothers coordinate a book club for them. The novel centers around the themes of the book that is chosen for that particular season — in this case the Anne of Green Gables series. If you are a fan of Anne, reading this book will be like chatting with good friends about something you all love. There are facts about L.M. Montgomery’s life as well as quotes from the book, and comparisons to the plot details or characters throughout the novel.

Like most chapter books about girl groups, the girls in question are diverse (with the idea that all girls will find someone to relate to I think, and also subtly reinforcing the idea that girls can be and do everything). So in this novel we meet Cassie the jock, Emma the bookworm, Megan the fashion queen, Jess the brain, and Becca the Queen bee.

Reading from a woman’s perspective, the moms are diverse too — an actress turned farmer and stay-at-home mom, a librarian, a busybody, an activist, a former model-turned-cooking show host.

I loved this book. I read it in less than two days (One reason that reading children’s books is so satisfying. You can read about my sense of accomplishment over at Snapshot). It has an old-fashioned feel to it. Yes, the characters are modern girls, but the story reads like classic children’s literature (or at least the kind of stuff I read when I was growing up): there are a few capers that of course get them into trouble — but not too much trouble; relevant subjects are tackled, such as popularity, stereotypes, financial problems, and one character’s concern over the new man in her mom’s life while she’s still dealing with the death of her father.

Amanda (age 10) hasn’t read it yet, but I think that she will enjoy it, and it might even encourage her to get to know Anne herself. I would say the target audience is probably girls aged 10 to 14, but if you have considered reading some children’s literature just for you, I recommend this book to women of all ages (especially if you love Anne of Green Gables).

The first book in the series, The Mother-Daughter Book Club, focuses on the book Little Women. I can’t wait to read that one next.

Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan is a contributing editor at 5 Minutes for Mom. She has been blogging at Snapshot for over two years.

Filed Under: 5 Star Reads, Jennifer, Middle Grade Chapter Books

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Comments

  1. Carrie K. says

    October 18, 2008 at 12:48 am

    I read the first book in this series aloud to my 11-year-old daughter, and we absolutely loved it. We’ll read this one together, too.

  2. Carrie, Reading to Know (5M4B) says

    October 18, 2008 at 1:25 am

    Hmmmm………intriguing!!!

  3. Elizabeth says

    October 18, 2008 at 11:03 am

    My ten-year old and I love to read together too, and we will definitely check this out. In fact, I’m headed to the library this Saturday morning so I’ll check it out!

  4. Kay says

    October 23, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    Thanks for the tip. I love to read and am always looking for good literature that my daughters (ages 10 and 12) will enjoy!

  5. GYMNASTIC FREAK LORD MASTER GYMNASTIC says

    June 2, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    HI HI my daughter is writing this okay she is a gymnastic FREAK. 🙂

    HI PEOPLEZ CUZZ IMMA BEE LOL NOW I READ THIS BOOK
    IT HORRIBLE IK ALMOST PUKED. 😛

    Oh yah forgot to mention.. she hates books. 😐

    THATS RITE UH HUH> 🙂 TOODLEZ SUXERS.

    Ok well bye. 🙁 My daugfhter is not trained correctly. 😐

  6. sarah says

    November 9, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    this book is really good so far. i lust started it and i already really like it. btw wats up with the gymnastic freak lord master gymnastic??? …sketchy.

Trackbacks

  1. Saturday Review of Books: October 18, 2008 at Semicolon says:
    November 14, 2008 at 10:17 pm

    […] Benedict Society)4. Lisa the Correspondent (Three Men in a Boat)5. Carrie, RtK (Bears in My Bed)6. 5M4B (Much Ado About Anne)7. 5M4B (1st Place for Health)8. 5M4B (Alaska Books)9. 5M4B (Edge of Recall)10. 5M4B (The One […]

  2. Dear Pen Pal says:
    October 29, 2009 at 3:37 pm

    […] and discuss it. Amanda knew this, and had enjoyed reading Anne of Green Gables after reading Much Ado About Anne (linked to my 5-Star […]

  3. Books for Tween Girls: The Mother-Daughter Bookclub says:
    December 3, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    […] the second book, Much Ado About Anne, the girls are now 12, dealing with a queen bee arch enemy, money troubles, and more. Check out my […]

  4. Nightstand (December 2010) « bekahcubed says:
    December 28, 2010 at 1:55 am

    […] Much ado about Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick (Review by 5M4B) […]

  5. ANNE through another pair of eyes « bekahcubed says:
    January 3, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    […] This year, I’m going to re-read Anne of Green Gables in conjunction with Heather Vogel Frederick’s Much Ado About Anne, a middle grade (?) novel about a mother-daughter book club that reads through the Anne books (See Jennifer’s 5M4B Review). […]

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