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The Mother-Daughter Book Club #7
Mother-Daughter Book Camp
After so many summers together, Emma, Jess, Megan, Becca, and Cassidy are reunited for one final hurrah before they go their separate ways. The plan is to spend their summer as counselors at Camp Lovejoy in a scenic, remote corner of New Hampshire, but things get off to a rocky start when their young charges are stricken with a severe case of homesickness. Hopefully, a little bit of bibliotherapy will do the trick, as the girls bring their longstanding book club to camp.
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First published May 3, 2016
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January 24, 2022
Endings are weird because you can be aware, on a logical level, that you are not reading a good book, and still not want it to finish.
Yes, in many ways, this was a terrible conclusion to a series that has been very at times very important to me, and yes, the way things left off in the last book (which was supposed to be, you know, the LAST BOOK) felt more complete and true to the characters, and yes, this does seem to serve primarily as promotion for the author's new, way less successful series, which is tied in throughout...
But now I have to be nostalgic, so.
Wins and losses.
These characters have taken the strangest turns by the time we greet them here at EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. They still talk like they did when they were 12, but...Emma spends the whole book pining after Stewart. Megan has now been in a three-year long distance relationship with a man she's seen approx 2 times. Cassidy still has the same two will-they-won't-they options as a hundred years ago. Becca is somehow STILL exchanging letters with a guy who lives across the country she met twice. Jess is probably going to MARRY DARCY? IT'S IMPLIED?
It feels like a betrayal.
Bottom line: To me, this book does not exist.
----------------
currently-reading updates
maybe if i finish this series as fast as possible i won't have time to be sad it's over
clear ur sh*t book 55
quest 24: a book in a series
Yes, in many ways, this was a terrible conclusion to a series that has been very at times very important to me, and yes, the way things left off in the last book (which was supposed to be, you know, the LAST BOOK) felt more complete and true to the characters, and yes, this does seem to serve primarily as promotion for the author's new, way less successful series, which is tied in throughout...
But now I have to be nostalgic, so.
Wins and losses.
These characters have taken the strangest turns by the time we greet them here at EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. They still talk like they did when they were 12, but...Emma spends the whole book pining after Stewart. Megan has now been in a three-year long distance relationship with a man she's seen approx 2 times. Cassidy still has the same two will-they-won't-they options as a hundred years ago. Becca is somehow STILL exchanging letters with a guy who lives across the country she met twice. Jess is probably going to MARRY DARCY? IT'S IMPLIED?
It feels like a betrayal.
Bottom line: To me, this book does not exist.
----------------
currently-reading updates
maybe if i finish this series as fast as possible i won't have time to be sad it's over
clear ur sh*t book 55
quest 24: a book in a series
May 16, 2016
I'M GOING TO CRY. It's over. Really and truly this time, the girls are headed off to college and I'm a mess!
For those of you who don't know, this series has been a favorite of mine for over four years now (I want to say four and a half; somewhere in that time frame. I hate that I don't know exactly when I picked them up!) and it's definitely a childhood favorite of mine. Each book begins a new year in the mother/daughter book club girls' lives - from sixth grade to the summer before setting off for college. I feel like I've grown up with them! I relate to every girl on a different level and in a different way, and they've become some of my best friends.
(I even owe my love for these books to making many friends through Heather's blog - by commenting and getting the pleasure to interview her a year ago, many new blog readers have also become my friends!)
As my 11-year-old self said three years ago when the "last" book was written (awesome enough - it was published ON my birthday - September 11, 2012) in a review I had written: "Yes, I’ll probably get bored with my addiction to Nancy Drew mysteries pretty soon, and start reading the books all over again, but like the last sentence in the last book – Megan says, 'There’s no place like home.' – Especially when home is where the heart is. And my heart is where the mother – daughter book club is." As cheesy as that *may* sound, it's so true and I'm all sappy because I feel like my real life best friends are all grown up now! I'm just so happy Heather Vogel Frederick decided to put in this last installment to give us a better idea - and one last peek - into the Mother/Daughter Book Club world, and where the girls are going from there.
This last one was a tad different than the rest of the series. The gang is signed up to be camp counselors at Camp Lovejoy, in cozy, lovable Pumpkin Falls - Heather's other setting that ALSO makes you fall in love in her book Absolutely Truly. (On that note, I love how she merges her worlds together! Several characters from Absolutely Truly even made an appearance!) I loved the setting; Camp Lovejoy and the little girls Emma, Jess, Megan, Cassidy and Becca watch out for are cheeky and charming! Buuuut I did miss Concord and the crazy mothers and all. The book also didn't take place in a span of a year as the others do; instead it's a mere seven weeks. That said: this was the perfect setting and opportunity to bring the MDBC series to a close. In one final farewell, even the girls get emotional. I liked it a lot because the ending gave me a lot more closure than the (originally planned!) ending in Wish You Were Eyre.
The antics the girls find themselves in at camp are just as funny and interesting as the rest of the books! As I said before, the little girls in the cabins the crew is in charge of are so adorable! I loved the fact that the book club gets their girls together for a mini book club, because it was sweet that now THEY'RE leading the group. It made me wonder if perhaps they'll start a book club of their own when they have daughters. (Hey Heather, make a spin off series would you??) (How AWESOME would that be?! My daughter would be reading that, for sure.)
And the girls! Same personalities, same friendly girls we've known through all 7 books. We meet Mirror Megan again, and Cassidy's final score at the end of every chapter. They're all still very much the same, yet they've grown so much in a subtle but clear way. (After all, you can't expect them to be the same from 12-18 years old.) It makes the books very realistic and Heather does such a good job at that, while also making the books relatable and fun for readers of all ages. I know I'd have loved this as much as I do now several years ago and I doubt I'll like this book any less four years from now when I'm the girls' age in the book.'
The ending was as perfect as it can get. It was final, and I was SO happy to see the girls with a future I could be happy with - it wasn't quite so unknown as in Wish You Were Eyre, yet also left just enough up to my imagination. Camp Lovejoy even inspired one of the girls into a career I can definitely see her in. It was such a sweet and satisfying ending; I know all of you will love it as much as I did and I can't for you to read it as well!
For those of you who don't know, this series has been a favorite of mine for over four years now (I want to say four and a half; somewhere in that time frame. I hate that I don't know exactly when I picked them up!) and it's definitely a childhood favorite of mine. Each book begins a new year in the mother/daughter book club girls' lives - from sixth grade to the summer before setting off for college. I feel like I've grown up with them! I relate to every girl on a different level and in a different way, and they've become some of my best friends.
(I even owe my love for these books to making many friends through Heather's blog - by commenting and getting the pleasure to interview her a year ago, many new blog readers have also become my friends!)
As my 11-year-old self said three years ago when the "last" book was written (awesome enough - it was published ON my birthday - September 11, 2012) in a review I had written: "Yes, I’ll probably get bored with my addiction to Nancy Drew mysteries pretty soon, and start reading the books all over again, but like the last sentence in the last book – Megan says, 'There’s no place like home.' – Especially when home is where the heart is. And my heart is where the mother – daughter book club is." As cheesy as that *may* sound, it's so true and I'm all sappy because I feel like my real life best friends are all grown up now! I'm just so happy Heather Vogel Frederick decided to put in this last installment to give us a better idea - and one last peek - into the Mother/Daughter Book Club world, and where the girls are going from there.
This last one was a tad different than the rest of the series. The gang is signed up to be camp counselors at Camp Lovejoy, in cozy, lovable Pumpkin Falls - Heather's other setting that ALSO makes you fall in love in her book Absolutely Truly. (On that note, I love how she merges her worlds together! Several characters from Absolutely Truly even made an appearance!) I loved the setting; Camp Lovejoy and the little girls Emma, Jess, Megan, Cassidy and Becca watch out for are cheeky and charming! Buuuut I did miss Concord and the crazy mothers and all. The book also didn't take place in a span of a year as the others do; instead it's a mere seven weeks. That said: this was the perfect setting and opportunity to bring the MDBC series to a close. In one final farewell, even the girls get emotional. I liked it a lot because the ending gave me a lot more closure than the (originally planned!) ending in Wish You Were Eyre.
The antics the girls find themselves in at camp are just as funny and interesting as the rest of the books! As I said before, the little girls in the cabins the crew is in charge of are so adorable! I loved the fact that the book club gets their girls together for a mini book club, because it was sweet that now THEY'RE leading the group. It made me wonder if perhaps they'll start a book club of their own when they have daughters. (Hey Heather, make a spin off series would you??) (How AWESOME would that be?! My daughter would be reading that, for sure.)
And the girls! Same personalities, same friendly girls we've known through all 7 books. We meet Mirror Megan again, and Cassidy's final score at the end of every chapter. They're all still very much the same, yet they've grown so much in a subtle but clear way. (After all, you can't expect them to be the same from 12-18 years old.) It makes the books very realistic and Heather does such a good job at that, while also making the books relatable and fun for readers of all ages. I know I'd have loved this as much as I do now several years ago and I doubt I'll like this book any less four years from now when I'm the girls' age in the book.'
The ending was as perfect as it can get. It was final, and I was SO happy to see the girls with a future I could be happy with - it wasn't quite so unknown as in Wish You Were Eyre, yet also left just enough up to my imagination. Camp Lovejoy even inspired one of the girls into a career I can definitely see her in. It was such a sweet and satisfying ending; I know all of you will love it as much as I did and I can't for you to read it as well!
May 13, 2016
NOTHING TO SEE HERE PEOPLE - JUST CRYING TEARS OF JOY THAT IT WAS SO PERFECT AND SADNESS THAT THE SERIES IS OVER
February 7, 2017
Grade: C
An e-galley was provided by the publisher in exchange for review consideration.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: It's always disappointing when you don't love a book from your favorite series, and this is the lowest rating I've given any of The Mother-Daughter Book Club books. I'll explain why.
The book jumps from the summer before the girls' junior year of high school to the summer before they head off to college. I didn't mind that entirely; I would've liked to see them continue to have a book club with their mothers, but since it's been so long since book 6 came out, the girls needed to age a bit. There's a lot of telling as Heather summarized what we've missed in the past two years. The romantic relationships aren't exactly the same (I'm happy with those dynamics for the most part), and the girls have college plans. I loved Becca's plotline in that area. She still isn't quite sure what she's going to major in, but she knows what school she's going to and she has a lot of options (business and education are tossed around). Becca has matured the most, and I love her character growth. But I didn't love Emma's plotline; she makes some drastic choices that just don't fit her at all, and she's pretty angsty for most of the book. We didn't really see an angsty phase for any of the girls, but 18 is a bit old to be having one. (Also, on another note, can I just say that I'm shocked Megan and Simon haven't broken up? Don't get me wrong, they're cute, but their relationship has never been solid for me.)
A lot of the plot happenings were too dramatic for me. I don't want to spoil them, but Cassidy hasn't given up her immature pranking ways, and it backfires on Jess (who wasn't even involved in the prank). I hated where that plotline went. And Finally, the climax was too dramatic and weird for my tastes. This wasn't The Mother-Daughter Book Club I'd come to know and loved.
I appreciated that the girls were sort of the mothers in the scenario, since they were doing the book club with their young campers. But I didn't see the book they read influencing their lives as much as it has in the past. For example, when they read Jane Eyre, they all tried to have backbone like Jane.
There were also some weird writing choices - the girls kept saying "a hop and a skip," and I don't know a single teenager who talks like that. A character kept calling Cassidy "sport" and all I could think of was The Great Gatsby.
The Verdict: As much as I hated that the series ended with Wish You Were Eyre, that book was a much better ending than Mother-Daughter Book Camp.
An e-galley was provided by the publisher in exchange for review consideration.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: It's always disappointing when you don't love a book from your favorite series, and this is the lowest rating I've given any of The Mother-Daughter Book Club books. I'll explain why.
The book jumps from the summer before the girls' junior year of high school to the summer before they head off to college. I didn't mind that entirely; I would've liked to see them continue to have a book club with their mothers, but since it's been so long since book 6 came out, the girls needed to age a bit. There's a lot of telling as Heather summarized what we've missed in the past two years. The romantic relationships aren't exactly the same (I'm happy with those dynamics for the most part), and the girls have college plans. I loved Becca's plotline in that area. She still isn't quite sure what she's going to major in, but she knows what school she's going to and she has a lot of options (business and education are tossed around). Becca has matured the most, and I love her character growth. But I didn't love Emma's plotline; she makes some drastic choices that just don't fit her at all, and she's pretty angsty for most of the book. We didn't really see an angsty phase for any of the girls, but 18 is a bit old to be having one. (Also, on another note, can I just say that I'm shocked Megan and Simon haven't broken up? Don't get me wrong, they're cute, but their relationship has never been solid for me.)
A lot of the plot happenings were too dramatic for me. I don't want to spoil them, but Cassidy hasn't given up her immature pranking ways, and it backfires on Jess (who wasn't even involved in the prank). I hated where that plotline went. And Finally, the climax was too dramatic and weird for my tastes. This wasn't The Mother-Daughter Book Club I'd come to know and loved.
I appreciated that the girls were sort of the mothers in the scenario, since they were doing the book club with their young campers. But I didn't see the book they read influencing their lives as much as it has in the past. For example, when they read Jane Eyre, they all tried to have backbone like Jane.
There were also some weird writing choices - the girls kept saying "a hop and a skip," and I don't know a single teenager who talks like that. A character kept calling Cassidy "sport" and all I could think of was The Great Gatsby.
The Verdict: As much as I hated that the series ended with Wish You Were Eyre, that book was a much better ending than Mother-Daughter Book Camp.
June 18, 2017
Mother-Daughter Book Camp is the seventh and final book in the Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick.
So I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a good book. I thought it was a fun and unique way to end the series, and I loved reading about the girls' experiences counseling a bunch of smaller girls at a summer camp.
It also takes place in New Hampshire -- I live in New Hampshire -- and it's just fun to read a book that takes place in a state you live in. (Although, New Hampshire isn't filled with country-bumpkin towns . . .) Once again, the author made NH seem like it was all wilderness. It's not.
So yeah. Absolutely no issues with the plot whatsoever. It was fun, the girls were cute, the setting was fantastic, and it kept me entertained throughout. However, there were some things that bugged me that didn't improve throughout the book, and that kept me from thoroughly enjoying it.
These. girls. are. in. COLLEGE. COLLEGE, PEOPLE! And they act like they're in seventh grade. They hold this petty prejudice against Jess's cousin, Felicia, WHO ISN'T EVEN THAT BAD. They joke about her, talk about her behind her back, and snub her just because she likes doing her hair in interesting styles and wearing medieval capes and is smart and a little different.
If that's how college girls act today . . . just, ugh. They act so immature and hardly even apologize for it. One of the girls thinks, "Maybe we should make an effort to be nicer to Felicia." And I'm over here like, YEAH, YA THINK?!?!
I don't know why that bugged me so much, it just did.
The same thing with Rupert Loomis. Emma gets a letter from him and the girls start making fun of him. I understand making fun of a boy if you're in seventh grade (even if that isn't very nice). BUT YOU'RE NINETEEN, GUYS! GROW UP!
(lowkey ship emma and Rupert)
The overall immaturity of the girls just took a LOT of the enjoyment of the book away from me.
Also, the mean girl plot. OVER. IT. It is in literally every single book.
As far as my thoughts on the series overall, I think it's a fun read if you're looking for something light, cheerful and not always sensible. I didn't like some of the books, but enjoyed more of them then I disliked.
This particular book gets 3 stars out of 5. :)
So I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a good book. I thought it was a fun and unique way to end the series, and I loved reading about the girls' experiences counseling a bunch of smaller girls at a summer camp.
It also takes place in New Hampshire -- I live in New Hampshire -- and it's just fun to read a book that takes place in a state you live in. (Although, New Hampshire isn't filled with country-bumpkin towns . . .) Once again, the author made NH seem like it was all wilderness. It's not.
So yeah. Absolutely no issues with the plot whatsoever. It was fun, the girls were cute, the setting was fantastic, and it kept me entertained throughout. However, there were some things that bugged me that didn't improve throughout the book, and that kept me from thoroughly enjoying it.
These. girls. are. in. COLLEGE. COLLEGE, PEOPLE! And they act like they're in seventh grade. They hold this petty prejudice against Jess's cousin, Felicia, WHO ISN'T EVEN THAT BAD. They joke about her, talk about her behind her back, and snub her just because she likes doing her hair in interesting styles and wearing medieval capes and is smart and a little different.
If that's how college girls act today . . . just, ugh. They act so immature and hardly even apologize for it. One of the girls thinks, "Maybe we should make an effort to be nicer to Felicia." And I'm over here like, YEAH, YA THINK?!?!
I don't know why that bugged me so much, it just did.
The same thing with Rupert Loomis. Emma gets a letter from him and the girls start making fun of him. I understand making fun of a boy if you're in seventh grade (even if that isn't very nice). BUT YOU'RE NINETEEN, GUYS! GROW UP!
(lowkey ship emma and Rupert)
The overall immaturity of the girls just took a LOT of the enjoyment of the book away from me.
Also, the mean girl plot. OVER. IT. It is in literally every single book.
As far as my thoughts on the series overall, I think it's a fun read if you're looking for something light, cheerful and not always sensible. I didn't like some of the books, but enjoyed more of them then I disliked.
This particular book gets 3 stars out of 5. :)
May 10, 2016
4 days on and I'm still sad this series is over....however since I jumped in at #4 Pies and Prejudice....I might read #1-3 at some point...although I'm less likely to enjoy the middle school context. However, those books will probably be mostly in Concord...Concord wasn't a focus in this book...as the Summer Camp was located in Pumpkin Falls(brilliant name!), NH. Also very sad that the ending wasn't happy for one of my favorites. Grrrr! Godspeed Jess(Jane Bennet?), Emma(Anne Elliot?), and Cassidy(part Elizabeth Bennet?)!!!! Former mean girl Becca improved a lot in this one. And Megan(Anne Elliot's very whiny middle sister Mary Musgrove?) started the book as she usually does.
June 1, 2016
Megan, Jess, Emma, Cassidy, and Becca are back in this new mother daughter book club adventure. When the girls arrive to Camp LoveJoy for the Summer as Camp Counselors, they get put to the ultimate test when their campers get a bad case of homesickness. Can some book therapy turn their campers frowns upside-down and survive their Summer without Jess's cousin Felicia and other chaos to ruin it? Read on and find out for yourselves.
This was a great final book of the Mother Daughter book club series. I enjoyed reading it and will miss the girls adventures. Look for this book and the rest of this book series at your local library and wherever books are sold.
This was a great final book of the Mother Daughter book club series. I enjoyed reading it and will miss the girls adventures. Look for this book and the rest of this book series at your local library and wherever books are sold.
April 1, 2021
The Mother Daughter Book Club was one of my favorite series when I was in middle school. So naturally, when I learned there was another book I had to read it. I'm not sure if it is truly that this book was not as good as the others, or if my taste has just gotten better (it has been six years, so I would hope so). But I have to say that this book was just not great.
I wanted to start this review by talking about the things I liked, but when I actually thought about it, I could barely come up with anything.
I liked seeing the girls in leadership positions and having to deal with the younger girls. Some of the things the younger girls said were pretty funny.
All in all the book was kind of fun, but it wasn't like, interesting. There weren't any overarching themes, there wasn't any character development, there wasn't any nuance.
To be fair, I imagine it's difficult to write about 18 year olds with an audience of 12 year olds. You have to write their more mature problems for kids who can't imagine them.
The rest is a lot of bland. The relationships are bland. The girls themselves are kind of bland. Cassidy is always a bit of a character, and Becca definitely had the most interesting storyline being undecided about her college major. But Jess was just inextricably boring and Mary Sue, and Emma was mopey and also out of character.
Then there's other stuff. I definitely didn't like the Felicia plotline. She wasn't actually a bad person or anything, she was mostly just weird. Girls deciding that they should include Felicia in their activities, even give her the spotlight every so often? Good. Deciding they need to help "fix" her and make her more normal? Bad, gross. Then on top of that, the entire plotline is just totally half-baked (you will notice that I chose not to use an expletive in my middle grade review, but that was what I was thinking). It could have at least led to some type of "you guys are too judgy, I like myself just the way I am, not everyone has to be just like you to be happy" and teach the girls a lesson the way most of the other books did. But the plotline is never even resolved. It just sits there at the end.
There's also just general heteronormative stuff. I'm glad that Emma didn't get a new boyfriend band-aid, but I also wish we could have ACTUALLY seen her be happy without a boy, rather than her mom mentioning it at the very end of the book and not getting to see her transformation.
And finally, we get to my own personal vendetta. We have three main characters and none of them are in STEM?! Cassidy is out here breaking barriers with her hockey playing, but no girls in STEM. It just bugs me because Jess is super into nature, and also was super smart, and very good at science and math. And for some reason she is going to college for singing? Now don't get me wrong, if you're a real person who is good at science but passionate about art, you are valid for choosing art. But 1. Jess doesn't have any conflict about "I feel pressured to get a science degree because it's stable but I love art" 2. She's a character in a book and the author can make her do whatever she wants.
For all my complaining about the romance, I do love Cassidy and Tristan and there were zero Cassidy and Tristan moments, very sad.
Bottom line: disappointing. Very inspired by 20th century girls series, but I really hoped that at this point we could do better.
I wanted to start this review by talking about the things I liked, but when I actually thought about it, I could barely come up with anything.
I liked seeing the girls in leadership positions and having to deal with the younger girls. Some of the things the younger girls said were pretty funny.
All in all the book was kind of fun, but it wasn't like, interesting. There weren't any overarching themes, there wasn't any character development, there wasn't any nuance.
To be fair, I imagine it's difficult to write about 18 year olds with an audience of 12 year olds. You have to write their more mature problems for kids who can't imagine them.
The rest is a lot of bland. The relationships are bland. The girls themselves are kind of bland. Cassidy is always a bit of a character, and Becca definitely had the most interesting storyline being undecided about her college major. But Jess was just inextricably boring and Mary Sue, and Emma was mopey and also out of character.
Then there's other stuff. I definitely didn't like the Felicia plotline. She wasn't actually a bad person or anything, she was mostly just weird. Girls deciding that they should include Felicia in their activities, even give her the spotlight every so often? Good. Deciding they need to help "fix" her and make her more normal? Bad, gross. Then on top of that, the entire plotline is just totally half-baked (you will notice that I chose not to use an expletive in my middle grade review, but that was what I was thinking). It could have at least led to some type of "you guys are too judgy, I like myself just the way I am, not everyone has to be just like you to be happy" and teach the girls a lesson the way most of the other books did. But the plotline is never even resolved. It just sits there at the end.
There's also just general heteronormative stuff. I'm glad that Emma didn't get a new boyfriend band-aid, but I also wish we could have ACTUALLY seen her be happy without a boy, rather than her mom mentioning it at the very end of the book and not getting to see her transformation.
And finally, we get to my own personal vendetta. We have three main characters and none of them are in STEM?! Cassidy is out here breaking barriers with her hockey playing, but no girls in STEM. It just bugs me because Jess is super into nature, and also was super smart, and very good at science and math. And for some reason she is going to college for singing? Now don't get me wrong, if you're a real person who is good at science but passionate about art, you are valid for choosing art. But 1. Jess doesn't have any conflict about "I feel pressured to get a science degree because it's stable but I love art" 2. She's a character in a book and the author can make her do whatever she wants.
For all my complaining about the romance, I do love Cassidy and Tristan and there were zero Cassidy and Tristan moments, very sad.
Bottom line: disappointing. Very inspired by 20th century girls series, but I really hoped that at this point we could do better.
March 24, 2020
I'm crying. It's the end of the series and I'll never see the characters I love again. I have no idea how to tell you how much I loved this. But know that I have never cried at the end of a book/series until this. If a book is good enough to make me cry, then you should definitely read it. And I think it's safe to say that this series, are my all time favorite books.
Maybe a reason why I loved it so much is that I have a little bit of all the characters in me. I have Cassidy's love for pranks and I'm pretty competitive too, I have a little of Megan's style, I have Becca's love for helping kids, I love animals and singing like Jess, and I like reading and writing like Emma.
I feel that I have been with them for so long, I kind of think of them as my best friends. Sometimes I feel that I'm actually in the book club. And love that feeling.
I'm going to end this off with one of my favorite quotes from the author.
"Happiness is about doing something good in this world, it comes from finding what you were meant to do, and doing it."
-Heather Vogel Frederick
Mother-Daughter Book Camp
Maybe a reason why I loved it so much is that I have a little bit of all the characters in me. I have Cassidy's love for pranks and I'm pretty competitive too, I have a little of Megan's style, I have Becca's love for helping kids, I love animals and singing like Jess, and I like reading and writing like Emma.
I feel that I have been with them for so long, I kind of think of them as my best friends. Sometimes I feel that I'm actually in the book club. And love that feeling.
I'm going to end this off with one of my favorite quotes from the author.
"Happiness is about doing something good in this world, it comes from finding what you were meant to do, and doing it."
-Heather Vogel Frederick
Mother-Daughter Book Camp
February 20, 2023
Such a good book! I didn't think i would like it at the beggining but once i got through some chapters i became obsessed!!! I have not read the other books but i still fully understood it and i'm really sad that i finished the book cause it was just so good!
March 19, 2025
series done 🥹🥹🥹 this was my whole personality in middle school
January 26, 2025
All of the Worst Bits of the First Six Books in the Series: The Novel
The nicest thing that I can say, truly, is that this was unnecessary. Heather Vogel Frederick had already written a pretty cut and dry ending to her series in Wish You Were Eyre, and then proceeded to whip this up four years after the fact, seemingly as a kind of crossover promotion for her less successful series about a gang of elementary school detectives (yes, really).
Some of the little frustrations that I had with every previous installment in the series are almost comically exaggerated here: Why do everyone’s problems vanish instantly when a micro-solution presents itself? Why must there always be a mean girl wedged into the story in a completely unrealistic and kind of cruel way? How do all of these international long-distance relationships work out between people who have maybe spent 8 minutes total together?
Nothing happens here that really adds anything to the characters or the series as a whole. It’s just 350 pages of stagnant characterization and drama between a handful of ten year olds that I never managed to tell apart.
(Also! Cassidy is SO insanely lesbian-coded, and to have her entire plot in this book be based on her revolving interest in like three different guys is criminal.)
The nicest thing that I can say, truly, is that this was unnecessary. Heather Vogel Frederick had already written a pretty cut and dry ending to her series in Wish You Were Eyre, and then proceeded to whip this up four years after the fact, seemingly as a kind of crossover promotion for her less successful series about a gang of elementary school detectives (yes, really).
Some of the little frustrations that I had with every previous installment in the series are almost comically exaggerated here: Why do everyone’s problems vanish instantly when a micro-solution presents itself? Why must there always be a mean girl wedged into the story in a completely unrealistic and kind of cruel way? How do all of these international long-distance relationships work out between people who have maybe spent 8 minutes total together?
Nothing happens here that really adds anything to the characters or the series as a whole. It’s just 350 pages of stagnant characterization and drama between a handful of ten year olds that I never managed to tell apart.
(Also! Cassidy is SO insanely lesbian-coded, and to have her entire plot in this book be based on her revolving interest in like three different guys is criminal.)
February 8, 2022
can’t believe the ending got me to cry
December 17, 2025
I’m SO sad that the series is over. 😭 but I LOVE them!!! ❤️ 😆
May 9, 2016
What a bittersweet ending to my favorite middle grade series that I just keep coming back to. It only really occurred to me at the end that this was really the end of the mother-daughter book club series, and that these were going to be my final moments with these books. I remember when I first opened the first book of the mother-daughter book club series. I remember where I was, what time of day it was, what position I read the first pages in (it was a weird position on the loveseat in the livingroom). This series has brought me so many wonderful pleasures throughout. It showed me so many different types of personalities and how to deal with certain intolerable people that one may encounter in life. The girls in this series are real inspirations, and we can all see that by the immense character arc and the differences from how they were at the beginning of the series to the end. From when they were starting middle school to when they are about to leave for college. It's so bittersweet that this series is coming to a close. But you know what they say! All good things must come to an end. And this series was a VERY good thing. If you loved these books and don't want the fun to end, I've been writing so many short stories on my WATTPAD account based on Heather Vogel Frederick's beloved characters and it would be greatly appreciated if some of you guys come and check out my account at MegCreates.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
I think the thing that bothered me the most with the book is that Emma and Stewart are no longer a thing. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to show up on Parents' Weekend. It's so sad, and I feel so bad for Emma! Everyone else has their own love interest in their life (heck, now Cassidy might even be in a jumble of balancing two boys!) and Emma only has a picture of her dog to put in her cubie (which by the way, I LOVE the cubie idea!).
Through this book, I learned to love Darcy and Jess's relationship a lot more. I value their relationship a lot more than I originally did, and I think now they might be my favorite couple. It's just that Darcy seems to be like the best genuine boyfriend out there. Ughhh, the feels.
I think that Becca and Megan's abilities to work in the outdoors really improved with this book. And by the way, I forgot to mention with this series, I've learned to love classics a lot more. For example, because of Much Ado About Anne, I read the entire Anne of Green Gables series AND LOVED IT! It's probably my favorite classic out there.
As for Cassidy, I thought there was going to be more in this book about her sister's elopement, but hey, love the book just the same! It's so hilarious that Cassidy managed to get yet another boy to like her (Jake) and it reminded me of back when Zach Norton (whom we've all forgotten by now LOL) kissed her back in book three. I went back and read that little part, and I laughed so hard. See, this is what this series has done for me!
I think the only thing that REALLY bothers me about the book (besides the whole Stemma thing) is that I missed reading how life used to be back in Concord, where the fun all started. I'm definitely going to have to reread this series over again sometime..
I'm going to miss these girls so much! I cried at the end of the book, because I realized that it was over now! It was waterworks here on my end! Ughh, the pain I'm in!
SPOILERS AHEAD:
I think the thing that bothered me the most with the book is that Emma and Stewart are no longer a thing. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to show up on Parents' Weekend. It's so sad, and I feel so bad for Emma! Everyone else has their own love interest in their life (heck, now Cassidy might even be in a jumble of balancing two boys!) and Emma only has a picture of her dog to put in her cubie (which by the way, I LOVE the cubie idea!).
Through this book, I learned to love Darcy and Jess's relationship a lot more. I value their relationship a lot more than I originally did, and I think now they might be my favorite couple. It's just that Darcy seems to be like the best genuine boyfriend out there. Ughhh, the feels.
I think that Becca and Megan's abilities to work in the outdoors really improved with this book. And by the way, I forgot to mention with this series, I've learned to love classics a lot more. For example, because of Much Ado About Anne, I read the entire Anne of Green Gables series AND LOVED IT! It's probably my favorite classic out there.
As for Cassidy, I thought there was going to be more in this book about her sister's elopement, but hey, love the book just the same! It's so hilarious that Cassidy managed to get yet another boy to like her (Jake) and it reminded me of back when Zach Norton (whom we've all forgotten by now LOL) kissed her back in book three. I went back and read that little part, and I laughed so hard. See, this is what this series has done for me!
I think the only thing that REALLY bothers me about the book (besides the whole Stemma thing) is that I missed reading how life used to be back in Concord, where the fun all started. I'm definitely going to have to reread this series over again sometime..
I'm going to miss these girls so much! I cried at the end of the book, because I realized that it was over now! It was waterworks here on my end! Ughh, the pain I'm in!
August 6, 2019
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. SO SAD THIS SERIES IS OVER. THIS HAS 2 B MY FAV BOOK SERIES OF ALL TIME TBH. LV THE MDBC GIRLS AND WILL NOT 4GET THEM! AND WILL DEFS RE-READ THESE OVER AND OVER.
Recommended ages 12 & up.
Recommended ages 12 & up.
Read
April 6, 2025ok mixed feelings here!! first of all was THRILLED to discover the series had a final book I’d never read - likely because it came out after I’d finished the series. but this didn’t really truly feel like a mother-daughter book club book - because where were the mothers? the girls were shipped off to be stand-in mothers themselves, and i understand the symbolism, sure, but that doesn’t mean i have to like it. I miss the things that made this series special: the mothers & concord. but we can’t stay kids forever. It kinda felt like we would, though, since this series never really grew up alongside its readers (the narration reads the same as it did when they were twelve) - so this final installment feels, in some ways, like a betrayal. but im being dramatic. truly, i was just grateful for another unread venture into the lives of these girls.
also stewart is gone thank god
also my reread has made me realize i had a massive book-crush on cassidy when i was 12
also stewart is gone thank god
also my reread has made me realize i had a massive book-crush on cassidy when i was 12
June 22, 2023
i love this series with my whole heart but this was not a very good conclusion for several reasons. ill start off with what I didn't like cause yeah
(i dont wanna mark this with spoilers bc people wont read it but there are a bit in here)
- emma and stewart were cute while they lasted in the earlier books, but stewart just turned into a shit person and I wish emma, my fav girl, would've realized that, because she spent all of camp moping and I hated it, she literally picked a university she hated because of him and was upset the whole book, only snapping out of it when she talked to her mom. it was better to leave them as a past thing and have emma realize she didn't need him to be happy
- the characters got older but talked the same as they did when they were 12. I know it's still middle grade but it was hard to read them as university students (or almost,anyways) when they spoke the same
- everyone was so mean to felicia. i kind of got what they meant with the know-it-all stuff but when they tried changing her style?? and when everyone grimaced when she said "why can't I be okay and happy just the way I am" which was such a valid point. idk it was very unlike the girls
- everyone and I mean EVERYONE felt out of character, especially emma and megan
- idk what they were trying to do with cassidy and that camp guy, but all of cassidy's love interests are a flop anyway
- the whole book just had promo for the authors other book all throughout and idk why, kinda felt it was written solely for that purpose
anyways here are things I did like
- the camp setting, I wanted to go to overnight camp basically my whole life so this was fun to read about the experience
- the campers were so cute
- I loved how becca was stepping up to stop the mean girl behaviour she once had many books ago. her arc was somewhat worth something
- all the camp food sounded good. idk if that's a valid reason but
- I loved how the girls made a camp book club and kind of acted like the "mothers"
all in all, it was okay. i much prefer wish you were eyre as a conclusion to the series, but i guess it was a okay little add-on.
(i dont wanna mark this with spoilers bc people wont read it but there are a bit in here)
- emma and stewart were cute while they lasted in the earlier books, but stewart just turned into a shit person and I wish emma, my fav girl, would've realized that, because she spent all of camp moping and I hated it, she literally picked a university she hated because of him and was upset the whole book, only snapping out of it when she talked to her mom. it was better to leave them as a past thing and have emma realize she didn't need him to be happy
- the characters got older but talked the same as they did when they were 12. I know it's still middle grade but it was hard to read them as university students (or almost,anyways) when they spoke the same
- everyone was so mean to felicia. i kind of got what they meant with the know-it-all stuff but when they tried changing her style?? and when everyone grimaced when she said "why can't I be okay and happy just the way I am" which was such a valid point. idk it was very unlike the girls
- everyone and I mean EVERYONE felt out of character, especially emma and megan
- idk what they were trying to do with cassidy and that camp guy, but all of cassidy's love interests are a flop anyway
- the whole book just had promo for the authors other book all throughout and idk why, kinda felt it was written solely for that purpose
anyways here are things I did like
- the camp setting, I wanted to go to overnight camp basically my whole life so this was fun to read about the experience
- the campers were so cute
- I loved how becca was stepping up to stop the mean girl behaviour she once had many books ago. her arc was somewhat worth something
- all the camp food sounded good. idk if that's a valid reason but
- I loved how the girls made a camp book club and kind of acted like the "mothers"
all in all, it was okay. i much prefer wish you were eyre as a conclusion to the series, but i guess it was a okay little add-on.
July 7, 2016
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
I thought it was very good, though it was very shocking how the book starts two years later! I expected to see them exactly the same, Cassidy at the rink, Megan sewing up a storm, Emma buried in a book, Becca in a beauty shop, and Jess riding Led or Zep. But nope. Stewart even got a new girlfriend at his new collage! (Darcy and Jess are still smooching.) Even with a shocking start, Felicia (Jess's cousin) and Emma are co-counslers, while Megan and Becca, Cassidy and Jess are paired perfectly! Though, like always, something happens. Many campers are struggling under the pressure of homesickness, when Cassidy, Becca, Megan, Emma, and Jess decide to work some mother daughter book club magic. They quickly figure out a plan to read Understood Betsy to many of the younger girls,which works its magic fast.Camp Lovejoy is fun after that, until a late night call to Cassidy breaks the perfect weeks. Courtney eloped! The campers from the Nest mistake this as antelope and cantaloupe before the third one, Pippa finally corrects them with "elopement". With a spectacular prank backfiring,a nice surprise, and a whole lot of ice cream, it makes a perfect send off for the mother daughter book club! (=
I thought it was very good, though it was very shocking how the book starts two years later! I expected to see them exactly the same, Cassidy at the rink, Megan sewing up a storm, Emma buried in a book, Becca in a beauty shop, and Jess riding Led or Zep. But nope. Stewart even got a new girlfriend at his new collage! (Darcy and Jess are still smooching.) Even with a shocking start, Felicia (Jess's cousin) and Emma are co-counslers, while Megan and Becca, Cassidy and Jess are paired perfectly! Though, like always, something happens. Many campers are struggling under the pressure of homesickness, when Cassidy, Becca, Megan, Emma, and Jess decide to work some mother daughter book club magic. They quickly figure out a plan to read Understood Betsy to many of the younger girls,which works its magic fast.Camp Lovejoy is fun after that, until a late night call to Cassidy breaks the perfect weeks. Courtney eloped! The campers from the Nest mistake this as antelope and cantaloupe before the third one, Pippa finally corrects them with "elopement". With a spectacular prank backfiring,a nice surprise, and a whole lot of ice cream, it makes a perfect send off for the mother daughter book club! (=
June 30, 2016
Since Gr. 5 I have been caught up in the entire series, reading each book several times. Now, it's all over. Although I'm sad that there is nothing else coming, I can re-read every book as much as I like. I loved the surprises that were thrown in regarding character development (*cough* *cough* Marge) and the camp setting was the perfect finale for these girls. I would have liked to see a little more of the girls' families, since they won't ever be seen again, but having the focus on the girls was definitely an important part of making this a satisfying finale. All in all, it was an amazing book, and I would have to say that as far as series finales go, it was pretty darn good.
February 14, 2017
"I think that's the highest compliment an author can receive," my mother tells her. "It means he or she has created a world so real that readers want to crawl inside and live there." -Mrs. Hawthorne
My oh my. I started this series around the time that the girls started the series and here I am about to go off to college reading the final book. This series will be something that I will cherish and no doubt force my daughters to read. The magic that this book gave me as a nervous middle-schooler and a (just as nervous) senior is something that cannot be reciprocated. Thank you Heather Vogel Frederick, I know I have another home in Concord with my friends.
My oh my. I started this series around the time that the girls started the series and here I am about to go off to college reading the final book. This series will be something that I will cherish and no doubt force my daughters to read. The magic that this book gave me as a nervous middle-schooler and a (just as nervous) senior is something that cannot be reciprocated. Thank you Heather Vogel Frederick, I know I have another home in Concord with my friends.
April 12, 2016
Overall, this book was pretty bland. Trying to carry characters who are about to leave for college into a middle grade type novel just doesn't work, because they aren't interesting enough for YA readers and not relatable for MG readers. An odd hybrid. Perhaps I would have been more enthusiastic if I'd read all the previous titles in the series and simply wanted to revisit these characters one more time.
May 11, 2016
This was more of a 4.5. I really enjoyed this series about a group of girls who are in a book club with their mothers. It sounds like it would be lame, but it wasn't. I loved the old classics that I had read already and then the other books that I had somehow missed. This is a series for book lovers.
January 5, 2023
I love this series. The girls can be brats and the writing is so so, but I just love them. I re read once a year usually
May 29, 2020
I’ve read this series as I’ve grown up. I’m not heading out to college yet, but even still, it was bittersweet to read this final installment in one of my favorite series. I have nostalgia for these book, and it was so much fun getting to know the girls. My only real complaint is that some of the girls’ thoughts seem a little cheesy at times, however, I believe this series was marketed to the younger end of the YA market, so if I had finished reading these when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I probably would have given this 5/5 stars.
Seriously, it’s one of my favorite series, and I think it’s underrated/undertalked about. I never hear booktubers talk about it.
A complaint I understand people have with the series though is that main plot points of the books stay the same throughout the series. I get this complaint, and it is a minor complaint I have with this as well. Girls ages 10-13 though probably won’t see that. Believe me. I loved for these books back then, and I just never got around the final two until now-so here we are 😂
Seriously, it’s one of my favorite series, and I think it’s underrated/undertalked about. I never hear booktubers talk about it.
A complaint I understand people have with the series though is that main plot points of the books stay the same throughout the series. I get this complaint, and it is a minor complaint I have with this as well. Girls ages 10-13 though probably won’t see that. Believe me. I loved for these books back then, and I just never got around the final two until now-so here we are 😂
May 13, 2018
I absolutely loved this book! After finishing off the rest of the MDBC series back in 5th grade, I was really excited to read this final installment since I LOVED the other books. The idea of a book club at the summer camp was really adorable and I loved how the author gave each camper and personality that I've grown to love (my favorite campers were Amy and Nica). I really wish this series didn't have to end where the girls are going to college; I loved seeing their characters develop since book 1. Such a cute book definite reread!
Also, seeing other reviews, I had doubts about reading but I ended up loving it and thinking it was a really cute book!
Also, seeing other reviews, I had doubts about reading but I ended up loving it and thinking it was a really cute book!
June 28, 2022
The perfect summery read with all the summer camp feels! This is such an underrated series. I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about it. It has been so much fun to see the girls grow up. In this one they were basically the “mothers” themselves since they camp counselors were running the book club for their campers. My only real complaint is I wanted more romance! And maybe an epilogue set 10 years later or something. But it really was a fitting conclusion and captured the whole idea of life after high school very well.
February 11, 2019
Enjoyed this seventh and final book in the Mother-Daughter book club series. I didn't know she added to the sixth until I saw this one and had to buy it!
The characters were as fun as normal and I liked the conclusion in their lives.
(And then I started my next book which I borrowed from the library by the same author and had to do a double-take when it was set in a neighboring town with some of the same characters who came to the summer camp "Absolutely Truly".)
The characters were as fun as normal and I liked the conclusion in their lives.
(And then I started my next book which I borrowed from the library by the same author and had to do a double-take when it was set in a neighboring town with some of the same characters who came to the summer camp "Absolutely Truly".)
February 18, 2023
The last book of the MDBC series did not match up to the others. It seemed like there was another book in between this one and wish you were eyre. And the way Jess complained about her hair getting cut off! She’s eighteen! She should not be whining about her hair being too short. Also, I didn’t like how Emma had still not gotten over Stewart. It seemed out of character. I liked the hole and the cheese thing. Or was it mouse and hole? Or ferret and hole? Shovel? Felicia’s capes cracked me up. Even though I didn’t like her complaining about it, at least we don’t have to read about Jess’s long beautiful blonde braid anymore.
September 7, 2020
I think I am going to cry. Why oh, why did the series have to end? This book is the hands down best book I’ve ever read. This book has taught me many lessons and made me constantly happy as I read it.
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