Book Lists

Books make it onto the recommended titles list in several ways:

• I read a book with one of my book clubs that I believe moms and daughters will learn something from, find something important to talk about, or have fun reading.
• I review a book outside of my book club that meets the same criteria above.
• Other readers and members of mother-daughter book clubs send in their lists of recommended books along with reviews.

Books are listed by age group, and you’ll also find lists of favorite authors, books to make you laugh out loud, and even a list of good books for boys. You can find reviews for many of the books listed here; just click on the live link to be taken to a specific review. If a book doesn’t have a review, that means it’s been recommended by a club or a librarian, but no one has written a review yet.

Review Policy

Most of the book reviews at Mother Daughter Book Club.com have been written by me, Cindy Hudson. If there’s a guest review, I let everyone know who has written the review. I generally look for titles that may be widely available in libraries so book club members don’t necessarily have to buy copies to read it. I sometimes make exceptions, depending on the topic and how many books are on my review schedule. I get books for review from the library and from publishers who send me copies to read. I always give my honest opinion regardless of how I obtain books for review.

While reviewing a book I focus less on whether I liked it or not and more on the issues to discuss in mother-daughter book clubs. I have been in clubs long enough to know that every reader has likes and dislikes. Each book typically is liked by some in the group and disliked by some in the group. It is rare to find a book that everyone likes, and that’s not always the best book for discussion. My philosophy in general is that if the issues are worth discussing and the book is fairly well written, it’s a good book club choice.

The age recommendations are often my own, and they don’t always reflect publisher recommendations. If you feel strongly about a book you or your club has read and want to recommend it for other groups, feel free to send me your review at info@motherdaughterbookclub.com. When you send in a review, please include your first name and last initial, city and state, and whether you are a mother, daughter, librarian, author or other interested reader.

A

A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A Regular Guy: Growing Up with Autism by Laura Shumaker

A Song for My Mother by Kat Martin

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

B

Because I Love Her, edited by Andrea Richesin

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo by Vanessa Woods

Boy by Roald Dahl

F

The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect With Your Kids by Rebecca Cohen

Flash Burnout by L. K. Madigan

Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell

G

Going Solo by Roald Dahl

The Grail: A Year Ambling and Shambling Through and Oregon Vineyard in Search of the Best Pinot Noir in the Whole Wide World by Brian Doyle

Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood by Melissa Hart

Gumbo Tales by Sara Roahen

H

The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

The Heroine’s Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

The Improper Life of Bezillia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Ireland by Frank Delaney

L

The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh

Letters fro Home by Kristina McMorris

Lips Touch, Three Times by Laini Taylor and Jim di Bartolo

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees

M

Memo to the President Elect by Madeleine Albright

Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Missing by Cornelia Maude Spelman

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Mothers and Daughters by Rae Meadows

My First Best Friend by Nancy Lindemeyer

My Teenage Werewolf: A Mother, A Daughter, A Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence by Lauren Kessler

N

The New York Stories of Edith Wharton

O

The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash

P

The Pages in Between by Erin Einhorn

The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein

The Perfect Love Song by Patti Callahan Henry

R

Red: The Next Generation of American Writers—Teenage Girls—On What Fires Up Their Lives Today edited by Amy Goldwasser

Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

S

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Saving Ben: A Father’s Story of Autism by Dan Burns

Say You’ll Be Mine by Julia Amante

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhamer

Stolen Voices edited by Zlata Filipovic and Melanie Challenger

Surviving High Society by Elizabeth Mulholland

T

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

This Boys Life by Tobias Wolff

The Traitor’s Wife by Kathleen Kent

U

Unraveling by Lynn Biederman and Michelle Baldini

W

Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire

West with the Night by Beryl Markham

What I Would Tell Her: 28 Devoted Dads on Bringing Up, Holding On To, and Letting Go of Their Daughters, edited by Andrea N. Richesin

What to Expect from Your Adopted Tween (e-book) by Judy Miller

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges

When I Married My Mother by Jo Maeder

The Writer’s Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks, & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach by Christina Katz

Y

The Year of Goodbyes by Debbie Levy

The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg