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 Different Day, A Different Destiny by Annette Laing

A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

A True Princess by Diane Zahler

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

All American Girl by Meg Cabot

Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli

Amazing Grace by Megan Shull

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee

as if being 12-3/4 isn’t bad enough, my mother is running for president! by Donna Gephart

Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

Awesome Plays for Teen and Tweens by Christina Hamlett

B

Becoming a Superhero by William Smith

Betti on the High Wire by Lisa Railsback

Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Bloomability by Sharon Creech

The Book of Nonsense by David Michael Slater

The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards

Boy by Roald Dahl

Breakaway by Andrea Montalbano

Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse

C

Call Me Hope by Gretchen Olson

Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman

Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little

City of Spies by Susan Kim and Laurance Klavan

Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen by Vicky Shecter

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Creepers by Joanne Dahme

The Crepe Makers’ Bond by Julie Crabtree

The Curse of Addy McMahon by Katie Davis

D

The Darlings Are Forever by Melissa Kantor

The Darlings in Love by Melissa Kantor

Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Frederick

Dewey The Library Cat: A True Story by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

Dogsled Dreams by Terry Lynn Johnson

Don’t Know Where, Don’t Know When by Annette Laing

Dot to Dot by Kit Bakke

Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pies by Jordan Sonnenblick

E

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

F

Fair Weather by Richard Peck

Falcon’s Prey by Kristina Coia

Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose by Diana Leszczynski

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson

G

Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth by Lee Welles

Girlwood by Claire Dean

Going Solo by Roald Dahl

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami

The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

H

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry

Heart with Joy by Steve Cushman

Heavens to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelance

Holes by Louis Sachar

Home for the Holidays by Heather Vogel Frederick

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I

I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

J

Jane and the Raven King by Stephen Chambers

Jane in Bloom by Deborah Lytton

Just Add Magic by Cindy Callaghan

K

The Keening by A. LaFaye

Kimchi and Calamari by Rose Kent

L

Let’s Make Some Great Art by Marion Deuchars

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Love, Meg by C. Leigh Purtill

Lymeria by Kristina Coia

M

The Magnificent 12: The Call by Michael Grant

Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras by Cathy Hopkins

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Mistress Masham’s Repose by T. H. White

Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

The Mother-Daughter Cook Book by Lynette Rohrer Shirt

Much Ado About Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick

N

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

Nissa’s Place by A. LaFaye

Noonie’s Masterpiece by Lisa Railsback

The Not So Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen by Mitali Perksins

O

Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French

Ophelia’s Oracle by Donna DeNomme and Tina Proctor

OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

P

P. S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin

Penny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder

Petey by Ben Mikaelson

Pies and Prejudice by Heather Vogel Frederick

The Pink Locker Society: Only Girls Allowed by Debra Moffitt

The Pink Locker Society: Best Kept Secret by Debra Moffitt

Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice

The Pony Whisperer: The Word on the Yard by Janet Rising

The Pony Whisperer: Team Challenge by Janet Rising

Possum Summer by Jen K. Blom

The Power of Half by Kevin Salwen and Hannah Salwen

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria Became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel by Michaela MacColl

Promise the Night by Michaela Maccoll

Q

The Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christine and Christopher Russell

R

Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings by Hèléne Boudreau

Rebel in a Dress Series: Cowgirls and Adventurers by Sylvia Branzei, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Red: The Next Generation of American Writers edited by Amy Goldwasser

Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Remember Me to Harold Square by Paula Danziger

Ringside 1925 by Jen Bryant

Rocky Road by Rose Kent

Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman

S

The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fused by Kari Lee Townsend

Savvy byIngrid Law

Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsay Leavitt

Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stolen Voices edited by Zlata Filipovic and Melanie Challenger

Strange But True, America by John Hafnor

T

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Tangerine by Edward Bloor

The Thirteenth Summer by Elizabeth Laing Thompson

This is Me from Now On by Barbara Dee

The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky

Tombstone Tea by Joanne Dahme

Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes

Trauma Queen by Barbara Dee

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

The Truth: I’m Smart, I’m a Girl and I Know Everything by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

U

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

The Ultimate Top Secret Guide to Taking Over the World story by Kenn Nesbitt, illustrations by Ethan Long

Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan

The Unforgotten Coat by Frank Cottrell Boyce

V

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth

W

Walk the Wild Road by Nigel Hinton

Walter, The Story of a Rat by Barbara Wersba, illustrated by Donna Diamond

Water Steps by A. LaFaye

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages

Wildwing by Emily Whitman

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams by Rhonda Hayter

With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo

Women Making America by Heidi Hemming and Julie Hemming Savage

Y

The Year of Goodbyes by Debbie Levy

The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance by Catherine Ryan Hyde

The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

Yuri’s Brush with Magic by Maureen Crane Wartski

Z

Zitface by Emily Howse

Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic