Dear Pen Pal

Jess goes to boarding school (although it feels like she is living right in town more or less) and that changes things in the friend group. There's a new bully that Jess has to learn to get along with (and learn to see past the image). There are also pen pals to add into the mix. I enjoyed Cassidy's continued evolution as she learns to cope with a new step father, a sister going off to college, and now a new baby in the family. She is refreshing and funny and real.

Let's get this out of the way first: I don't like Jean Webster's books. The only one I've read in recent memory was DADDY-LONG-LEGS, and it didn't work for me. The fact that the girls all loved it, then, didn't exactly ring true, though I was not bothered by the girls being unanimous in their enjoyment of LITTLE WOMEN or ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

I had a hard time keeping the voices straight in this one, and I couldn't tell one pen pal from the other, even after the real-life pen pals came on stage.

The situations seemed real enough, what with lots of conflict and even more drama. One roots for these girls to find their way. And the grandmothers, both "real" and adopted, are my favorite characters by a mile.

This is the third book in the Mother-Daughter Book Club Series. I had not read the other three. I will tell you up front that it was a “cute” book but not one I really enjoyed. The four main characters Megan, Jess, Cassidy and Emma are starting eighth grade. Just like my eighth graders there were new changes for them to face. Not all of them were pleasant or easy to handle. Amidst all of the situations the girls decide to become pen-pals with another book club in Wyoming. This is where I knew I would lose my students. I teach struggling readers. I fight to get them to read 10 – 30 minutes each day and for a large number of them they choose books that deal with issues they face, gangs, teen pregnancy, etc. They idea flowing show more throughout this book was that as long as you had a group of good friends and a good book then everything would work out. I will put it on my shelves but I can think off hand of only three students that would maybe enjoy this book. They are already readers with some skill problem areas. show less

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

This year, the club talks about Daddy Long-Legs while dealing with their own boarding school drama.

Jess moves to the private boarding school in the same town. She's trying to acclimate into her new posh school while the other girls are trying to get used to school without their friend.

Plus, their mothers have a new surprise for them. They're going to become pen pals with another mother-daughter book club in the Midwest . At first the girls are apprehensive, but as the year continues the letters flow between girls and connections are made.

The third book in this warm series about friendship, family, and reading is packed with evil roommates, first boyfriends, a first kiss, a new sibling, show more grandmother and mother rivalry, a secret puppy, a prank war, and an unexpected trip.

I wonder where high school will bring the daughters and their mothers. show less

Excellent series. The characters are great. And I learned about a new youth classic, Daddy Long-Legs, by Jean Webster. Can't wait to read it.

Four very different friends in Concord, Massachusetts, and their mothers continue their book club, reading Jean Webster's "Daddy Long-Legs," while getting to know their own pen pals from Wyoming.

Mother daughter book club reads Daddy Longlegs. Pitiful after Daddy Longlegs.