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ameliabiblio's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book sooooooo much!! It was one of the best books of the series. I especially loved how she put Becca into the chapters as well. It was refreshing to hear her side of the story as well.
sallyavena's review against another edition
2.0
The girls are now in 10th grade and I think a little too old for the target audience of the books. There was way too much girl drama in this one for me. The fact that 2 of the girls are dating high school seniors makes it lean a little more towards what happens in college than what is appropriate for middle schoolers. Still clean and innocent, just not for my almost 9 year old daughter.
missbryden's review against another edition
4.0
I love how much this one (of the series) incorporates the series the club are reading: big references, but lots of little references, too, and from multiple characters, the author matching them into the other fiction's very life-like stories. She manages to show how into the books her characters get by all their little references, but not spoil the [b:The Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Lovelace, Maud Hart, Lenski, Lois (1995) Hardcover|132775867|The Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Lovelace, Maud Hart, Lenski, Lois (1995) Hardcover|Maud Hart Lovelace|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699598343l/132775867._SY75_.jpg|10931] series for the rest of us who also hadn't read them. From there I joined those who'd never heard of the books, read them all (including the other three Deep Valley books), and wondered how I'd never heard of them when they fit so well with other classic favorites.
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reddyrat's review against another edition
4.0
Home for the Holiday is the penultimate book in one of my favorite middle grade series, the Mother Daughter Book Club. We've been with these girls since they were eleven years old. Now they're fifteen turning sixteen. The book club goes on. The club even grew from four daughters to five. Now the girls consist of Emma, Cassie, Jess, Megan, and Becca.
Each book in the series is set during a different year in the girls' lives. In a slight twist, Home for the Holidays took place during the first half of the girls' sophomore year in high school. The next book, I assume, will constitute the second half. The book club is reading the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. So wonderful! These are some of my favorite books. I am so happy that Ms. Frederick is exposing a new generation of readers to these classic tween/teen novels.
The best part about Home for the Holidays is the addition of Becca's point of view. The story alternates from each girl's point of view. Until now, Becca was the only member of the club excluded. I assume this is because she was a later addition to the club and also tends to be a popular mean girl. Now we have the opportunity to understand her better. Becca is sassy and somewhat mean, even in her internal chatter, but her good heart and general good intentions are more clear when seeing the world through her eyes. Becca is arguably the main character of this novel, since the main (although not the only) crisis plot point - that her father lost his job - involves her.
As usual, the book's plot very loosely follows the trajectory of the book club's chosen novel, or novels in this case. Much like Betsy and her Crowd, there is great emphasis on friendship, having fun, and boys. Influenced by Betsy In Spite Of Herself, the characters all travel over Christmas. This is where the problems start. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Ms. Frederick always does a good job of assigning flaws to otherwise likeable characters. The alternating points of view make the arguments even more interesting (and frustrating) since the reader knows what each character is thinking but the characters suffer from mistaken impressions or say things that we know they internally regret.
Home for the Holidays is another fun installment of the Mother Daughter Book Club. While I wanted to knock the girls' heads together occasionally and get them to stop fighting, mostly the book is pure reading pleasure. I loved the incorporation of the Betsy Tacy series. I continue to admire Ms. Frederick for using 16 year old girls as the main characters in a middle grade series, making their lives realistic of the many teens who lead fairly tame, clean lives without alienating either older or younger readers.
Rating: 4 / 5
Each book in the series is set during a different year in the girls' lives. In a slight twist, Home for the Holidays took place during the first half of the girls' sophomore year in high school. The next book, I assume, will constitute the second half. The book club is reading the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. So wonderful! These are some of my favorite books. I am so happy that Ms. Frederick is exposing a new generation of readers to these classic tween/teen novels.
The best part about Home for the Holidays is the addition of Becca's point of view. The story alternates from each girl's point of view. Until now, Becca was the only member of the club excluded. I assume this is because she was a later addition to the club and also tends to be a popular mean girl. Now we have the opportunity to understand her better. Becca is sassy and somewhat mean, even in her internal chatter, but her good heart and general good intentions are more clear when seeing the world through her eyes. Becca is arguably the main character of this novel, since the main (although not the only) crisis plot point - that her father lost his job - involves her.
As usual, the book's plot very loosely follows the trajectory of the book club's chosen novel, or novels in this case. Much like Betsy and her Crowd, there is great emphasis on friendship, having fun, and boys. Influenced by Betsy In Spite Of Herself, the characters all travel over Christmas. This is where the problems start. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Ms. Frederick always does a good job of assigning flaws to otherwise likeable characters. The alternating points of view make the arguments even more interesting (and frustrating) since the reader knows what each character is thinking but the characters suffer from mistaken impressions or say things that we know they internally regret.
Home for the Holidays is another fun installment of the Mother Daughter Book Club. While I wanted to knock the girls' heads together occasionally and get them to stop fighting, mostly the book is pure reading pleasure. I loved the incorporation of the Betsy Tacy series. I continue to admire Ms. Frederick for using 16 year old girls as the main characters in a middle grade series, making their lives realistic of the many teens who lead fairly tame, clean lives without alienating either older or younger readers.
Rating: 4 / 5
50bookgoal's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Mother Daughter Book Club Book 5
So much fun
Deals with bullying, when a parent looses a job
Holiday fun
5/5 Stars
So much fun
Deals with bullying, when a parent looses a job
Holiday fun
5/5 Stars
rosalind14's review against another edition
3.0
3.5.
I'm not exactly in the intended age group for this series, but with all the Betsy-Tacyness, I couldn't help but finish it, and enjoy it, despite the unavoidable cheesiness.
I'm not exactly in the intended age group for this series, but with all the Betsy-Tacyness, I couldn't help but finish it, and enjoy it, despite the unavoidable cheesiness.
mercyk's review against another edition
4.0
definitely not my favorite of the series for many reasons
1 i like the book split in seasons not holidays
2 there wasnt any major drama until the end and thats why it took me long to read-- i wasnt interested
3 why the heck did zach kiss cassidy and becca on nye ???? kinda not a big reason to dislike the book but what??
1 i like the book split in seasons not holidays
2 there wasnt any major drama until the end and thats why it took me long to read-- i wasnt interested
3 why the heck did zach kiss cassidy and becca on nye ???? kinda not a big reason to dislike the book but what??
deniser821's review against another edition
4.0
The 5th book in this series was another great and quick read that I enjoyed with my daughter. We have become comfortable reading about the group of teenage characters that we have become familiar with. In this book, the author added a 5th voice to the story: Becca, the resident mean girl and the entire book takes place over just the Holiday period instead of the entire school year. My daughter and I are looking forward to the last 2 books in this series.
stellarae2000's review against another edition
5.0
I remember being so excited when this book came out. Its so fun and I liked how this book and the next book split the year in half so we got more details. I really liked how in the end the girls really worked through there residual issues from middle school. I think it made the addition of Becca in the group feel really complete.