Mothers, daughters and books

I discovered the Mother-Daughter Book Club series by accident, stumbling onto the first book at Books-a-Million in West Texas. I was in the mood for light summer reading, and the cheery pink-covered paperback promised just that: a tale of four middle-school girls and their mothers in Concord, Massachusetts, who form a book club and read Little Women (my childhood favorite!) together.

The daughters are wary of their mothers’ project at first, but they end up loving the book and each other’s company so much that they decide to keep the club going. Five books later, they’re smack in the middle of high school, and with their sixth adventure hitting shelves next month, I decided to visit them in Concord again.

Narrated in turn by the girls (bookish Emma, farm girl Jess, fashionista Megan and tomboy athlete Cassidy), the books give us several perspectives on the authors and books the club reads. The literary musings (and “fun facts” collected by Emma’s mother, who is a librarian) are interwoven with the daily dramas of middle and high school, life in small-town New England with their families, and each girl’s private struggles and dreams.

These girls (even snooty Becca, who joins the club in seventh grade and finally gets to share in the narration in tenth grade) are innocent, perhaps a little naive. There are no drugs or curse words, and very little rebellion, in the books. But their sunny simplicity matches their club’s classic reads, and keeps the focus on the books rather than on any serious teen angst. (After Little Women, they move on to Anne of Green Gables; Jean Webster’s Daddy-Long-Legs; Pride and Prejudice; and my beloved Betsy-Tacy series.)

All five daughters have mostly intact families and loving relationships with their mothers, even though (like all teenagers everywhere) they are embarrassed by their parents sometimes. Despite being rather sheltered, they are thoroughly modern, with cell phones and crushes on boys, and a disastrous fashion blog plays an important role in Pies & Prejudice, the fourth book.

I love these books partly because the characters and setting (not New England, but a friendly small town) remind me of my childhood. I grew up with two parents who loved each other (and me) deeply; I fought with my sister sometimes, but she was always one of my best friends; and we could hardly go to the grocery store without running into someone we knew. I navigated the insecurities and drama of adolescence with the help of my parents, a handful of close friends, and my beloved books.

And that is the other reason I love these books: they embody the idea that literature can change your life, or at least infuse it with more joy, more sparkle, more zest for living, more courage.

None of the girls, except Emma (daughter of a librarian, and an aspiring writer) care much for books when the series begins. Jess loves animals and singing and science; Megan designs and sews clothes, and loves to shop; and Cassidy is a hockey nut who’s still grappling with the death of her father and a cross-country move. They don’t expect to enjoy Little Women (or Anne, or Daddy-Long-Legs), but all of them eventually fall in love with the heroines of these classics, realizing that despite differences of time and geography, Jo March and Anne Shirley and Elizabeth Bennet face the same struggles they do.

The book club motif gives the characters plenty of chances to discuss the books, which means they not only gush about the heroes and heroines, but learn to appreciate the minor characters, from Mrs. Rachel Lynde to Mr. Collins, and Betsy Ray’s merry crowd of friends. Similarly, the minor characters in this series are great fun, from the girls’ parents and siblings to their boyfriends, a couple of grandparents, teachers and friends. It’s a pleasure to revisit Concord (even more so since I’ve now been there myself), and spend time with not only the five narrators, but the whole cast of characters.

If you’re in the mood for some frothy, literary fun, I highly recommend these books. The girls are tackling Jane Eyre next, and I can’t wait to visit England – and hang out in Concord – with them.

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boston haunts: mount auburn cemetery

I’ve always been intrigued by old cemeteries – gently winding paths curving between mossy gravestones, with dates and epitaphs etched into limestone or granite or, in some cases, marble. (My sister is totally creeped out by this interest of mine, though she says when she does finally visit us in Boston, she wouldn’t mind seeing where Paul Revere, John Hancock and other notables are buried.)

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent time in the UK, where cemeteries tend to be older – but I find them peaceful, often beautiful, and less sterile and grim than modern cemeteries. With so much life bursting out all around the graves, it seems less possible for death to have the last word.

We’ve been intending to go out to Mt. Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge, for months, and finally got the chance over Labor Day weekend, when some out-of-town friends wanted to see it. Five of us spent an afternoon wandering among the stones, pausing to read the occasional epitaph, comment on the unusual names or the too-close-together dates of birth and death, or gaze at the ancient trees and rippling ponds.

We missed seeing Longfellow’s grave, somehow, but we did find the Mary Baker Eddy memorial, and lots of other folks unknown to us. And the afternoon light, filtering through those green leaves, was lovely:

This all reminded me of St. John’s graveyard in Kingsport, Nova Scotia, which quickly becomes a favorite haunt of Anne Shirley’s during her college years at Redmond. The description of St. John’s by Anne’s friend Priscilla, barring the Crimean War monument, could just as easily be of Mount Auburn:

Old St. John’s is a darling place. It’s been a graveyard so long that it’s ceased to be one and has become one of the sights of Kingsport. I was all through it yesterday for a pleasure exertion. There’s a big stone wall and a row of enormous trees all around it, and rows of trees all through it, and the queerest old tombstones, with the queerest and quaintest inscriptions. You’ll go there to study, Anne, see if you don’t. Of course, nobody is ever buried there now. But a few years ago they put up a beautiful monument to the memory of Nova Scotian soldiers who fell in the Crimean War. It is just opposite the entrance gates and there’s ’scope for imagination’ in it, as you used to say.

There’s plenty of scope for imagination at Mt. Auburn – and there’s a tower you can climb up in, with (I’m told) a stunning view of eastern Massachusetts. And in just a few weeks, the leaves will be turning. I’ll definitely be going back.

What do you think of old cemeteries – creepy or contemplative?

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list #36: my favorite last lines

Because endings, too, can be so good.

1. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. (Charlotte’s Web)
2. We talked of what was to come. And of the lost art of keeping secrets. (The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets)
3. “‘God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world,’” whispered Anne softly. (Anne of Green Gables)
4. And now we’ll all go swimming. (No Children, No Pets)
5. Only the margin left to write on now. I love you, I love you, I love you. (I Capture the Castle)
6. “Music I heard with you was more than music, and bread I broke with you was more than bread.” Yes. And always will be. (Two-Part Invention)
7. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy. (A Moveable Feast)
8. “Well, I’m back,” he said. (The Return of the King)
9. She could feel the Big Hill looking down as the Crowd danced at Tib’s wedding in the chocolate-colored house. (Betsy’s Wedding)
10. The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well. (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

What are your favorite last lines?

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january books: maisie, big stone gap and more

Bittersweet: Thoughts on Grace, Change, and Learning the Hard Way, Shauna Niequist
I won this book in a giveaway on Alisha’s blog, and read it o’nights propped up in bed, after we got back from our bittersweet Christmas trip. Shauna writes with honesty and grace about some hard stuff – losing jobs and miscarriages and trying to find her way again. She believes in the grace of the everyday, in good meals and time with friends and celebrating small victories. She knows there are no easy answers, that faith is not a set of rules or theories, that often you have to go through the bitter to reach the sweet. I felt like I was having coffee with a girlfriend – one who’s been through the hard stuff and come out on the other side. Now I want to read her other book, Cold Tangerines.

Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear
I devoured this second Maisie Dobbs book in a DAY. Even more intriguing than the first. I love reading about Maisie’s detective methods and her relationships with her assistant, her father, her mentor and others. It’s fascinating to trace her journey as she moves beyond the Great War, but carries its legacy with her, and also as she balances her “upstairs” roots with her “downstairs” life. (She used to be a maid; now she’s a college-educated detective.) Great read. (The read-along continues at Book Club Girl.)

Big Stone Gap, Adriana Trigiani
I am a new and passionate Trigiani fan, so I had to check out the series that made her famous. And I loved the story of Ave Maria Mulligan and all her crazy, quirky friends in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. So heartfelt and honest and so funny. I checked out the sequel right away.

Big Cherry Holler, Adriana Trigiani
This sequel to Big Stone Gap looks at some serious issues in a marriage – what happens when grief and the routine of everyday life start to erode your passion? – with humor and style. I was rooting for Ave Maria’s marriage all the way, partly because I’m a fan of marriage in general, but partly because I knew she and Jack Mac, her husband, have something special. It was a hard journey back for them, but a rewarding one.

Milk Glass Moon, Adriana Trigiani
“The hardest part of love is letting go,” they say – which is more true for Ave Maria, the main character of this series, than it is for most. She learns to let her daughter grow up, let her friends face their own struggles, let her husband provide for the family in his own way. At times I want to shake her and at times I want to hug her – but I love spending time with Ave Maria and the rest of the Big Stone Gap gang.

Home to Big Stone Gap, Adriana Trigiani
Lots of new challenges in this final book of the series – but it’s well worth reading to discover how they turn out. If you liked the other three books, you’ll like this one too, I think. (And the town production of The Sound of Music is downright hilarious.)

Anne’s House of Dreams, L.M. Montgomery
I’ve been thinking about Anne and her life in Four Winds – her adjustment to a new community, her friendships with Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia and Leslie Moore. So I picked this book up again for some comfort. I love every page, especially Captain Jim’s tales and Leslie’s transformation. And it speaks to me because I, too, am a young wife in a new place.

Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery
I can’t tell you how much I love this book, and every character in it (well, except snarky Irene Howard), and all the adventures of life at Ingleside during World War I. My favorite part is the patient courage of the women of Ingleside, who keep the home fires burning – and so much more – while their young men are off at war. Anne, Rilla, Susan and Miss Oliver are true heroines. And the scenes with little Dog Monday make me cry every. single. time.

Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear
More Maisie – which means more mystery, more seemingly unconnected cases which turn out to be intertwined, and more about the heartbreaking legacy of World War I. This book brought some important healing – and some startling revelations – for Maisie herself. Since she’s in the business of bringing truth and healing to others, I knew it would be her turn for both eventually. Quite well done, as usual.

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, Maud Hart Lovelace
This was a Christmas gift from Abi, who completed my collection by giving me the first four Betsy-Tacy books. I love Betsy’s visits to the library, as the world opens up to her through classic literature. I love the magic of the Opera House and the girls’ Christmas shopping expedition. And I love watching Betsy begin to blossom as a writer – and her charming poem, “The Curtain Goes Up.”

On Rue Tatin, Susan Herrmann Loomis
I found this in the Booksmith’s Used Book Cellar, and salivated over every page. Not only are Loomis’ recipes drool-worthy, but I loved the story of her time as an apprentice chef in Paris, her later move to France and the painstaking renovation of an old monastery into a home. She talks about the light, the shops, the countryside and the people with such joy and obvious affection. And some of the recipes actually look doable (a rarity in French foodie memoirs).

In the Company of Others, Jan Karon
It’s no secret I love all things Mitford, so I was thrilled to receive this new novel for Christmas. And oh my, I loved it. Heartbreaking, funny, poignant and real – and set in Ireland, which I adore. I appreciate Father Tim’s deep humility and Cynthia’s wisdom, and I enjoyed meeting the new characters, especially Pud (short for Pudding), the shoe-chewing Jack Russell terrier.

The Language of Trees, Ilie Ruby
I met Ilie at a writing workshop – a morning of shop-talk and sharing at the Concord Bookshop. She’s charming and zesty in person, so I had to pick up her book (and get her to sign it). And I was irresistibly drawn into this story of a community on the shores of Lake Canandaigua in upstate New York. Powerful stories; elegant writing; characters I wanted to walk with and talk with. And so much here about the power of secrets – those we tell, and those we keep.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Helen Simonson
I picked this one up in Concord too, because I’d been hearing about it. A charming, unusual love story set in the English countryside, with quirky characters and a delightful, unlikely hero. (And frequent references to how to properly brew a cup of tea.) This is about family, love, prejudice and choosing to live your own life, and I loved it.

Kat, Incorrigible, Stephanie Burgis
I’m always entering contests to win galleys of books, and this one arrived in the mail this week. Regency England + lighthearted magic + a spunky 12-year-old narrator = oodles of fun. Jane Austen with a dash of Harry Potter, for the younger set. It’s the first in a trilogy and I’m eager to see what happens to Kat and her family.

Newsgirl, Liza Ketchum
I found this one in the YA alcove at Brattle – and bought it because I love the movie Newsies, and the book’s title brought it to mind. Amelia, age twelve, travels to California during the Gold Rush with her mother and her mother’s business partner. Desperate for money, she cuts off her hair, dresses as a boy and joins a gang of newsboys. She also accidentally goes up in a balloon, and finds her way home again, while doing a bit of growing up. Funny, historically fascinating and heartwarming.

I’m rereading Little Women now, for the first time in a while, as well as digging into more Maisie books and other literary gems. Tell me, what are you reading?

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books to begin a new year

Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, Lizzie Skurnick
I heard about this book via Book Club Girl, and found it fascinating. Skurnick gives us a tour of numerous beloved teen novels – dealing with romance, puberty, tragedy, the supernatural and other topics – with guest essays by other authors. Her list includes lots of books I’ve never read, but I still enjoyed the essays on those, as well as fresh takes on some of my favorites. Fascinating, if you love girls’ young adult lit. (Warning: occasional expletives.)

The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
I’ve been following Gretchen’s blog for months, and was THRILLED to read her long-awaited memoir of her year spent studying happiness. She has lots of fascinating insights, and she’s able both to be honest and to laugh at herself. I love her tender descriptions of her family, and her epiphany that “the days are long, but the years are short.” My husband is reading it month-by-month this year and said he quite enjoyed the January chapter.

This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, ed. Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
When I was taking Ali Edwards’ Yesterday and Today class online through Big Picture Scrapbooking, she mentioned this NPR project and the books born from it. I’d heard of This I Believe before – our Bible class even did a series, a few summers ago, where various people, including me, presented their essays – but I’d never read them in book form. I loved this collection, and have shared several of them with my students. This collection is such a thoughtful, wide-ranging, thought-provoking snapshot of American belief – essay topics range from the Holocaust to the pizza delivery dude. I highly recommend both the book and the Web site.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, Beth Pattillo
My friend Anne, knowing I’d enjoyed Jane Austen Ruined My Life by the same author, kindly sent me a copy of this one. It’s set in Oxford – always a plus – and compellingly written. I liked Claire, the main character, even while I felt sorry for her and grew a bit exasperated with her. And I liked the fact that she wasn’t a Jane Austen addict – just sort of fell into a seminar, literally. I’d have liked to see her explore more of Oxford beyond Christ Church, but I suppose I’ll just write about it in my own memoir. Recommended if you like Jane Austen, chick lit, Oxford or Beth Pattillo’s writing.

Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
The famous redhead is one of my beloved childhood heroines and friends – and oh, I loved revisiting her childhood. I was never given to fits of temper like Anne, but I was always given to imagination and dreams, and wandering in the woods at my grandparents’ house. I love Anne’s story and her imagination – but every time I read this book over again, I’m more conscious of how much Marilla loves Anne, though she doesn’t like to show it. And I always, always cry when sweet Matthew dies.

Anne of Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery
I’ve read the Anne books so many times that I have whole sentences – including line breaks – committed to memory. There’s a lot of comedy in this second volume, particularly when Anne and Marilla adopt a pair of twins – but I also love reading about Anne’s adventures in teaching and her dreams of what lies around “the bend in the road.” The story of Echo Lodge and sweet Miss Lavendar is one of my favorite parts of this book, and well, I just love the teenage Anne. I think we would have been friends.

Anne of the Island, L.M. Montgomery
When I felt lonely or scared as a college freshman, I pulled out Anne of the Island and reread Anne’s adventures at Redmond College. I sympathized with her feelings of insignificance at first – but I love the cozy times with the girls at Patty’s Place, which resemble my own experiences with Bethany, Joy and the House 9 girls at ACU. The ending of this book is heart-stopping, and then beautiful – the scene where she realizes (spoiler alert) that Gilbert is going to live is one of the best in the whole series.

Anne of Windy Poplars, L.M. Montgomery
Anne’s adventures as a school principal in Summerside, away from her beloved fiance, have some odd parallels to my time in Oxford, away from my beloved Jeremiah. I wrote as many emails as Anne writes letters, and met quite as many quirky, interesting people (though I’m not a born matchmaker, like Anne). I love her evenings in her tower room, her witty descriptions of the people she meets, and her landladies – “the widows” are sweet, and Rebecca Dew is hilarious.

Anne’s House of Dreams, L.M. Montgomery
This fifth book resonated deeply with me this time – I’ve always enjoyed the account of Anne and Gilbert’s newlywed years, but since I’m now a married woman myself, it strikes a deeper chord. I love imagining their little house of dreams and the people who visit it – and Captain Jim Boyd is one of the best characters in the series. (As is Miss Cornelia, who endures through the next three books.)

I’m so enjoying this trip through the Anne series, which for me is also a trip down memory lane. There will be more Anne reviews next month – but I’ve also got lots more in the stack. Stay tuned!

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