I'm Adrienne Haus, survivor of a mother-daughter book club. Most of us didn't want to join. My mother signed me up because I was stuck at home all summer, with my knee in a brace. CeeCee's parents forced her to join after cancelling her Paris trip because she bashed up their car. The members of "The Unbearable Book Club," CeeCee, Jill, Wallis, and I, were all going into eleventh grade A.P. English. But we weren't friends. We were literary prisoners, sweating, reading classics, and hanging out at the pool. If you want to find out how membership in a book club can end up with a person being dead, you can probably look us up under mother-daughter literary catastrophe. Or open this book and read my essay, which I'll turn in when I go back to school.
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2012:
“The characters, especially the four girls, sparkle…. Smart and insightful.”
"Required summer reading never seemed so exciting before."
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2012:
"Schumacher, author of the compelling Black Box, deftly allows elements of The Yellow Wallpaper, Frankenstein, The House on Mango Street, and The Awakening to infuse Adrienne’s thinking as she immerses herself in them and as her own story unfurls alongside them. The result is a story that explores the way books can and can’t inform lives, as Adrienne’s summer leads to some surprising, even tragic events; that makes this a natural for book-club discussion by reluctant and eager attendants alike."
About the Author
JULIE SCHUMACHER is the author of several highly acclaimed children's books. She is a professor of English at the University of Minnesota.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
As a former English teacher, I loved the premise of "The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls." A summer book club for mothers and daughters based on the girls' summer reading requirements for Junior AP class--what's not to love? Unfortunately, the great promise of this idea was not fulfilled.
I will not summarize the novel; others have done that quite well. Instead, I will discuss why I think the novel does not succeed. First, the characters, with one exception, are one-dimensional. Whether moms or daughters, they simply do not seem like real-life people. The shining exception is the mother of the narrator, a single parent endowed with great common sense and a laid-back approach to parenting the navigates the balance between too permissive and too strict. I loved her. But that is where the love-fest ended.
The books to be read in the book club were fine, though I questioned some of the choices for this level of student. One major problem, however, was that the books were discussed so superficially as to be comical. They were merely an excuse to engage in parental angst and adolescent drama. What a waste of an excellent premise!
I am not totally down on this book. It may be enjoyable for some teens, and it is not a difficult read--a YA version of a beach read. It was just disappointing. Three stars at best.
I will not summarize the novel; others have done that quite well. Instead, I will discuss why I think the novel does not succeed. First, the characters, with one exception, are one-dimensional. Whether moms or daughters, they simply do not seem like real-life people. The shining exception is the mother of the narrator, a single parent endowed with great common sense and a laid-back approach to parenting the navigates the balance between too permissive and too strict. I loved her. But that is where the love-fest ended.
The books to be read in the book club were fine, though I questioned some of the choices for this level of student. One major problem, however, was that the books were discussed so superficially as to be comical. They were merely an excuse to engage in parental angst and adolescent drama. What a waste of an excellent premise!
I am not totally down on this book. It may be enjoyable for some teens, and it is not a difficult read--a YA version of a beach read. It was just disappointing. Three stars at best.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
"The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls" is an amusing but nevertheless insightful and at times quite serious look at a fictional girls' book club. The title originates from a running gag in the book regarding the fact that the girls in the club keep coming up with different amusing names for it, though I don't think this particular name was actually used within the book itself.
The book explores issues of teenage angst, life and love against a backdrop of classic literature. A number of classics are featured and readers may find themselves interested to seek out these books. The ending is sad, but hopeful. I would definitely recommend this one for the young adult crowd and I'd say that guys and not just girls could find a lot to enjoy in this title.
Others have already pointed out certain flaws in the book, such as certain things not coming together and a lack of depth. Despite these issues, I feel the book is still well worth a read.
The book explores issues of teenage angst, life and love against a backdrop of classic literature. A number of classics are featured and readers may find themselves interested to seek out these books. The ending is sad, but hopeful. I would definitely recommend this one for the young adult crowd and I'd say that guys and not just girls could find a lot to enjoy in this title.
Others have already pointed out certain flaws in the book, such as certain things not coming together and a lack of depth. Despite these issues, I feel the book is still well worth a read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I teach High School English, so I'm always looking for books that marry fun characters with classic literature. This seemed to be the perfect novel (in theory, according to its description), but it didn't really deliver.
The book is all about these 4 girls from VERY different social circumstances/backgrounds and their moms meeting for a book club that reads/discusses the books that these girls are assigned for their Junior AP English summer class. Although they do mention some literary gems (Frankenstein, etc.) they don't do more than a rudimentary summary at best. The characters are also lacking-they fail to be likeable, hateable or even memorable in any way.
The story is sorta cute in places, really capturing the social differences in high school that tend to follow us into adulthood, but nothing really happens and b/c the character development is so blah, I found myself just sorta flipping through it with no real excitement about what would come next. Overall, I would pass on this one.
The book is all about these 4 girls from VERY different social circumstances/backgrounds and their moms meeting for a book club that reads/discusses the books that these girls are assigned for their Junior AP English summer class. Although they do mention some literary gems (Frankenstein, etc.) they don't do more than a rudimentary summary at best. The characters are also lacking-they fail to be likeable, hateable or even memorable in any way.
The story is sorta cute in places, really capturing the social differences in high school that tend to follow us into adulthood, but nothing really happens and b/c the character development is so blah, I found myself just sorta flipping through it with no real excitement about what would come next. Overall, I would pass on this one.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
Adrienne Haus finds herself in a book club with girls with whom she does not usually associate. Her mother and theirs organized a book club. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Sandra Brazier
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love books? MUST read!!!
A motley group of girls, thrown together during the summer before the 11th grade. For one reason or another they are all in the group, having to read various books over the break. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Tonya Speelman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
This might be considered a Young Adult novel but I think it should appeal to women of all ages. Great characters and story. I really enjoyed this book.
Published 1 month ago by Jan Warner-poole
3.0 out of 5 stars
Snarkfest
The key adjectives for this book: snark, snarky, quirly, random, confusing, fun, odd, weird, snarky
Yes, the snark beared repeating. In a mostly delightful way. Read more
Yes, the snark beared repeating. In a mostly delightful way. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Holly K. Lee
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent book on this topic.
I am not generally into religious books but this looked interesting.
The premise is that God uses wilderness places (hard times and difficult roads) to bring people in line... Read more
The premise is that God uses wilderness places (hard times and difficult roads) to bring people in line... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't make it through
I love YA fiction. Read it, write it, talk about it. I loved the premise of the book: Mothers and daughters spend a summer together in a book club. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Keleigh Crigler Hadley
5.0 out of 5 stars
My first feel from cover is that it was like babysitters
There's a movie called babysitters on huluplus. I thought this was like that. Something about girls and legs and pool and a book club that they belong to during a Summer. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Parker M. Knight
4.0 out of 5 stars
Talk about complaining!
When I was a teenager I wasn't angst-ridden. I was too busy working two after-school jobs, volunteering at the hospital and cooking dinner for my entire family some nights. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Janice Sims
3.0 out of 5 stars
Light summer reading option for ages 12+
Four teenage girls about to enter 11th grade AP English find themselves in a mother-daughter book club. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kimberly J. Karas
4.0 out of 5 stars
Started off very slow with boring characters
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
The book starts off rather slow in my opinion, and the characters came across as fairly dull and uninteresting. Read more
The book starts off rather slow in my opinion, and the characters came across as fairly dull and uninteresting. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Charlie
