tader_horkan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
leasummer's review against another edition
4.0
Another great installment in the MDBC series. I read the first four Betsy-Tacy books before reading Home for the Holidays. In the MDBC book, Frederick focuses more on the older books but at least I had a background to the books.
In this season of the book club, it is December. Becca is given her own voice this year, making five different girls telling their part in the book. It did make me like her character more, hearing her side of things. There are a lot of mishaps and misunderstandings, which is typical of the teenage girl. They're quite boy crazy, which also is typical of their age group. I really enjoyed them, the romance and the friendships that continue as they grow up.
In this season of the book club, it is December. Becca is given her own voice this year, making five different girls telling their part in the book. It did make me like her character more, hearing her side of things. There are a lot of mishaps and misunderstandings, which is typical of the teenage girl. They're quite boy crazy, which also is typical of their age group. I really enjoyed them, the romance and the friendships that continue as they grow up.
ericadeb's review against another edition
4.0
I love these books. If I had a daughter at the right reading age for the mother daughter book club these would surely be on her shelf!
brinkley's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
sophiebhk's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was very good. I want this series to just keep on going! This book is the 5th one in the series, it is about a mother daughter book club and this time they are reading the Betsy Tacy series. They are each going somewhere for Christmas and are trying to deal with all the drama that the holidays can bring them.
connieholladay's review against another edition
4.0
I love this series. I am looking forward to the Betsy-Tacy books after reading this book. My favorite part of this series is how well it gets young girls interested in reading classic book series and shows them that these books are relevant intheir lives today! Great, fun read
ikuo1000's review against another edition
3.0
*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***
While all the books of this series have involved boys to some extent, this book seemed to veer away from the "coming of age" gestalt that characterized earlier books and more towards "chick lit". There was just an awful lot about boys in this book, what with Jess and Emma having boyfriends, Cassidy finally being interested in boys, and Becca and Megan fighting over a boy.
Of course, this being the fifth book in the series, I'm already invested in the characters, so it wasn't hard to keep reading, even when I felt disappointed. I really liked that Becca finally got her own chapters in this book. She's a complex character, and I surprise myself when I say that she's probably my second-favorite character after Cassidy, who matured a lot in this book.
Mrs. Chadwick continued to float around the edge of the friendship circle. I really disliked that she was still being portrayed as being petty and jealous. Frankly, in my opinion, she was the only one keeping it real! If all my friends were constantly gushing over another friend who was just the perfect cross between Heidi Klum and Martha Stewart, I'd probably spend a lot of my time rolling my eyes, too! And, in a group of well-educated middle-to-upper-class suburbanites, Mrs. Chadwick was the only person to question the prudence of a college sophomore getting engaged!?
In all the books so far, the girls' crushes didn't always work out, but any romance angles had happily ever after endings. In this installment, I liked that one of the girls was finally unlucky in love. Yes, it was a shame, but it was also a more realistic portrayal of teenage romance, and anyway, I didn't think she deserved him anyway! Unfortunately, the true-to-life pull-yourself-together-after-a-break-up lesson didn't really fly because apparently, the whole time, she was just waiting by the phone to be at the beck and call of the boy, in case he changed his mind! The book had a chance to show young female readers how one could handle a break-up in a healthy, self-respecting, and empowered way - but then it blew it. Though Becca didn't go through an actual break-up, her pragmatic move-on attitude was much more admirable.
This book definitely had more conflicts than previous books in the series, and I liked that even though everyone traveled over the holidays, no one had the kind of amazing, over-the-top, perfect-in-every-way experience that was so common in earlier books. This time around, the girls really fought, and we finally saw the rocky side of friendships. As I said before, I think Cassidy is now my favorite character (initially I preferred Emma), and I liked how in this book, she kind of stayed above the fray of the fighting. I liked, too, that Cassidy was fully aware that she didn't have a BFF the way Jess and Emma were best friends, or Megan and Becca, but she was okay with that. I'm sure there are plenty of young readers who would identify with that part of Cassidy.
So, overall, while I liked the character development of Becca and Cassidy, I wasn't too fond of Megan's character, and all the conflicts were just too boy-centered for my tastes. Admittedly, though, I'm sure most 15-year-old girls do spend most of their time obsessing over boys, and I'm glad that this book did drive home the "best friends before boyfriends" message.
While all the books of this series have involved boys to some extent, this book seemed to veer away from the "coming of age" gestalt that characterized earlier books and more towards "chick lit". There was just an awful lot about boys in this book, what with Jess and Emma having boyfriends, Cassidy finally being interested in boys, and Becca and Megan fighting over a boy.
Of course, this being the fifth book in the series, I'm already invested in the characters, so it wasn't hard to keep reading, even when I felt disappointed. I really liked that Becca finally got her own chapters in this book. She's a complex character, and I surprise myself when I say that she's probably my second-favorite character after Cassidy, who matured a lot in this book.
Mrs. Chadwick continued to float around the edge of the friendship circle. I really disliked that she was still being portrayed as being petty and jealous. Frankly, in my opinion, she was the only one keeping it real! If all my friends were constantly gushing over another friend who was just the perfect cross between Heidi Klum and Martha Stewart, I'd probably spend a lot of my time rolling my eyes, too! And, in a group of well-educated middle-to-upper-class suburbanites, Mrs. Chadwick was the only person to question the prudence of a college sophomore getting engaged!?
In all the books so far, the girls' crushes didn't always work out, but any romance angles had happily ever after endings. In this installment, I liked that one of the girls was finally unlucky in love. Yes, it was a shame, but it was also a more realistic portrayal of teenage romance, and anyway, I didn't think she deserved him anyway! Unfortunately, the true-to-life pull-yourself-together-after-a-break-up lesson didn't really fly because apparently, the whole time, she was just waiting by the phone to be at the beck and call of the boy, in case he changed his mind! The book had a chance to show young female readers how one could handle a break-up in a healthy, self-respecting, and empowered way - but then it blew it. Though Becca didn't go through an actual break-up, her pragmatic move-on attitude was much more admirable.
This book definitely had more conflicts than previous books in the series, and I liked that even though everyone traveled over the holidays, no one had the kind of amazing, over-the-top, perfect-in-every-way experience that was so common in earlier books. This time around, the girls really fought, and we finally saw the rocky side of friendships. As I said before, I think Cassidy is now my favorite character (initially I preferred Emma), and I liked how in this book, she kind of stayed above the fray of the fighting. I liked, too, that Cassidy was fully aware that she didn't have a BFF the way Jess and Emma were best friends, or Megan and Becca, but she was okay with that. I'm sure there are plenty of young readers who would identify with that part of Cassidy.
So, overall, while I liked the character development of Becca and Cassidy, I wasn't too fond of Megan's character, and all the conflicts were just too boy-centered for my tastes. Admittedly, though, I'm sure most 15-year-old girls do spend most of their time obsessing over boys, and I'm glad that this book did drive home the "best friends before boyfriends" message.
yapha's review against another edition
4.0
Another great book in a fabulous series. And it made me want to go read the Besty-Tacy books, which I somehow missed. Odd, considering I grew up in Minnesota... It also makes me want to restart my Mother-Daughter book club. Great series! I hope there is another one on the way!
crinolinelaphroaig's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up this book because I LOVE Betsy - Tacy. Older me still rereads Betsy books most every year. They stand the test of time.
Read a couple of Chapters of this book and just couldn't care about teenage girl drama. Ended up skimming and reading just the Betsy - Tacy bits. It's just too juvenile for me.
Read a couple of Chapters of this book and just couldn't care about teenage girl drama. Ended up skimming and reading just the Betsy - Tacy bits. It's just too juvenile for me.