The Accidental Book Club
by Jennifer Scott
At first glance, it's just another fluffy women's fiction novel. Six women in a book club; the author can easily inject humor, cliche lines, and unimaginative plot lines. This is not that book. Yes, it's about six women in a book club, but that's just the skeleton. This is actually a very heavy read, one that I loved so much I gave to my mom and shared at my own book club.
The main character is grieving over her husband, and the realism in which Jennifer Scott writes is intense. One character is bullied at work, and another feels peer-pressured to create fake dates and boyfriends because her friends won't accept her enjoyment of her single life. While most of the ladies are older, a teenager enters the picture (no spoilers here) and enjoys quite a lengthy stay in the book. The teenager is a troubled girl, afraid and angry, and once again Scott's realism is frightening. Her heinous behavior makes her unlikable, but it's completely understandable why she acts that way.
This isn't a draining epic; there's humor and fluff. I just wanted to stress the drama past the cover, because many times I've read a book or watched a film, believing the advertisements. The tagline sums it up perfectly, a mixture of a "summer" and "winter" read: Hope is written between the lines.
Bottom line: Guys probably won't like this book. But if you're a lady, and you've ever felt utterly alone, insecure, afraid, or hopeless, read this book. If you've sought solace in your friends, or felt pressure to live up to their standards, read this book. If you've lost someone and incredibly manage to keep breathing and going through the motions, read this book. Just read it. And then give it to your mom.
The main character is grieving over her husband, and the realism in which Jennifer Scott writes is intense. One character is bullied at work, and another feels peer-pressured to create fake dates and boyfriends because her friends won't accept her enjoyment of her single life. While most of the ladies are older, a teenager enters the picture (no spoilers here) and enjoys quite a lengthy stay in the book. The teenager is a troubled girl, afraid and angry, and once again Scott's realism is frightening. Her heinous behavior makes her unlikable, but it's completely understandable why she acts that way.
This isn't a draining epic; there's humor and fluff. I just wanted to stress the drama past the cover, because many times I've read a book or watched a film, believing the advertisements. The tagline sums it up perfectly, a mixture of a "summer" and "winter" read: Hope is written between the lines.
Bottom line: Guys probably won't like this book. But if you're a lady, and you've ever felt utterly alone, insecure, afraid, or hopeless, read this book. If you've sought solace in your friends, or felt pressure to live up to their standards, read this book. If you've lost someone and incredibly manage to keep breathing and going through the motions, read this book. Just read it. And then give it to your mom.