This Mother-Daughter book club, "Kewl Girls Read", has been going strong since September 2003. The members came together through Sarah, and include three girls from her Temple Sinai class, one from her JCC preschool class, and one from her ice skating class. The club was started when the girls were just entering 4th grade, and now they are entering high school (in Penfield, Pittsford, Greece, and Honeoye Falls).

The club only picked up their name "Kew Girls Read" last spring when the group took part in the Walk for Breast Cancer on Mother's Day in honor of one of the book club moms who had undergone treatment.

How many members do you have?
There are six girls and six moms in the group.

How often do you meet?
We meet approximately every six weeks during the school year. But during the summer, and on one or two other occasions, we get together socially as well.

Every mother-daughter pair takes a turn hosting the meeting in their home. Meetings include a book discussion in which the girl whose book it is asks questions that she thought up herself.

How do you choose your books?
The girl who is hosting the current book club meeting presents three new book options for next time and she reads the back cover blurb aloud and the girls take a vote on which book to choose next (recently in consultation with their moms, previously it was on their own). When the next book has been decided on, it's dessert and playtime!

How do you keep the book club going despite your busy schedules?
Occasionally someone will miss a meeting due to our incredibly busy schedules. But it's such a pleasure to spend an afternoon together with our daughters and their books and ideas that we try not to miss meetings.

What are you currently reading?
We are currently reading a young adult book, Turnabout for September. We are hoping to transition into books that are not for young adults, including The Book Thief and Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Favorite past book selections:
Some of our favorite books of the past few years include:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Millicent Min: Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
So B. It by Sarah Weeks
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

Advice to women forming new discussion groups/book clubs:
I highly recommend starting a mother-daughter book club (or father-son for that matter!). It has provided a comfortable and enjoyable forum in which to discuss many of life's important lessons, from politics (in Esperanza Rising, Witness, and Hope Was Here) to teen drinking (in the Truth About Forever and Lush).

Answers provided by book club member Susan Baruch (Fowlkes)

 

Interested in having your book club featured in Rochester Woman Reads? Contact Jillian Melnyk at Jill@RochesterWomanMag.com