Book Friday – The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaeffer
5 February 2010
McKenna and I recently started going to story time at Barnes and Noble instead of the mall. The downside to this is that the books you find and take home aren’t free.
Two Wednesdays ago, I noticed a book in the “Young readers” section, which in the biz we refer to as Middle Grade. Ages 9-13, pretty much. (Though the back cover copy says 8-14, which seems like a pretty big gap to me, but whatever.)
I haven’t read an MG book since I gave up Babysitters Club, so I picked up The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaeffer. I’m not quite finished, but I’m close enough that I feel I can give a pretty well-formed opinion of it.
The first word that comes to mind is “cute.” Teashop Girls is about 13-year-old Annie, who’s trying to save her grandmother’s tea shop, which has been threatened by a Starbucks across the street (though “Starbucks” isn’t specified, that’s my guess). Annie is gung-ho about the project, and is frustrated when her two best friends, who used to be the “Teashop Girls” with her, are distracted by their own lives.
Annie’s a really fun narrator, and her fears about everyone growing up and growing apart really ring true. I also liked the recipes peppered throughout the novel (though I’m a 26-year-old who enjoys cooking … not sure if they’d have done anything for me as a 10-year-old). I would definitely recommend this book for a girl between 8 and 12, even though some of the “chi” and “energies of the universe” stuff is a little wacky for my taste.
Not sure what I’m reading next. Probably Julie Klassen’s latest. That’s been lingering on my shelf far too long…
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Julie’s is next up on my shelf, too! =)
Posted by Roseanna White on 5 February 2010