I have joined a middle grade book club with some other adults and this book was the first one after joining for me to read! This is a reread for me as I read it as a child and absolutely loved it. One of my childhood favorites!
We had our discussion today, Saturday and it was a lot of fun. Some people reading it for the first time even! It was fun for me to revisit the lovely memory of reading this book and loving the characters. Rereading as an adult I found it funny that the fact that the dad and husband has been missing for four years and as a child that part never dawned on me as being horrific or awful. I was so focused on Meg, the main character!
I can’t say if I would like this book if I were reading it for the first time as an adult, but for a kid this book is timeless. The lesson of unconditional pure love is the best message you learn from the book. The second best lesson is you can have many faults and huge talents at the same time and should use both attributes to their good for your life.
Next up on my Middle Grade Buddy read is 
When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires—literally—in this piercing middle grade novel by Jason Reynolds.
Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck and—being a curious kid—Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he covers it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).
Jason is visiting my town this month and I plan to go hear him speak and buy up some books and hopefully get one signed!
Peace.
