they care deeply about the characters. Members felt there were too many dysfunctional people in the book. Some members had great expectations for the book and were highly disappointed.

Several members disliked the book and found the characters poorly developed, shallow, and flat. They found the structure too loose and the writing seemed padded. They felt the book needed more editing. The facilitator shared with the groups that Ann Hood’s original submission was twice as long as the published novel. The groups laughed as they definitely would not read her 720 page novel and they still agreed that the novel needed more editing.

A few members were conflicted about the book. They felt the main character, Ava, whined throughout the book and they were sick of her attitude. Members dislikedbooks that didn’t matter to her.” Ava, as a child, got lost in books, but after the death of her sister and mother, Ava ignored books. We discussed how the death of her mother influenced her and her own parenting.

The theme for Ava’s book club is the book that matters most. Over a ten month period, each book club member is asked to pick the book that is most significant to them. We discussed the lessons Ava and the other members learn from each book selected.

We discussed how Ava is transformed as she reads and discusses each book. Ann Hood, the author, had the book club premise in mind and decided to select 10 books that the club would read. Ann Hood did research by asking everyone she