Summer

Here is the plan for the next few months:

May 27th, THIS Thursday, we'll meet at Christina's to discuss A Curse Dark As Gold. 8:00pm
June 17th, we meet at Maggie's for The Help.

Because so many people are out of town in July (myself included) we will skip that month and meet at my house on August 19th for an extra informal discussion of whatever you've been reading over the summer.

Then in September, we'll pick back up again with Kathy as our host.

Questions? Let me know!
Deborah

MAY reading

Here are Christina's choices for MAY (that's this month, so vote now!):

Train to Potevka, Michael Ramsdell
Fictionalized memoir of an LDS spy in Russia. It got great reviews on Amazon.com.

A Curse Dark As Gold, Elizabeth Bunce
Too stubborn to let go of the troubled mill that has supported her community for generations, Charlotte Miller takes over after her father's death, fighting impending disaster with bargains with a mysterious Jack Spinner that eventually threaten her infant son. Set in a rural valley in the late 1700s, this reworking of the "Rumplestiltskin" story includes ghosts, witchcraft, elements of Georgian society, and much earlier folk magic in the guise of a novel of manners. The leisurely paced narrative gathers steam as it becomes clear that the family and the mill have not simply had a long run of bad luck, but are seriously cursed. Readers need not be familiar with the folktale to see where Charlotte's efforts to save her mill are headed. Though their roles in the narrative are clear, secondary characters are distinctive: foppish Uncle Wheeler is more than a stereotyped villain, and Charlotte's eventual husband is an admirable romantic lead with unsuspected talents. A rich opening to Jane Austen's world for teens. (courtesy Amazon.com)

June Reading

Here are Maggie's picks for JUNE reading:

"I Capture the Castle" Dodie Smith

"I Am The Messenger" Markus Zusak

"The Help" Kathryn Stockett


Check out summaries and reviews on Amazon and cast your vote in the poll on the right. I'll leave it up for a week or so...

And don't miss our meeting THIS Thursday at Carolyn's!

Choices for April

Here are Carolyn's picks for April's meeting. Give them a look and please check your calendars, so we can discuss whether we want to change dates for April's meeting, due to Spring Break.

You can look up reviews on your own, if needed. I didn't have time to look them up! :)

The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life by Dr Taylor Hartman

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskill

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

(And no, I have no idea why The Color Code is ginormous! I tried to change it and it refused to shrink...)

Choices for March!

Here are DaShelle's choices for March. Give them a look and cast your vote!

1. The Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (this one has been on my list for a long time…)

This work was set in Berlin, 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But, Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than what meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

2. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (this one caught my eye on a display of classics at the library a few months ago, so I added it to my list…)

This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.

3. Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts by David Baggett (a friend gave me a copy of this book for Christmas, so I need a good excuse to take the time to read it…)

Harry Potter has put a spell on millions of readers, and they all want to find out more about the deeper meaning of his adventures. In Harry Potter and Philosophy, 17 experts in the field of philosophy unlock some of Hogwarts' secret panels, uncovering surprising insights that are enlightening both for wizards and for the most discerning Muggles. Individual chapters look at such topics as life revealed in the Mirror of Erised; the ethics of magic; Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick, and the relation of the mind to the brain; and the character of Hermione as a case of "sublimated feminism." Also examined in this witty collection are how Aristotle would have run a school for wizards; whether the Potter stories undermine religion and morality; how to tell good people from evil ones through the characters in these novels; and what dementors and boggarts can teach readers about happiness, fear, and the soul.

February Choices

Here are Sarah's choices for February's reading. Take a look and cast your vote. I'll leave the poll open through Jan. 6th:

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins:
See Jen's synopsis below.

Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson:
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute... Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence. (Amazon.com, Jennifer Hubert review)

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath:
Plath was an excellent poet but is known to many for this largely autobiographical novel. The Bell Jar tells the story of a gifted young woman's mental breakdown beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York City in the early 1950s. The real Plath committed suicide in 1963 and left behind this scathingly sad, honest and perfectly-written book, which remains one of the best-told tales of a woman's descent into insanity. (Amazon.com review)

January Choices

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Do I need to say more?

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

"In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining districts female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins' characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing. This book will definitely resonate with the generation raised on reality shows like Survivor and American Gladiator." --From 'School Library Journal'

Many have read this, I think, but I found it a great read. :)

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Book 1: Gemma Doyle Trilogy), by Libba Bray

Amazon.com Review:

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) –Patty Campbell