Teen Book Club December Meeting and Year in Review!

Hey YAs, yesterday the TBC met to discuss this month's book, Stardust by Neil Gaiman and to watch the movie to compare!

Here are the discussion questions we used:

Pre-Movie

1.  What did you think of the book in general?
2.  Did you have a favorite character or scene?
3.  What do you think of Victoria Forester?  Is she worthy of Tristran's love?  Does Tristran love her?
4.  Have you seen the movie before?  What parts of the book are you most excited to see in the movie?
5.  Rating and final thought for the book.

Post-Movie

1.  What did you think of the movie in general?
2.  What are some of the changes between the book and the movie?  Which did you like, dislike?  Why do you think these changes were made?
3.  Were the characters how you imagined them?  Better, worse?
4.  This story is available in many forms; book, movie, audiobook, and graphic novel.  How does the format change the story?
5.  Rating and thought about the movie compared to the book?

Melanie: 10!  I love the writing and found it amazing how he could fit such a wonderful adventure story into as little as roughly 200 pages.
Miss G: 9  I listened to this on the audiobook version and loved it, but not quite as much as I love the movie.  They're almost two different stories, because of some major changes in the movie.

For January we are reading...

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories by various

A collection of fourteen fantasy stories by well-known authors, set in the age of steam engines and featuring automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never existed.

Meeting, discussion, and snack on Wednesday, January 29th 5:30-6:30pm

Now...for the year in review.  A reminder, here is what the book club read in 2013~

Everyone voted on their favorites, so, here are the overall rankings~

1.  Seraphina

2.  The Year of the Gadfly

3.  Stardust

4.  Delirium

5.  Code Talker

6.  Life as we Knew it

7.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

8.  Nobody’s Princess

9.  Bloody Jack

10.  Zom-B

11.  Skinned

12.  Trapped

Individual favorites were...

Melanie

1.  Code Talker

2.  Stardust

3.  Seraphina

Catherine

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

2. Seraphina

3.  The Year of the Gadfly

Clare

1.  Seraphina

2.  The Year of the Gadfly

3.  Delirium

MissG

1.  Seraphina

2.  Delirium

3.  Stardust

Now on to the new year!

Teen Book Club July - The Year of the Gadfly

We had an excellent Teen Book Club meeting last night!  We started out discussing the book.  Here are the discussion questions we used~

1. What did you think of the book, general impressions?
2. In the beginning of the book the author uses phrases like "The seat belt held me like a straitjack" (pg5) and "The place screamed asylum more than school." (pg8)  She also describes the houses in Nye as "in various stages of decay and abandonment." (pg5)  What kind of mood did these images create for the opening scenes?  How did this influence your reading experience?
3. In addition to speaking to the specter of Edward Murrow, Iris spends time imagining the lives of Lily and Dalia.  What do you think this focus tells us about her worldview?  What does it tell you about Iris as a character and her development over the course of the book?
4. Mr. Kaplan wants to teach students to be "extremophiles."  What inspiration does Iris find in her teacher?  What does it mean to be an extremophile?  Do you think any of the characters could be described as extemophiles?
5. Hazel talks with Iris about Socrates and his role as a gadfly (pg90).  Iris considers herself a gadfly, but what does she mean by this?  Do you think Hazel had motivations to bring it up?  How do you think it relates to the title of the book?
6. When Iris is kidnapped by the four students in pig masks, one tells her "Just because something looks sinister doesn't mean it is." (pg137)  Was Prisom's Party sinister?  Does the phrase relate to any other events in the book?
7. At one point Edward Murrow says to Iris "There is no Edward R. Murrow.  There is only the myth of him." (pg285)  What does he mean by this?  What does this change Iris?  Why do you think Iris was imagining ERM in the first place?
8. There are a number of twists, turns, and surprises in the climax of the book.  Was there one that shocked you of effected you the most?  Why?
9. The author uses different points of view and time periods in the novel.  Did you like one more than the other?  Do you think this technique added to your experience of the book or took away from it?
10. Final thoughts and ratings!

We then had an awesome Skype chat with the author, Jennifer Miller!  We spoke to her for nearly 40 minutes (more than we were supposed to!) and the book club members had lots of really great questions for her.  Such a fabulous experience I don't even know how to write about it here.  She was great!

We then sat back down and did our ratings and final thoughts.

Clare - 7.5/10 - A little slow moving but on the whole it had a very interesting storyline and impressive vocabulary.
Catherine - 8/10 - I was really pulled in by the writing style.  Although at times slow it was worth it because it was slow for a reason.
Melanie - 8/10 - Liked the mystery aspect and the words really flowed together.
MissG - 8/10 - Had trouble getting into it at first but really glad I stuck with it because when everything came together and was revealed I loved it.

THEN (yes we had a really long meeting this month!)  We voted on the books for the next several months.  Here's what we decided:

September - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
October - Zom-B by Darren Shan
November - Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
December - Stardust by Neil Gaiman (we're going to read the book, then watch the movie at our TBC meeting, then discuss both!)

Our book for August is...

Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates. Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she must use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.

We will be meeting to discuss Bloody Jack on Tuesday, August 27th at 6:30.  Copies of the book are available at the front desk.

Teen Book Club Recap - June - Skinned

Heya YAs,  the TBC met this Tuesday to discuss our latest read, Skinned by Robin Wasserman.  Here are the questions we discussed:

1. General impressions, did you enjoy the book?
2. What did you think of Lia?  What differences do you think there are between her after her accident and before?
3. Besides Lia, who were your favorite and least favorite characters?
4. Did you have  favorite scene or part in the book?
5. Discuss how Lia is treated after her accident by her family, friends, and the general public.  Why do you think people react the way they do?
6. How does Lia feel about Auden?  How does Auden feel about Lia?
7. Discuss Jude and the other mech heads/skinners/downloads.
8. What did you think of the writing in the book?  Would you go on to read more by Robin Wasserman?
9. If the download process was available now, would you take the opportunity if you were injured?  Would you want a loved one to take it?  Why or why not?
10. Ratings and final thoughts.

Here are our ratings!

Clare - 5/10 - Overall this was a pretty average, pretty boring book.  I wasn't very interested in the characters and wouldn't continue the series.
Catherine - 5/10 - Liked the concept of the book.  If you're looking for a casual scifi/existential read then this is ok.
Melanie - 5/10 - There were only a few characters that I liked, otherwise the book didn't have enough emotion.  (Melanie also said something else interesting, she thought this book would have more appeal to younger teens rather than older ones)

At our meeting we also voted on the genres of the books we will read this Fall.  We decided on comedy for September, zombies for October, war for November, and a book that has already been made into a movie for December.  We will vote on books for these months at our next meeting.

Our book for July is...

A budding teen journalist and her enigmatic science teacher separately work to locate and infiltrate a secret society that threatens their elite prep school with a shady tragedy from the past, an event that challenges the student's allegiances.

You can pick up a copy of The Year of the Gadfly at the front desk.  Our discussion will be on Wednesday, July 24th at 6:30pm.  This will be a very special Teen Book Club meeting because we will be skyping live with the author to ask her questions!  Don't miss out!