Teen Book Club - June - Distant Waves

The Teen Book Club met last night to discuss...

In the early twentieth century, four sisters and their widowed mother, a famed spiritualist, travel from New York to London, and as the Titanic conveys them and their acquaintances, journalist W.T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor, home, Tesla's inventions will either doom or save them all.

Here are the discussion questions we used~




1. What did you think of the book? General thoughts?

2. Did you have a favorite character in the book? Least favorite? Favorite scene or part?

3. Why do you think Jane was chosen to be the narrator in the book? How would the book be different if it was Mimi, or the twins?

4. What kind of relationships did the sisters have with each other? Did their relationships change after the revelation about Mimi?

5. Do you believe in psychics and premonitions? Do you think the dead can be contacted?

6. Why did Mimi want to leave home? Why didn’t she want to tell Victor about her heritage?

7. What did you think of the writing style in the book?

8. Do you believe time travel is possible? What time/place in the past would you visit?

9. If you were casting the actors and actresses for the movie version of this book who would you cast for: Jane, Mimi, Emma & Amelie, Blythe, Thad, Tesla, Ninette, and anyone else you want to cast?

10. Ratings and final thoughts!


Melanie gave it a 7.5 out of 10 and said "It is an interesting plot line with a smooth blending of history with fiction and the characters are well developed."

Miss G gave it an 8 out of 10 and said "The Spiritualism and relationships between the sisters drew me in, and then I couldn't stop reading, I had to find out what would happen to them on the Titanic!" 

If you are interested in learning more about the Titanic:

· 910.9163 DAV – Voyagers of the Titanic: Passengers, Sailors, Shipbuilders, Aristocrats, and the Worlds They Came From by R. P. T. Davenport-Hines

· 910.916 WEL – Titanic: Legacy of the World’s Greatest Ocean Liner by Susan Wels

If you want more Titanic Fiction:

· YA ACT PAU – Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable, Undead by Chris Pauls - Imagine being trapped aboard the doomed Titanic on an icy Atlantic. . . with the walking dead.

· YA PAR GRA – Fateful by Claudia Gray - When seventeen-year-old Tess Davies, a ladies' maid, meets handsome Alec Marlow aboard the RMS Titanic, she quickly becomes entangled in the dark secrets of his past, but her growing love puts her in mortal peril even before fate steps in.

· YA HIS WOL – The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolf - Recreates the 1912 sinking of the Titanic as observed by millionaire John Jacob Astor, a beautiful young Lebanese refugee finding first love, "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, Captain Smith, and others including the iceberg itself.

If you are interested in learning more about Nikola Tesla:

· 621.3 MY – My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla by Nikola Tesla


Our next book is Ashfall by Mike Mullin and we will meet on TUESDAY, July 29th at 6:00pm. We will skype live with the author! 

After the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano destroys his city and its surroundings, fifteen-year-old Alex must journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Illinois to find his parents and sister, trying to survive in a transformed landscape and a new society in which all the old rules of living have vanished.

Summer Reads! - July New Books (part2)

The Walking Dead, compendium 1 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore, & Cliff Rathburn

Over one thousand pages chronicling the beginning of Robert Kirkman''s Eisner Award-winning continuing story of survival horror- from Rick Grimes'' waking up alone in a hospital, to him and his family seeking solace on Hershel''s farm, and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot: The Governor. In a world ruled by the dead, we are finally forced to finally start living.

 Pieces by Chris Lynch

Eighteen-year-old Eric deals with the loss of his older brother Duane by meeting three of the seven recipients of Duane's organs a year after his death, and pondering who they are to him, and he to them.

Deck Z: The Titanic by Chris Pauls & Matt Solomon

Imagine you are trapped on an icy Atlantic on the Titanic with a zombie virus. Authors Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls reimagine the historical events of this fateful voyage though the lens of zombie mayhem. Join Captain Edward Smith and his inner circle as they desperately try to contain a zombie virus that boarded with the 2,200 passengers sailing to New York. In a few short days at sea, the glorious, shining Titanic turns into a Victorian blood bath, steaming at top speed towards a gigantic iceberg. 

Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II by Cheryl Mullenbach

An account of the lesser-known contributions of African-American women during World War II reveals how they helped lay the foundations for the Civil Rights Movement by challenging racial and gender barriers at home and abroad.

Night School by C. J. Daugherty

After her third arrest in one year, sixteen-year-old Allie's parents send her to Cimmeria Academy, a boarding school, where she finds herself exposing the dark secrets of the school and her classmates.

New Book Time - June Post 3

Magic Under Stone by Jaclyn Dolamore

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For star-crossed lovers Nimira and Erris, there can be no happily ever after until Erris is freed from the clockwork form in which his soul is trapped. And so they go in search of the sorcerer Ordorio Valdana, hoping he will know how to grant Erris real life again. When they learn that Valdana has mysteriously vanished, it's not long before Nimira decides to take matters into her own hands—and begins to study the sorcerer's spell books in secret.

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

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Cambodian child soldier Arn Chorn-Pond defies the odds and uses all of his courage and wits to survive the murderous regime of the Khmer Rouge

The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad

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Reality star Madison Parker, determined to take her career to the next level, signs on for a new TV show called THE FAME GAME. But more drama happens behind the scenes than onscreen

 Fateful by Claudia Gray

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When seventeen-year-old Tess Davies, a ladies' maid, meets handsome Alec Marlow aboard the RMS Titanic, she quickly becomes entangled in the dark secrets of his past, but her growing love puts her in mortal peril even before fate steps in.

New books for the new year part 2

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

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After the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano destroys his city and its surroundings, fifteen-year-old Alex must journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Illinois to find his parents and sister, trying to survive in a transformed landscape and a new society in which all the old rules of living have vanished.

 Under Dogs by Markus Zusak

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Three novels in one book, including The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, & Getting the Girl.

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

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Twenty years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, fifteen-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.

 The Watch that Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

Check the Catalog

Recreates the 1912 sinking of the Titanic as observed by millionaire John Jacob Astor, a beautiful young Lebanese refugee finding first love, "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, Captain Smith, and others including the iceberg itself.

 Boyfriend Season by Kelli London

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First boyfriends, first love, first mistakes--and an invitation to the hottest teen society party of the year sends three friends into a tailspin. Can they handle the pressure of getting everything they think they want?

 Variant by Robison Wells

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After years in foster homes, seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher applies to New Mexico's Maxfield Academy in hopes of securing a brighter future, but instead he finds that the school is a prison and no one is what he or she seems.