February: Solo Kwame Alexander, moderator Janice Kriegel
March: The Diary of Mattie Spencer Sandra Dallas, moderator Ellen Folts
April: Little Fires Everywhere Celeste Ng, moderator Marybeth Mueller
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires , this unholy hybrid of Beaches and The Exorcist blends teen angst and unspeakable horrors into a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller. The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act…different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries—and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? https://www.amazon.com/My-Best-Friends-Exorcism-Novel/dp/1594749760
I found the book My Absolute Darling was hard to read for me. The story line is realistic but it is difficult to see Turtle being abused by her father. Turtle in the end learned how to become self sufficient. Her thoughts are normal to her, but it was hard to read the brutal criticism from her father too. This,to me, sounds like Stockholm Syndrome. Turtle became used to the abuse and could not see a way out. I don't think this book should by read by a high school class unless it is used for a more mature reader as an independent read. Overall, the book was interesting and believable.
ReplyDeleteThe book, The Sherlockian, was an interesting read. I am not familiar with any of the actual Sherlock Holmes books but I went into reading and had an idea of what to expect. The Baker Street Irregulars gathered each year, an interesting "club" in the modern age. As far as the story line, I found it easy to read. Henry's role in the book is believable and it was easy to follow along to solve the case. The way the story ended, after solving the case, was very abrubt and I think there could have been more to the story. It would be a good book for high school students as it was easy to read and the jumping back and forth between the two stories is an interesting approach that they might not be familiar with.