An update from our thirty-first Book Club meeting! On October 30th, the Stone Soup Book Club discussed When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. When Stars Are Scattered is based on Omar’s life in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya and his journey to resettlement in the United States. The story is told in the form of a graphic novel. When Stars Are Scattered was an immensely popular read among our twelve book club participants, as was evident in our lively and dynamic Book Club discussion. Many participants remarked on how moving they found the book and how it compelled them to dig deeper and learn more about the plight of refugees. As a group we found it equally compelling how vividly the more mundane, everyday experience of life in a refugee camp was portrayed. We learned that Dadaab is such a big camp that it almost feels like a city-with makeshift restaurants and even internet cafes-but it is a city in limbo with no permanent structures. This sense of limbo was captured in the rhythm of Omar’s daily life-the monotony of chores and the weight of responsibility for his brother’s care, the angst over first whether to start school and later how to remain there, and the ebb and flow of friendships all helped to capture Dadaab as a place in flux. We spent time reflecting on what questions we would want to ask about life in a refugee camp and what we found most surprising, interesting, and confronting about Omar’s life. Following this discussion, we listened to an interview of a boy named Muzamill, about his daily life in Dadaab. The questions posed about Muzammil’s life were posed by young people in the United States. The interview was informative, eye opening, and funny! In parallel to our discussions about life as a refugee, we also spent time thinking about the graphic novel format and the various ways in which it enhanced Jamieson’s portrayal of Omar’s life story. Even those who’d never read a graphic novel before are now converts to the genre! We tried our hand at telling an aspect of our own daily routine in graphic novel format and shared these with the group. Remember: if you attended book club and liked what you wrote for this activity, submit it through the Writing Workshop Submission Form and we will post it along with other stories on the Stone Soup website! At the conclusion of our meeting, we had the chance to explore some of the creative works by young refugees through the Stone Soup Refugee Project. If you have not yet done so, check it out yourself, here. Finally, we are so excited to share that on, December 11th, our final Book Club meeting of this session, we will be joined by author and historian, Lucy Worsley, to discuss her book The Austen Girls! Please join us and come prepared with questions for Ms. Worsley!
Book Club Report: Beyond the Bright Sea, Loren Wolk
An update from our thirtieth Book Club meeting! On September 25, the Stone Soup Book Club discussed Beyond the Bright Sea, by Loren Wolk. Beyond the Bright Sea tells the story of twelve-year-old Crow and her search for her birth family after having spent her entire life on an isolated island off the coast of Massachusetts, with Osh, the guardian who rescued and raised her. There were ten Book Club participants in attendance from the US, England, and Dubai. We engaged in in-depth conversations about the book’s various themes as well as character, setting and plot. As always, we endeavored to unpack how and for what purpose each of these elements were crafted in Wolk’s development of the novel. We also participated in a couple of fun writing activities. We explored, in writing, the notion of home; what makes a place a home and what is it like to feel a sense of yearning for home? Participants could choose to share their reflections about home directly from their own perspectives, or to explore their ideas about home through a fictionalized account. We also engaged in a writing activity that allowed us to imagine a sequel to the book. In doing so, we discussed what aspects of the book’s current ending we would like to see preserved, and what aspects would be fun to disrupt! The overwhelming consensus of the group was that this was a great read with vivid, believable characters, an intriguing setting, and a fast-paced, exciting plot! Remember: if you attended book club and liked what you wrote for these activities, submit it through the Writing Workshop Submission Form and we will post it along with other stories on the Stone Soup website! At the conclusion of our discussion, we chose our October book and the December book was announced! Our Next Book, to be discussed on October 30: When Stars are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed We are excited to share that on, December 11th, our final Book Club meeting of this session, we will be joined by author and historian, Lucy Worsley, to discuss her book The Austen Girls!
Book Club Report: Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
An update from our eighth and ninth Stone Soup Book Club meetings! Over the last two weeks in Book Club we have been discussing Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. We went deep with this heavy, sometimes gruesome story, and managed to have a lot of fun! On our first week with this book, we began by imagining that we were stranded on an island with a group of our friends and we had to create a society that would allow us to live peacefully together. We separated into groups and had a blast picking symbols to represent our societies, a list of original words and definitions to communicate with one another, and a slogan that represented our core values. After this we discussed the many symbols in the book and what we thought they were meant to represent. On our second week we grappled with the core theme of the book–left to our own devices, are humans basically good, or basically evil? Without the various rules and norms that make up society, would we rise to the occasion and create a civilization, or would we descend into savagery? As we discussed, it appears that William Golding does not have a very positive view of humanity! We concluded by splitting into three groups and holding a mock trial for the central characters Jack and Ralph. One group represented Ralph’s point of view, one group represented Jack’s point of view, and one group asked questions and tried to give a fair judgement about who the better leader was. A very heated debate ensued! Note: There is some interesting information about the book and its author, including interviews with William Golding and readings by actors of parts of Lord of the Flies, at the William Golding website. There is also an interesting article about the true story of what happened when a group of boys were shipwrecked on an island in 1965, in the Guardian newspaper. Next week, we will begin discussing The List, by Patricia Forde. After two weeks with that book we will collect more suggestions and vote on our next two books. The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13, throughout the summer. We meet every Wednesday at 1pm PST (4pm EST) for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book.
