An update from our thirty-fifth Book Club meeting! This month we discussed A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat, a suspenseful and moving novel set in a magical version of Thailand. The book follows Pong, who is born in Namwon prison, because his mom was imprisoned for stealing. He escapes the prison, and hides in a monastery, where he is guided spiritually by the wise Father Cham. But, he’s still in danger! Nok, the daughter of the warden of Namwon prison, is determined to capture Pong and bring him to justice, hoping that doing so will help her gain glory and acceptance. Pong flees Nok, back to Chattana, a beautiful, but very crowded and unequal city, which floats on canals and is lit by colorful magical lights, all controlled by the Governor. There, he reunites with his old best friend from prison, Somkit, and gets involved in a community made up of the city’s poorest people, who are organizing to make their city a fairer place. Pong has to decide whether to join in on the organizing, or whether he should flee Chattana (and Nok, who is still hunting him down), while he can still escape. This book had so much drama and suspense, so many larger-than-life characters, and so many interesting and important themes to talk about. Students joined us from all over the country, hailing from different states, and in different grades of school. We had a lively discussion. Everyone agreed that they enjoyed the book, and talked about their different favorite characters. Some people loved Pong, for his fierce sense of justice, others loved Ampai, for her courageous organizing, some loved Father Cham, for his gentle wisdom, and one person’s favorite character was Nok, who has such impressive fighting skills and changes so much over the course of the book. Next we got into a discussion about the major themes of the book: justice, law, right, wrong, prison, punishment. We talked about the unfair way that children are punished for their parents’ crimes in Chattana, and that prison tattoos prevent people from finding work, even after they have served their sentences. We discussed different proverbs that are said in the society in the novel, such as “Light only shines on the worthy,” and “the tree drops its fruit straight down,” and how we disagreed with these proverbs. One student mentioned that although it would be very nice if good people always had good things happen to them, and vice versa, this is not how the world works, and so it is not fair to say that if someone is poor or otherwise struggling, it must because they are a bad person. Finally, we discussed Father Cham’s unique teaching style, where he guides his students to come to their own conclusions. This brought us nicely into our creative writing time. Students had two prompts to choose from: they could write a scene in which they have a dialogue with Father Cham, or another wise mentor figure, and ask them for advice. Or they could make up a fictional scene of a character living in the Mud House (the tenement community where Pong and his friends live), and describe what a day in the life is like. After we had some individual writing time, those who wanted to shared their writing. It was a treat to hear the things people had written, especially the wise advice of Father Cham. See you again next month, where we will be reading A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck. Our Next Book: A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck Book Club Meeting May 28th, 2022
Book Club Report: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
An update from our thirty-fourth Book Club meeting! This month we read and discussed The Wolf Wilder, an enchanting and suspenseful novel set in tsarist Russia, which follows Feo, a young girl who works with her mother to help re-wild wolves who have been kept in captivity by aristocrats. When the evil General Rakov arrests her mother, Feo sets off to rescue her, along with her new friend Ilya, who has deserted the army, and her fierce wolf companions. It was a very small group today, but we still had a lively discussion. We talked about our favorite parts of the book, including Feo and Ilya’s developing friendship, the clever way that the children sneak into Saint Petersburg, and the inspiring moment when all the children band together to storm the jail. We agreed that the writing was beautiful throughout, and, although the settings had a fairytale-like quality, the characters felt real! We also talked about themes and questions that the novel poses, including the difference between fear and cowardice; how Feo learns to trust and rely on other people; the right of children to fight for the world they want to live in; and the ways in which the book is similar to and different from a fairytale. For our writing prompt, we took a page out of The Wolf Wilder and had the chance to write a scene where a character interacts with an animal, preferably one that isn’t very tame! One student read aloud a fun scene about a girl who plans to try to ride on a bull in her family’s farm. The Wolf Wilder was a great read, and I look forward to seeing more folks on Zoom next month for our next book club meeting. Make sure to sign up for the spring session! Our Next Book: April 30th A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
Book Club Report: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
An update from our thirty-third book club meeting! On February 26th, we discussed Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This uplifting and beautifully-written novel follows thirteen-year-old Esperanza Ortega. She has a charmed childhood as the daughter of a wealthy ranch-owner in Mexico, but a tragedy causes her to flee to the United States with her mother. In California, Esperanza and her mother become farmworkers, and must navigate poverty, racism, and labor strikes with the support of new friends. Everybody said that they had really enjoyed Esperanza Rising, and we all shared our favorite moments in the book. We started our discussion by talking about the evolving relationship between Esperanza and her friend Miguel. Back in Mexico, when Miguel was Esperanza’s parents’ servant, Esperanza had said there was ‘a deep river’ between them. We discussed what we thought this river symbolized, and agreed that it meant the gulf of wealth between them, which made Esperanza unwilling to have a relationship with him. We also agreed that it was satisfying to watch this dynamic change over the course of the book. Then we had a debate: would we have chosen to join the labor strike if we had been farmworkers like Esperanza? Most people said they would have been too scared to join the strike, out of fear of being deported, but one student said she would join the strike because she wanted to work for better wages. It was interesting to hear everybody’s different opinions! Next we talked about proverbs, or sayings, like the ones that Esperanza’s father and grandmother always told her. It was fun hearing proverbs from different people’s families. Last but not least, it was creative writing time! Since Esperanza Rising was based on the life story of the author’s grandmother, students had a choice to write down a story they remembered from a grandparent or other elderly person in their life. Or, they could write about a fruit harvest, like in the novel, using all the different senses to make it come alive. Some students chose to share out their writing with the group. It was lovely to hear about people’s grandparents, and the way they described the harvest with detail. I really enjoyed this month’s book club meeting, and am looking forward to next month, when we will be discussing The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. Our next book, to be discussed March 26: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
