October 2012

October's selection is....zombies!!

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

If you finish This Is Not A Test, check the selections tab for some more spooky book suggestions.

Enjoy!

September Book Selection Follow-Up

We had a great first meeting with a lot of good discussion about Every Day.  The opinion about the book was not unanimous, which always makes things interesting.  Several people submitted questions, so I've posted the questions that were drawn out the hat for you to ponder:

1.My morals, values and sense of self have always been highly influenced by my family.  How cold A develop a sense of morals, values and acceptable behavior without a constant single family presence?

2. Why do you think A fell in love with Rhiannon over everyone else?

3. What do you think about the "gift" that A gave Rhiannon at the end of the book?

4. We're never given any clue to A's gender and gender roles are a significant theme in this book.  What might the author's purpose be for including them in a YA book?

5. Is A human?  What does it mean to be human?

6. How did A develop his convictions and values?  Why would these be important to follow?

7. How fulfilling would life be if relationships and goals could not continue past 24 hours? Could life feel meaningful without long term goals and accomplishments?

The discussion included questions about A's behavior.  Was he a victim?  Were the people A inhabited victims?  Many people in the group disagreed with what A did at the end for Rhiannon (see questions 3) and felt is was a little heavy handed. While everyone agreed that A started to behave recklessly by following Rhiannon around, regardless of the person A was inhabiting, some felt that it made A seem more flawed and realistic.  Others thought it made A seem like a stalker. 

In examining A's rules and values, there was some discussion about the stability that the rules provided to A in an existence that seemed to have no discernible purpose.  One interesting  point was that A's exposure to a variety of religions and cultures might have also shaped the rules and values that A lived by.  A's online life was also brought up.  Why didn't A have more of an online existence?  Why not a twitter account? 

We had a wide range of opinions on this book:

Kathryn was not a fan and you can read her review here.

Kate loved it, and you can read her review here.