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Book Club will continue online after hybrid learning starts the week of Oct 26. Here is the standing Zoom link.

Question: "What book have you read that has affected the way you go about your life? If so, in what ways?"

• Ms. Tolva: Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
  • Jay loves and misses his cousin, Jun, whom he admired as an authentic person. Ms. Tolva said this book made her strive to be the same caring kind of listener as Jun.
  • Summary: When seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero learns his Filipino cousin and former best friend, Jun, was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, he flies to the Philippines to learn more. Jay Reguero learns that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened. He travels to the Philippines, hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death. Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth -- and the part he played in it.
  • Genre: realistic
  • One of the 20 books nominated for the 2021 Illinois High School Book Award
• Trey: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Trey said this book made him think about other people's perspectives and try to understand what they go through.
  • Summary: Pulitzer Prize-winning novel in which Scout Finch, the young daughter of a local attorney in the Deep South during the 1930s, tells of her father's defense of an African-American man charged with the rape of a white girl.
  • Genre: classic
• Sofia: The Little Prince by Antione de Saint -Exupery
  • Sofia said she re-reads this book and each time learns more life lessons, such as to cherish the small things in life. She chose a set of book character figurines as a souvenier from her trip to Paris.
  • Summary: An aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life.
  • Genre: classic, translated from French
• Emily: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
  • Emily said reading this book series gave her reading as something to look forward to and was a gateway to her love of reading. She thought she didnt't like Harry Potter at first, but then when she did read and enjoy the books, she learned to try new things and "get myself out there!"
  • Summary: Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
  • Genre: fantasy
• Maddie: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
  • Maddie said this book convinced her that everyone can do more than they think they can. She admired how the main character, Ed, figured out what was wrong in other people's lives and how he could help change it for the better.
  • Summary: After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, which helps him start to get over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.
  • Genre: mystery
• Allison: We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchison
  • Allison said this book focuses on how the little things impacts how you live your life.
  • Summary: Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: the world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. Only he isn't sure he wants to. Life hasn't been great for Henry: his mom is held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke; his brother is a jobless dropout. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend's suicide last year. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry can choose to save the planet... or let it be destroyed.
  • Genre: realistic

What we're reading lately

• Dangerous Alliance by Jenniecke Cohen
  • Summary: Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home. But now Vicky must marry—or find herself and her family destitute. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved novels by Jane Austen, she enters society’s treacherous season. Sadly, Miss Austen has little to say about Vicky’s exact circumstances: whether the roguish Mr. Carmichael is indeed a scoundrel, if her former best friend, Tom Sherborne, is out for her dowry or for her heart, or even how to fend off the attentions of the foppish Mr. Silby, he of the unfortunate fashion sensibility. Most unfortunately of all, Vicky’s books are silent on the topic of the mysterious accidents cropping up around her…ones that could prevent her from surviving until her wedding day.
  • Genre: historical
• David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Summary: Argues that the obstacles and disadvantages experienced by the underdog require adaptations that can lead to benefits and success in professional life, and draws upon examples from the world of business, sports, and culture.
  • Genre: non-fiction
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer
  • Summary: The author details how he ignored naysayers and was able to bring electricity and running water to his Malawian village when he built a makeshift windmill out of scrap metal and spare parts.
  • Genre: non-fiction

How do you have your bookcases at home organized?

• Ms. Tolva's new house has bookshelf space to spare! Shelves are organized by theme, such as children's books, parenting books, Jane Austen books, etc.
• Ema's bookcases are rearranged every 6 months or so (with her brother's help). Sometimes by author, sometimes by theme, now in random piles.
• The size of Emily S's bookcase necessitates a rotation of older books to make way for any new books purchased/gifted. A tight squeeze.