Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
From the book jacket:
Three ordinary women about to take one extraordinary step...
Skeeter age 22 - The year is 1962 and with that degree from Ole Miss she wants more than her mother's dream of marriage and weekly bridge.
Aibileen - a black maid - steady, wise and emerging as a voice for many - devoted to the child Mae Mobley whom she looks after.
Minny - An excellent cook with opinions and temperament that both sustain and undermine her.
Lines are about to be crossed: racial, economic, social. A first time novel which illustrates in human detail the steps toward change and the price - large and small.
LET US HEAR YOUR VOICE - Choose one of the following or simply share your views of The Help.
1. Minny & Aibileen possess many admirable traits - share your thoughts on one of those traits.
2. Any favorite scenes from the book?
3. The Help addresses the work status of women in 1962. Have we changed? How?
4. The Help will be released as a movie this summer. Who would you cast in the lead roles?
5. What impact did reading The Help have on you?
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Sky is Everywhere
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Dark Song
Ames is not the person she was a few months ago. Her father lost his job, and her family is crumbing around her. Now, all she has is Marc. Marc, who loves her more than anything. Marc, who owns a gun collection. And he'll stop at nothing-even using his guns-to get what he wants. Ames feels her parents have betrayed her with heir lies and self absorption, but is she prepared to make the ultimate betrayal against them?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Bruiser Questions/Discussion
Can I just say WOW first? Reading this book was so easy to do. The hard part was putting it down for me!! I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it! Here are some of my thoughts and questions. Read along. Answer some questions. Comment your favorite thoughts. Anything you would like, but I'd LOVE to hear what you thought!
Tennyson, Bronte, Cody and Brewster take us through roller coasters. We never know what to expect with these characters making us laugh, cry, and wonder at their thoughts. We start to see inklings of Bruiser not being "normal." When was the first time you saw it? Did you think there was something different going on with Brewster?
I personally laughed out loud when Bronte makes the comment in Chapter 15, "The movie-date must have been invented by a guy: no possible way to have a conversation, and a darkened room suitable for other activities. Right." What kind of male/female relationship or issues did you see in Bruiser?
Bronte mentions these things called blinders in Chapter 18, "People live with blinders too; but ours are invisible, and much more sophisticated. Most of the time we don't even know they're there. Maybe we need them, though, because if we took in everything all at once we'd lose our minds. Or worse, our souls. We'd see, we'd hear, we'd feel so deeply that we might never resurface." Think about that for a second...what are your blinders?
In Chapter 21, we see Brewster yelling that he can't care about Bronte. How gut wrenching was that? This guy who hasn't opened up to anyone except Bronte and then he's yelling that he can't care about her. What did that do to you?
Bronte talks about reaching out to save Brewster from whatever terrible things were going on in his world; but when something went seriously wrong in her's he didn't just walk away, he ran. How would that have made you feel? Your best friend that has opened up to you and you have opened up to them suddenly runs away when you need them the most?
Brewster says, "For standing between Cody and his pain is my obligation, and standing between my uncle and his pain is my rent, but the pain I coax from Bronte is my joy." How can someone say that when they are taking on all the pain that Brewster does?
But then he also says that someday he wants to "wake up and be normal. Just for a little while. Or forever." Think about how exhausting his "job" has to be. Could you handle it? For how long?
How did you feel about Tennyson using Brewster to help him at his lacrosse games? Did you think it was fair? Were you upset that Tennyson would let him or upset that Brewster would even suggest it?
As Brewster's uncle is having a stroke, Brewster realizes that, "I do not want this - I want MY life, not HIS death, and my only hope is to stop caring." How do you stop caring? How do you pull away from something that has always just been a part of you?
Bronte brings up the idea that "if you heart tells you something but your mind tells you something else, which do you believe?" Thoughts?
How heart wrenching was it when Brewster points out all the marks on his body, and then looks at Bronte and tells here that THIS is her parents' divorce? I wanted to bawl my eyes out when I read that.
Do you ever think that you place your pain on someone else? Your parents, siblings, teachers, friends...imagine if they were like Brewster and that they wouldn't wake up until you took your own pain back and didn't push it or place it on other people.
Overall Neal Schusterman left me wanting more. I want another book about Brewster. What happens?? Do people keep their pain or do they even realize that they were giving it away? I'm going to end this the same way that it ended in the book, but first don't forget I want to hear your thoughts!!
"So open your eyes, Brew. Open your eyes, and talk to us. We'll keep our pain, but I promise we'll share our joy. Talk to us, Brew... because we're finally ready to take your call."
Tennyson, Bronte, Cody and Brewster take us through roller coasters. We never know what to expect with these characters making us laugh, cry, and wonder at their thoughts. We start to see inklings of Bruiser not being "normal." When was the first time you saw it? Did you think there was something different going on with Brewster?
I personally laughed out loud when Bronte makes the comment in Chapter 15, "The movie-date must have been invented by a guy: no possible way to have a conversation, and a darkened room suitable for other activities. Right." What kind of male/female relationship or issues did you see in Bruiser?
Bronte mentions these things called blinders in Chapter 18, "People live with blinders too; but ours are invisible, and much more sophisticated. Most of the time we don't even know they're there. Maybe we need them, though, because if we took in everything all at once we'd lose our minds. Or worse, our souls. We'd see, we'd hear, we'd feel so deeply that we might never resurface." Think about that for a second...what are your blinders?
In Chapter 21, we see Brewster yelling that he can't care about Bronte. How gut wrenching was that? This guy who hasn't opened up to anyone except Bronte and then he's yelling that he can't care about her. What did that do to you?
Bronte talks about reaching out to save Brewster from whatever terrible things were going on in his world; but when something went seriously wrong in her's he didn't just walk away, he ran. How would that have made you feel? Your best friend that has opened up to you and you have opened up to them suddenly runs away when you need them the most?
Brewster says, "For standing between Cody and his pain is my obligation, and standing between my uncle and his pain is my rent, but the pain I coax from Bronte is my joy." How can someone say that when they are taking on all the pain that Brewster does?
But then he also says that someday he wants to "wake up and be normal. Just for a little while. Or forever." Think about how exhausting his "job" has to be. Could you handle it? For how long?
How did you feel about Tennyson using Brewster to help him at his lacrosse games? Did you think it was fair? Were you upset that Tennyson would let him or upset that Brewster would even suggest it?
As Brewster's uncle is having a stroke, Brewster realizes that, "I do not want this - I want MY life, not HIS death, and my only hope is to stop caring." How do you stop caring? How do you pull away from something that has always just been a part of you?
Bronte brings up the idea that "if you heart tells you something but your mind tells you something else, which do you believe?" Thoughts?
How heart wrenching was it when Brewster points out all the marks on his body, and then looks at Bronte and tells here that THIS is her parents' divorce? I wanted to bawl my eyes out when I read that.
Do you ever think that you place your pain on someone else? Your parents, siblings, teachers, friends...imagine if they were like Brewster and that they wouldn't wake up until you took your own pain back and didn't push it or place it on other people.
Overall Neal Schusterman left me wanting more. I want another book about Brewster. What happens?? Do people keep their pain or do they even realize that they were giving it away? I'm going to end this the same way that it ended in the book, but first don't forget I want to hear your thoughts!!
"So open your eyes, Brew. Open your eyes, and talk to us. We'll keep our pain, but I promise we'll share our joy. Talk to us, Brew... because we're finally ready to take your call."
Monday, December 20, 2010
Welcome!
During the first four months of 2011, we will read and discuss four different books - one each month. Check back here in January to find out what the first book will be!
Special thanks to the Jackson R-2 School District Foundation for supporting this effort; we appreciate the grant we received allowing us to buy multiple copies of these books so more students could participate!
Special thanks to the Jackson R-2 School District Foundation for supporting this effort; we appreciate the grant we received allowing us to buy multiple copies of these books so more students could participate!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)