May Book Club

 

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life --- steady boyfriend, close family --- who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life --- big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel --- and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy --- but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A Love Story for this generation, ME BEFORE YOU brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common --- a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks: What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

(http://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/me-before-you)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS -- answer in comment section below
1. If you were Louisa, would you have quit working for the Traynors? If yes, at what point?
2. Were you able to relate to the way Will felt after his accident? What about his outlook on life did you find most difficult to understand or accept?
3. Discuss the meaning of the novel’s title. To whom do the “me” and “you” refer?
4. Louisa often finds Mrs. Traynor cold and judgmental. Is there an appropriate way to behave in Mrs. Traynor’s situation?
5. What is your opinion of Mr. Traynor? Did it change after you read his side of the story?
6. Why is Louisa able to reach Will when so many others could not?
7. Were you as surprised as Lou to learn of Will’s plans?
8. Compare Louisa’s relationship with Treena to Will’s relationship with Georgina. Do siblings know one another any better simply because they are related?
9. Would Patrick have asked Louisa to move in with him if he hadn’t felt threatened by Will? If Louisa had never accepted her job with the Traynors, where would her relationship with Patrick have gone?
10. Discuss Louisa’s own secret ties to the castle. Would most girls in her situation have blamed themselves? Should Treena have behaved differently in the aftermath?
11. What did you make of the way Lou’s mother, Josie, judges Lou’s decisions regarding Will. Is Josie’s reaction fair?
12. Before his accident, Will was a philanderer and a corporate raider who would probably never have given Louisa a second look. Why is it that people are so often unable to see what’s truly important until they’ve experienced loss?


(taken from http://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/me-before-you/guide)
 MS C

The Way I Used To Be -- Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

 

" I don't know that these images flashing through my mind-a movie of someone else, somewhere else-will never really go away, will never ever stop playing, will never stop haunting me."

 

 

 

Sexual assaults happen all over the world. The perpetrator could be your father, uncle, mother, or even your older brother's best friend. Many victims don't speak out, or only gain the courage to speak out when another victim has. That is the case of Eden McCrorey.

 

Eden was always okay with being good. She was in band and loved reading books. Nothing could change that, not even high school. Or so she thought...

 

One night changes everything. One night makes Eden's whole world turn upside-down. What is this fateful night? It's the night that her brother's best friend rapes her. What was once so clear is now complex. What Eden once loved-the person she loved- she now hates with everything in her. Everything she believed to be true, turns out to be nothing but lies.

 

Eden has never felt so alone in her entire life. She knows that she has to tell someone, but she can't seem to bring herself to do that.

 

So she locks it all inside. And she buries the girl she used to be.

 

I thought this book was amazing! I loved how the author chose to tell Eden's story in four parts. We get to go through Eden's freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, and senior year with her -- which is a really brilliant idea. This book will definitely make your emotions run high. You will go from loving Eden, to hating her occasionally, to hating her best friend, and then to understanding her best friend in a sense. I also like how Amber Smith made this book seem realistic. I think that probably some people who have experienced what Eden did, probably have handled it the way she did at first. The only thing that left me on a little cliffhanger was that I wanted to see how Eden's parents handled the whole situation. This is because Kevin ,brother's best friend, was seen as part of the family. He basically became the second son. So I would like to know how the parents handled that betrayal of trust and loyalty. I also would have enjoyed a longer confession to Caelin, Eden's brother. Yes, we see him get pretty emotional, but we don't see that huge talk. So I would've appreciated a little more interaction between the two. All in all, this book was amazing and I would definitely recommend it to all my friends and family.

 

After the Woods~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

 



"I become very still, trying to make myself shapeless so he'll forget I'm a GIRL, because that feels the most dangerous of all."

     Julia and her best friend Liv beat the odds. When a man jumped on top of Liv, Julia did what any best friend would do. She tried to pull Donald Jessup off Liv and ended up taking Liv's place so Liv could get away. After she is found after two days of running from Donald, everyone she knows tries to make her believe that she should just forget about it. Julia begins to just bury it deep down and move on, like Liv begs her to do.

     Fast forward one year.

     Another girl's body is found in the same area Liv and Julia were attacked. When hearing about it, memories that Julia has tried to bury finally resurface.

     While Julia struggles trying to contain these awful memories, Liv starts hooking up with Shane Cuthbert and starving herself. Is it because she feels guilty for getting away from Donald Jessup while Julia took her place?

     When Julia finds out the truth about Liv, will they ever be able to get back to how they were?

     Will anything ever be the same after the woods?

     

      I really liked this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I felt so bad for Julia's character. Her therapists were crazy. They literally didn't do anything to help her. Her family and best friends tried to make her forget everything when obviously she should've tried talking about it. Bottling things just doesn't help. At some point, it'll all come out. I also in a way felt bad for Liv because her mother was extremely hard on her and I think if I had a mother like that, I'd be like her. Obviously since I haven't been in that situation I couldn't necessarily connect with Julia's character but I feel like I would've handled it like her. I would recommend this to any of my friends.



Wink Poppy Midnight--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

 

 

“When you look into the darkness, the darkness looks into you."

We all fall in love with someone at some point in our lives. We obsess over that one person, even if they treat us like we are nothing. That's exactly the case for Midnight.

 Midnight has been in love with Poppy since the first night she climbed through his window. Her jasmine scent filling his mind, capturing his very heart. The thing is, Poppy only uses Midnight for a good time and then she goes back to treating him like dirt.

So when Midnight moves next to Wink, things begin to change. Midnight begins to think less of the girl with perfect hair, and more of the girl with wild curly orange hair. He feels at peace around the girl stuck in the stories of magic, and on edge around the girl in reality.

So when Wink's stories become reality, ending with the disappearance of Poppy, Midnight begins to discover things about Wink and Poppy he never new existed.

Will this story end in violence, or do the characters get their happily ever after?

I love this story! I like how each character has the chance to narrate their own points of view. I think each character was unique in their own special way and it created a wonderful dynamic. I love how the storyline didn't end up like a normal love story. There is adventure, revenge, love, and even some surprising outcomes in this story. All in all these characters were well written and I enjoyed each and every one of them. I would definitely recommend these to my friends and family!

 



The First Time She Drowned--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

“I wonder if this is what other people seem to have that I do not—this courage to fall because they have the memory of standing."

Everyone has that one event in their lives that scars them forever. It may be the tragic loss of a parent or going through your first heart break. For Cassie O'Malley, it's being thrown in a mental institute by your family without so much as a goodbye.

Cassie O'Malley  has been fighting to stay above the water-literally and not just metaphorically- since her birth. Her mother threw Cassie into a mental institute just over two and a half years ago against her will. Finally 18, Cassie can get her life back and enter into the world the way she wants to.

Unfortunately, freedom isn't a good match for a teen whose undergone a lifetime of psychological damage. As Cassie swims through the confusing and new surroundings, she uncovers things about her family that make it impossible to cut the ties of the past. As the unhealthy relationship between Cassie and her mother threatens to pull her under once again, Cassie must make some decisions...

Which part of her history is the truth?

And...

Whose life must she save?

I really enjoyed reading this book! The characters made me feel very emotional at times. I especially loved how within the first chapters we were introduced to some of the patients that were with Cassie in the mental institute. These characters were well developed as well. I thought the plot line of this book was very interesting, and I love how the family unit in this story isn't a simple happy family. I like the issues that erupt throughout the story. This book is definitely something I would recommend reading!

Firstlife~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

"If at first you don't succeed, kill your opponent."

            In the Firstlife, you decide which realm you are going to join once you enter the Everlife. Either you choose Myriad or Troika.

            Tenley does not want to chose.

            Because of her resistance, she is locked in a facility with other teenagers to be tortured into figuring out which side she will chose when she enters Everlife. During her time in the facility she is alone, watches friends and her boyfriend die, and is bullied by other inmates. Life seems meaningless. That is until Killian and Archer showed up to the facility.

Archer and Killian have been sent by the two realms to try to make Tenley join their realm in the Everlife.

            When Tenley and Sloan, a friend in the facility, escape they get a chance to see what each realm has to offer. On the run, Tenley finds herself stuck between a fight for her soul. But who can she really trust? What choice will she make if the realm she is leaning towards isn't the one where the boy she's falling for lives? Tenley is determined to make a decision for herself but will she be able to keep herself alive to make the decision?

            
             I liked this book so I gave it 3 and a half out of 5 stars. I think the whole idea of the Everlife and the realms was an extremely interesting idea and plot for a story. But the part that confused me the most was I never really felt like I knew the definite reason why Tenley wanted to be so resistant. I get maybe wanting to find your own future but she had the choice of choosing which realm to enter into, yet she was so  against choosing either side. That's a big thing that kind of bothered me was how stubborn she was. It was hard to connect with her character. Most of all though I did like the whole plot to the story and how the author created this unique way of living in these two lives. There also was some romance in this book, but it definitely was not all the story was about. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy.  



AOHS Book Club

ABOUT THE BOOK by RICK YANCEY

After the 1st Wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4^th wave, just one rule applies: TRUST NO ONE. Now it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them: the beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother – or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

From award-winning author Rick Yancey comes a gripping epic of catastrophic loss, unthinkable odds, and unflinching courage.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS - answer in comments

1.     Should Cassie have killed the Crucifix Soldier? Why or why not?

2.     Both Ben and Cassie have the will to survive—to keep going when everything seems lost. How are Ben and Cassie similar in other ways?

3.     Vosch says, “We know how you think. We’ve been watching you for six thousand years.” How does Vosch’s overconfidence help Cassie and her companions to escape?

4.     What does Vosch not understand about humans? What does Vosch not understand about his own race?

5.     Why do the Others need psychological and technological warfare?

6.     Why does Evan fall in love with Cassie?

7.     One of the most terrifying aspects of THE 5th WAVE is not knowing whom to trust. After losing her family, Cassie lives by herself in the woods. How does she regain her ability to trust?

8.     Evan Walker says that some of his race didn’t want to go along with the plan to exterminate humans. Using information from the book, why do you think that group did not prevail?

9.     Would it be difficult for the Others to cohabitate with humans?

10. Like her dad, Cassie contends that her beliefs have changed. What evidence is there that Cassie and her principles haven’t changed as much as she says?

11. In what ways are humans like the Others?

12. How is Manifest Destiny similar to the Others’ takeover of the Earth? How does the American concept of Manifest Destiny differ?

13. Describe how THE 5th WAVE demonstrates that there is more to life than mere survival.

14. Names and identity play an important role in the story. The book begins with Cassie telling us her name and what names she is not. All of the kids in boot camp have nicknames and make a point of hiding their birth names. Explore the importance of names. What is the significance of the characters changing their names?

15. THE 5th WAVE suggests that humans need other humans. When their families are gone, the kids bond with each other. Initially, Cassie insists that the only way to survive is to be alone. Describe incidents in the novel that give evidence that humans are social creatures.

16. The US military has just changed its policy to allow women to participate in combat. Cassie and Ringer are characters that certainly demonstrate that females are adept at war and mortal combat. Are Cassie and Ringer realistic characters in this regard?

Let's set a date for a meeting!  Ms C