First Nook Meeting

Our first book club meeting was a success with 21 kids attending. Even though they had less than two weeks to read the book, almost everyone had finished Harris and Me! Way to go!

The group had a great discussion about the book and played some fun games. Lucky winners received some crazy Christmas prizes. We ended the night with snacks and a vote of what books we wanted to read next. The ballots have been counted... you will find out the results at the next meeting.

We also passed out copies of our next book, Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson. You can check out its book trailer and book review (written by yours truly) below. If you missed the meeting (and have a good excuse), you must contact me at the library (I work Thursday and Friday) or just e-mail me at jill@maryvillepubliclibrary.org in order to receive your copy of Chains. Mrs. Nolte will NOT have extra copies, so don't bug her about it. :)

THE NEXT MEETING IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2011! WE WILL MEET FROM 4:00 UNTIL 5:30.  Please let me know IN ADVANCE if you cannot make it to the meeting (please e-mail). See you then and have a Merry Christmas!

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Nook Book Club is officially underway!

We had our first informational meeting about the new middle school book club today at the middle school. Over THIRTY kids attended! WOW! It was announced that our first official meeting would be Thursday, December 9 from 4:00 to 5:30 in the basement of the public library. We will be reading the book Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen. This is a hilarious book! If you've already read it, oh well, read it again! (Just don't spoil any key parts for the other kids!) To claim your copy of the book, you must turn in the parent permission slip that was handed out today to Mrs. Nolte by TUESDAY! (We originally said Wednesday, but then I found out that you don't have school on Wednesday.) Mrs. Nolte will make an announcement when the books are in. (I can't order them until I get permission slips in for a final count.)

Happy reading!

Review of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

I have been a fan of Laurie Halse Anderson ever since I read her first novel, Speak. I had never read a book which so perfectly captured modern teenagers’ sarcasm and angst. When I picked up her novel, Chains, a 2010-2011 Truman Reader Award Nominee, I had my concerns about how well an author who used 21^st century teen slang could transition to a historical fiction account of a young slave girl during the American Revolution. I expected a lovable, yet semi-believable heroine dropped into a watered-down version of this time in history.  I underestimated this author’s writing chops.

Anderson proves to be a writing chameleon in Chains, melding her marvelous prose into a 1700s setting as convincingly as she creates her modern-day settings. Anderson didn’t just throw in some 18^th century jargon here and there to earn the label of “historical fiction.” By telling the story from the perspective of Isabel, she captured the historical diction in the thirteen-year-old slave’s every thought. Impeccably researched without feeling like a history textbook, she throws the reader into a brutally realistic nation in the grips of war. Chains keeps the reader captivated from page one when orphaned siblings Isabel and Ruth, expecting to be freed as promised upon the death their owner, are instead sold to an affluent and cruel New York couple. My heart broke as their new owner, Mrs. Lockton, treated their physical and emotional abuse as a sport. Anderson does not shy away from showing the brutal ways slaves were treated as some young adult novels may; she shows the truth in a tactful way that no one—child or adult—can take lightly.

I couldn’t read this book without thinking of all the teaching opportunities it held. Each chapter began with an excerpt from an authentic newspaper article, speech, or book from the time period, each foreshadowing what was to happen in the chapter and making the book hard to put down. Chains also made this reader who isn’t a big fan of history want to go out and learn more about the American Revolution. I found myself questioning the role of slavery during the Revolutionary War. When I think slavery, I think Civil War. Anderson teaches the reader that a staggering number of Americans owned slaves during this time that they were fighting for “freedom for all people.” Slaves actually fought for both sides of the war, often promised their freedom for doing so.  It was a harsh reality that neither the British nor the Americans were interested in freeing the slaves for any reason other than helping their side win the war. Can you imagine all the classroom discussions this book would evoke?

Even though it sits on the Young Adult shelf, Chains is a book for any age. It is not just a story about the American Revolution or slavery; it is a book about basic human rights and the difference between right and wrong. Readers will not feel detached from this main character by centuries or skin color; they will simply feel pain for a fellow human being who has lost her family and been deprived of her God-given rights. Chains is one of those books that I will never forget, and it deserves every award it will surely receive.

Coming soon to the library... Forge, the sequel to Chains.