April Guys Read/Girls Read Book Clubs

Did you know that we have two parent/child book clubs every month at the Provo Library? They are for children 9-12 and a parent/guardian and this month they will meet on April 24 (girls) and April 26 (guys). These will be the last book club events until the fall so be sure to preregister under the Kids Corner/Program Registration tab on the library website. We have two great books to discuss:

Guys

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
by Leslie Connor
HarperCollins, 2016. Fiction. 381 p.
Perry was born at the Blue River Minimum Security Correctional Facility when his inmate mother was still a teenager. He has been allowed to live at the facility ever since because the warden is his official foster parent. Then, one day, a new district attorney discovers that he has been living at the facility and goes on a crusade to try to "free" him. Perry loves being able to live with his mother, and has close friends among both the staff and the residents of the facility, so he is not happy when he gets taken away from them. With determination and the help of some friends, Perry searches for a way to be reunited with his mother again.

Girls

Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins, 1997. Fiction. 232 p.
On the day of Ella's birth, the fairy Lucinda gave her the gift of obedience. Ever since she has to do whatever anyone asks her to do. Her mother has always protected Ella from those who might take advantage of her "gift" but when her mother dies, Ella goes on a quest to find Lucinda and break the spell. With the help of her fairy god mother, Ella faces ogres, giants, and her evil step sisters to try to find her own "happily ever after."

Comments

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: Fowl Play

Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Five Faves: Picture Books About Wolves

There are a lot of great picture books that have wolves in them. Wolves are beautiful, strong creatures that can also represent scary things (like in the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood). Here are five great new-ish picture books that feature wolves, for those kids who love to howl at the moon. Full Moon Pups Written by Liz Garton Scanlon Illustrated by Chuck Groenink New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2023. Picture Book. This is a beautifully illustrated story about a pack of new wolf pups and how they grow over the course of one moon’s cycle, from full moon to new moon and back again. Readers will see how the new pups don’t open their eyes for days, how they start to explore the world around them, and how the older members of the pack take care of them. The book also includes information about the phases of the moon at the end. Little Good Wolf By Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel Boston: Clarion Books, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publi...

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