March Girls Read/Guys Read Book Club

Did you know that we have two parent/child book clubs every month at the Provo City Library? They are for children ages 9-12 and a caregiver. This month, they will meet virtually on Zoom on March 23 (girls) and March 25 (guys). Pre-register under the Kids Corner/Program Registration tab on the library website and then pick up a copy of the book and a packet with a take home craft at the Children's Desk. We have two great books to discuss this month:

Girls

Summerlost
By Ally Condie
New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2016. Fiction.

After her father and her autistic brother Ben are killed in an accident, twelve-year-old Cedar Lee moves to a small Utah town called Iron Creek for the summer as she, her mother, and her younger brother Miles regroup and cope with their grief. Not long after arriving, Cedar meets Leo, a boy obsessed with theater, the town's summertime Shakespeare festival, and the mysterious disappearance of a famous local actress named Lisette Chamberlain. Together, Leo and Cedar work at the Summerlost Shakespeare festival and run unauthorized Lisette Chamberlain tours in their free time. This is a story about loss, grief, and friendship set against a background of quirky theater folks, the story is rounded out by the mystery of what happened to Lisette Chamberlain. That this novel is written by Utah author Ally Condie is just the cherry on top.

Guys

New Kid
By Jerry Craft
New York: Harper, 2019. Graphic novel.

All Jordan Banks wants to do is draw cartoons in his sketchbook and go to a special arts school. But when he finds out that he is smart enough to get into the prestigious Riverdale Academy Day School, his parents insist that he goes. For Jordan, that means riding a bus from his apartment in Washington Heights all the way to R.A.D., a place where his classmates wear salmon colored shorts and have butlers and drivers and his homeroom teacher keeps calling the black students by the wrong name because she can't tell them apart. Jordan's new school, where he is one of only a handful of Black students, is filled with microaggressions and sometimes overt racism but also by a new group of friends. This an engaging graphic novel with a good dose of humor that is sure to open doors to more discussion. New Kid is the first graphic novel to win the Newbery medal, come to Guys Read to find out why.

Comments

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 2008

J Fiction 328 pages I almost didn't finish this book. I got to Chapter 4, and was just about ready to quit (a kind of slow story about a girl, name of Piper McCloud, who discovers she can fly, parents freak out, she becomes a social outcast, yadda, yadda) but suddenly, right there in Chapter 4, the story takes a sharp turn and becomes really interesting . Piper finds herself in the company of others like her, but not "fliers", and under the care and authority of Dr. Hellion. I won't even tell you any more. Read this book. Forester does a great job of keeping you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad? Piper is a likeable, strong, endearing character that girl readers will enjoy. But don't NOT give it to boys! The main male character is an extremely intelligent young man who is one of the ones you wonder about . . . good or bad? This is a good one, well worth your time.

Review: Super Boba Cafe

Super Boba Café By Nidhi Chanani New York: Amulet Books, 2023. Comics. 215 pages. 14-year-old Aria is excited to spend her summer in San Francisco getting quality time with her Nainai. She loves helping at her grandmother's Super Boba Café. But she can't help but notice that her grandmother is acting strange and secretive. She refuses to let Aria into the kitchen at all and she disappears at the same time each night without telling Aria where she goes. Meanwhile, Aria is eager to drum up more business for Super Boba Café. She gets a major windfall when the shop cat, Bao, surprises them by having kittens, and Aria realizes this is a major social media opportunity. She knows this will help Nainai's shop, but she is apprehensive to get back on social media after a terrible cyberbullying experience she had back home. As the shop starts to get busier, Nainai is more and more anxious about her secret project. This prompts Aria to investigate with help from her Nainai's neighb...

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