For girls ages 9-12 and a female adult.
Bring your dinner. We will eat together and enjoy a fun activity before discussing our selected book.
Here our some of our goals:
- Enjoying good times between mothers and daughters and getting to know some other cool people!
- Reading a mixture of fiction books set in a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds.
- Enjoying a variety of ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers to discussion questions. One of the best parts is celebrating our differences!
2018-2019 Meeting Dates
September 25, 2018 *The reading list for the year will be decided at this meeting!
October 23, 2018: Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts. And only one thing ever changes: on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them–and taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again. Today’s Changing is no different. The boat arrives, taking away Jinny’s best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility now–to teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as they’ve always been. But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come back–and take her away forever from the only home she’s known?
November 27, 2018: A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
When Lily’s blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar and runs away across the wide-open blueberry barrens of eastern Maine, it’s Salma Santiago who manages to catch him. Salma, the daughter of migrant workers, is in the small town with her family for the blueberry-picking season. After their initial chance meeting, Salma and Lily bond over painting bee boxes for Lily’s grandfather, and Salma’s friendship transforms Lily’s summer. But when Salma decides to run in the upcoming Blueberry Queen pageant, they’ll have to face some tough truths about friendship and belonging. Should an outsider like Salma really participate in the pageant-and possibly win?
December 18, 2018: Savvy by Ingrid Law
Thirteen is when a Beaumont’s savvy hits–and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, Mibs Beaumont is eager to see what she gets. But just before the big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident. And now all Mibs wants is a savvy that will save him. In fact, Mibs is so sure she’ll get a powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus with her sibling and the preacher’s kids in tow. After this extraordinary adventure–full of talking tattoos and a kidnapping–not a soul on board will ever be the same.
January 29, 2019 *Rescheduled to January 30, 2019: Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang’s parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants–not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao’s son, Jason.
February 26, 2019: Endling: The Last by Katherine Applegate
Byx is the youngest member of her dairne pack. Believed to possess remarkable abilities, her mythical doglike species has been hunted to near extinction in the war-torn kingdom of Nedarra. After her pack is hunted down and killed, Byx fears she may be the last of her species. The Endling. So Byx sets out to find safe haven, and to see if the legends of other hidden dairnes are true. Along the way, she meets new allies, both animals and humans alike, who each have their own motivations for joining her quest. And although they begin as strangers, they become their own kind of family, one that will ultimately uncover a secret that may threaten every creature in their world.
March 26, 2019: Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
An old red oak tree tells how he and his crow friend, Bongo, help their human neighbors get along after a threat against an immigrant family is carved into the tree’s trunk.
April 23, 2019: Float by Laura Martin
From the critically acclaimed author of the Edge of Extinction series comes this fast-paced, action-packed, and heartfelt adventure about a group of kids with uncontrollable abilities who are struggling to accept themselves.
May 28, 2018: Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren
When thirteen-year-old Valor is arrested, she could not be happier. Demidova’s prison for criminal children is exactly where she wants to be. Valor’s sister Sasha is already serving a life sentence for stealing from the royal family, and Valor is going to help her escape . . . from the inside.