Book Club | Where the Crawdads Sing

What are the odds that my mom would recommend this “really great book” she just finished reading on the same day that my book club selected it for our next read? I’m talking about #1 New York Times Bestseller, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

I had never heard of the book before that, but several of the members of my book club had it on their wish lists. Libraries around us had an incredible wait list going, no doubt partly due to this book being chosen for Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick in September 2018.

Similar to Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, this story spans over several decades and often provides “flashbacks” to the character’s story.

The story takes place in a marshy coastal town in North Carolina. We learn about Kya, the youngest child of a pretty dysfunctional family. At the age of 10 she is abandoned in her house and has to learn to take care of not only the property, but herself. As if that isn’t heartbreaking enough, she lives just outside of town and is constantly treated as a lesser human being.

The small down is rocked by the unexpected, suspicious death of their town “all-star”. The story turns to the town’s method’s to discovering if this was an accidental death or murder. I’ll leave the summary at that as I don’t want to give away any of the twists and turns in the story.

This book brought out a variety of emotions; empathy for this young, abandoned child, anger towards the people who let her down, hope for what she is able to achieve, and curiosity as she explores that nature around her.

This book was recently picked up to become a movie. I’m eager to see the story play out on the screen and see how they portray the locations and characters in the book.

Some questions that struck me while reading the book:

• What could possibly have kept Kya moving forward after all of the set-backs she has faced in life?
• How did Kya’s relationship with Jumper and Mabel help Kya while growing up? What cause their relationship to evolve?
• Did your feelings towards Kya’s mother change by the end of the book? What about her other family members?

There is a really helpful Book Club Kit on Delia’s website. Delia provides some fascinating background on the setting of the book, a question and answer interview, book club questions, and even recipes inspired by the book.

You can purchase Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens right here!

My previous book club pick is available here.

       

Book Club | Little Fires Everywhere

So I ended up joining a book club. Well, not just joining – I’m now leading a book club. Recently there was interest on our neighborhood’s Next Door page by people wishing to join a book club. I stepped up and offered to organize the information and get it started.

I gathered everyone’s information and sent out a quick Google Forms survey to see what everyone was interested in reading.

Based on what was trending at the time, we selected Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. The only thing I knew about this book was that it was recommended on just about every single reading list I checked.

I couldn’t put this book down! I hadn’t read Celeste’s other major book Everything I Never Told You so I had no idea what to expect regarding her writing style. In this book she took a back and forth approach and changed the perspective from character to character. I felt this style helped me stay engaged and also resulted in my character loyalties changing throughout the book based on how each was viewing the situation.

The story hits close to home following residents of a neighborhood in Ohio during the 1990’s. The youth in the story were of similar age as I was in the 1990’s so I could relate to the popular culture references, not having internet, and having to walk over to someone’s house to see if they wanted to hang out.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I strongly recommend you read this book. It was one of those books that I didn’t want to end. I want to know what happens to these characters next. I felt invested in their lives and choices they made. Imagine my excitement when I saw that the book is being made into a TV Mini-Series on Hulu by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

Some questions that struck me while reading the book:

• Do you feel like the way Mrs. Richardson and Mia were referred to subliminally caused you to categories them in different societal classes?
• The Richardson’s all received a photograph from Mia. What would your photograph include?
• Did your feelings towards Izzy change throughout the book?

There are some amazing Book Club questions on Celeste Ng’s website. Be sure to check out her Book Club Guide filled with questions and answers, her musical play list and discussion questions for your club.

You can purchase Little Fires Everywhere or Everything I Never Told You right here!