#LoveOzYAbookclub – January 2016 Book Discussion Post: Green Valentine (Lili Wilkinson)

So here we are – we’ve reached the moment of truth!  What did you think of Green Valentine?  I admit to being a little biased with this book, cos I launched it when it was released…but then I admitted to bias with our last book too, so I think I should just give up and admit that I have a general case of bias where books are involved.  But It was a very special launch, where all the participants went home with little seedlings for their gardens, and I got to mix a lot of metaphors involving 'growing' and 'sprouting' and 'putting down roots' into my launch speech, and a good time was had by all!

Green Valentine is the sweetest little book – this review by Trisha Buckley on the CBCA Reading Time website says it well:

“[Lili Wilkinson’s] books challenge expectations, and ask teenagers to look at their choices, and be sure they are making them for the best reasons… [Green Valentine] incorporates social justice concerns without sounding preachy or teachy… Astrid’s personal growth happens organically (see what I did there?) and in parallel to the guerrilla garden she and Hiro create. The issues are relevant to the target audience, and add in the romance, the humour and the diverse range of characters, and what we have here is a winner.” 

You can read the whole of Trisha’s review here.

What did you think of our Dec/Jan title?  Add your comments to the discussion thread on the FB page, where you can join in the conversation, or feel free to leave your opinion in the comments below.

Next week, be ready for the announcement of our #LoveOzYAbookclub title for February – see you then!

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub: November 2015 Book Discussion Post – Illuminae (Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff)

Hi and welcome to our first book club Discussion Post! 

Now, as book club host, it’s kind of my job to be impartial, but this is the first book off the rank, and (hopefully) the only book I’ll get to choose over the course of book club.  And I’ve got to say, I loved Illuminae – it shook up my head in the best possible way.  I’ve seen a few books that have tried to meld the narrative aspects with graphic-novel style, but this is the first book that I think actually managed to pull it off.  From page one to finish, I absolutely could not put it down (I read it in almost a single sitting) and I was truly blown away by the finale.  Now I’m praying that Brad Pitt and his movie production mates do the novel justice on the big screen.

So – on with the show!  Illuminae is reviewed by Danielle Binks, of Alphareader fame, and she had some great things to say about it, including this:

“Y’know how Battlestar Galactica is actually exploring religion and civil liberty … Or, okay – how Joss Whedon’s Firefly isn’t really just an intergalactic-Western? But rather it’s inspired by the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg and the everyday people who are stepped on in the great moments of history, and that it’s even a story of the immigrant experience and outsiders pushed to the fringe by the victors in a war they never wanted any part of? Yep, okay – well, in the same way there is a lot happening beneath the surface of Illuminae.”

You can read Danielle’s full review of Illuminae right here.

What did you think about Illuminae?  Add comments below, or feel free to join in the Facebook group for discussion about this book, as well as general book talk and a bit of silliness on the side.

xxEllie