Why "Lovely Bones" is so popular

Many people who read "Lovely Bones" may not know that the story stemmed from the real-life rape that Alice Sebold survived as a freshman in college. Without being sentimental or mushy she manages to tell this tragic story in a way that captures and holds the readers attention from beginning to end. In brief conversations that I've had with students reading the book, many of them are finding it difficult to read for many different reasons. Some have a difficult time with Suzie's rape and murder while others are having a difficult time understanding how Suzie's family and friends are dealing with their grief.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Our current book selection "The Lovely Bones" is the winner of the American Bookseller Association's "Book of Year" Award.

"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her - her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, "The Lovey Bones" succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.

CLC meeting March 31st

The CLC will meet March 31st to discuss "Always Running" by Luis Rodriguez.

Harsh yet realistic

Not everyone who reads Always Running will have an understanding of the complexities of gang life and Chicano culture. Many young people, however, will relate in some way to many of the issues that Luis Rodriguez addresses: identity, violence, drug use, police harassment, dysfunctional families, sex, teen parenthood, challenging authority, inadequate education, oppression, etc… What is especially notable about this book is that while addressing these issues in a harsh yet realistic way Rodriguez also provides important and empowering information about the Chicano movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s which brought about many important social changes.

Glass, an astounding book

I just finished reading Glass. I couldn't put it down as a read it. Ellen Hopkins' blank verse is compelling and the subject matter grueling. I found myself hoping that Kristina's positive outlook at the end brings her into a drug-free future with her family and child.

LibLongLearn

Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

Our next book selection is Always Running by Luis Rodriguez. In Always Running, Luis Rodriguez describes how by age twelve, he was a veteran of East L.A. gang warfare. Lured by a seemingly invincible gang culture, he witnessed countless shootings, beatings, and arrests, then watched with increasing fear as drugs, murder, suicide, and senseless acts of street crime claimed friends and family members. Before long Rodríguez saw a way out of the barrio through education and the power of words, and successfully broke free from years of violence and desperation. Achieving success as an award-winning Chicano poet, he was sure the streets would haunt him no more--until his young son joined a gang. Rodríguez fought for his child by telling his own story in Always Running, a vivid memoir that explores the motivations of gang life and cautions against the death and destruction that inevitably claim its participants. At times heartbreakingly sad and brutal, Always Running is ultimately an uplifting true story, filled with hope, insight and a hard-earned lesson for the next generation.

CLC February 1st meeting

THE CLC met on Friday, February 1st to discuss Glass by Ellen Hopkins. The group had a very mature, engaged and lengthy discussion about Bre and the consequences of her decisions. We discussed why this particular series is so popular right now and how the use of crank and glass has reached epidemic proportions and that this epidemic in one way or another is affecting so many families.