Middle School Book Club (CEN) Report

January's Middle School Book Club at Central was a lively discussion of post-apocalyptic gloom. Is that an oxymoron of a phrase, or what? We read The Dead and the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, and all agreed it was a major downer! Some members found many story elements implausible, and the naivete of some characters equally hard to believe; but all were made to think about what they would do if an apocalypse came their way. (Canned goods!) There were nine in attendance, and we rated the book 7.5. Next month’s book is Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson, and our March book will be Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater.

Other books we considered:
The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor
Black Hole Sun, by David Macinnis Gill (not out in paperback until March)
An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
The Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale
The Usual Rules, by Joyce Maynard
The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, by Joe Schreiber (we couldn't read it for club, it was still in hardcover)
Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld