Posted by Alex Dunn on
Are you part of a book club or looking to start one? Motherness by Julie M. Green makes a great book club pick! Spanning 13 years—beginning with pregnancy and ending with diagnosis—Motherness is a deeply personal account of an autistic mother raising an autistic child. It covers sensory processing, meltdowns, masking, empathy, bullying, special interests, and more. Tender and incisive, it’s essential for parents navigating their own autism diagnoses. Book Club Questions What part of the memoir resonated with you the most — and why? How does the author’s experience with autism challenge or confirm societal assumptions? Did the writing style...
Posted by Alex Dunn on
Are you part of a book club or looking to start one? She’s a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock makes a great book club pick! Jessamyn St. Germain is a struggling musical theater actress hired to be the childminder for the kid actors in a production of The Sound of Music, and she is determined to steal the lead role by any means necessary. Book Club Questions For many readers, Jessamyn is a deeply unlikeable character, but they still found themselves rooting for her. Did you root for Jessamyn? Why do you think this is? Jessamyn has a really narrow focus and...
Posted by Alex Dunn on
Are you part of a book club or looking to start one? Denison Avenue by Daniel Innes and Christina Wong makes a great book club pick! A story told in two parts as a graphic novel and novella, about elderly Wong Cho Sum’s attempt to cope with the death of her husband by taking up bottle and can collecting. Denison Avenue explores the price of progress in cities like Toronto and those it leaves behind. Book Club Questions In Denison Avenue, Cho Sum begins collecting recyclables to earn some money, but also to distract herself from the loss of her husband. Are...
Posted by Alex Dunn on
Are you part of a book club or looking to start one? Other Evolutions by Rebecca Hirsch Garcia makes a great book club pick! A searing and dark debut novel that doesn’t bother much with the boundaries of reality and unreality. Protagonist Alma’s life is derailed by a car accident and the death of a friend. When she encounters him years later, she discovers the impossible truth of his apparent resurrection. Book Club Questions What forces do you think contribute to Alma’s struggle to move past her accident and Oliver’s death? How do you think it affected her personality and outlook?...
Posted by Alex Dunn on
Are you part of a book club or looking to start one? The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney makes a great book club pick! A modern, fast-paced, feminist, and sometimes even funny East Coast gothic with fresh regional folklore about a woman searching for her missing elderly aunt, long suspected to be a witch by the local villagers. Book Club Questions (Spoilers ahead!) Imagine yourself away from the world in a cozy cottage in the forest. Your own version of Willow Sound, just for you. Outside the window, wildflowers sway. Door locked. Candles lit. You sink into the soft...