'Small Island' by Andrea Levy

We’re meeting in the library on Wednesday 3rd February, 4.30-5.30, to discuss ‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy.

“It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street. London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh’s neighbours do not approve when she agrees to take in Jamaican lodgers, but with her husband, Bernard, not back from the war, what else can she do?

Gilbert Joseph was one of the several thousand Jamaican men who joined the RAF to fight against Hitler. Returning to England as a civilian he finds himself treated very differently. Gilbert’s wife Hortense, too, had longed to leave Jamaica and start a better life in England. But when she joins him she is shocked to find London shabby, decrepit, and far from the city of her dreams. Even Gilbert is not the man she thought he was.”

Snow stops play!

Bad weather (and upcoming exams) meant the planned session for 'Noughts and Crosses' didn't take place - though email correspondence suggest it was a cracking read – disturbing, thought provoking and highly entertaining. A good book to be snowed in with!

Next up - 'Noughts & Crosses' by Malorie Blackman

We're meeting next on Wednesday 13th January, 4.30-5.30, at the Library to discuss Malorie Blackman's 'Noughts & Crosses'.

Set in an alternate reality, in a world where black and white are right and wrong, 'Noughts and Crosses' is a gripping, stimulating and often provocative novel in which two young people attempt to make a stand for their beliefs regardless of the horrifying cost to their hopes and desires.

Copies are available to pick up in the library, in the display next to the teen fiction shelves.

Vedict on 'The Kite Runner'

We thought ‘The Kite Runner’ made fascinating reading. It was full of interest (we especially liked the scenes of Afghan childhood before the Russian invasion) and was well paced, with lots of exciting episodes (the journey back into Taliban ruled Afghanistan, complete with false beard, really had us turning the pages). The scenes of horror were genuinely disturbing, but didn’t seem gratuitous or over the top.

We did have some slight concerns – possibly the drama toppled over into melodrama at times. Likewise, the exoticism of the scenes (for a western audience) might distract from occasionally clunky prose. There was also a striking lack of developed women characters in the novel, or any mention of the role of women in Afghan society. We wondered, too, what the success of the book meant during a time when the situation in Afghanistan was so politically controversial.

Over all though, we were very impressed by ‘The Kite Runner’ and would recommend it to anyone looking for an intense and gripping read which also expands your view of the world.

Next up - 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini

We'll be meeting at Stamford Hill Library on Wednesday 3rd December, 4.30 - 5.30, to discuss 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini. This prize winning novel tells the story of an illiterate Afghan boy, with an uncanny instinct for predicting exactly where a downed kite will land, growing up in the city of Kabul in the 1970s.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s book was certainly a page-turner. We’d thought it’s status as ‘classic fiction’ might mean it was heavy going, but found it funny, exciting and accessible. The two entwined plots – Boo Radley and Tom Robinson (mockingbirds both) – made compelling reading, and the book succeeded as a story, as well as a moral tale.

Sometimes, perhaps, it worked a little too well as a story – some bits tended to melodrama, we thought. Also, in order to dramatise events, characters were sometimes a bit two-dimensional; the black characters weren’t as fleshed out as they could have been, and the white poor families stereotyped as ‘deserving poor’ or ‘underclass scum’.

All in all though, we thought ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ fully deserved it classic status – one to recommend.

For November - 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

Our next book is a classic tale of race and class in the American Deep South of the 1930s.

"The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice".

Copies are available to pick up in the library, and we're meeting 4.30-5.30 on Wednesday 4th November.

Interesting, but not Doubleplus Good

We felt ‘1984’ had a lot of interesting ideas; the world hasn’t turned out the way thought it might, but he did anticipate some of the ways people are monitored, such as by CCTV, and even some of our entertainments, like the lottery. The details in the book were good, and we discussed the way reducing language (Newspeak) could also reduce our capacity to think about things.

But … the story didn’t really grab us a story. The characters didn’t seem real enough, the dialogue often didn’t ring true and the basic plot just seemed a bit weak. We agreed some people might get a lot out of the novel, but it wasn’t the page-turner we’d hoped it might be. Overall score out of 10 – only a 4 I’m afraid.

'1984' by George Orwell

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen” – so begins George Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian future, and a society where everything is monitored at all times, with the past constantly being rewritten to serve the needs of Big Brother and the Party.

Copies are available to pick up in the library – please join us for discussion in the library at 4.30pm on Wednesday 7th October.

The verdict on 'Lucas' by Kevin Brooks

From reading the blurb on the back, there was a suspicion that ‘Lucas’ might be a bit too similar to ‘The Last Taboo’. Both books start with a young girl glimpsing a boy – the sort that their parents wouldn’t necessarily approve of – and not knowing how their lives will be turned upside down as they get to know more about him.

‘Lucas’ moves off in a very different direction from our last book though, as it tells the story of Lucas, the weird, mystical (half animal?) boy who moves on to the island where Cait lives. The other islanders don’t take well to his strange innocence – especially the trashy, drink swilling teenagers, who begin a violent and cruel pursuit of him.

Although in many ways a love story, we thought the book would appeal to boys as well as girls, and it deals with the idea of stranger as scapegoat, in an intense, hard-hitting way. Some of the themes and scenes are quite disturbing, but we felt this worked well, the gritty realism balancing the mysterious elements in the story.

Sometimes the dialogue was a little hard to follow, but most of the characters we thought were well drawn. It was an extreme sort of a story, but told in a very believable way. Overall we thought it was a good, compelling read, and gave it a creditable score of 8.25

Next up - 'Lucas' by Kevin Brooks

"Caitlin is spending the summer on the windswept island that is her home. She is caught between girlhood and maturity, and feels utterly isolated from the rest of the world. Then she meets Lucas, who is the embodiment of freedom and honesty. She is instantly drawn to him. But Caitlin must also grapple with the darker forces that seem to be confronting her family. Lucas himself further complicates matters when he is hunted for an awful crime that Caitlin herself becomes involved in. This gripping story, which takes place over one incredible month, will captivate young adult readers."

This months book is 'Lucas', by Kevin Brooks. Again, copies are available to pick up in the library (there's a TRG display stand next to the Teen fiction section), and we'll be meeting 4.30-5.30pm on Wednesday 2nd September. Please let a member of staff know if you're coming, so we can plan for refreshments.

Verdict on 'The Last Taboo' by Bali Rai

There was lots of enthusiasm for this book - people were gripped by it, ignoring their supper to carry on reading!

The story focuses on Tyrone and Simran, a black boy and an Asian girl, whose romance causes major family friction. People felt the story, a sort of updated Romeo and Juliet, had a believable ring to it. People also thought the racial issues in the book were handled well, and that characters were used to explore the complexity of issues, rather than provide simple caricatures.

The use of dialogue, too, was praised – there was concern that it could have been overdone, by a writer trying too hard to sound cool, but Rai seemed to get it just about right. It sounded like people we knew, and heightened the sense of realism in the book.
A strong story, well told – ‘The Last Taboo’ got a very solid 8.5 out of 10.

Meeting in August

This month we're reading 'The Last Taboo' by Bali Rai.

'Tyrone leaned across the table and gave me a long kiss. When I eventually opened my eyes I saw an Asian couple, middle-aged, on the next table along. You know that phrase – if looks could kill? Well, I was dead.’

Simran falls for Tyrone from the moment she spots him in the crowd. He’s gorgeous and won’t take no for an answer. There’s just one problem – Tyrone is black.
When two of Simran’s cousins from the Asian gang the Desi Posse find out that she is seeing Tyrone, things start to get out of control . . . '

Copies are available to pick up in the library (there's a TRG display stand next to the Teen fiction section), and we'll be meeting 4.30-5.30pm on Wednesday 5th August. Please let a member of staff know if you're coming, so we can plan for refreshments!

'Gossip Girl' by Cecily von Ziegesar

There was some lively debate around 'Gossip Girl', with considerable agreement at the start - until a late arrival came and made a spirited defence!

Everyone initially agreed that the glossy front cover looked promising – but that the first chapter really didn’t live up to it. There were too many characters introduced, and people felt they were too similar, making it hard to follow what was happening.

The ‘web page’ sections inbetween some chapters also led to confusion. What were they about? There was discussion about how they provided a kind of commentary on the story, and hints about what was about to come up. The general feeling though was that it was a failed attempt to be trendy and tech-savvy – not really needed in the book.

People felt that although the plot appeared to be glamorous and exciting, we didn’t feel engaged or interested. It seemed to be selling a kind of fantasy life, but not one that any of the group members wanted to be part of! There was also discomfort about the unrealistic portrayal of risk-free sex and drug taking.

However – the delayed arrival of another group member prompted more discussion. We’d been too quick to write it off, she argued, and failed to appreciate the true pleasures of scandal and gossip. The second in the series was even better, she claimed, and the spin off titles better still.

The group wasn’t entirely swung over by these arguments and our overall score was a less than luxurious 4 out of 10.

Our Next Read!

On a very different note from our last book - the next thing we'll be reading is 'Gossip Girl' by Cecily von Ziegesar.

"Welcome to New york City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live and go to school. We're smart, we've inherited classic good looks, and we know how to party. It's a luxe life, but someone's got to live it..."

Copies are available to pick in the library, and the group will be meeting on Wednesday 1st July, 4.30-5.30. Please let a member of staff know if you'd like to come along!

'Ugly' by Constance Briscoe

At the beginning of June we met to discuss 'Ugly' by Constance Briscoe.

This was a tough and challenging read – the autobiographical story of a young girl growing up in an abusive family. Exams and other commitments kept some people away, but perhaps the difficult subject matter also contributed to a low turn out at the meeting? Interestingly, this book was the most borrowed one from the reading group display, but people seemed less keen to discuss it.

Those who did come felt it was a serious and heavy duty book, although there were some concerns about how the author could remember so much detail of events that happened so long ago.

We decided not to give this one a score, partly as there weren’t enough of us, and partly as it didn’t seem appropriate for this sort of book.

'The Recruit' by Robert Muchamore

The second book we read was suggested by someone from the reading group at Hackney Central Library. There was some doubt at first at Stamford Hill - the cover looked a bit dodgy, and the blurb wasn't very enticing. It was agreed we'd give it a go though, when someone said her brother had read it and had then gone mad over it, and read all the others in the series.

The story of a newly orphaned teen who gets tangled up in a cool secret world of spies and danger, 'The Recruit' doesn't really break new ground in terms of subject matter. What got everyone's attention though was the fantastic (and often gruesome) detail of the writing, the vivid way action scenes leapt off the page, and considering the plot, how realistic it seemed.

Perhaps most striking was how the lead character wasn’t an obvious ‘hero’, but someone who made mistakes and even did some things you’d expect only a ‘baddy’ to do. It was noticeable, too, that there were a number of girls in the story who were active and properly rounded characters, and not just there to make him look good.

Much enthusiasm, then, for ‘The Recruit’, and it got an over all score of … 9.5

'Hero' by Catherine Johnson

In our first proper session we talked about 'Hero' by Catherine Johnson, who we'd met at our launch meeting.

It's the story of Hero, a mixed race girl in 19th century London. Her Dad, a famous boxer, is captured by relatives of his dead wife, who want to send him back to be a slave in Barbados - but they hadn't counted on Hero, who has her father's fighting spirit!

The general consensus was that it was a good read, but the tension flagged in places. It was good to read something set in London, and although some characters seemed less convincing than others, the action kept people's attention. Everyone who started it, finished it.

We all gave the book a score out of ten .... and the over all score was a solid 6.6

First Meeting

Not having met before, we didn't have a specific book to discuss at our first session. We were very pleased though to have Catherine Johnson come along - a famous author who also happens to live in Hackney.

There was an interesting discussion about what works and what doesn't in books for young people - there was agreement that there was no simple formula, but most people felt the best books were able to cover big issues and difficult subjects in ways that were accessible and entertaining. They might (or might not) be serious, but they should never be boring!

Catherine also gave us an insight into what her life is like as a writer, how she managed to get published and give up making music videos for self-indulgent pop stars - books as the new rock & roll, perhaps?

Launch of the Stamford Hill Library Teenage Reading Group Blog!

Welcome to our blog!

After discussion in the group we thought it would be interesting to have a blog, to record the books we've been reading and share what we thought about them, and to publicise the group to other people who might like to come along.

After each meeting I'll try to knock up a brief summary of the discussion - but other group members are encouraged to add their comments, too! We also welcome interested comments from people who aren't currently members.

The group started in March, and we've had three sessions so far. So, a brief summary...