YA Book Club

with Stephanie Berry

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Chosen by our Student Leadership class!

Friday July 31

From our reviewer, Bella Horn:

The overarching message that I think is made pretty clear in the book is about the struggles African American children face growing up. The central character lives in a predominantly black community but attends a school that has predominantly white students, and dates a boy that is white; she feels as if she's living a double life and has two personas for each community in order to be perceived a certain way. She also comes up against a lot of institutional and inadvertent racism as well as stereotyping. The book definitely illuminates a lot of nuances about American racism, and it's also a very accessible and interesting read for teens.

Classics Book Club

with Stephanie Berry

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Chosen by our Student Leadership class!

Friday, July 24

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee tackles the topics of of race and conscience in the early half of the 20th century. Scout and her brother Jem live with their widowed father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer. When Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape, the entire family encounters the prejudices of the community both in their treatment by the town as well as when Tom is convicted. Dealing with Scout and Jem's loss of innocence as well as the blindness of racism, To Kill a Mockingbird is an American classic that's one of the most influential American novels ever written.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. 323 pages