My book club read The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman, and she Zoomed with us. We had a lively and spirited discussion before Wiseman joined us. Then we had questions and comments for her. We spent a long time talking about the book and the lies that people were told and the injustices that occurred. One of our members thanked Wiseman for writing about hard subjects that a lot of readers might not know much about. We all agreed, and we look forward to her new book.

Another book that created a good discussion was In the Great Quiet by Laura Vogt. We are in Broken Arrow, OK, and the story takes place in OK in 1893 during the OK Land Run. Vogt loosely based the story on her great-great-grandparents' experience in the OK Land Run. We learned that at least 10% of the homesteaders were women alone!  

One member said it now ranked as her favorite book ever. The discussion was wide-ranging because of the book's many themes: resilience, art, friendship, the power of one person to change a life, and so many others. The discussion took a great turn when one person recognized the Easter theme in it.  The book begins and ends at Easter time--a time representative of resilience, rebirth and renewal, the reality that the worst thing can become the best thing; it is not the end of the story in our life (or it doesn't have to be). 

Wild Dark Shores by Charlotte McConaghy was a big hit. Even my husband liked it.

We loved the characters, especially young Meg. She was smart, resilient, and remarkably happy and sweet in spite of her circumstances. We also liked the way the lives of women in that era were pictured so realistically. It is a great book to read, share, and discuss.

Her book club has been together for 20 years!

Audra shared this as a favorite for her book club

"Our book club had great discussions."

Sandy shared this as a favorite for her book club

"We spent a lot of time comparing our experiences when we read this book. We found it interesting to match ourselves to a character and learned new things about one another."

"Hoping he makes a sequel and features Ellen."

"Everyone loved."

I Am Malala has faced challenges in U.S. schools, including objections involving language and religious references. It has a much stronger censorship history outside the U.S.: Pakistani private-school associations banned the memoir, citing objections to its treatment of Islam and what they considered anti-Pakistan or Western viewpoints. 

The Kite Runner has been removed or challenged in schools because of sexual violence, profanity, other mature content, and religious concerns. ALA has documented numerous challenges, including objections to the novel's child sexual-assault scene.

The Handmaid's Tale has been banned and challenged in schools for sexual content, profanity, violence, and what some challengers considered inappropriate or offensive religious themes. ALA has repeatedly included it among frequently challenged books.