December Grades 5-6 Book Club: Greetings from Witness Protection

For December's Book Club, we read Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt.  Finn Ian, Mark and Sophie were present. This is what we talked about.


If I could be a character from this book it would be:

-Charlotte/Nicki because she took so many hits (her mom left, dad went to jail) and she kept on going
-I would be Archer or Jackson. Charlotte came into the family and Jackson just wants to go back to the way things were. He's hiding his feelings. Archer was just cool.
-The caseworker so I don't have to go through these problems, I can just text.
-I want to be Charlotte because she's important.

What do you think of Dierdre? Were you surprised that she didn't have a bigger role in the book, after her debut as the class bully?:

-The book isn't about a child beating up another beating up another child.





What did you think of the relationship between Nicki/Charlotte and her new family? Did you find it believable?:

-Yes, because they created companionship like a real family
-It seemed believable because it took Jackson awhile to warm up to Nicki
-The family was nice and very accepting of Nicki

How do you think you would have reacted if you were friends with Charlotte and she told you her big truth, as she did with Britney? 

-I would keep it to myself and not tell anyone else. I would keep being friends with her and not tell anyone else about her.
-I would not tell anyone else.

What do you think about the ending of the book? Was it a good conclusion to all of the adventures that the characters had?

-I would like a sequel
-Everyone wanted a sequel

Do you think that there will be (or should be) a sequel to this book?

-It just needed a proper ending
-It would be cool if they made a sequel

Additional comments:

-It was sad

-It was good

-I wish someone had died 

-There should have been more blood in the end of the book

Would you read another book by this author? Why or why not?

-Yes
-Depends on what type of book it is
-It depends on the plot of the book

What feelings did this book evoke for you? Did you feel like you could relate to anything in the book? 

-If only Jackson was an older sibling, I would feel bad for Charlotte.
-Keeping secrets.

What did you think of the book’s length? If it’s too long, what would you cut? If too short, what would you add?

-Too short. I would add a proper ending and a cliffhanger.
-It was just the right.
-I was sorry that they didn't add picking out a Christmas Tree. It would have been a nice scene for the family.

If you got the chance to ask the author of this book one question, what would it be?

-Why didn't you decorate a Christmas tree?
-What was that ending?
-Why was there a gun in the book?

How original and unique was this book?

-Original. 
-I've read books that relate to the story line but not this exact story.

If you could hear this same story from another person’s point of view, who would you choose?

-Britney or Jackson's point of view might be interesting to hear from

What did you like least about this book?

-That it ends.
-That it began.

Please rate this book from 1-5, with 5 being the best:

-One 3
-Two 4.5
-One 5

We will be meeting on Wednesday, January 15 at 3:00 p.m. in order to discuss 

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden.

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man"--a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.
    
Captivated by the tale, Ollie begins to wonder if the smiling man might be real when she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about on a school trip to a nearby farm. Then, later, when her school bus breaks down on the ride home, the strange bus driver tells Ollie and her classmates: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
     
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed these warnings. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small."
     
And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

Please be sure to register for Book Club and to pick up your copy of January's book at the library Circulation Desk.

January Grades 5-6 Book Club Suggestions

Estranged by Ethan Aldridge

Edmund and the Childe were swapped at birth. Now Edmund lives in secret as a changeling in the World Above, his fae powers hidden from his unsuspecting parents and his older sister, Alexis. The Childe lives among the fae in the World Below, where being a human makes him a curiosity at the royal palace.

But when the cruel sorceress Hawthorne seizes the throne, the Childe and Edmund must unite on a dangerous quest to save both worlds—even if they’re not sure which world they belong to.

This epic graphic novel is perfect for fans of Amulet.


The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Five years. That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Coyote hasn't been home in all that time, but when she learns that the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished---the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box---she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days...without him realizing it. Along the way, they'll pick up a strange crew of misfit travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. And then there's Gladys... Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all...but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her "once upon a time" into a "happily ever after."


Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man"--a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.
    
Captivated by the tale, Ollie begins to wonder if the smiling man might be real when she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about on a school trip to a nearby farm. Then, later, when her school bus breaks down on the ride home, the strange bus driver tells Ollie and her classmates: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
     
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed these warnings. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small."
     
And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.