Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli should be required reading for all high school students and their parents. And everyone else, for that matter. Plus on Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, a Midwestern Midsummer Night's Dream , with love in all the wrong and some of the right places, and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye . Kids' Corner will feature Ursula LeGuin's sweet quartet of Catwings tales for younger readers and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, a compelling, heartening story for middle readers, set in Denmark during the Holocaust. We add new Kids' Muse Notes every week, so browse the full list by reading level or category often.
Most book groups meet at people's homes or in public places like bookstores and libraries.
If you meet in people's homes, I suggest scheduling the place of your meetings well in advance. Someone always calls and cancels at the last minute, but at least most of the time people will stick to the schedule. I type up a schedule for the whole session, which runs from September through June and mail it out in August or pass it out at the September meeting. It includes the book names, authors, meeting dates, times and places. The publisher, Time Warner Books, has offered to give away 20 or 30 free hardcovers or audio versions through the BookMuse site.