On Sunday, my IRL (in real life) book club met in order to discuss this month’s read: Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart [review]. This book club consists of Jenn from Jenn’s Bookshelf, Michelle from Galleysmith, and Deborah from Books, Movies, and Chinese Food – it’s a great group!

Main discussion points:

• We all really enjoyed the book, which was very nice!
• All of us loved the librarian because she was so different than what you normally picture as a librarian.
• We appreciated the relationship between Katie and her father. It was nice to see a healthy father/daughter relationship in a young adult novel.
• Beth Kephart’s writing is absolutely beautiful. It really makes the book worth reading.
• We thought the finch represented Katie’s mother, trying to draw Katie back into her parents’ room. It helped her to move past her mother’s death.
• We remarked on how the book wasn’t really about Katie. Instead, it seemed to be about the few weeks during which the book takes place. As a result, the reader is held at an arm’s length from Katie. We don’t really get to know her.
• We discussed the phenomenon of young adult literature that is written for adults in some ways, and trying to market the genre to both teens and adults.

Next month, we are reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre – I can’t wait for that discussion!