The Glass Castle Book Club #2 and #3

Jeannette begins to come to a realization about her father. Reread pages 67-72 of A Glass Castle. Jeannette realizes life isn't as peachy and grand as her dad described it to be. She is hungry, neglected, and witnesses her father's verbal, emotional, and physical abuse towards her mother. Refer to the list of themes and comment on Jeannette's understanding of the kind of man and father her dad really is and her beginning to recognize that. (Themes: religion/spirituality/faith, self-motivation/self-reliance, child-parent relationship, alienation vs. belonging, coming of age, loss of innocence, addiction, violence, loyalty, poverty/hunger, hope/false hope, survival, fear).

A Long Way Gone 2nd and 3rd book clubs

On page 65 of A Long Way Gone Ishmael and his friends are caught by a group of men who fear that he and his friends are part of the rebels. Ishmael wishes they could see he "was just a twelve-year-old-boy" (Beah 65). He realizes he is not living anymore and just surviving. Beah opens chapter 10 with something that troubles him throughout his journey, "One of the unsettling things about my journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, was that I wasn't sure when or where I was going to end" (69). Reread the opening paragraph on page 69, then refer to the list of themes and comment on Ishmael's journey so far, bringing in one of the themes and discussing how the theme relates. (Themes: religion/spirituality/faith, self-motivation/self-reliance, child-parent relationship, alienation vs. belonging, coming of age, loss of innocence, addiction, violence, loyalty, poverty/hunger, hope/false hope, survival, fear).