Clubbing in February -- Part 2

The Questers discussed Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner in February. The book is set between 1938 and 1947 with the earlier years focusing on Rosie in the United States, and the later years focusing on Helen in Europe. Rosie is a teenager who loses her family to an accident and is taken in by her employers. Remembering her instructions from her parents throughout her childhood, Rosie tries to make it to adulthood without anyone finding out what makes her different. Being "different" in the 1939 was a very dangerous trait, even in the United States. 

Helen is the sister of Rosie's employer and she left for Europe years ago to be a nanny. She considers the families she works for to be her own. When Hitler begins to invade the continent though, a child she tends is in grave danger. The decisions Helen makes to keep Brigitta safe have life altering consequences. 

Only the Beautiful is a profound story of a dark time in history, making for a deep and thoughtful discussion for the Questers. They gave the book a solid four stars.

 

The Young Soul Readers discussed You Have a Match by Emma Lord in February. This is a cute coming of age tale set at a summer camp with a splash of social media stardom. When Abby finds out she has an older sister she never knew about, and that this older sister happens to be an Instagram star, her life and her potential romance with long-time best friend Leo, is thrown into a tailspin. While trying to unravel the mysterious reasons her parents gave her sister up for adoption, Abby realizes there are many more ups, downs, and surprises that need to be embraced if one is to truly experience life. 

The Young Soul Readers gave the book a respectable three stars.

The Readers discussed Recitatif by Toni Morrison in February. Morrison weaves a story of two girls thrown together as roommates in a girls' shelter when they were eight years old. As the reader gets to know Twyla and Roberta, we know that one girl is white and one is black, but we don't know which is which. After they grow up and lost track of each other for years, they are finally reunited. Separated by experiences, opinions, and conflicts, there is still an undeniable bond that was forged when they were young girls. 

This edition of Recitatif had an introduction that was almost as long as the book itself, and The Readers felt like it told them all about the story before they even read it. The discussion group gave it a struggling 2.2 stars and put it in the "don't bother" category.