Drumroll please....

This month, Heidi selected the book Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. Trigiani, herself a native of Virginia, writes about small-town life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As members of a small community, we should have a lot to relate to when it comes to the eccentricities of rural life. The Goodreads synopsis reads, "Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist with a "mountain girl's body and a flat behind." She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she's not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave's fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetime—a trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever." Trigiani has received an abundance of praise for her books and the club is excited to become a part of her fanbase.

Our next meeting will be on 8 June 2013 from 1-3 PM in the Ladysmith branch meeting room.

Divergent

For the most part, club members agreed that Kill Me if You Can was a little too “adult”, with scenes of sexuality and incest that made this particular book an uncomfortable read.

The good news is that we read two books for May, and the second title, Divergent, was absolutely fantastic. Everyone loved Divergent and a few members have already started reading the second installment, Insurgent. **Warning: here be spoilers** Even with all of the enthusiasm, Divergent still only earned about 4 out of 5 stars; there were some moments when Beatrice (or Tris) acted a little dense. At times, it was obvious to the reader that her love interest, Four, was trying to protect her. Tris had a hard time seeing the “big picture” politically-speaking, that to be Divergent and have enough brain power to manipulate simulations is a dangerous notion to a government that wants to turn the Dauntless into mindless drones. Pride kept Tris striving to be at the head of the pack, when common sense dictates that she ought to feign a bit more weakness and compliance. Still, Divergent proved great discussion-fodder, bringing out the conspiracy-theorist in all of us. The romance was also just right, enough to relieve the tension but not so much as to make anyone uncomfortable, always ending with some fiery kisses and imaginings about a shirtless Four on the part of the reader. **Spoilers over**

After the third of Roth’s books, Allegiant, is released, it might be worth dedicating another meeting to discussing the completed trilogy. And if you haven’t already, take the Faction quiz on the official Divergent facebook page. It’s fun to have something to really get into again, rather like The Hunger Games.