Your library will host 4 sessions of the Mustang Book Club this year, one each quarter. Students may sign up for one or more. Each club member will read the book on her/his own time. We will have a lunch/discussion at the end of the quarter. This is a great opportunity for students who like to read and share books as well as those who need extra reading motivation.

First Quarter Selection

The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
       

A baby survives the murder of his family by a mysterious assassin. He crawls to a nearby graveyard and is adopted by the assortment of spooks who occupy the place, soon to include his own recently murdered parents. There he is christened with a new name: Nobody, or Bod for short. Under the watchful care of the dead, Bod learns reading, writing, history, and a few other useful skills - haunting and "disapparating" [disappearing from a location and reappearing in another]. Why It Is a Best: An elegant combination of Gaiman's masterly storytelling and McKean's lovely drawings, this book also works as a series of independent but connected short stories set two years apart, following Bod from age two to 16. Why It Is for Us: In interviews, Gaiman has said that this book took him years to write, and it was worth the wait. Imagine Kipling's The Jungle Book set among a forest of graves. Copyright 2008 Reed Review from Library Journal web-only (December 9, 2008). 2009 Newbery Medal Winner!!
Visit Neil Gaiman’s website for more about the author and his other works.

Second Quarter Selections

Nation
by Terry Pratchett

A tsunami shipwrecks Ermintrude on a tropical island. There she meets Mau, the only survivor of the island's "nation." The historical era is an alternative nineteenth century. Serious subjects and juicy ethical questions are fully woven into action and character. Add a romance, encounters with ghosts, and lots of gunfire, and it's hard to imagine a reader who won't feel welcomed. (Horn Book starred review, Jan. 2009) Visit the author's website.
Book Trailer created by Mrs. Proctor (includes Works Cited slide.)

Brothers Torres
by Coert Voorees
(9th Grade)

Mexican-American Frankie is a high school sophomore who works in his parents’ restaurant and has a crush on a girl who seems out of his league. His older brother is a popular senior who risks his athletic scholarship when he gets involved with a rough gang. Frankie has to face tough choices between self-respect and revenge. Students will be able to relate to the multicultural characters and the decisions they have to make concerning life. There is a lot of humor in this book, but also quite a bit of violence, some swearing (some of it in Spanish), and mature themes. (ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2009) Visit the author's website.
Book Trailer created by Mrs. Proctor (includes Works Cited slide.)

Third Quarter Selection

Fourth Quarter Selection