Sunday 28 February 2021 13:00
Our Teen Book Club returns once again in February, for another online get-together hosted by the author Stella Kasdagli.
The book we’ll be reading this month is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.
For this meeting, 30 members between 12 and 16 years old set a date online for Sunday, February 28, to discover alternative worlds waiting to be created by the readers themselves – that’s us!
Don’t worry if you don’t get through the whole book, or if you didn’t make it to our previous meeting: in any case, Stella will give the signal each month, announcing the book we’ll all be reading over the next few weeks. At the end of the month, the gang that has read the book (or half of it, at least!) will get together to share thoughts, impressions, feelings and concerns inspired by what we read – whether we liked it a lot, or not so much!
A bit more on February’s book
A Monster Calls is a book that’s at once realistic and magical; it seems like a fairy tale, but it isn’t, and it gives us the chance to explore how it feels to lose something or someone, and to grieve. It was won the two biggest awards for teen books in Britain, and make into an excellent movie, starring Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones and Liam Neeson.
The plot? 13-year-old Connor’s mum falls seriously ill, and the boy grows up away from his father, with a grandmother who doesn’t seem to like him much. He struggles at school, he struggles to accept the situation he’s in, he struggles to communicate with grown-ups, but most of all he struggles to talk to his dying mum.
“You’re only young once, they say, but doesn’t it go on for a long time? More years than you can bear”, begins the book. If you’ve ever felt that way or understand how it might feel, read this excellent book (or half of it, at least) and join our club meeting at the end of the month, so we can all talk about it together.
A bit more on Stella
Stella Kasdagli is an author, translator, co-founder of the non-profit organization Women On Top, and educator to teenagers and adults. She completed her degree (only God knows how) in French Philology in Athens, and went on to study Media Theory in London. She worked as an editor on Cosmopolitan magazine for a number of years, while also writing for other Greek and English-language publications and sites. She now designs and implements actions to empower women, writes on topics she’d like to see discussed more widely, translates foreign literature, and runs workshops for teenagers on body image, the internet and social change. She is also (phew!) co-founder of the Mentorkids network and the Bookworm online book club. She has written the books Koilitsa.com [Belly.com], Ithela mono na horeso [I only wanted to fit], 30 gynaikes pou allaksan ton kosmo (kai pos boreis na ton allakseis ki esi) [30 women who changed the world (and how you can change it, too)], and the Princess Athena series. She has two daughters, and they grow up together in Athens.
Via Zoom
Sunday 28/02, 13.00 For boys and girls aged 12-16 years oldParticipation by online pre-registrationA link to join the meeting will be sent to the first 30 members to register.
Pre-registration starts on Monday 01/02 at 12.00
To take part in the Reading Club, those who register must have read the book of the month (or half of it, at least).
“A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness is available in Greek translation by Patakis Books.
