FIRST SESSION GROUP L-X 20-22

The book club session started discussing the video about how books can open your mind that the students watched at home. Then, in groups they started talking about the books they read (topic, characters, author, likes, dislikes, etc). These are some of the pictures of the students working.

After the discussion, the students wrote a summary of the session and posted it on Schoology. These are their ideas:

BOOKWORM BOOK CLUB

GAZING AT STARS retold by Clare West

This book has several stories which come from Malaysia, Singapore and China. They have been written by different authors, but all of them have the same topic: family relationships around the world. From our point of view, the novel shows us people who have the same family issues in spite of having different nationalities or cultures.

Thanks to the book, you can travel to other countries and learn different customs and traditions.

We would recommend it to English students because it is easy to read and you do not need to look up words in the dictionary.

Finally, the words that define the book are: sad, touching, sentimental, depressing, costumbrist and a bit boring.

THE BOY AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN by Jonh Boyne

This book tells us facts that really happened in the Second World War in Europe through a boy’s life. His life changes along the story. The most surprising thing is how the boy becomes arrogant because of Hitler’s protection.

As we have found it quite easy to read, we would recommend it.

To conclude, the words that describe the book are: betrayal, loyalty, power and arrogance.

FROZEN PIZZA AND OTHER SLICES OF LIFE by Antoinette Moses

The book focuses on eight different stories about particular aspects of life in England such as food, the media, immigration, student's life, football hooliganism, inner-city problems, leisure activities and the countryside.

We would recommend it because it i lively, amusing and it is not hard to read.

Finally, the words that define the book are: readable, realistic and convincing.

BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huwley

The book describes a futurist society in which the population is created and grown up in a laboratory.

This book shows the cons about genetic engineering, therefore we would recommend it owing to the unsual topic.

Finally, the words that define the book are: negative utopia, genetic engineering and society.

Written by: Pepa, Jesús, Baralida, Virtu and Yolanda

A BOOK CALLS BOOK CLUB

In this book club session we have discussed these books:

 Dublin People (short stories) by Maeve Binchy 

It is about two stories with a sympathetic view of life in Ireland. The first story is superficial, but the second one is intense and attractive.

Frozen Pizza and other Slices of Life by Antoinette Moses

In this book there are eight different stories about different people who live in England. Some of them are stories about their ordinary lives and they are very interesting, but others are very predictable

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

It is about a young girl who lives in a conflict neighbourhood and she dreams to be a writer and to overcome the limitations she finds.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

It is a novel that expresses all the emotions of a child who is living the worst moment in his life. The story is told through a metaphor related to a monster.

We would highly recommend A Monster Calls because it is a moving story about family love and it goes directly to your heart. Powerful and impresive.

Written by: Joaquin, Miguel, Fran and Carmen

MONSTER BOOK CLUB

The books we have been talking about were:

1. American Crime Stories by several authors

2. Trumpet Voluntary by Jeremy Harmer

3. Frozen Pizza and other Slices of Life by Antoinette Moses

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

5. Animal Farm by George Orwell

6. Man from the South and other stories by Roald Dahl

7. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 

We do not recommend Brave New Wold and Animal Farm because they are science fiction stories with a high level vocabulary and for this reason they are difficult to understand. Some of us recommend these books in Spanish because in order to read them you need to understand the social and historical context.

We recommend the rest of the books, but A Monster Calls is a drama book and you can read it only if you want to finish crying. On the other hand, if you like crime stories, you can read Trumpet Voluntary or American Crime Stories. However, if you want to read different kinds of stories with different plots, you can read Frozen Pizza and other Slices of Life or Man from the South and other stories. We recommend these books because you can stop reading and you do not forget the plot of the story because the stories are unconnected.  

Written by: Elena, Mari Paz, Sara, Maria José, Juan Carlos and Sussy