Tween Book Club

Over the summer, I'm hosting a Tween Book Club.  It's a BYOB (bring your own book) club, where kids are encouraged to bring the books they're reading for their schools' required summer reading for discussion.  We meet once a month in the evening for book talk, a craft and ice cream sandwiches.

I start the book club by discussing a juvenile novel or YA novel I've read recently that I enjoyed.  I typically read my favorite passage from the book and explain why I liked that passage, as well as why I recommend the book to others.

Because I have no way of knowing who's reading what ahead of time, I've prepared a list of generic discussion topics for the tweens and I to discuss.  I'm happy to share my questions with you, as I had a lot of trouble finding good discussion topics for a BYOB tween book club online.

FICTION

• Did you think it’s believable?
• Where does the book take place?  Would you like to visit?
• Which character would you like to be?  Why?
• Which character would you like to be friends with?
• Which character would you not want to go to school with you?
• Does the main character change in the book?  How?
• What’s your favorite scene so far?
• If you could change one scene in the book, what would you change?
• Did you like the ending?
• What happens to the main character that you wish would happen to you?
• What happens to the main character that you wish would NOT happen to you?
• Which character, if any, would you most like to date? 

NONFICTION

• Did the book make you want to read more about the subject?
• What was the most interesting fact you learned?
• Does the author draw any conclusions?  Do you agree with the author?
• Did the author use a lot of references?

BOTH

• Did you like the book?  What did/didn’t you like?
• Would you recommend the book to everyone here?
• If you could talk to the author, what would you want to ask them?
• Would the book make a good movie?

 These are twenty general discussion questions.  I don't use every one at a single meeting, they're just used to spark discussion if conversation starts dying down.  The favorite book at my last club was Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Since everyone had read it at some point, there was a lot to discuss and it completely took over the half hour-long discussion!  Girls wanted to be Katniss, the lone boy wanted to be Gale... and everyone giggled with approval at the question, "Which character would you like to date?"  If you're curious, boy wanted to date Katniss, all girls are Peeta fans. I got to work a few readalikes into the discussion as well:  Divergent, The Selection, Throne of Glass, etc.

The craft at the June meeting was Zombie Marshmallow Lollipops, to go along with our Groundbreaking Reads Teen Summer Reading theme.  I got this idea from The Decorated Cookie.  Please visit this site, it's very good for edible craft ideas!

One word of caution... try to ask the kids to use a gentle touch with the food markers.  One girl dyed her teeth bright red and green, and quite frankly, looked disgusting.