Meaghanne Hooberry

The student book club held three meetings this fall. Each month with a different book and theme. Students chose to start with an urban fiction work called Nightcrawling, featured as Oprah’s book club pick and a debut novel from Poet Laureate, Leila Mottley. This drama pulled everyone into the powerful narrative of a young woman of color trying to survive poverty, abuse, and police corruption in East Oakland, all before her eighteenth birthday. To honor one of the character’s Hispanic heritages, and Hispanic Heritage Month, everyone shared taquitos and snacks, while bonding over the emotional journey of the young heroine of the story. The stage was set for members to start building community in this safe space. For October, students chose Beloved by Toni Morrison to dive into a ghostly encounter before Halloween. They had sweet treats to tempt spirits, and we ended up with a two-hour long discussion in person and through video call with members to talk about the significance of the role of black women in society, how literature can impact culture, and whether these books are beneficial to either. This meeting was important as members were able to dive into some tough subjects and share how each of them were impacted by such a powerful narrative of magical realism and racial divides, compared to our characters’ struggle in the previous book.

We finished out the semester with a horror story, Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King, and a pizza party to celebrate the end of the year. With our last meeting of the semester, members had a great time enjoying pizza while we compared the three books for the semester and how we found similarities throughout all three very different books. It was wonderful to see our students enjoying the community space they built together this year. We are excited to gear up for a new selection this spring with new members and friendships that will grow from this foundation.