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New to the Shelf : A YA Book Club | 2023-24

Image by Gaelle Marcel

Love books? Love to talk with other book lovers? If that sounds like your student, a book club can take reading to a new level.

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  • Part of the fun of joining a book club is the experience of reading and enjoying books that might otherwise never have been picked up!

  • The "New to the Shelf: A YA Book Club" is focused on recently published novels in the young adult genre. Fresh titles to spark fresh, relevant discussion for teens!

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Marcy Swisher has curated a list of books that represent a wide variety of genres, characters, and authors, and her goal is to provide a welcoming environment where high school students can share their thoughts about these books. What they mean to them. What author techniques worked and what didn’t. 

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Not everyone will agree, and that’s okay. The goal is for everyone to have a good time respectfully discussing each other's opinions as they sharpen their critical thinking and interpersonal communication skills.

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How the Book Club Will Work

Students will read one book a month and meet up live on Zoom to discuss it when they're finished.

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  • The first meeting in late August will be to say hello, get started, and introduce the first book (nothing read yet, the first book will be discussed in September.)

  • Book clubbers will then meet in September, October, November, January, February, March, and April.

  • Marcy will also provide an online venue for students to meet and share their thoughts throughout each month.

    • She will offer up author biographies and interviews as well as articles pertaining to the current books and authors.

    • She will provide a text-based discussion forum with weekly discussion posts on the book club web page, and students can join in as much as they like. 

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Here's what students will be reading and discussing:

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Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute | Talia Hibbert

All My Rage | Sabaa Tahir

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares | Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

The Honeys | Ryan La Sala

The Bone Spindle | Leslie Vedder

The Loophole | Naz Kutub

A Thousand Steps Into Night | Traci Chee

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Book Club Details

  • Everyone will meet briefly in August--just for introductions and to get started--and then meet live to talk about the books once a month for an additional seven months.

  • Cost: $125

  • Facilitator: Marcy Swisher

  • Meeting Time and Dates: 8-9 p.m. Eastern​

    • Tuesday: August 29 | September 26 | October 24 | November 28 | January 9 | February 6 | March 12 | April 16

  • Size: 10 max

  • Grade level: 9th-12th

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Marcy wants this club to be about enjoying and appreciating reading.

No quizzes. No tests. No essays. 

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If your student would like to spend an hour (or more) each month with other bibliophiles, share opinions, and hear what others have to say, then welcome to the Blue Tent Book Club!

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