Welcome back to Rate & Review Books with NCBC! 

This month, we hear from a Next Chapter Book Club that has been gathering on Sunday afternoons for nearly 14 years!

Book or series of books: New Love, Spilt Milk, and Potbellied Pigs

Author: Tom Fish and Jillian Ober

New Love, Spilt Milk, and Potbellied Pigs is a book of nine short stories, three plays, and three poems inspired by NCBC members who said they want to read about real life in clear language. Readers explore what it is like to move to another place, how gossip can hurt a friendship, what it means to be in love, and yes, what it might be like to have a potbellied pig. The book includes color photos and discussion questions at the end of each story.

Please tell our readers a little about your book club.

“We like mysteries!” shares one book club member. Recently, this Sunday afternoon club has enjoyed reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries. Over the past 14 years, these friends have read many books together. Other favorites include adapted classics, such as The Secret Garden, and The Adventures of Robin Hood, and books written by Beverly Cleary.

“I like coming to book club to talk about books,” says Sara, who is one of five members in the club. “I’m a bookworm,” she proudly shares.

“We also like to catch up and share what we’ve done over the past week,” says Becky, who joined her friend Tammy in 2010 to start this book club.

From left to right: Matthew, Adam, Tammy, Becky, Sara, Aly, Stephanie. Missing from photo: Madison.

Right now, your club is reading a book of short stories, plays, and poems. What do you like about this book?

“We like the way it is written,” says Tammy. The club likes the larger font, extra white space, and color photos. They also like that the stories are short and you never have to turn the page to finish a sentence.

Aside from a poem written by a chocolate cake, there are no other fantasy element in the book, which is a positive for this club. As Sara says, “We like stories about real life.”

Do you have any favorite stories?

“I liked A Hug in a Mug,” Stephanie shares with a smile. In A Hug in a Mug, two customers of a coffee shop become friends and share the ups and downs of life.  Using the discussion questions at the end of the story, the group was able to have a valuable conversation about such things as the death of a loved one, moving away from home, and the importance of friendship.

Another club member, Aly, spots herself in photos for the story Friends Across the Hall. Authors of New Love, Spilt Milk, and Potbellied Pigs called on longtime NCBC members like Aly to serve as photo models for the book.

Are there any parts of the book that you don’t like? If so, what are they?

Members of this book club have found the plays to be more challenging because some characters have many lines while others only have a few. Although, with sports fan Adam in the group, they may decide to give Boomtown Bulldogs, a play about a Special Olympics basketball team, a shot!

Would you recommend this book to another Next Chapter Book Club?

Matthew says, “Yes,” with a thumbs up, and his fellow book club members agree.

 Please rate this book on a scale from 1 to 5 stars.

This club gives New Love, Spilt Milk, and Potbellied Pigs 5 out of 5 stars!

Welcome to the Next Chapter Book Club’s new Rate & Review series!

Each month, we will bring you one club’s thoughts and opinions about a book they read together. This month, we hear from a Thursday evening book club that meets in the Hilliard area.

Book or series of books: The Underland Chronicles (series of 5 books)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Please tell our readers a little about your book club.

“We eat, we read, we celebrate”, the group agrees. This close-knit group loves to celebrate together, whether for a birthday, holiday, or the finishing of a book. Sometimes, members meet at a theater to watch the movie version of a book they have read or plan to read.

Kevin joined the club in 2009. He shares, “It was a very different group at the time. We were meeting at Tim Horton’s in Dublin. When Nichele came along, it became our permanent group.”

Nichele began co-facilitating the club over 10 years ago. As Kevin said, membership in the group has changed very little since then. These NCBC members and facilitators know about each other’s lives and keep track of each other’s whereabouts. Clearly, they have all become true friends.

From left to right: Kevin, Nichele, Zach, Nadia, Bob, Taylor, and Jason (aka Jay-Dog). Missing from photo: Bec

Nichele also notes, “Our group likes dystopian novels.” Over the years, this club has read many books about dark, imaginary worlds, such as the Divergent series, The Maze Runner series, and The Hunger Games series. The latest series of books the club will soon finish is The Underland Chronicles.

What are The Underland Chronicles about? 

“The Underland Chronicles revolve around a young disadvantaged boy who discovers that he is the center of a series of prophecies in the Underland where the “humans”, or Underlanders, are in constant war with the Gnawers,” Kevin said.

It should be noted that “Gnawers” are giant rats! Located below New York City, the Underland is home to humans who have adapted to live in harmony with some of the oversized creatures, while they battle with others. The main character, Gregor, is a human from “the Overland” who becomes the Underlander’s best hope for peace.

How easy is this series of books to understand?

Taylor states that the books are not easy or hard to understand, but “somewhat in the middle.” Some members nod their heads in agreement. Others say the books are easy, especially compared to other books by this author, such as The Hunger Games.

When Nadia began co-facilitating, the club was already reading the fourth book in the series. She adds, “I had to catch up on the vocabulary!”

What do you like about the series?

Speaking of vocabulary, club members agree that the names and sizes of the animals and insects in the Underland are unusual, to say the least. With 13-foot-tall “Gnawers” (rats), 5-foot-long “Cutters” (ants), and enormous “Fliers” (bats) that carry humans, the Underland is a dark and strange world full of giant, often quirky, creatures.

One of the gnawers, Ripred, is a favorite among club members. Kevin notes that he is “a likable jerk.”

Taylor and Jason “Jay-Dog” like that this story takes place in a separate world, like the arena in The Hunger Games.

Nichele says, “I like that each book keeps us coming back. They end on a cliffhanger, so you need to keep going.”

Are there any parts of the book that you don’t like? If so, what are they?

While some members say they are not bothered by the violence in these books, Taylor and Nadia point out that there are some very gory parts. Kevin notes that he disliked one scene in particular with a volcano and many of the “Nibblers” (mice).

If another Next Chapter Book Club was thinking about reading this book, what would you tell them?

Jay-Dog says that other book clubs should be ready for “action and fighting!”

Bob shares, “I’d definitely recommend it. It’s interesting to see how the technology is different in the different climates [Underland vs. Overland], how the humans, or “Regalians”, in the Underland interact with all the creatures, how alliances change, and how some of the groups of animals have such peculiar personalities.”

Please rate this book on a scale from 1 to 5 stars.

This Next Chapter Book Club gives The Underland Chronicles 4.25 out of 5 stars.