Saturday Night Out Book Geeks

A quick blog to say how excited I am to be part of the newest book club in Singapore, 

The Saturday Night Out Book Geeks!

Felicia, Adan, Myra, Me, Amelia, Dave (and Ken took the photo)

We are a group of book nerds with a shared passion for children's literature.  We plan to meet once a month, on a Saturday of course, because we are book geeks and there is nothing else we'd rather do.

There are so many fantastic children's/ YA books on our want to read list, I'm not sure how we will ever get through them.  But last night, we made a start.

We met at the Book Cafe and discussed 'The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket,' written by John Boyne and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.

The Terrible Thing That happened to Barnaby Brocket.

'From the moment Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it's clear he is anything but normal. To his parents horror, Barnaby defies the laws of gravity - and FLOATS.'

Most of us loved the book with its whimsical tone, floaty pace, oddball characters and poignant exploration of self acceptance in the face of parental criticism. Others were frustrated with Barnaby's lack of initiative and felt the book's message was somewhat contrived and one dimensional.

Personally, I found the book enchanting and am inspired to read more John Boynes, in particular the very famous, 'The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas'.

I give Barnaby 3 and a half stars.

Next month we will be looking at 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,' by Sherman Alexie, art by Ellen Forney. 

I'm off to find myself a copy. Can't wait to read it :-)