Hi all! Hope everyone is safe, well and keeping as happy as they can in these difficult and uncertain times. Like everyone, I’m trying to find ways to fill my days doing things I enjoy whilst being cooped up at home, and so I’ve turned to my love of books to keep me going whilst stagey shenanigans are on standby for the foreseeable.

To help combat our boredom and the loneliness that comes from social isolation and at least in my case just purely read more books in 2020 compared to last year, my good friend and fellow book fiend Kara of Beauteaful Reads have teamed up, and we’re thrilled to announce: Beauteaful Stagey: The Read Alongs. (A portmanteau of both our blog names, I couldn’t resist a bit of fun and wordplay!)

The idea is that we each take a book suggested by either one of us, or mutually, read it in sync,share our thoughts on it and answer some questions, our own little book club. We’ll be splitting each book down into sections as well as we can, so we can share various posts on a single book!

Our first book was a suggestion of mine, and I’m really happy Kara was so immediately enthusiastic! I’d chosen The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

 

Starr Carter inhabits two worlds: her home and community Garden Heights, and being a black girl in a predominately white prep school. When a horrific event causes her two worlds to collide, Starr has to decide whether to use her voice. But what she does and doesn’t say could have devastating consequences…

 

We hope you’ll stick with us as we delve a bit deeper into the books we read – our next post, coming up on April 6th will cover Chapters 1 – 9. For this first block, the talking points we had centre around these questions:

At the beginning of the book Starr flashes back to her parents having two talks with her as a child. One is about the birds and the bees. The second is about what precautions to take when encountering a police officer. Reflect on that. How is that different from your own childhood experiences?

Starr describes the idea that there are two versions of herself. How do her different experiences enhance the story? Can you relate to something similar?

The success and pitfalls of media and social media is an underlying theme of the book. Baring this in mind, how do you think hashtag culture and internet activism has played a role in our understanding of topics such as police brutality and racism? Is this always helpful?

What did you learn from the portrayal of societal pressures such as poverty and communities?

April 8th – Chapters 10 to 18

Starr and Hailey have a very turbulent relationship that changes throughout the novel. What are your thoughts on friendships changing as we grow?

We’ve both decided Starr’s parents are excellent characters. Is this something we usually see in the YA books we read? Why do we love them as much as we do?

Family is very important to Starr. How do you think this is handled in the book? What jumped out at you particularly?

The way Starr handles what is happening throughout the novel is powerful. What struck you the most?

April 10th – Chapters 19 to End

Was it important that the book didn’t have a typical ‘happily ever after?’

Do we think our reactions were affected as we are British readers and there are cultural differences between our own experiences and, for example, the school systems and legal systems we have read about in this book?

This book gives a very strong message to use our voice. Do we use our own voices enough to contribute to society?

After reading The Hate U Give, what part of the book resonated with you most? What insight will you carry with you?

 

 

 

If you’d like to follow us over on our various Social medias to keep up with our reading and other ventures, we’d love to see you! And use the hashtag #BeauteafulStageyReadAlong to join us and share your thoughts.

Kara is on twitter at @beauteafulreads and Instagram at @beauteaful.reads

And as always, you can find me on twitter at @kerrien_270811 (personal) and @wheeliestagey (blog) and Instagram

 

Happy Reading!