Dear Firebird Alumni,
So excited to get the ball rolling with our Alumni Book Club! As the final days of school wind down, what a perfect time to think about SUMMER READING–wait, not that kind of summer reading where you have to plow through (or Sparknote) a literary tome in order to be tested in the opening week of September. Nooooo! Rather, this is just a suggested title that you may (or may not) pick up, throw into your beach bag, and then dive in!
Since this is our inaugural session, I am offering up the opportunity to share a novel I just finished last week. In the future, the door is open for others to provide titles of books that they would like to recommend. This is going to be such great fun!!!
So here goes . . .
This is an amazing tale that flips back-and-forth between two narrators and two time periods: Rill Foss, a twelve-year-old girl who finds herself thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage in Memphis in 1939, and Avery Stafford, a federal prosecutor who has returned home to South Carolina of the present day to assist her father who is in poor health. Somehow, in some way, these two disparate voices will connect, and magic will ensue–thanks in large part to the enchanting writing ability of Lisa Wingate. Check out this treasure of words:
You see, there is one thing I learned from following in Papa
Sevier’s footsteps, as I grew up. Life is not unlike cinema. Each scene has its own music, and the music is created for the scene, woven to it in ways we do not understand. No matter how much we may love the melody of a bygone day or imagine the song of a future one, we must dance within the music of today, or we will always be out of step, stumbling around in something that doesn’t suit the moment.
Ah, passages like that abound in this powerful story. What makes this book even more compelling is the fact that the horrors of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society were TRUE!!! There really was a Georgia Tann who directed this notorious organization by kidnapping and selling poor children to wealthy families from all over the US. Wingate creates an unforgettable experience through her blend of fact and fiction, one that promises to keep you engaged throughout and disappointed when the final page must be turned because it’s over.
We will convene on Tuesday, August 14th at 7PM in Kelleberg Memorial’s library to discuss the book. For all those who are not living locally and can’t join us in person, we will be livestreaming the discussion. If you’d like to take part, please RSVP below. Once you have RSVPed, you will receive an email on Monday, August 13th containing instructions to access the livestream.
For more information or any questions, please reach out at alumni@kellenberg.org.
Happy reading,
Mrs. Cathy (Hughes) von Shoenermarck