First off, it has to be said...the last line in this book shall go down in the "Last Liners Hall of Fame." The reader does indeed audibly gasp at the shocking final turn of events and Anya's reaction to them:
"Father forgive me for this and all these things I've done (p. 354)."
-Anya Balanchine in All These Things I've Done
Chocolate mafia. Fretoxin poison. Win Delacroix. The year 2083.
For our April book club, I chose All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin from the Arkansas Teen Book Award nominee list from 2012-13. The book is the first in the Birthright trilogy, followed by Because It Is My Blood and In the Age of Blood and Chocolate. The debut book in this trilogy I found to be deliciously indulgent, and I think my book clubbers would wholeheartedly agree.
It was only right that for this book, we should have a chocolate party.
Chocolate fountain---Check!
Nutella Cheesecake---Check!
Brownies---Check!
Chocolate Fudge Cake---Check!
Students were able to indulge themselves in every kind of chocolate delicacy (POISON FREE) and work with their groups to imagine what Anya Balanchine's Facebook page would look like. Who would her friends be? Scarlet, Win, Gable, Yuji. What would her religious status be? Catholic...kinda. Or her relationship status? It's complicated. If Scarlet posted on her page, what would it say? You should come over later so we can study our lines : ) What would her status say at the beginning of the book? There's this new kid at school, he's...eh cute. Scarlet has given up on him, so he's mine. The middle? Nana is gone...must be strong for Natty and Leo. The end? Ready to bust out of Liberty and take care of Natty. Each group had a different aspect of her imaginary Facebook page to work on. The students did a great job discussing and working together on this activity.
After we worked on those for a bit, I had someone from each group come forward to participate on a guess the name of the candy bar game. Each person was blindfolded and fed pieces of popular candy bars. Our winners scored 11/12!
So could you live in a world where chocolate was contraband? Maybe you could if you were a Balanchine and your family was intertwined in the bloody and sometimes cruel world of the chocolate mafia.
The waiting list for the sequel is long.
Very long.
As librarian, can I cut to the front of the line? : )
Until next time,
Amy Hutto, LMS
South Side High School
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