Ban Rona Book Club

BRBC week 24: After Durgan training, day one

You remember that last week (chapters 17-20) there was a heated disagreement about what guild Janner and Kal would join. Janner felt all the unfairness of not being allowed to do the thing he most wanted to do, of having to put good desires aside to serve his brother, and resented Kal and Nia both for it. This week (chapters 21-25) we read about that first lesson and how it hurt. And how love helps.

As they rode back to Chimney Hill in the wagon, Janner’s insides felt as dark as the bruises already coloring his arms. For a fleeting moment before the class began, he thought Kalmar had chosen the better guild, but now he felt he had been treated unfairly and he wanted his mother, brother, and sister to know it. He chose to sit on the back bench of the carriage, where he slumped in his seat and pouted, hoping they would notice his silence, and all but dared them to speak to him.Leeli, of course, was the one to do it. She turned around and said, “Is there anything I can do?”It was the only thing she could have said that he couldn’t answer with anger, which frustrated Janner even more. If she had asked what was wrong, he would have hurled a perfectly sassy reply right back at her. If she had told him to cheer up, he would have grouched something about how cheery he’d be if he had played with puppies all day. If she had tried to be silly to cheer him up, he would have barked that he was sorry he wasn’t in the mood for games.But “Is there anything I can do?” poured cool water on his fire. It told him that she cared. It told him that she saw he needed something, even if she didn’t know what. It told him that she hurt with him.He just said, “No. But thanks.”... Podo cheered when the children entered, raised his mug in a toast, and then returned to his conversation.“Get cleaned up, then come down for supper,” Nia said. Leeli hopped up the stairs, and Kalmar chased after her, growling like a puppy. Janner turned to follow but Nia pulled him close and squeezed. Somehow, she knew to squeeze just tight enough that Janner felt her love, but not so tight that she hurt him.“You’re the bravest boy I know,” she whispered.
Discussion: How would you have fared in the Durgan guild?Have you ever felt the way Janner did? What helped?What passage jumped out at you this week?

BRBC week 23: The Houndry

Oy! In this week's reading (chapters 17-20) we visited the Guildling Hall for the first time, which brought back many memories. The Wingfeather kids were nervous on their first day, and so was I. I like dogs and fruit (FRUIT!) as much as any Hollowsfolk, and I was good at tree-climbing and sneakery, but I was hopeless at pummelry. Like Janner, I wanted real book-loving friends to talk to. In a brash and loud world, the Bookbindery felt like it was created exactly for me—just as, I imagine, the Houndry felt for Leeli. :-)

“Leeli, your mother tells me you’re going to like this,” said Olumphia. “Brimstone, as you can see, is already excited about it.”The dog barked and bolted ahead of them to the next stone building. The shingle hanging over the door was carved with the silhouette of a dog; HOUNDRY, it read. Brimstone wagged her tail and pawed at the entrance.Olumphia pushed open the heavy door, and a chorus of barks, whines, and howls poured out. With the noise came the smell of dog and hay, tinged with the odor of animal waste. Kalmar winced and covered his face, but Leeli’s eyes widened. She looked at Nia in disbelief. Guildmadam Groundwich’s dog bolted through the door, and Leeli hurried after.The inside of the chamber was as full of dogs as the Guildling Hall was full of children. But unlike the students, the dogs were glad to see them. They barked happy barks and circled the Wingfeathers, wagging tails and sniffing at boots and whining to be petted. Leeli dropped her crutch and hugged the first dog that approached her. It put a paw as big as a saucer on her shoulder and panted in her face. Another dog nosed his way under her other arm, and she stood supported between them, smiling so wide that her face turned pink. Then the dogs trotted forward and dragged her along. Leeli squealed with delight as they paraded her around the room, pursued by a train of barking dogs, most of which were as tall as Leeli.Janner and Kalmar laughed. It was as if the Maker had prepared a place just for their sister.
Discussion: What guild would you most want to join? Sign up here. :-)What was your favorite passage this week?

BRBC week 22: Turalay

If you've been reading along with the book club, or have read the books before, you'll know that, in Nia's words, Kal has seen terrible things. Last week we saw how fear can lead to harshness. This week we see love in the midst of that.

“Please, Nia! There is no changing this.”“He’s my son,” Nia said. Her eyes burned into Rudric’s until he looked away.“Turalay,” Rudric said at last, and he drew the knife blade across Nia’s palm. She didn’t flinch. The Keeper of the Hollows took Nia’s wrist and held up her bleeding hand for the assembly to see. “Hollowsfolk! Before these witnesses has the ancient law been invoked! Beneath the branches of the ancient tree has the oath been made! Let blood seal the freedom of the captive!”“Let it be,” answered the assembly. Rudric released Nia’s hand and stepped aside. She walked forward and placed her palm against the trunk of the giant tree, and Janner noticed for the first time that there were many other palm prints, faded with age, dappling the smooth bark above the throne.
Discussion: What was your favorite passage this week?Who would you declare turalay for?Do you have a good recipe for pumpkin bread?More conversations happening in the forum! And you are always welcome to start a discussion of your own. :-)

BRBC week 21: Terrified and terrifying

Just a couple of weeks ago we saw Janner truly become a Throne Warden. Now Artham, who has rescued the family time and again, needs help. Janner has learned much about facing his fears and acting to protect those he loves—but the way this plays out is never what I expected. Janner's empathy. Leeli's smile. The leap.

“We have to stop them,” Leeli said. “They’ll kill him.” She pointed across the room at a group of men stringing bows and fishing arrows from a barrel.Before he realized what he was doing, Janner ducked behind Rudric, climbed up the back of his throne, and jumped for the lowest branch of the tree. As soon as he caught the branch, all the hours he’d spent climbing glipwood oaks, swinging from mossy limb to mossy limb, scooting after Kalmar either to catch him or to keep him from hurting himself, suddenly felt like practice for this single moment. He climbed the tree as lithe as a thwap, swinging under limbs, scooting along others, closer every moment to the upper corner of the chamber where Peet trembled and twitched like a trapped bird, his talons flexing, his wings flapping madly.Artham was terrified, and he was terrifying.Janner edged along a branch of the tree as thick as his waist, calling Artham’s name again and again, but if Artham heard he showed no sign. The men with bows had nocked arrows and trained them on Artham, waiting for either a signal from Rudric or a movement from the birdman. Janner was sure Artham could defeat every warrior in the room if he wanted, but these were old allies, kinsmen, people acting not out of evil but out of fear; there must have been enough of Artham’s sanity left to restrain his fury— but why didn’t he flee? The main doors to the hall were flung wide open, and it would be an easy thing for him to fly through and away to safety.Janner had started climbing the tree with an idea in his head, but now that the floor was so far below he wondered what he’d been thinking. “Uncle Artham!” he cried again, but Artham only shook his head and goggled his eyes everywhere except at Janner, whimpering to himself in nonsensical words.If Janner was going to act, he had to do it now. The archers were hungry for a reason to shoot, Rudric was shouting, Oskar was waving his hands, and Nia’s head was buried in Podo’s shoulder. Only Leeli saw Janner in the tree.Their eyes met, she smiled at him, and Janner said, “Uncle Artham, HELP!”Then he jumped.
Discussion: What calms you when you're in a panic or meltdown?Who teaches you to be brave?What feelings do you have as you see my people's reaction to Kalmar? What do you think Kal is feeling? What do you do when it seems you have to make a choice between protecting your own people from outside threats and protecting a child fleeing to you from violence? Let's talk about this in the forum. (Other good conversations from this section can be found here, here, and here.)What was your favorite passage this week?

BRBC week 20: At the helm

Welcome to the Great Library! I'm so pleased to be starting book three of The Wingfeather Saga with you fine folks. For this first week of The Monster in the Hollows we read chapters 1-6. Here's my favorite passage from the reading. I love it because if I put myself in Janner's place, I would be thrilled if this happened to me. Podo's scratchy face makes it even better. It's good to have grownups you can trust and who trust you as you grow up.

Podo strode to the rail and squinted at the horizon, making a sound between a snarl and a laugh. He shook his fist in the air, threw a fiery curse across the waves, whirled around, and stomped back to the helm.“Come here, lads!” he barked.Janner and Kalmar exchanged a glance and dashed to the wheel.Podo grabbed Janner’s hands and placed them on the handles. “Hold here, and here.” Podo knelt, put his scratchy face beside Janner’s, and pointed. “See that little hump in the distance?”Janner did. A thin, dark shape on the eastern horizon. “Yes sir.”“That’s where we’re headed. That’s the Green Hollows. It’s farther away than it looks. Now keep her nose pointed just to the left of that spot and she’ll sail straight for it. Kalmar, yer job is to keep Janner company and to fetch me if the wind changes. Clear?”“Yes sir,” Kalmar said.“But where are you going?” Janner asked, hating how frightened he sounded.“I forgot me pipe. If this is my last voyage, I aim to enjoy it.”Podo marched away, humming a happy tune as he disappeared into the captain’s quarters, leaving Janner feeling very small at the helm of a very big ship. The wheel tugged back and forth with a will of its own. It was harder to hold steady than he expected. He felt the slow rise and fall of the sea beneath him, and the thrilling tension of wind and water, and the way sail and keel and rudder harnessed that power to drive the Enramere through the waves.Janner took a deep breath, squinted one eye, and aimed the ship as Podo had instructed. He was conscious of the crew watching him, but he tried to focus all his attention on the hump of land and did his terrified best not to look anywhere else.After a while, he realized he was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt. For the first time in his life, he was sailing.
Discussion: What was your favorite passage from this week?What song would you want to hear to know that the singer is friendly?What else in these chapters do you want to discuss? Post it in the book 3 forum. I might pull out a few readers' questions when I assemble the book club kit this fall. :-)

BRBC week 19: Becoming a Throne Warden

For the second week in a row I wept through our book club chapters. There were so many passages I wanted to share with you—Hulwen. Leeli. Podo. Artham. Janner and Tink.Janner and Tink.I'm grateful to be reading these stories with you, friends.

“Put down your weapons!” Artham commanded. “He’s no Fang!” He flew across the deck and at the last moment knocked one of the bows upward so that the arrow whizzed harmlessly into the air.But as soon as Artham turned his back, Tink leapt overboard into the icy sea.That was the moment Janner truly became a Throne Warden.Without a thought, Janner tore off his coat and ran. His heart’s deepest instinct drove him forward and over the ship’s rail to save his brother.As soon as he hit the water, the world became a frigid, airless black. Too cold to think, he grabbed a handful of fur and pulled it near. Claws raked his skin. He felt Tink’s teeth again and again, but he held his brother close. When every desperate gasp filled his lungs with water, he hugged the Fang to himself with all his strength. The sea turned red with Janner’s blood.The last thing he knew was Artham’s strong taloned hands. He felt himself lifted on mighty wings from blackness to light, from silence to sound. And though his wounds were deep and bled freely, though Tink still fought to escape his embrace, in Janner’s heart burned great joy.
Discussion: What was your favorite passage this week? Which parts thrilled your heart, made you think, made you cry?What's the difference between justice and revenge?How do the names we believe about ourselves affect our ability to give and receive love? How can we help each other?Andrew's birthday! Our beloved author's birthday is on MONDAY! Each year we throw a little party for him in the forum (a surprise party, although I think he's catching on). You're invited. Come celebrate with us! :-)

BRBC week 18: I'm sorry / We love you / I'm sorry / We love you

Oy. This week's reading—chapters 53-58—are some of the hardest in the series. I may as well admit I wept through most of it. If you need to talk, come find me in the forum.What I loved about this passage was that it was not only hard, it was healing.

Janner felt a sob rising in his throat. He had spent days and days on the run. He had thought about Tink many times, but always, at the front of his mind, was his quest to reach the Ice Prairies. He had dreamed of his mother’s embrace. He had dreamed of rest and food and safety. Lurking underneath it all was the stark, awful image of Tink in the Black Carriage, eyes wide and full of terror. All that time, Janner had been able to push the guilt away because he wasn’t sure he was much better off.But now that he was in a soft bed in a warm room with his family so near, it felt unfair. He didn’t deserve such comfort when his brother was—wherever he was. ...“Aha!” said a raspy voice.Podo burst into the room. ... He rushed forward and tackled Janner onto the bed. He smelled of pipe smoke and ale. He poked Janner’s ribs with his gnarled old fingers and laughed, but Janner only lay on his back, motionless.Podo’s mirth vanished. He plopped down on the bed beside Leeli with a heavy sigh and placed a hand on Janner’s leg. Nia and Oskar appeared in the doorway and took in the situation at once. ...Without a word they crossed the room and sat on the bed so that Janner found himself enclosed by his family. He was in a nest, the walls made of those who loved him. They were silent. Janner stared at the ceiling.“We love you,” Nia said at last, placing a hand on Janner’s face.The sob rose in his throat and spilled out.“I lost him,” he wailed. “I tried to find him, but he was gone. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down his face. He cried so hard he could barely breathe. Over and over again he said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” And over and over again, Nia said, “We love you, we love you.”
Discussion: When have you experienced healing grace from those you love?Have you ever gone hiking in the mountains? What was it like?What was your favorite passage from this week's reading?In the forum we're talking about choices and consequences and our hearts' treachery. You're also welcome to join in on older conversations, such as this one about trust and betrayal, or to start new discussions about anything at all that struck you as you read. I love hearing your thoughts and getting into deep conversations with you.

BRBC week 17: The view from the top of the rise

This week has been hard. Janner and Tink are still separated, despite all efforts. Artham is in a cage. We don't know how Oskar and the rest of the Igibys fare. This is new territory for everyone, Maraly included. Maker help us, indeed.

When Janner topped the rise, he froze.Before him stretched the magnificent crags of the Stony Mountains. The snowy peaks jutted into the sky like shards of glass. Clouds gathered and poured through the passes like a slow-moving waterfall.Janner had never seen anything so big. He felt small and weak and a little dizzy.To the west, the mountains were smaller, and soft hills rolled at their roots. In the east, where Podo’s note had told him to go, the way looked impassable. He saw nothing between him and those peaks but cracks and fissures and jagged cliffs. At the center of the eastern range rose the Witch’s Nose, Mog-Balgrik. It towered above the other peaks, and truly looked like the hooked nose of a witch from a children’s scarytale.“Once you’re past Mog-Balgrik, the land slopes away into the Ice Prairies. After that, your guess is as good as mine,” read Podo’s note.Janner squinted at the pass to the left of the Witch’s Nose. “Maker help us,” he said. “That’s where we’re going.”“What?” said Maraly from behind him. She had removed the head of the snickbuzzard and was busy plucking its feathers beside a crackling fire.“Look,” Janner said. She stood and looked north for the first time. “Oh,” she whispered.A gust of icy wind blasted the hilltop where they stood.
Discussion: What do you do when you feel small and weak?What are the advantages of being small and alone? What are the disadvantages?How do you know who to trust?Does Tink deserve what he's getting? (Discuss this question in our forum.)Maraly and Janner both know things about bomnubbles, but they learned different things from different sources. What do you know a lot about? How did you learn it? Are you more of a book-learner, or do you prefer learning by doing?What passage most stood out to you this week?

The stories are true.