Ban Rona Book Club

BRBC week 32: Blindploppings for everyone!

Sometimes when everything is terrible, a little humor goes a long way in helping us get through. :-)

“Rudric jammed the lock into place and pressed against the door, panting, while the Fangs pounded and scratched. “Help me!” he ordered, and several other men, women, and even a few children pressed against the door.“Kal! Where’s Leeli!” Nia spun him around and looked at him frantically.“She’s all right. She’s fine.” Kal took Nia by the arm and pulled her down the corridor to where Leeli waited among the others.Nia squeezed them both tight. “Janner’s out there,” she said. Kal had never seen her so upset. She was usually calm in the face of great danger, but she wasn’t merely afraid, she was angry—at herself. “I can’t believe I let them blindplop him. I should never have let him out of my sight. This is my fault.”“Mama,” Leeli said, “this is Gnag’s fault. Not yours. Like Kal said, Janner might be safer than we are.” Nia put her face in her hands and shook her head. “We’re the ones who are stuck in a dungeon, surrounded by monsters.”“Maybe you should have blindplopped us too,” Kal said.“Next time, please just blindplop us all,” Leeli said with a smile, and Nia laughed a little through her tears.”
Discussion: What helps you when everything is terrible?Why do you think Andrew picked Carnack Ban Soran to be the one who first saw Kal on the hilltop?New forum conversations: Fangness and hard choices. Come talk to us—I want to hear your thoughts.

BRBC week 31: Carnack and the Jewels

Happy Friday, Featherheads! Here is our first excerpt from The Warden and the Wolf King. What would you do if you were in this situation?

“Come, Carnack.” Rudric held out a hand. “For the sake of our strength.”“No.” Carnack folded his arms and looked away. “I pledge nothing to no Fang.”Leeli put her whistleharp away and leaned over to the boys. “Kal, this would be a good time to do something.”“But what?”“You could fight him,” Janner suggested. “That seems to be how Hollowsfolk work stuff out. See?” He pointed at Rudric, who was barely restraining Horgan Flannery from leaping off the stage and pummeling Carnack.“Look at that guy!” Kalmar whispered. “He’d destroy me.”“No he wouldn’t,” Leeli said. “You’re stronger and faster than any of these people.”Kalmar sighed and shook his head. “I hate this stuff.”In one swift motion he leapt from the platform and landed just a few feet in front of Carnack. There was a gasp from Rudric, Horgan, and the rest of the chieftains. Carnack sprang into a fighting stance and backed away, sword in hand. For the first time that day, the perfect snow of the Field of Finley was marked with footprints.But Kalmar drew no sword, for he had none to draw. Nor did he circle the warrior as if he wanted to attack. He merely stood before him in the snow, his black cloak hanging about him like a shadow.“What’s your game, wolf?” Carnack spat.“I don’t have a game.” Kalmar spread his hands to show that he held no weapon. “I just want Gnag the Nameless to lose. Don’t you?”“I do,” said Carnack after a pause. His sword dropped a few inches.“Janner, the flag,” Leeli whispered, pointing at the Annieran flag behind them.He understood in an instant what she meant. Janner removed the Annieran flag, then helped Leeli to her feet. The Throne Warden and the Song Maiden stepped down from the platform and joined Kalmar on the snow. Carnack looked at the three children uncertainly. Conscious of the eyes of every warrior present, Janner planted the Annieran flag in the snow and knelt, pulling Kalmar down with him.“If you won’t fight for the Shining Isle,” Janner called out so all could hear, “then let it be known that the Shining Isle fights for you.” He stared at the snow and waited for some response. All he heard was the flutter of the flag in the cold wind.“What say you, Carnack?” asked Horgan finally.
Discussion: How would you feel if you were Carnack? If you were in Kal's place, what would you do?How would you like to be blindplopped? Tell us in the forum what you'd bring and how you'd find your way home.What was your favorite passage this week?

BRBC week 30: The strand of song

Miss Linda and Miss Mary are visiting this week. We are dividing our time equally between beanbrew, art projects, and naps. :-) This week's excerpt, from the last section of The Monster in the Hollows, is one of Miss Linda's favorites.

When Leeli sang over the cloven, her song rose from the depths of her heart and sent a burst of shimmering cords into the matter of the world. They sizzled from her in a million strands, like a spiderweb of lightning bolts. They shot through [the Wingfeathers], waking something bright in their bones, and each of them felt it differently. The music’s power was invisible to everyone around them, even to Nia; for her and the others it was just a pretty song amidst the clamor of warfare. But for the Jewels of Anniera, who bore the blood of their ancestors, the music reached into secret places and did wondrous things. Janner heard voices, Kalmar saw pictures, and Leeli’s tender heart coursed with the rivers of emotion swirling in those near her, opening her to the deep, unutterable mysteries of their souls.
Discussion: What was your favorite passage this week?How does music connect you with those you love?Forum fun: Which is more ferocious: A honeymuffin, or a banana? Discuss in Friday Night Fights!Art: What have you been playing with lately? We'd love to see your Wingfeather art (just send it to Andrew from the Art By You page). If you have fun project ideas, tell us about them in the forum. :-)We love you Featherheads!

BRBC week 29: Goodness in the dark

This week we read chapters 47-53 of The Monster in the Hollows, and so many good things happened—and other things that weren't quite good, but good to read. There are some passages that make me cry every time. Here is one of them, from the last time we convened the BRBC. Here is another one. (And I bet you can all guess the one too spoilery to post here.)

Into the silence of the great hall, Leeli played. Her eyes were closed and she stood beside her mother, swaying with the melody. Janner knew the moment she spoke that if she played, the strange magic would awaken. And he was glad, though he couldn’t imagine what good it would do them, with Bunge’s hand on the lever that would send Nia and Kal plunging to their deaths. Except for the time it had assuaged the sea dragon’s anger, the magic had never really done them any good; the words and visions that filled Janner’s mind mainly left him confused.Still, he welcomed it. His heart was black with despair, so the Maker’s magic was most welcome. It helped him believe there was power pulsing behind the veil of the visible world, pulsing like blood through the world’s veins, sending life and light coursing through everything, surprising and confounding at every turn. When he remembered this, the darkness glimmered with goodness.
Discussion: What helps you when you feel beset by darkness?What would you hope for after the Fork Factory? (discuss in the forum)What passage stood out to you most this week—from these chapters, or wherever you are?Bonus: There are a lot of recordings of "My Love Has Gone Across the Sea"—live, studio, theatrical, covers—but here is its very first performance, including some commentary from Andrew on writing that scene.

BRBC week 28: Kingly grace

This week instead of reading the chapters myself, I let Andrew read to me. Have you listened to the audiobooks? He does the best accents. This particular passage pulled me in as he read it. It's beautiful and sad.

There was nothing to do but carry his grieving heart through the snow to whatever Kalmar had to show him. Every step was a silent farewell to Chimney Hill, and every minute brought him closer to the end of the peace he had found there.Kalmar said nothing. His head hung low, and the dead hen left vivid specks of blood in the snow. He led Janner back the way they had come, and when they crested the last hill on the outskirts of the city, Janner could see the steep, snow-white roof of Chimney Hill in the distance. Kalmar paused and looked out at the moonlit valley.“It’s so pretty,” Kalmar said. Frost clung to the tips of his ears and dusted the fur that framed his face; steam clouded out of his snout in little bursts; his black Durgan cape caught the moonlight; his brow shadowed his eyes with mystery; his back was bowed as if he carried a great weight, and Janner sensed his fight to bear it and his sorrow that it had to be borne. Even with the dead hen drooping from his claw, he shone with a kingly grace. He smiled, and Janner had the sudden urge to bow.
Discussion: What passage stood out to you this week?If this week's reading hurt (it was hard for me) and you need to talk, come to the forum. <3Activity: What do you think is going through the Bunges' heads? What about the chiefs? What would you be thinking if you were in the crowd? Try rewriting a chapter from one of these perspectives. (If you want, post it in the forum when you've finished!)

BRBC week 27: Awake-ness

Do your books ever talk to each other? Mine have been a lot lately. Right now I'm reading The Monster in the Hollows (obviously) and A Wrinkle in Time. (Have you read it?) In both books this week there were characters who had been, in different ways, made blank, unable to think or imagine outside the system which held them enslaved. In both books the main characters needed to reach through this deadening to find the real person on the other side.Anyway, I love Sara Cobbler.

She turned from her bed and bumped into one of the Maintenance Managers.“Excuse me,” Sara said, pretending to have just woken up.“I’ve been watching you, tool,” said the boy. He was a head taller than Sara, skinny but strong, with a missing front tooth. He held a chain in one fist and swayed it back and forth. Sara quickly looked at the floor. She had to remind herself to act like a factory tool, not a girl. “I’ve been watching you for a long time.”“Excuse me,” she repeated and tried to walk around him. He stepped sideways and blocked her path.“Look at me,” he said.Sara couldn’t slip by him, and she couldn’t look at him. She was afraid if he saw her eyes he would know in an instant that she was up to something. He would report her to Mobrik and that would be the end of it. If she was thrown into the coffin or punished, the children wouldn’t know what to do. Borley was bold enough and foolish enough to try to do it without her, and she couldn’t let that happen.“I said look at me.” The Maintenance Manager grabbed her face and forced it upward.Sara could pretend no more. She looked into his eyes, but not as a factory tool. She decided not to hide her awake-ness but to pour it into him. If he saw the light in her, maybe it would wake some compassion in him and he would let her go. It was a terrible risk, but she didn’t know what else to do. She willed him to see her as a girl, as someone he might have known before the Fork Factory, someone he could have been friends with. If she carried any of Janner’s fire, she prayed it would cross the few inches between them and make its way through his eyes and into his soul.
Discussion: Which passage stood out to you most this week?Is there anything you want to talk about? Come to the forum. See if there's a conversation you'd like to join, or start a new thread of your own. :-)Activity: Gather a few friends, an apple, and a staff-whacker (or maybe a pool noodle or cardboard tube). Take turns being the Guildmaster (or Guildmadam) and see who can sneak the apple away without being caught!

BRBC week 26: The Throne Warden and the Bully

What did you love best in this week's reading? The caving? The snickbuzzard (woe!)? The new puppy? I loved all of those things. And I also loved seeing Janner struggle with, and abandon, his own desires in order to serve his brother. Is this what you would've done? I don't know that I would. Was it the best way to handle the situation? Sometimes it can be hard to know. (Come talk about that in the forum if you like.)

Janner’s heart shrank. He had hoped there would be at least a little time before he had to act, but Bunge was waiting. ...He prayed for strength even in his rage, for he swung not in his own defense but his brother’s, his sister’s, and his mother’s. He fought not over a petty insult but for their honor and even their freedom. Grigory Bunge, whether he knew it or not, was doing more than bullying— he was waging war with the Jewels of Anniera, children of the king.Janner knew nothing but a white hot anger for a while, then he felt Kalmar’s claws dragging him off the bewildered bully. A crowd had gathered and stood in the rain watching Janner writhe in his brother’s grip.“Leave my brother alone!” Janner shouted. “I don’t want to fight you, but I will if I have to, Grigory Bunge! And that goes for the rest of you!” Janner hurled his defiance at every guildling in the courtyard. He shook loose of Kalmar’s grip and strode forward, beating his chest with a fist and shouting, “I’m the Throne Warden of Anniera, and Kalmar is my charge. Do you hear me? I’ve battled Fangs and trolls! I’ve walked the Stony Mountains and sailed the Dark Sea! I’ve stood in Yurgen’s shadow and looked the dragon in the eye!” Lightning scraped the clouds as Janner stood in the rain and screamed. He flung a finger in Grigory’s terrified face. “The Maker has brought us safe this far, Grigory Bunge, and I will fear no guildling of the Green Hollows. If you insult the High King or the Song Maiden, you will reckon with the Throne Warden. Do you understand?”Grigory glanced at the other children.Janner leapt forward and put his face in Grigory’s. He knew that the boy could beat him into the mud if he had a chance to gather his wits, so Janner’s only weapon was his madness.“Do you understand?” Janner said through clenched teeth.
Post your favorite passage below! Then come talk to us in the forum. This week we're discussing movies we enjoy, Andrew's sly sneakery, dealing with bullies, and more.

BRBC week 25: Get the Boot

Even though I've overseen the Great Library and know its every corner by heart, I still shiver with delight every time I read Andrew's description of the place through Janner's eyes. There is really no better place on Aerwiar. And I don't know about you, but I cried over the last pages of chapter 29. What Kal and Janner are going through will get harder even than this, but it is already so hard.This excerpt, though, is from the part of the reading that made me laugh out loud. It's one of the many passages that's even better when you listen to it, if your reader has a good Hollish accent or you're listening to Andrew's audiobook.

As soon as Janner stepped onto the field, he was knocked to the ground.To be fair, the person who smashed into him didn’t mean to. She was hugging a boot to her chest and running from a riot of other guildlings. She yelled, “Sorry!” over her shoulder and left Janner to scramble out of the way of the stampede.As Kalmar pulled Janner to his feet and brushed him off, a stocky man and a stocky woman approached, leading two stocky dogs.“You’ll want to keep a watch out for whoever’s got the boot,” said the stocky man, introducing himself and his wife as the Guildmaster Pwaffe and Guildmadam Pwaffe. They seemed as wide as they were tall, but without an ounce of fat. Their arms were short and thick, their necks were as wide as their heads, and their fingers looked like sausages.“Oy,” the woman said. “That’s basically all there is to Get the Boot. That’s what we call the game. Get the Boot. Someone has the boot and everyone’s supposed to get the boot. And when you’ve got the boot, everyone else is trying to get the boot. So you have to keep the boot. That guy over there is timing how long each guildling has the boot. Any questions?”Janner had lots of questions, but before he could ask a single one, Guildmaster Pwaffe said, “Oy, guildlings. Off you go. Get the boot.”Janner, Kal, and Leeli looked at one another.“Now?” Kalmar asked.“That’s what I said.” The man pointed across the field at the herd of children still chasing the girl, who appeared to be having the time of her life.“But what do we do when we get the boot?” Kalmar asked.“Keep the boot. It isn’t hard.” Guildmadam Pwaffe shook her head sadly. “Not too smart, these, eh, Wimble?”“The whole game is right there in the title,” the man said. “‘ Get the Boot.’ That’s it. So get the boot.”
Discussion: Which passages this week made you laugh, or cry, or shiver with delight?Have you ever read a book of your family's history, or heard stories from an elderly relative? What was it like to imagine your parents (or even grandparents) as children?Are there books that tell you who you are? (Discuss here)What do you say when someone you care about is struggling with feelings of guilt?Which section of the library would you most like to visit? (Discuss here)Activity: Play Get the Boot! :-)

The stories are true.