greataceclub

Hello Book Friends!

Amy here again! I’ve missed you, but appreciate your patience as life comes at me like a roller coaster! I had to make sure I was back for the spookiest of months though and to read an appropriate book together: The Stroke of Thirteen! Let’s dive into a supernatural mystery for the supernatural month! Or this is our master post of discussion questions, you can make any month have October vibes once more.

When Grace Pembleton inherited her grandfather’s business in rural Pennsylvania, she had no idea what else she was in for. She thought life as a bed-and-breakfast owner would be a quiet one, that the only trouble she’d encounter would be making enough coffee for guests.
What she gets instead is a violent gnome, a resident ghost, a secret society, and continuous brushes with the supernatural. Even with new friends at her side, she struggles to fulfill her family’s legacy of protecting the town.
Then a new threat arises, and it wants Grace.

Spooooky, right?

Happy to be back, so let’s get reading!!

The Stroke of Thirteen Book Links – Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Stroke of Thirteen Discussions Questions Week One

We’re starting out learning all about our characters and location! Let’s talk about the beginning of this book:

-What do we learn about the characters and setting in the opening chapters?

-How does a bed and breakfast make for a great mystery setting? What twists could come from such a setting?

-Do you think the statue is going to play an important part in the coming chapters? What predictions do you have?

-How do Grace and her grandfather differ? Do you think one is more right than the other in how they handle things? Why?

-What do you think about the social media aspect of the book? Does it help you to learn about the characters? What can you learn about Grace from her screen name?

-How does the town differ from other towns? What role does the setting play and how is Grace learning to navigate her family’s history and reputation there?

-Grace describes the town’s energy as attracting these creatures. Have you heard of any towns or places like that? How does it work with what we know about cities with cryptids, like Mothman or Bigfoot?

-Have you heard of any of the creatures in this world? What background do you have in supernatural creatures?

-What predictions do you have about the mysteries of the town? Do you think the incident at the library has anything to do with the murder? Are there potentially other mysteries you see that will tie into them?

-What do you think about Grace, Phee, and Rosie’s friendship?

-Any predictions you have? What makes you think that?

The Stroke of Thirteen Discussions Questions Week Two

The mystery is really picking up!
Let’s pick up to see what happens to Grace next!

– What could the changing weather mean?

– What role does friendship play in the text? Family?

– What kind of tropes does the Septu Club utilize?

– Do you notice anything specific about the death omens? What could each one mean? Do you think they correspond to the hour they happen in?

– Mysteries are famous for having red herrings. Do you think anything so far is a red herring in this book? What do you think are important clues versus red herrings?

– In what ways is the town itself involved in the mystery?

– ”People do not like to remember the bad things they have done.” How does this quote give further insight into the plot? – Does Grace’s family want to remember what they have done or forget? How about the town? The Septu Club?

– How does the history of the town play a role in the present? – What role might Grace have? The other families?

– How are the various mysteries of the town coming together? What elements do you think are most important? How do you think they are going to conclude?

– What do you think about Grace’s father’s secret? What does it mean for Grace? For her family legacy?

– We are starting to get close to the climax! What predictions do you have?

The Stroke of Thirteen Discussions Questions Week Three

We’re officially more than halfway through the book and things are getting tense! Let’s keep going!

-Is Grace going off alone brave? Stupid? Chivalrous? Selfish? What are your thoughts? Would you have done the same in her situation or something else?

-How do you feel when you gaze at the stars?

What do you think you would miss the most if it were your last day on earth?

-How are all the clues coming together?

-What does Jacob’s journal reveal? How does it help or hinder Grace? How does it explain the family legacy?

-Do you agree with Grace? What role does family legacy play when facing long ago hurts?

-How is Grace tackling both the threat to her life and the threat to the town? Are the two connected? How are they separate?

We are ending on quite the cliff hanger! What are your predictions for the last quarter of the book? How will all the loose ends come together?

Do you think Grace is going to be able to stay true to her beliefs and change the culture of the town and her family? Make amends? Fix the town’s energy? We are definitely going to find out!

The Stroke of Thirteen Discussions Questions Week Four

OK! I don’t know about all of you, but the air is finally crisp here, it’s officially spooky week, and I am ready to face some supernatural creatures! Let’s see what was really going on with Grace!

-Are the supernatural beings justified in their feelings about Grace and their want of revenge? How do Nuray and Jamison differ in their revenge plots?

-How did the author drop hints about the statue? Did you expect this twist?

-How was Grace able to solve at least one of the mysteries in the town?

-How does Franklin help to explain some of the other mysteries of the town?

-Has Grace grown by the end of the book? How is she planning to change the town?

-What other secrets do you think the town might hold? Its residents?

-What would you say are some themes found in the book? How does it explore and expand on them?

-The end of the book is the original appearance of Grace and some background on her appearance in Witch Wood. How does having that background affect how you feel about the rest of the book?

Make sure to leave a rating and review of the book if you enjoyed it! Or start reading The Stroke of Thirteen today!

May’s GreatAce.Club’s pick was Lumberjanes from an awesome writer/artist, Noelle Stevenson! If you’ve watched the new She-Ra, it’s the same person! We’ll be reading the first trade edition, which included the first four issues. Rather than try to divide up a comic book, we are instead going to break it down and take a look at different elements. We’ll be looking at:

Week One: Characters
Week Two: Setting
Week Three: Plot
Week Four: Tone, Theme, and other literary things!

I hope you’re as excited as I am for something new and different! Let us know what you think of doing comics; we would definitely love to do more and maybe even do another Lumberjanes trade edition!

I am absolutely a character driven reader; some of my favorite books may have a weak plot, but the characters are *chef’s kiss.* How do you feel about characters? Who is (or are) your favorites in these beginning chapters? Let’s talk about them!

-How are we introduced to the main characters? What do we immediately learn about them?

-How do the characters’ physical appearances match with their personalities? If you don’t think they match, how do they play against them?

-What are your initial thoughts about the Roanoke Cabin? Jen? Rosie? Barney and the other boys?

-What are some unexpected things we learn about each of the characters? Did anything really surprise you?

-The Lumberjane characters definitely do not suffer from sameface or tokenism. How are each of the girls different and how do they use their differences to be stronger together? How do they surprise each other and the audience?

-What are each girl’s strengths? Weaknesses? How do they lift each other up to overcome and grow together?

-Which characters seem to have the strongest relationships? Do you get a romantic sense from any of them? Share your shippy thoughts!

-”xxx to the max!” is a common quote the characters say. How do they each embody that quote? Do you think their friendship is “to the max”?

-What relationships do you want to see grow? Who do you want to learn more about?

The setting of a book can make or break it sometimes; is it a real place? If so, does the book meet the feeling of that place? Is it a made up place? Choosing where a book or comic is set can absolutely effect how the plot progresses and what types of conflicts the characters will face. Even in a fun comic series, the authors made choices about the setting and that’s what we’re going to discuss this week!

-Lumberjanes is set in a summer camp. What implications does this have for the plot? What kinds of imagery do we usually associate with summer camp and childhood?

-How does adding an element of scouting change the summer camp setting?

-The comic opens with a description of the Up All Night Badge; how does starting in the middle of the night set the scene? Set a tone?

-The camp sign has “hardcore lady types” nailed over the original name; is this significant? What does it mean for the camp? How does that change the expectations?

-Does the main cabin being called the Roanoke Cabin foreshadow anything?

-In what ways are the woods like normal woods? How are they different?

-How does the underground cave give each girl a chance to shine? What purpose could the challenges the setting presents have?

-What differences are there between the boys’ camp and the girls’ camp? Why are they potentially significant?

-How do the Lumberjanes react to each new place? Do you think their reactions are propper? Why or why not?

-What traditional camp settings would you like to see more of? Is there a place the girls have been that you want to learn more about?

-Did you notice anything interesting or fun in the background?

The plot of a book is, well, the book! It’s what happens! But there are always nuances; rises and falls before the climax, the falling action. Comics face the added struggle of needing to build on each issue to a larger climax, while often having smaller ones in individual issues. I chose to discuss the plot this far into May because I’m hoping everyone has had a chance to finish the first edition, so there shouldn’t be any spoilers!

-The comic starts out with an action scene. How does this set the tone for the rest of the plot? Do you think that it sets it up right and gets the reader ready for lots of action?

-How does Rosie introduce more of the mystery? What does she set up for the rest of the book?

-How are the badges a good way to frame each chapter? In what ways are the badges significant to the plot?

-How does each chapter build to the next?

-Most chapters are self-contained stories that are part of the greater plot. What other adventures do you think that the Lumberjanes will go on? What is the main plot? What do you think the Lumberjanes will find as they explore more?

-Book one ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. How does the ending introduce new and interesting conflicts to the series?

-What do you think the central conflict is or will be? Do you think that it will end up being more of a person v. person, person v. nature, person v. supernatural, or do you think the central conflict will have more to do with the campers
growing as people?

-What do you hope to see in future issues?

-What, in your opinion, is the best part of the book?

There are a lot of little things in this series that I feel like we need to discuss! Noelle is known for their characters basically all being some form of queer; if you’ve seen She-Ra, then… yeah. She plants deliberate clues and being queer is often part of the theme he puts into their work. Themes of friendship, love, growth, and bonding are all important, as is the tone she chooses for the comic to have. Let’s talk about everything else about this comic!

-If you haven’t already, make sure you have read the Message from the Lumberjanes High Council. How does this message go along with organizations like the Girl Scouts? How are the Lumberjanes like a scouting group?

-Why is it important to have a group like this for young girls? How does our real life past of limiting women to being housewives and indoors impact the comic?

-What is substantial about the “then there’s a line about God” in the pledge?

-The Lumberjanes are not exactly a summer camp and are more than just a scouting program. What could be the significance of this? How does roping the supernatural in with scouting/camp add to everything?

-In what ways do the beginning chapters reference fairy tales? And how do they turn those tropes on their heads?

– How do the Field Manual pages help set the scene for each chapter? Do you read the page to get a sense of what the girls are doing or just jump right into the action? In what ways do they allow us to learn more about the Lumberjanes as a whole?

-How does the book turn common tropes on their heads? References?

-What significance do the three eyed animals have? How many did you notice?

-How are the boy scout characters a good foil to the Lumberjanes?

-Many instances in the comics do not go as expected, such as April being a great arm wrestler or the yetis being bribed with cookies. What does that do for the comic? How does it go along with our expectations in real life?

-What themes are you really enjoying about the comic? What do the writers and artists build into each issue and keep going?

-How would you describe the tone of the comic? Did you laugh a lot? Did it seem serious or mysterious?

-What kind of symbols are we seeing so far? What is significant about Molly getting the bow and arrow? How are bows and arrows a part of mythology and legend, or a part of the strangeness presented in the woods?

-What tropes are you enjoying? What tropes are you enjoying seeing turned on their heads?

Be sure to pick up Volume 1, new, used, kindle unlimited, or even check if your local library or comic shop has it!

We will see in you in the #GreatAceClub tag on tumblr, twitter, facebook, instagram, or goodreads. Basically wherever you wantta be your bookish self!