Ages 9-12 / Middle-grade fiction / Downtown Bookworks 

   

 

Win a set of THE NEXT FULL MOON by Carolyn Turgeon (plus awesome tattoos!) for your book club.  Enter to win by emailing the publisher (write "KidsBookclubbing" in the subject line).  

 

Dear Reader,

When I was 12 years old, I was painfully shy, too tall and too pale,
and in a constant state of mortified embarrassment over my changing body. I wasn't exactly growing feathers up and down my arms and back like Ava, the protagonist of The Next Full Moon, but I might as well have been! Ava's horrified by what's happening to her body, but her feathers eventually turn into a magical robe and she discovers that she's not a freak but a beautiful, powerful being. A swan maiden. In a way, it's the experience of girls everywhere, and I wanted to write a book to tell them that. 

 

I hope you enjoy it.

Love,    

 

Carolyn Turgeon  

 

Book reviews:

 

The Next Full Moon was selected as the Pulpwood Queens June Children's "Pinecone" Book Club Selection and one of Neely's 5 "Mother-Daughter" Favorites from Reading Group Choices.

"The Next Full Moon is as magical as a moonbeam on a midsummer's eve.  When you've finished this enchanting story, you'll close your eyes and fly."
-Kathi Appelt, author of The Underneath and Keeper

"Carolyn pitch perfectly describes exactly what a young teenager feels during those important years."
-Simply Stacie

"Beautiful.  Imaginative.  Dreamy.  Lovely."
-Fluidity of Time

"Turgeon impressively uses fantasy to explore issues that all pre-teens go through as their bodies begin changing."
-A Backwards Story  

 

Discussion questions: 

   

1.    Can you identify with Ava throughout the book? Why or why not? Have you ever felt the way Ava does at school? How would you react if you started growing feathers?

 

2.    The story of Ava's parents is based on traditional swan maiden tales. Are you familiar with these stories? What do you think of the way the way the author weaves this traditional tale into a modern story?

 

3.    At one point Ava wonders,"Who knew what else there was, hidden behind things that seemed totally normal?" and looks around at her classmates, imagining that Vivienne Witmer might secretly be a fairy. What do you think of this idea, that there is magic in the world we don't always see?

 

4.    Describe Ava's relationship with her father. Did it surprise you that she doesn't tell her father about her feathers? What do you think about the secrets her father keeps from Ava?

 

5.    What do you think happens next, after the book is over? How do you think Ava's life changes?

To find out more about the author, follow her blog, and to keep up with her on Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads, visit her website.

AUTHOR CALL-IN INFORMATION:  Carolyn Turgeon is happy to call-in to or Skype with your club.  She also travels constantly and would be happy to meet with your group if she's in your area; just email her to see if you're on her way and/or to submit your request.