[Inner Senshi Book Club] Round 4: Flowers From the Storm

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(Again, sorry about the late post—I need to stop making mid-month travel plans!)

The “Inner Senshi Book Club” is an online book club where five book lovers of different backgrounds and tastes across the world take turns at selecting and hosting a book each month. Individually, we are (in alphabetical order): Aimee, Angel, Meghan, Samantha L, and Samantha R. Together, we present you a whole range of books, complete with our responses to a rotating list of set questions. For more information about us, check out this introductory post.

A new book is selected on the 15th of each month, and our thoughts are posted roughly four to five weeks later. We hope you can join us in our reading shenanigans! (The book club derives its name from the five soldiers of love and justice from the Japanese manga and anime series, Sailormoon. We are just as kickass, and if all goes to plan, twice as well-read.)

This month, our book choice is: Laura Kinsale – Flowers From the Storm (as chosen by Angel)

I want you to consider:
Which person–real or fictional–do you think will consider this book one of their favourites? Why do you think this is?

Samantha R is interested in knowing:
Did you have a favourite character in the book? If so, what was it about this character that drew you to them? Or in reverse, were there any characters that you particularly disliked, and why?

Meghan is wondering:
If you could rewrite any part of the book, what would you change?

Angel would like you to think about:
Was it easy or difficult to identify with the narrator and why?

Aimee’s question for you is:
How believable were the character relationships in the book?

This month’s host, Angel, has two bonus questions from which to choose:
- Flowers from the Storm isn’t the quintessential romance novel, what with its focus on disabilities, religion and tolerance. What do you think the romance genre added to the discussion of these issues as Kinsale wrote them?
- One major theme in this story is the loss of control and agency, e.g. Jervaulx’s stroke rendering him unable to think and speak properly and Maddy’s role as a woman in the Quaker church preventing her from making certain important decisions. How well does the novel deal with the hurdles both characters face and (if you think the problems have been solved) does it make for a satisfying conclusion?

Our book club will begin reading Flowers From the Storm until 15 September. Stay tuned to our reviews and discussions for last month’s book, Cat’s Eye.

Aimee @ Penmanship Smitten | Angel @ Mermaid Vision Books | Meghan @ Coffee and Wizards | Samantha R @ As Read By An Aspiring Receptionist

[Inner Senshi Book Club] Round 2 Review: Melinda Marchetta – Looking for Alibrandi

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True to my Inner Senshi persona of Sailormoon (known to be notoriously late and unreliable), I am more than fortnight late in posting my response to last month’s Inner Senshi Book Club title, Marchetta’s Looking for Alibrandi. (This tardiness is primarily due to my frantic churning of a Masters dissertation as well as moving from England to Ireland, but I still like the Usagi/Sailormoon reason better.)

Marchetta’s Looking for Alibrandi is a coming-of-age story set in Sydney, centred on Josephine Alibrandi, an Italian Australian in her final year of high school. I’m going to jump straight into the discussion questions, so here we go!

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[Inner Senshi Book Club] Round 3: Cat’s Eye

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Once again, I’m late in posting this due to having no computer access mid-month (this time, Spain is the culprit). I must apologise in advance for being late mid-August as well, as I’ll be on a plane to Australia…!

The “Inner Senshi Book Club” is an online book club where five book lovers of different backgrounds and tastes across the world take turns at selecting and hosting a book each month. Individually, we are (in alphabetical order): Aimee, Angel, Meghan, Samantha L, and Samantha R. Together, we present you a whole range of books, complete with our responses to a rotating list of set questions. For more information about us, check out this introductory post.

A new book is selected on the 15th of each month, and our thoughts are posted roughly four to five weeks later. We hope you can join us in our reading shenanigans! (The book club derives its name from the five soldiers of love and justice from the Japanese manga and anime series, Sailormoon. We are just as kickass, and if all goes to plan, twice as well-read.)

This month, our book choice is: Margaret Atwood – Cat’s Eye (as chosen by Meghan)

Samantha L wants you to consider:
How do the structural features (such as narrative mode and genre) shape the meaning of the text? If ineffective, how do you think this could be improved?

Samantha R is interested in knowing:
Did the book meet your expectations, or were you disappointed? Why or why not?

Meghan is wondering:
Do you feel the cover reflected the story well? Why or why not?

Angel would like you to think about:
How well does the writing style serve the story? How does it fail to uphold the narrative?

Aimee’s question for you is:
How well does the setting contribute to the story? (Would a different setting have affected the book significantly?)

This month’s host, Meghan, has a bonus question:
Discuss some of the ways the protagonist’s identity are revealed to the reader. What role does identity and gender play in this novel?

Our book club will begin reading Cat’s Eye until 15 August. Stay tuned to our reviews and discussions for last month’s book, Looking for Alibrandi. In the meantime, check out our thoughts on Mary Shelley’s Mathilda!

Aimee @ Penmanship Smitten | Angel @ Mermaid Vision Books | Meghan @ Coffee and Wizards | Samantha R @ As Read By An Aspiring Receptionist