Please join us in an experiment: the NYCSLA book club! Once a month, we’ll host a discussion for a middle grade or young adult book that’s a.) getting great reviews, b.) surrounded by ferocious buzz, c.) just won an award of some kind, or d.) just sounded really, really, REALLY, good. We’ve got ideas (or passions, really) for the first bunch of books, but soon we’ll open up the field for suggestions from our members.

For September, we’ll be reading Graceling by Kristin Cashore, in honor of its recent Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature and the upcoming release of the prequel Fire. Oh, and Corresponding Secretary Melissa Ahart’s abiding love of it, as she elbowed her way to the front of the recommendation line for the chance to talk about this book. Here’s a description from Cashore’s blog:

Graceling is the story of Katsa, who has been able to kill people with her bare hands since she was eight. Katsa lives in the seven kingdoms, where very occasionally, a person is born with an extreme skill called a Grace. Gracelings are feared and exploited in the seven kingdoms, and none moreso than Katsa, who’s expected to do the dirty work of torture and punishment for her uncle, King Randa. But then she meets a mysterious stranger named Po, who is also a Graced fighter and the first person ever to challenge her in a fight. The two form a bond, and each discovers truths they never imagined about themselves, each other, and a terrible danger that is spreading slowly through the seven kingdoms.

Discussion will open here September 28. Please join us!