What is Aquinas?
St. Peter Chanel has a new addition to its extracurriculars. During the 2002-2003 school year we began Aquinas, our book club for students and faculty. Aquinas was named after St. Thomas Aquinas, the patron saint of books and students, among other things. We generally meet once a month to discuss various works of literature chosen by the students and faculty without the pressure of being tested on material or having to write an essay on the work. We meet in an informal fashion, sometimes in the Chanel library, sometimes in the café of a bookstore, and discuss the book for the month over refreshments.
Moderators: Mrs. Miroglotta, Mrs. Karakasis
Book Club meets once a month on the following dates:
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2:45 in the school library
Fever 1793 by Halse Anderson
Chosen by Sarah Greathouse
Its late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.
Thursday, Nov. 18, 2:45 in the school library
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Chosen by Regan Everiss
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb....
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends--and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island--boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Thursday, Dec. 9, in the school library
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Chosen by Mrs. Karakasis
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
16 year old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love
Thursday, Jan. 20, in the school library
The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell
Chosen by Mr. Gotch
At dawn on Easter morning 1343, a marauding band of French raiders arrives by boat to ambush the coastal English village of Hookton. To brave young Thomas, the only survivor, the horror of the attack is epitomized in the casual savagery of a particular black-clad knight, whose flag -- three yellow hawks on a blue field -- presides over the bloody affair. As the killers sail away, Thomas vows to avenge the murder of his townspeople and to recapture a holy treasure that the black knight stole from the church.
To do this, Thomas of Hookton must first make his way to France; So in 1343 he joins the army of King Edward III as it is about to invade the continent -- the beginning of the Hundred Years War. A preternaturally gifted bowman, Thomas quickly becomes recognized as one of England's most deadly archers in King Edward's march across France. Yet he never stops scanning the horizon for his true enemy's flag.When Thomas saves a young Frenchwoman from a bloodthirsty crowd, her father -- French nobleman Sir Guillaume d'Evecque -- rewards his bravery by joining him in the hunt for the mysterious dark knight and the stolen holy relic. What begins as a search for vengeance will soon prove the beginning of an even higher purpose: the quest for the Holy Grail itself.
Thursday, Feb. 10, in the school library
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Chosen by Mrs. Miroglotta
An incredible young adult novel about how a young girl s love of books helps a community survive World War II and the Holocaust. It s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. Set during World War II in Germany, this groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can t resist books. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
Thursday, March 10, in the school library
Magyk by Angie Sage
Chosen by Jessie Mimms
The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this myster ious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus? The first book in this enthralling new series by Angie Sage leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and magykal charms, potions, and spells. magyk is an original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart.
Wednesday, April 20, in the school library
Sphinx Princess by Esther Friesner
Chosen by Michelle Pavlik
Nefertiti has had a wonderful life living with her adoring father, stepmother, and half sister. She is the beauty of her small country town situated on the Great Nile river, and has the gift of dance as well as a desire to learn to do something almost no women can do - write and read.
But Nefertiti's life soon takes a sharp curve when her aunt, the great Pharaoh's wife, decides that she is beautiful enough to wed to her son Thutmose, the crown prince of Egypt. Before she knows it, Nefertiti is torn from her home and family and living in the royal palace as a princess. Thutmose is not as nice as he has been made out to be by her aunt however and Nefertiti soon finds herself in the middle of a plot that involves Thutmose gaining power, and could endanger her own life and the lives of the ones she loves.
Thursday, May 12, in the school library
Mort by Terry Prachatt
Chosen by Kateri Piggford
Mort is an awkward young man who bungles everything he attempts. When his father decides to send him off to be an apprentice, he gets only one offer - from the Grim Reaper himself. It seems like a good job to Mort: free room and board and a secure position in a business that will never run out of clientele. He doesn't even need to die to take the job. Soon Mort is doing some of the reaping himself and he even seems to be gaining maturity, self-confidence, and the ability to walk through walls. He falls in love. But can he manage to help Death harvest souls without making a complete mess of things?
This is the fourth in the wildly funny and inventive Discworld series and the first in the Death story line. Although Death made an appearance in the first three books, this time we are provided with a much closer look at Death's domain through details on his daily routine, his likes and dislikes, his household, and his horse. We meet his daughter and his faithful servant. There are hilarious scenes where Death tries out a few mortal pleasures to learn what they are all about. Only Pratchett could depict Death fly-fishing, getting drunk, or participating in a line dance. Above all else, we find out that Death's not such a bad fellow when we get to know him.