Teen/parent book club includes author visit

The Central Library of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library is starting a teen/parent book club, “Kindred Connections,” as part of the teen summer reading program. Participating teens and their parents will meet three times during the summer in the auditorium of the library, 1001 Broad St. The first meeting, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. May 30, will focus on the young adult novel The Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins.
Set in 1974, The Secret Keeper is about Ashi, a 16-year-old tomboy. When her father leaves Delhi for America, Ashi feels thwarted in the crowded Calcutta home she now must share with her extended family. In a society where arranged marriages are still common, this book examines the changing roles of young women in India.
On June 20, Mitali Perkins, author of The Secret Keeper, will be visiting three of Chattanooga-Hamilton County branch libraries, beginning with the Eastgate branch at 10 a.m. She will visit the Northgate Library at 2 p.m. and the Central Library at 4 p.m.
The second meeting of Kindred Connections will be at 2:30 p.m. June 27. The featured book will be The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
The Hunger Games paints a grim portrait of the future of the United States. To flex their muscles and punish past rebellions, the Capital holds an annual event, the Hunger Games. Young contestants are chosen through a lottery system, with each district sending both a boy and a girl to compete. When Katniss Everdeen’s younger sister is chosen, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. She is stronger than her sister and is also a talented hunter; thus she has a better chance of winning. And the only way to win in the Hunger Games is to be the last surviving challenger.
The final summer meeting for Kindred Connections is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. July 25, with featured book to be announced.
For more information, call 757-5310 or visit Lib.Chattanooga.gov/TeenStack/.