{ABC Book Club} Book 11: Kicking the Sky by Anthony De Sa

[Anndrea Chan]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Halloween :)

Just to confirm that we will not be having "themes" any longer and it will be a free for all.

The order is myself, Michelle, Frances, Amanda, then EJ. You can pick whatever book you wish

as long as they do not out outside of our rules. 

Book #11 for the month of November is

Kicking the Sky by Anthony De Sa

On a steamy summer day in 1977, Emanuel Jaques was shining shoes in downtown Toronto. Surrounded by the strip clubs, bars and body rub parlors of Yonge Street, Emanuel was lured away from his friends by a man who promised some easy money. Four days later the boy's body was discovered. He had been brutally raped and murdered, and Toronto the Good would never be the same. The murder of the Shoeshine Boy had particularly tragic resonance for the city's Portuguese community. The loss of one of their own symbolized for many how far they were from realizing their immigrant dreams. 

     Kicking the Sky is told from the perspective of one of these children, Antonio Rebelo. Twelve-year-old Antonio prizes his life of freedom and adventure. He and his best friends, Manny and Ricky, spend their days on their bikes exploring the labyrinth of laneways that link their Portuguese neighborhood to the rest of the city. But as the details of Emanuel's death expose Toronto's seedier underbelly, the boys are pulled into an adult world of danger and cruelty, secrets and lies much closer to home. 

Please see attached for the epub file.

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NEXT MEETING

November 10, 2013

1:30 PM

The Ace

http://theacetoronto.com/

No reservations - first come first serve

First person to arrive to grab a table :)

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

For Darkly Dreaming Dexter (November 10, 2013)

The main character in this novel is Dexter Morgan and he's a serial killer. The difference between Dexter and other serial killers is that he only kills people who "deserve" to die. Is there such thing as a "good" serial killer and under what circumstances can murder be justified?

Dexter's foster father, Harry Morgan, was a cop who recognized early on his son's homicidal tendencies. Rather than committing Dexter to the mental health system, Harry coaches his adopted son to only kill people who "deserve" to die. The rules are 1) Stay sane 2) Stay focused 3) Be sure and 4) Only kill the bad ones. Did you believe that a father would teach such a message? What did you think of the relationship between Dexter and Harry?

Dexter is torn between his fascination with the copy cat killer's method, stopping the killer before more innocent prostitutes become victims, and helping his sister's stalled police career. Did the author successfully balance these conflicting motivations? Was Dexter clearly defined in this novel?

What did you think about the way the female characters are portrayed in the novel; Dexter's step-sister and career stalled vice cop Deb, the hard-nosed homicide investigator Detective La Guerta and Rita, Dexter's de facto sort of girlfriend?

Why does Dexter target the priest? Why does Dexter have the priest take him to the house out in the country? What is the significance of this house? Why does Dexter talk about laying out the priest's victims for him to see? What is the point in this? What about Dexter's behavior suggests the theme of morality?

Have a wonderful day :)

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Anndrea Beatriz Chan
www.originalcolor.net

[Anndrea Chan]

Hello everyone,

Let me know when you will be available for the next meeting.

I understand that December can be a busy month for all

so I am willing to move our meeting to January :)

Thanks,

Anndrea Beatriz Chan
www.originalcolor.net

[Anndrea Chan]

Sorry about that.

Apparently I can't be sending files over a certain size over gmail so....

Here you go! https://www.mediafire.com/?rbxhjd3tvcn6ucz

Anndrea Beatriz Chan
www.originalcolor.net

On Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 4:33 PM, Anndrea Chan <ann...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello everyone,

I propose the next meeting to be January 7 at 6PM. (Since Frances will be out of town)

Let me know if that is a problem.

I will send the discussion questions closer to the date as well as our book for January 2014!

Have yourselves a wonderful holiday! See you at the holiday party or the new year!! 

I have a little treat for everyone! I've attached the epub for the Momofuku Milk Bar. 

Enjoy! 

Anndrea Beatriz Chan
www.originalcolor.net