Courtin' Jayd (Drama High series Book 6)
Page 20
“It is my business, Mickey.”
I look from Nellie to Mickey and back again, knowing they want to rip into each other right now. Before I can stop her, Nellie lets the kitten out of the bag, forever changing the scope of our friendships. Damn I hate this mess.
“Mickey’s not sure who the baby-daddy is and chose you because you’re going to be ballin’ one day.” So much for Nellie holding her tongue and allowing us a chill ending to our victorious weekend. Nigel doesn’t seem surprised by Nellie’s revelation, much to the apparent disappointment on Nellie’s face. And Chance is completely unaffected by his girl’s heart being broken over another dude.
“One day? Baby, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m ballin’ now,” Nigel says, shooting a basket against the mirrored wall. Rah catches my eye through the reflection and gives me a look as if to say it’s time to roll and I couldn’t agree with him more. We’ve both had enough drama for one day.
“Did you hear what I just said?” Nellie says, stepping up to Nigel as Mickey rises from the futon and steps up to her. “You may not be the father of Mickey’s baby.” As the words sink in, Mickey looks from Nigel to Nellie, waiting for the next move. Chance, Rah, and I wait in silence.
“What happens between me and Mickey is between me and Mickey,” Nigel says, throwing another basket. Mickey returns to her seat and Rah and I get up to leave. Nellie looks around the room and feels humiliated. I told her this would happen. She runs past us to go outside and Chance is right behind her.
“Man, I’ve got to pick up my brother. I’ll holla at you later,” Rah says. “Jayd, you ready?”
“Yeah. See y’all at school tomorrow.”
As we walk out of the house I can see Nellie and Chance talking in his car. I know there’s going to be some drama to follow in the morning. I know she thinks she was trying to help but that’s the problem with giving people things they don’t want: they have the right to throw it back in your face, no matter if they needed it or not.
START YOUR OWN BOOK CLUB
Courtesy of the DRAMA HIGH series
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The following is intended to help you get the book club you’ve always wanted up and running!
Enjoy!
Start Your Own Book Club
A book club is not only a great way to make friends, but it is also a fun and safe environment for you to express your views and opinions on everything from fashion to teen pregnancy. A teen book club can also become a forum or venue to air grievances and plan remedies for problems.
The People
To start, all you need is yourself and at least one other person. There’re no criteria for who this person or persons should be other than their having a desire to read and a commitment to discuss things during a certain time frame.
The Rules
Just as in Jayd’s life, sometimes even book club discussions can be filled with much drama. People tend to disagree with each other, cut each other off when speaking, and take criticism personally. So, there should be some ground rules:
Do not attack people for their ideas or opinions.
When you disagree with a book club member on a point, disagree respectfully. This means that you do not denigrate other people for their ideas or even the ideas themselves, i.e., no name-calling or saying, “That’s stupid!” Instead, say, “I can respect your position, however, I feel differently.”
Back up your opinions with concrete evidence, either from the book in question or life in general.
Allow everyone a turn to comment.
Do not cut a member off when the person is speaking. Respectfully wait your turn.
Critique only the idea (and do so responsibly; saying “That’s stupid!” is not allowed). Do not criticize the person.
Every member must agree to and abide by the ground rules.
Feel free to add any other ground rules you think might be necessary.
The Meeting Place
Once you’ve decided on members, and agreed to the ground rules, you should decide on a place to meet. This could be the local library, the school library, your favorite restaurant, a bookstore, or a member’s home. Remember, though, if you decide to hold your sessions at a member’s home, the location should rotate to another member’s home for the next session. It’s also polite for guests to bring treats when attending a book club meeting at a member’s home. If you choose to hold your meetings in a public place, always remember to ask the permission of the librarian or store manager. If you decide to hold your meetings in a local bookstore, ask the manager to post a flyer in the window announcing the book club, to attract more members if you so desire.
Timing is Everything
Teenagers of today are all much busier than teenagers of the past. You’re probably thinking, “Between chorus rehearsals, the drama club, and oh yeah, my job, when will I ever have time to read another book that doesn’t feature Romeo and Juliet!” Well, there’s always time, if it’s time well-planned and time planned ahead. You and your book club can decide to meet as often or as little as is appropriate for your bustling schedules. Once a month is a favorite option. Sleepover Book Club meetings—if you’re open to excluding one gender—is also a favorite option. And in this day of high-tech, savvy teens, Internet Discussion Groups are also an appealing option. Just choose what’s right for you! Well, you’ve got the people, the ground rules, the place, and the time. All you need now is a book!
The Book
Choosing a book is the most fun. COURTIN’ JAYD is of course an excellent choice, and since it’s part of a series, you won’t soon run out of books to read and discuss. Your book club can also have comparative discussions as you compare the first book, THE FIGHT, with the second, SECOND CHANCE, and so on.
But depending upon your reading appetite, you may want to veer outside of the Drama High series. That’s okay. There are plenty of options, many of which you will be able to find under the Dafina Books for Young Readers program in the coming months.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. Nonfiction is just as good as fiction and a fun way to learn about where we came from without just using a history textbook. Science fiction and fantasy can be fun, too!
And always, always research the author. You might find the author has a website where you can post your book club’s questions or comments. The author may even have an e-mail address available so you can correspond directly. Authors might also sit in on your book club meetings, either in person, or on the phone, and this can be a fun way to discuss the book as well!
The Discussion
Every good book club discussion starts with questions. COURTIN’ JAYD, as does every book in the Drama High series, comes with a Reading Group Guide for your convenience, though of course, it’s fine to make up your own. Here are some sample questions to get started:
What’s this book all about anyway?
Who are the characters? Do we like them? Do they remind us of real people?
Was the story interesting? Were real issues of concern to you examined?
Were there details that didn’t quite work for you or ring true?
Did the author create a believable environment—one that you could visualize?
Was the ending satisfying?
Would you read another book from this author?
Record Keeper
It’s generally a good idea to have someone keep track of the books you read. Often libraries and schools will hold reading drives where you’re rewarded for having read a certain number of books in a certain time period. Perhaps a pizza party awaits!
Get Your Teachers and Parents Involved
Teachers and parents love it when kids get together and read. So involve your teachers and parents. Your book club may read a particular book whereby it would help to have an adult’s perspective as part of the discussion. Teachers may also be able to include what you’re doing as a book club in the classroom curriculum. That way, books you love to read, such as the Drama High ones, can find a
place in your classroom alongside the books you don’t love to read so much.
Resources
To find some new favorite writers, check out the following resources. Happy reading!
Young Adult Library Services Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/yalsa.htm
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Hip-Hop!
Teen Rap Titles
http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/read/booklists/teenrap.html
TeensPoint.org
What Teens Are Reading
http://www.teenspoint.org/reading_matters/book_list.asp?soNoIndentrNoIndentt=5&list=274
Teenreads.com
http://www.teenreads.com
Sacramento Public Library
Fantasy Reading for Kids
http://www.saclibrary.org/teens/fantasy.html
Book Divas
http://www.bookdivas.com
MegCabot.com
http://www.megcabot.com/
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Copyright © 2008 by L. Divine
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ISBN: 0-7582-3591-7