Suggested Reading - Dave Connis

Written by Dave Connis
Read by Kyla Garcia
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 7h 58m

AUDIBLE: In this hilarious and thought-provoking contemporary teen standalone that’s perfect for fans of ‘Moxie’, a bookworm finds a way to fight back when her school bans dozens of classic and meaningful books. Clara Evans is horrified when she discovers her principal’s “prohibited media” hit list. The iconic books on the list have been pulled from the library and aren’t allowed anywhere on the school’s premises. Students caught with the contraband will be sternly punished. Many of these stories have changed Clara’s life, so she’s not going to sit back and watch while her draconian principal abuses his power. She’s going to strike back. So Clara starts an underground library in her locker, doing a shady trade in titles like ‘Speak’ and ‘The Chocolate War’. But when one of the books she loves most is connected to a tragedy she never saw coming, Clara’s forced to face her role in it. Will she be able to make peace with her conflicting feelings, or is fighting for this noble cause too tough for her to bear?

KIRKUS: A high school senior takes censorship to task in this engrossing literary love letter. Clara Evans doesn’t just love books. They are the language of her life. When she finds out that Lupton Academy — the prestigious Chattanooga private school she attends — has been secretly banning books for years, she realizes that she has a duty to fight back. With the help of the school librarian; her best friend, LiQui Carson; and unexpected allies, she forms an underground book club designed to send the message that literature belongs to everyone. In this compulsively readable novel, Connis (’The Temptation of Adam’, 2017) demonstrates deep reverence for literature’s ability to create community and challenge our beliefs. Only a true believer could craft a work of such relevance and heart, and every facet of this novel, from chapter headings designed as censored books to finely etched characters and witty teen-speak dialogue, proves this author’s worth as a champion of literature. Clara’s relationships with major and minor characters feel as authentic as the novel’s Tennessee setting, which provides a backdrop for exploring class inequality within the private school world. As Clara — a working-class student competing for a college scholarship — sets out to change her school, she finds herself confronting her own prejudices. An absence of clear physical descriptions makes race difficult to determine. A timely read that will ultimately prove timeless.