Should this book stay on the list?

› Forums › The 2023 Reading Challenge Discussion Groups › Archived Discussion Groups from 2023 Challenges › Read Around the USA – AR, LA, MS, OK, TX › THE HOMECOMING OF SAMUEL LAKE by Jenny Wingfield › Should this book stay on the list?

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    • July 28, 2023 at 1:55 am #896
      Book Girls’ Guide
      Keymaster
        @bookgirlsguideam

        Was this book a good fit for the Read Around the USA Challenge?

      • July 30, 2023 at 1:26 pm #1022
        Becki
        Participant
          @beckimoody

          It should stay on one of the lists definitely — maybe lifetime? I think the place was relevant but could have probably been any small town rural area. That being said, this was by far my favorite book this month and maybe for the year. The characters were great and the story was good. I bawled at several places.

          • July 30, 2023 at 1:48 pm #1028
            AngelaFromBookGirlsGuide
            Participant
              @angelarathbun

              That’s good to know! It was really hard to find good titles for Arkansas (even after Melissa and I stopped into a local bookstore to ask for recommendations on our road-trip through north was AR) so we were hoping it would more Arkansas vibes. But we’re so glad you liked it!!

              If we put it on a Lifetime list – would you go with Samuel’s age or intergenerational?

              • August 4, 2023 at 3:19 pm #1108
                Becki
                Participant
                  @beckimoody

                  I actually felt it had more of a coming of age feel to it so would have put it on the list for Swan’s age. I felt that in a lot of ways she was the main character (similar to Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend — my favorite from last year.)

            • July 30, 2023 at 8:57 pm #1046
              Terry Jo Shackelford
              Participant
                @tjshack

                I think this one is a better fit on the USA challenge than the Lifetime Challenge. I felt like it had a very strong sense of place (rural Arkansas)

                • August 2, 2023 at 11:21 am #1069
                  Jaci
                  Participant
                    @retiredreader

                    <p style=”text-align: left;”>Having lived in Arkansas as a small child, this reminded me of the area, unfortunately it wasn’t as diverse as I remember. It could be any poor southern farming town. If Lifetime, it’s definitely multigenerational.</p>

                • August 1, 2023 at 5:59 pm #1060
                  Tammy Wasserman
                  Participant
                    @twasserman

                    I think it fit the Arkansas placement. There was enough description of the area.

                    The story was excellent, but I was disappointed that Swan’s kidnapping resulted in rape.  I think the kidnapping and hiding would have been enough for her father to react the way he did!

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                › Forums › The 2023 Reading Challenge Discussion Groups › Archived Discussion Groups from 2023 Challenges › Read Around the USA – AR, LA, MS, OK, TX › THE HOMECOMING OF SAMUEL LAKE by Jenny Wingfield › Should this book stay on the list?