Book Club Report: The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

When I downloaded this to my Nook, I wasn't aware I was getting the Young Readers Edition, so I was quite surprised to get to the end of part 1 and find an author's note telling me that if I wanted to read the whole book, I should buy the print version!  This same thing happened to another book club member, so a lot of our discussion concerned the differences between the adult print version, the young readers eBook edition and the movie (two members watched the movie instead of reading the book).

Short summary:  Peekay is only 5 years old when he is sent to boarding school, a harrowing experience that shapes his life to come.  This book, set in South Africa during WWII, is part semi-autobiography, part myth.

The group's verdict:  Despite all the different versions we were going off of, everyone enjoyed reading about Peekay's adventures.  Granpa Chook, Peekay's pet chicken, was a favorite character and everyone got a kick out of Peekay's friend Doc, especially his sayings.  I think we probably would've had a better discussion if everyone had been on the same page, so to speak, so if you're thinking of reading this one for your book club, make sure everyone has the same version!

Up next:  Summer break!  Everyone was asking when they could read MY book for book club.  And that struck me as kinda weird.  Do authors discuss their books with their own book clubs?  I don't think I've ever heard of any examples of this, have you?