Week 1
Throughout the month of October, we are reading Internment by Samira Ahmed. Set in the not-too-distant future, this book tells the story of Layla Amin, a Muslim teenager who lives through the internment of Muslim Americans.
I’ve split the book up so that we can read nine chapters per week. Now, if you can’t read at that pace, that’s totally okay. There is no pressure to keep that pace. I know everyone reads at their own speed. That is just the pace I’m going to try to keep as I share discussion prompts throughout the month. While I haven’t heard of any instances of this book being banned outright, the author has commented on it being soft-banned in some communities. A soft Ban is when library staff quietly remove a book from shelves even though there hasn’t been a formal complaint. Visit the author’s website at www.samiraahmed.com to learn all about this book and where you can buy it. If you would rather get this book from a library, WorldCat and LibraryLink are two resources I use to find out the nearest library that carries the book I’m interested in. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. See you next week!
Week 2
Hi everyone! Today is book club day! This month, we are reading Internment by Samira Ahmed. This week’s discussion question is based on chapters one through nine. In this section, Layla and her family are taken from their homes and brought to Mobius. It’s a terrifying and heart-wrenching section. In this early part of the book, we learn about Layla’s parents, particularly about her father and his poetry. Each line of his poetry holds so much meaning. So, this week, I want to ask you, what do you get out of the passages that quote his poetry? Is there a line that you find particularly meaningful?
Week 3
Hello and welcome back to book club! This month, we are reading Internment by Samira Ahmed. This week’s discussion question is based on chapters ten through nineteen. In this section, Layla and her family adjust to life at Mobius and Layla and her friends begin performing acts of protest. Layla’s boyfriend joins the protests outside the facility and helps her sneak blog posts out of Mobius and into the hands of the public. This week’s question is a little more historical. How does the author use World War two events in the United States to inform her portrayal of Mobius and why is that significant?
Week 4
Hello and welcome back to book club. This month, we are reading Internment by Samira Ahmed. This week’s discussion question is based on chapters twenty through twenty-nine. In this section, Layla and her friends increase their acts of peaceful protest. She faces the Director on several occasions. The Director of Mobius seems to truly believe in his mission, unlike some of the national guardsmen he employs. His character deteriorates as the story progresses. So my question is, how does the author use external pressures to influence her characters and bring out certain character traits?
Week 5
Welcome back to our book club discussion of Samira Ahmed’s book, Internment. This final discussion prompt is based on chapters twenty-nine through thirty-six. In this section, Layla is held in solitary confinement and brought to the director for questioning. When she is released, she leads a final protest and is joined not only by other internees, but also members of the military tasked with keeping them there. Their protest leads to the end of their internment. Throughout this book, even though the government as a whole is targeting people like Layla, the main villain is the Director of Mobius. My question is: How does the author use this character and others to stand in for larger concepts that she is trying to communicate?
Add comment
Comments