By Nicole Gould

 In third grade, six Curtis alums started a mother-daughter book club. Now seven years later, Anna Witenberg ’13, Natalie Markiles ’13, Diane Wald ’13, Gracen Evall ’13, Miranda Van Iderstine ’13, Nicole Gould ’13 and Shannon Barry ’13, who goes to Marlborough School, still meet every other month to discuss the books they read with their mothers.

Each family rotates hosting the book club and choosing the book. The book club lasts about two hours.

“Book Club has changed a lot since it started. We used to do art projects, vocabulary quizzes, and answered questions about the book. Now, we usually just hang around and talk, more often than not swim, and then talk about the book for the rest of the time,” Markiles said.

The books they chose in third grade are very different from the books they choose now. In third grade some of the books they read included “No Flying in the House,” about a seemingly normal girl Annabel Tippens, who discovers she is half fairy, and “Number the Stars.”

Now they read books like “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, and “Go Ask Alice.” “Sold” is the account of a 13 year old girl in India sold into the sex trade by her father. “Go Ask Alice” is the anonymous diary of a shy, innocent girl, who is sucked into the heartless world of drugs because of her need to be accepted.

“I like book club because it’s a great way to get into different genres and discuss your thoughts and opinions about a book. It provides a really supportive environment that allows for great discussion. Book Club fosters involved reading and analysis that otherwise wouldn’t happen by reading a book,” Van Iderstine said.