General book club questions for study and discussion. We were thrilled with jeannettes ability to thrive despite a chaotic homelife. Same author has a book called half broke horses that ill track down since i enjoyed her writing. Kit contains 8 copies of the book, plus a discussion guide. When a book is full of true stories like that one, its hard to tell the dancer from the dance. This reading group guide for half broke horses includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. Dec 14, 2010 our discussion group had already read halfbroke horses. Half broke horses book club guide broken horses, horse books. So half broke horses is narrated in the first person and billed as a truelife novel. Oct 06, 2008 half broke horses is the story of lily casey smiths life. After reading the glass castle, jeannette walls bestselling memoir of her. Im having a senior moment on the authors name but theres.
This instance of selfishness bears a close resemblance to rex wallss behavior in the glass castle when he takes the money jeannettes sister has been saving to escape welch, wv, and goes on a drinking binge. The symbol of half broke horses in half broke horses from. Lily comes alive in this book, and is as unpredictable as any half broke horse in west texas. She wins academic honors at the catholic boarding school she attends until her father spends her tuition money to buy some dogs. Many people throughout the novel had an impact on lily and taught her something about life. The half broke horses of the novels title represent people who can never be quite tamed by society. Check out the book club cookbook for bookinspired recipes for cowboy. Our discussion group had already read halfbroke horses. Half broke horses is the story of lily casey smiths life. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Lily is portrayed as a strong, spirited, and resourceful woman, who overcomes poverty and tragedy with the positive attitude that when god closes a window, he opens a door. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
A truelife novel kindle edition by walls, jeannette. Half broke horses themed essay example graduateway. Killed the great danes, and in return gave the caseys 8 half broke horses lupe and apache were helpers on the kc ranch. Jeannette walls is a true credit to the teachings of lily casey smith. Half broke horses by bestselling author jeannette walls reminds us of the power of family stories. Lily took lessons from each of these characters and applied. In half broke horses, jeannette walls writes of a grandmother with. Half broke horses book club guide broken horses, horse. Lily uses the term to describe rosemary and rex as they drive away at the end of the novel, understanding that they will never be able to live within the confines of societys rules. Kept animals book by kate milliken official publisher.
Sep 05, 2016 when you choose a popular book club book, you can often find a wealth of book discussion questions already written for you. Half broke horsesfills in those gaps, providing details of what led up to the story of the wallss family. What is your response to the first person voice of the book. We meet in a private facebook group and chat about a new book every month. This gave us a framework for understanding jeannettes parents. What is the significance of the phrase halfbroke horses. We announce the book selection on the first monday of the month and discuss on the last monday of the month at. Why did she have such a hard time teaching her own daughter. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading half broke horses. Half broke horses book by jeannette walls official.
But where half broke horses was an engaging, feelgood story, the silver star is a less satisfying affair. Reading guide for half broke horses by jeannette walls. I may be biased, but moms book nook is the best online moms book club youll find. Destined to become a classic, it will transfix readers everywhere. Theyve screwed up royally and will do anything to redeem themselves. Study questions, project ideas and discussion topics based on important themes running throughout half broke horses. Some of the discussion points that your group might want to explore include perseverance, grief, loss, convictions, parentchild relationships. Half broke horses is laura ingalls wilder for adults. The casey family lived on high lonesome, a ranch in the heart of a difficult land. Lily took lessons from each of these characters and applied what she learned throughout her difficult and strenuous life. Half broke horses is laura ingalls wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as isak dinesens out of africa or beryl markhams west with the night. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. In the novel half broke horses by jeannette walls, lily casey met many characters throughout her lifetime. Jeannette walls, author of the glass castle and half broke horses.
Half broken horses are those that are not entirely wild, but also not entirely submissive to riders yet. Half broke horses join us for conversation and fun as we discover new books together. I do recommend half broke horses as a good read for book clubs. If not, you can visit the publisher or authors website and find online reading guides. Join us for conversation and fun as we discover new books together. Coming of age in mississippi by moody, anne, 19402015. Half broke horses and writing your own family stories. Our book club had much discussion about whether lily was the cause of rose mary becoming such an irresponsible adult. Behind the story the undisclosed story behind the curtains a background information book companion by the behind the story team, sarah reagan published.
Author jeannette walls, the granddaughter of lily casey smith, wrote the book from lilys point of view. Nov 26, 2010 i do recommend half broke horses as a good read for book clubs. Book club kits book clubs library class and subject. The first book in cwa gold dagger awardwinning british espionage series starring a team of mi5 agents united by one common bond. Oct 18, 2009 wallss new book, half broke horses, a novelistic recreation of the life of her maternal grandmother, lily casey smith, in the first half of the 20th century, told in her grandmother. Discussion questions for half broke horses are listed. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. Half broke horses by jeannette walls reading guidebook. Lilys father, whose speech impediment belies his native intelligence, is an eccentric who once spent three years in prison for murder, idolizes billy the kid and believes childs play is a waste of time. This 28page guide for half broke horses by jeannette walls includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 9 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis.
Half broke horses by jeannette walls find out more about the book. Many books have reading guides at the end of the book that are perfect to use for your book club. Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did. You want to know why her mother, rose mary walls, turned out to be such a neglectful, bereft parent. Great supplemental information for school essays and projects. Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the great depression, and the most. Im having a senior moment on the authors name but theres a series of books about a bounty hunter named stephanie plum.
Kept animals is a darkly beautiful book, tender yet powerful, an exquisite exploration of hurt and desire, the why of wanting, taking, and giving. Do you think you are closer to lily because you get her story in her own voice. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. Halfbroke horses, by jeannette walls the globe and. Readers of glass castle learn about jeannettes grandmother in this fictionalized biography. All the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy book club.
Those questions are underscored by the arrival of half broke horses, ms. Half broke horses by jeannette walls literary lite book club. In addition to discussion lilys personality and behavior, there are many other themes to discuss as evident in this reading guide. The main character of half broke horses is lily casey, the oldest of three children. Book club questions for jeannette walls half broke horses. With 146 books, the list is more than twice as long as that of oprahs book club. Half broke horses stands on sturdy legs of its ntinued.
Want to see these questions in action, and join a fun monthly online book club no awkward silences, promise. I read about anything i can get my hands on but a good novel is probably my favorite genre. After reading the glass castle, jeannette walls bestselling memoir of her dysfunctional, impoverished childhood, you cant help but have certain expectations of her latest book, halfbroke horses. Find material for your book club or information to help you start a new club. Lily comes alive in this book, and is as unpredictable as any halfbroke horse in west texas. Slow horses slough house by mick herron reading guide. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions that will. Half broke horses by jeannette walls is a work of fiction touted as being a true life novel. In half broke horses, lilys father decides to bring her home from school so that he can use her tuition money to breed dogs. Includes an introduction to the book and discussion questions. Half broke horses is a laughoutloud lesson on learning to fall, a story about the human spirit, the courage of adventure, and the choices we make. Youll meet a remarkable woman and learn about life in the early 1900s. And kate milliken knows her stuff when it comes to horses.
No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion. In half broke horses, which walls has written in her grandmothers clear, lively voice as she recalls it, our view of lily broadens, stretching like the horizon from her hardscrabble beginnings on a west texas homestead to her time scraping by as a maid in chicago, where she got her flapper hairdo and resolve, to her years spent teaching. This months selection is half broke horses by jeannette walls. Feb 17, 2020 the round lake librarys evening book club meets the first tuesday of every month at 7 p. Jeannette walls discusses half broke horses jeannette walls. In her quest for resolution, walls has forsaken nearly all ambiguity. Half broke horses questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on half broke horses.
Lilys father tells her, the most important thing in life is learning how to fall. Half broke horses by jeannette walls reading guidebook club. With summer about over are you ready for another great book. New york times more new york times a bloggers commentary on what her book club thought about it discussion questions. The silver star by jeannette walls the boston globe. So begins the story of lily casey smith, jeannette wallss nononsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling. This is a novel based on the life of the authors grandmother, lily casey smith, who learned to break horses in childhood, journeyed five hundred miles as a teen to become a teacher, and ran a vast ranch in arizona with her husband while raising two children. A truelife novel by jeannette walls first published.