Wyoming — At a recent meeting of the after-school Novel Bunch Book Club, it didn’t look at first like the discussion promised to be very lively.
Of the dozen or so Wyoming High School students who showed up, most admitted they hadn’t been able to finish that month’s selection, “We Are Not Free.”
But once teacher Kim-Hang Tran kicked it off with her thoughts, the group was riveted.
The novel, a National Book Award finalist, is the collective account of a group of second-generation Japanese American teens whose lives are irrevocably changed by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II.
“I didn’t know about any of this, to the extent that it was almost like what happened to the Jews,” Tran told them. “I knew about Pearl Harbor, but I didn’t know what happened to the people.”
Added choir teacher Mary Alice Miller: “I was not taught about this at all in school. … What happens in this book is what’s currently happening in this country.”
To those who hadn’t yet read too much of the book, “I think it’s important to try to pick it up again,” Miller told them.
Senior Berlinda Pablo-Pablo agreed.
“You saw it happen in 2001 when the Twin Towers collapsed, and then COVID, when it was Asian Americans, and now (deportation of undocumented immigrants),” she said. “I think a lot of times in America’s history, minority groups are easy targets. And that hurts America.”
Sophomore Lily McKenney had a hard time getting into the book on her own, but hearing others talk about it gave her a second thought.
“I think I’m definitely going to pick this up again,” she said.
A Decade Strong
Tran started the club 10 years ago, prompted by students in her Readers’ Workshop class. Between 10 and 23 ninth- through 12th-graders participate; attendance fluctuates as students’ schedules permit.
She said psychological thrillers are popular, but that she tries to expose students to various genres.
Tran and students recommend books to be read by the group, and each participant gets a new copy to keep. The club has relied on donations to purchase books.
Senior Alyceson Chavez has been part of the Novel Bunch since sophomore year.
“I enjoy all of it,” she said. “I like to talk about the books I read. It’s nice when you can have a conversation, get other people’s thoughts about what you’re reading.”
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