Thanks once again to everyone who came out for the discussion on Tuesday. Despite the general lukewarm response to the book, I think it was one of the more enjoyable genre X discussions. And I think we all agree that the Snug at Molly Malone’s  is the best venue we’ve seen so far. So we’ll stay there for a while and see how it goes.

April’s book is As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway. Here is a review from Publisher’s Weekly:

It turns out that snow is “actually very complicated,” and so is Galloway’s quirky, engrossing debut. In a small town near a river not far from a city, the narrator, an unnamed high school sophomore, encounters new Goth arrival, Anna Cayne. Holden Caulfield meets the Blair Witch, perhaps–but our narrator is more sympathetic and Anna more fascinating than their counterparts. The narrator is unsure why anyone would pursue him (“I’m bland. I’m milk. Worse, I’m water”), but pursue him Anna does, charming him with intriguing postcards, reading recommendations and long walks by the river. He’s soon completely, hopelessly in love. But halfway through the story Anna disappears, leaving the narrator and the reader feeling lost and betrayed. The book becomes a search for Anna, complete with ciphers, codes, sightings and buried maps. Does affable art teacher Mr. Devon have something to do with her disappearance? Who was really driving the night fellow student Bryce Druitt slammed his car into the side of the bridge? Galloway makes plain from the beginning that everything in the book might be a clue, and that it’s up to the narrator and the reader to solve the mystery for themselves. This can be great fun or lead to great frustration, depending on one’s tastes, but there’s no doubt that this rich, complex puzzle is the work of a talented author.

On Tuesday we spent a good chunk of time discussing the roles that music and musicians played in The Fortress of Solitude. Music is intregal to this month’s book as well. I won’t give too much away, but I highly recommend that you seek out the web site for the book, where readers can print out liner notes and track listings for the CDs that Anna makes for our narrator in As Simple as Snow. Just one of the many clues to unlocking the mystery in this incredibly captivating YA/adult crossover novel. Yeah if you can’t tell I’m pretty excited to discuss April’s title!

Hopefully Galloway will be able to generate some excitement in you as well! Please join us for our next discussion on Tuesday, April 22 at 8 pm at Molly Malone’s (the Snug) in Forest Park.