BEAUTIFUL CREATURES: BOOK CLUB – BEFORE: THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

OBS brings you a whole month of YA reading. This month we are highlighting Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl’s BEAUTIFUL CREATURES. We have had the opportunity to interview both writer’s and I have to tell you, these women are amazing. Please read our summaries and participate in the discussion on our forum.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl
Before: The Middle of Nowhere
Written by Krystal

In Gatlin, South Carolina there are only two types of people “The stupid and the stuck.” It was obvious which Ethan’s father was, but he’d never had to courage to ask why. Ethan’s father was a writer and had lived in Gatlin all his life, just like all the Wates had, ever since their ancestor fought and died in the Civil War.

Folks in the South didn’t call it that though. To anyone under sixty it was the War Between the States and to everyone over sixty it was the War of Northern Aggression, as if the North had baited the South into war. Ethan’s family wasn’t like everyone else though. They called it the Civil War.

Memorable Quotes:

Ethan: There were only two kind of people in our town. “The stupid and the stuck,” my father had affectionately classified out neighbors. (Page 1)

Ethan: Everyone under the age of sixty called it the War Between the States, while everyone over sixty called it the War of Northern Aggression, as if somehow the North had baited the South into war over a bad bail of cotton. (Page 1)

Ethan: Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
I never even saw it coming. (Page 3)

Questions for discussion:

Although I have stated that the main character is a male, were you surprised to learn this considering the book is written by two women? Is it obvious from the beginning?

What kind of mood does Kami and Margie set for the tone of the book?

What do you think of the prologue, does it draw you in? What do you expect for the rest of the book?

Is there anything you’d like to discuss with the rest of the book club?

Read and discuss more HERE.