Months in the making, the Battle of the Book Clubs was staged at Trinity College School over the week of April 19th to 22nd. The battle sprang from two of the School’s book clubs – Ex Libris and Ad Astra per Aspera – who began in late fall reading from a selection of eight books. With the inspiration and knowledge gained from reading more than 33,000 pages over the course of the school year, the 21 participants faced off in a series of seven challenges over four days.
Tuesday kicked off with a Kahoot trivia challenge during morning break, followed by dramatic scene recreations during afternoon flex block. The following day, participants began creating cover redesigns and playlists for the book selections. On Thursday, the results of their creative endeavours were on display, and the readers also enjoyed a fun bingo game, as well as a cooking contest. Headmaster Stuart Grainger and Chef Pat, director of culinary services, judged the results of recipes inspired by the students’ reading, based on factors including taste, creativity and presentation to the book’s themes. A highlight was when author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé gave a social media shout-out to the cake based on her novel, Ace of Spades!
The battle came to a head on Friday, April 22nd, as participants dressed as characters from the book selections and then faced off in the “grand finale” trivia contest.
Despite their desire for competition, readers wanted to work collaboratively in most events, with two exceptions: Payton Gadbois and Charlotte Patterson won the cake decorating contest, and Ad Astra per Aspera won the trivia competition (but Ex Libris held its own, doing well despite being a much smaller group). Everyone who participated during the week won prizes, including food and gift cards!
It was a week filled with fun, some intense competition and an ardent love of reading. Thank you to all of the students who took part with enthusiasm, creativity and energy, and to the Senior School library team for making this event happen!
If you are looking for some great reading suggestions, the following comprised the 2022 Battle of the Book Clubs selections:
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)
- Gutter Child (Jael Richardson)
- The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
- Ace of Spades (Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé)
- The Forest of Stolen Girls (June Hur)
- Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)
- One Last Stop (Casey McQuiston)
- Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)
