Patten Free Library invites all middle school girls living in the library service area or attending an RSU 1 school to join (and create a name for) a new book group.

The first group discussion, scheduled for October 23 at 4 p.m., will be about “One for the Murphys” by Lynda Mulally Hunt, and will be led by Young Adult Librarian Laurel Cox. Interested participants who need a copy of the book should check in at the library’s Information Desk.

“One for the Murphys” is a Maine Student Book Award nominee for 2013. It is the story of 12-year-old Carley Connors, a tough kid who somehow ends up in foster care. She's placed with the Murphys, a lively (happy) family with three boys. At first, she doesn’t feel as if she could never belong in their world, so she keeps her distance. Just when she begins to think like she could fit in, news from her mother shakes her world.

Other books/meeting dates in the discussion series include: “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green (December 4), “Hush Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick (January 22), “Star Girl” by Jerry Spinelli (March 19), and “Side Effects” by Amy Goldman Koss (May 14).

The library is also resuming its high school level book group in cooperation with Mainely Girls, a statewide organization founded in 1996 to assist rural communities focus on girls’ needs in a preventative, proactive and positive manner. To support this mission, Mainely Girls has helped create and provide books for “A Girl’s Point of View Book Clubs” throughout the state, providing an opportunity for girls of all levels and abilities to read the best contemporary fiction that focuses on issues many girls are facing today.

Patten Free Library’s Girls’ Point of View Book Group was on hiatus for the summer, but will resume this fall with a discussion of “Star Girl” by Jerry Spinelli in late October. Interested participants may pick up a copy of the book at the library’s Information Desk. The teen group is moderated by two Bowdoin students, Sarah Frankl and Julia Mead.

Questions? Contact Roberta Jordan, Outreach and Instruction Librarian at Patten at rjordan@patten.lib.me.us or by calling 207-443-5141, extension 25.