Thank you for joining us on the High Plains Public Radio Station. My name is Jessica Sadler and I am a Science Teacher, STEAM facilitator, and coach in Olathe, Kansas. I am here with the other book leaders to discuss The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros.
This post-apocalyptic tale takes place in Wales. The reader learns as the story unfold by the text of a little blue diary shared by Dylan and his mother. The duo is surviving daily in the now deserted town of Nebo. This novel has been selected to explore the 2024 Fall Read theme– Through the Eyes of a Child.
While this book has blips of brightness, the overall tone could be described as bleak. For such a short piece, the reader sees quite a bit of development related to the characters. There is an evolution of need for the goal of survival. Throughout the novel you can understand themes of shared humanity and the importance of finding balance in the things actually needed in life versus what we want or expect to have.
I think having things forcibly stripped away creates different realities very quickly. It is often in these times people are able to find aspects about themselves surfacing. During the last four years, many people worldwide have had the opportunity to adapt and move through very uncertain times. Many people rose to the occasion in service industry jobs, became caretakers, eliminated the unnecessary from their homes and lives to find a balance and means to deal with a worldwide pandemic.
As I was reading this book, I caught myself wishing I had kept a journal during the pandemic. I can think of snippets and moments more significant that would have been powerful to look back on. I think of working my last shift at a brewery and how surreal it was, only to never report for work there again. Going on Spring Break and not returning to that group of students. Curating virtual lessons for the school district to use. Mad dashes for toilet paper. Everything seems so distant now that I would like to revisit the me of that time and what I was thinking day to day. I know I came out of it with a slew of new skills and an outlook on life but to remember the steps for how I got there would have been truly poetic.
That poetry is a personal theme that I carried with me throughout the reading of this book. I didn’t expect this novel to have such an impact based on its size. If I had read it pre-2020, I may have felt less impacted because I hadn’t yet lived through a situation that somewhat resonated with this book. The author has told an eerie and realistic tale of survival while addressing the hardships and human changes that come with it.
This is Jessica Sadler, and you are listening to the High Plains Public Radio Reader’s Book Club.
