HOLLAND – The Big Read Lakeshore combines a typical American novel with a more modern classic to address themes such as identity, societal expectations and the American dream in 2024.
According to an announcement Tuesday, August 13, this year’s Big Read will focus on two books published 81 years apart. Participants in the 2024 Big Read Lakeshore will read—or, in many cases, reread—F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby and American Born Chinese, a critically acclaimed graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.
“‘The Great Gatsby’ is often called ‘The Great American Novel.’ We are excited for our Lakeshore readers to read or reread this book and to be able to consider and discuss it from that perspective,” wrote Deb Van Duinen, founding director of Big Read, in a press release. “Is it an American classic? And if so, what makes it a classic? How do the book’s themes speak to us today?
“We have intentionally paired The Great Gatsby with other books that also explore themes of identity, the American dream, societal expectations and belonging. We hope that reading this ‘collection of texts’ will lead to deep conversations and insights as we explore what it means to succeed as individuals, as a Lakeshore community and as global citizens.”
Published in 1925, The Great Gatsby is the first book selected for Big Read Lakeshore whose author is no longer living. It centers on Long Island millionaire Jay Gatsby and the people he interacts with during the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties. The book was called a masterpiece of American literature by The New York Times, has sold over 30 million copies, and has been adapted into several films, plays, and musicals.
“American Born Chinese” is considered a “classic in the world of graphic novels,” according to Tuesday’s announcement. It centers on three seemingly unconnected characters whose lives become connected through an unexpected twist. The book has won several awards, is a New York Times bestseller, and has been adapted into a television series that debuted on Disney+ in 2023.
The Middle Read, Little Read and Mini Read sections for younger readers were also announced on Tuesday.
Participants in Middle Read Lakeshore, aimed at upper elementary and middle school students, read “Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir” by Pedro Martin. The book, a 2024 Newbery Honoree, tells Martin’s childhood memory of traveling from California to Mexico in 1977 with his parents and eight siblings to help his grandfather with an important task before returning him to the United States.
Dreamers, a picture book memoir by Yuyi Morales, is the title of Little Read Lakeshore and is aimed at middle-primary readers. Published in both English and Spanish, the book is a memoir that describes Morales’ journey to make a new home for herself in the United States when she arrived in the country with her young son in 1994.
Katie Wilson’s Love: A Celebration of Mindfulness/El Amor: Una Celebracion de la Conciencia Plena is the featured mini-reader for Lakeshore’s youngest readers. The story takes readers through ways to experience love, including the love of learning, the love of friendship, and the love of the earth. The book is available in English, Spanish, and a bilingual English-Spanish version.
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This year’s program includes more than 150 events for readers in Ottawa, Allegan and Muskegon counties. A keynote event on Monday, October 28, at 7 p.m. with Hope College faculty members Jeanne Petit and Kristin VanEyk will provide historical and cultural context for “The Great Gatsby.”
The program also includes author visits by Martin on October 29-30 and Morales on November 13-14. More events will be added in the coming months. A schedule is available at bigreadlakeshore.com.
The Big Read celebrates its 11th anniversary this year. The aim of the program is to bring the community together around a common book and to use the shared experience as a starting point to listen to and learn from each other.
The project is presented in collaboration with 75 community partners, including libraries, nonprofits, businesses, school districts and academic institutions along the lakeshore.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the Holland Sentinel: Hope College’s Big Read Lakeshore announces books for 2024
