by Candice Iloh, SPARK Program Associate
This year, the SPARK Action Squad launched its first-ever online book club, with Americanah by Chimamanda Adiche as our first readers’ pick. The club started knowing that a majority of SPARK’s amazing feminist activists are also huge readers and writers interested in talking about an array of issues that come up in literature that affect women. So far it’s been a blast, sparking a number of important and interesting discussions via the interwebs. Last month we followed up Americanah with If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan, and this month, we’ve got another exciting read to dive into.
#SPARKReads has now taken off as the official SPARK monthly community reading action, where we read books with nuanced female protagonists and stories that discuss and challenge the world’s view of women. Using the hashtag #SPARKReads, the book club is open to all readesr who want to dialogue, challenge, and critique the themes of sexualization, agency, girlhood, and feminist perspectives that arise while reading.
In April, we’re reading This Side of Home by Renee Watson, and we want you to join us! Here’s what it’s all about: 
Identical twins Nikki and Maya have been on the same page for everything—friends, school, boys and starting off their adult lives at a historically African-American college. But as their neighborhood goes from rough-and-tumble to up-and-coming, suddenly filled with pretty coffee shops and boutiques, Nikki is thrilled while Maya feels like their home is slipping away. Suddenly, the sisters who had always shared everything must confront their dissenting feelings on the importance of their ethnic and cultural identities and, in the process, learn to separate themselves from the long shadow of their identity as twins.
And here’s how to join!
READ. From April 1-31, read at whatever speed is comfortable for you. Make sure you pick up your copy by the 5th and finish by the 31st!
POST. Via twitter, instagram, and facebook, share your thoughts, favorite quotes, characters, and/or pics of you reading on social media using the #sparkreads hashtag.
DISCUSS. Every month we’ll host a live chat about the book! You can also join smaller chats on the Action Squad’s Facebook page and share your thoughts on our book club blog.
Participating is easy and open to everyone–just click here and sign up. Get your book, and we’ll email you all the juicy details. Happy Reading!