Meru by S.B. Divya
One woman and her pilot are about to change the future of the species in an epic space opera about aspiration, compassion, and redemption by Hugo and Nebula Award finalist S. B. Divya.
For five centuries, human life has been restricted to Earth, while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy. But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered, two unlikely companions venture forth to test the habitability of this unoccupied new world and the future of human-alloy relations.
For Jayanthi, the adopted human child of alloy parents, it’s an opportunity to rectify the ancient reputation of her species as avaricious and destructive, and to give humanity a new place in the universe. For Vaha, Jayanthi’s alloy pilot, it’s a daunting yet irresistible adventure to find success as an individual.
As the journey challenges their resolve in unexpected ways, the two form a bond that only deepens with their time alone on Meru. But how can Jayanthi succeed at freeing humanity from its past when she and Vaha have been set up to fail?
Against all odds, hope is human, too.
How These Live Book Clubs Work
Participation in the live book club includes access to a set of resources and activities as well as interactive components.
Participants receive
- A suggested reading schedule
- PDF reading guides with comprehension questions
- Vocabulary/reading activities
- Discussion board posts in our online classroom
- Writing/multimodal project prompts related to the reading
- An invitation to a live discussion
- A recording of the summary of the live discussion
- An optional feedback add-on for the final paper/project
- Rubrics for at-home feedback
Families are welcome to use as much or as little of the suggested resources and activities as they'd like to fit their interest and schedules.
Ages:
13 - 18
Dates:
February 1 - 28, 2025
Live Meeting:
There are two options for attending a live meeting for this club. An afternoon/evening option is offered to accommodate people with different schedules. Please only attend one of these meetings.
A video summary presentation will be made available for those unable to attend the live meeting. To protect participant privacy, recordings of the meetings will not be distributed to anyone who did not attend the meeting.
Note: meetings with fewer than 3 attendees may run a bit shorter depending on how participation goes.
Option 1:
February 27, 2025 (Thursday)
7:00 PM Eastern / 6:00 PM Central / 5:00 PM Mountain / 4:00 PM Pacific Time
Option 2:
February 28, 2025 (Friday)
1:00 PM Eastern / 12:00 PM Central / 11:00 AM Mountain / 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Supplies:
A copy of the book (edition info here). Borrowed, used, and audio formats will work.
- Zoom account for live session
- Microphone and camera for live session (optional)
- PDF reader
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Access to printer if you want to print worksheets
Content Note:
This book is a challenging read because it engages with cutting edge science fiction concepts that question identity, the limits of technology and human identity. Relationships have complexity and morality can be grey and layered. Some discussions of injury, death, reproduction, pregnancy, childbirth, despair, emotional turmoil.
Positive Representation:
Xenopronouns (zie/zer/etc), queer identities, queer relationships, human hybrids, disability, gender diversity, relationship diversity, cultural diversity.