The Crucible by Arthur Miller will continue the run of heavy-discussion-topic books we’ve been reading in my book club with Madeleine. In the last year we’ve read Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, and Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce. We’ve discussed moral issues covering everything from friendship to revolutionary resistance to the corrupting influence of money. And now we’re tackling witchcraft and socially sanctioned violence. Whew, it’s been exhausting!

But it’s also been a great outlet to talk about issues the girls are covering in school, and to find out about how their perspectives differ from those of their moms. For instance, when we read In the Time of the Butterflies the girls were mostly in favor of the Mirabal sisters’ revolutionary resistance to the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The moms on the other hand had a hard time believing they would willingly endanger their children in pursuit of a cause.

It challenged all of us to think about the most important things in our lives and what we’re willing to sacrifice to achieve a higher cause.