Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas is the official June 2015 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.

A copy of Top Ten Clues You're Clueless sits on a table.

Welcome to the June event of the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers!

This month I’m pleased to welcome you to the discussion for Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas.

I wanted to keep things light and fun over the summer because it seems to be even harder to focus during school vacation chaos with kids around!

I read Liz's first book Ask Again Later and thoroughly enjoyed it. Her second book has been on my To Read list since it came out.

To me, this is a perfect summer read: light hearted, sweet, and nostalgic.

I decided to reac out to Liz to see if she would be interested in joining us for our book club party and was thrilled when she said yes!

In a dream world I'd be a published author, so I'm tickled pink to be able to ask all kinds of publishing and writing questions of Liz. If you have anything you'd like to ask her, be sure to chime in on the threads below or you can send her a note over on Facebook here.

Top Ten Clues is a sweet YA romance with a touch of mystery. The main character Chloe is highly relatable, funny, and charming. It brought back so many memories of my own days in high school and all the quirks among friends at that age.

I think this selection would make an excellent choice for a Mom-Daughter Book Club as well. I know some of our book club members chose to read it with their kids and I'm excited to see some of the feedback from that experience.

Peanut Blossom Book Club

This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our first year of book club.

We're still going strong! Want to join us?

You can get all the details on the club here:

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What is Top Ten Clues You're Clueless About?

"Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe's Day

5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market

4) Crashing a cart into a customer's car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi

3) Trying to rock the "drowned rat" look after being caught in a snowstorm

2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)

1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees— of stealing upwards of $10,000

Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe's list of Top Ten Best Moments."

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless Book Club Discussion Questions

I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.

You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!

Question 1:

Take a moment to "Meet the Author", Liz Czukas. During our book club party, she stopped by to say hello and share her Top 5 List just like Chloe from the book.

You can see the note from Liz here: See the discussion here.

My favorite part about "Top Ten Clues You're Clueless" is all the lists that Chloe writes that showcase the funny observations about life and the people in her world.

Her listing habit started with her friend Eva when they would write them for each other.

Who would you most likely make lists with/for?

See the discussion here.

Question 2:

I loved the setting of the grocery store for our story, I happened to work in one at that age, too!

Places I worked for my first jobs as a teenager and why they were awesome/awful:

See the discussion here.

Question 3:

Chloe makes a list of worst things to hear from her mom.

Top worst kid phrases:

See the discussion here.

Question 4:

This book brought back so many memories of high school for me.
Things I Loved {Hated} About High School:

See the discussion here.

Question 5:

Did you guess what happened to the stolen money?
Things I'd do with $10,000:

See the discussion here.

Question 6:

I loved Chloe's daydreaming and her movie & music lists.
Top movies that I wish were my life:

See the discussion here.

Question 7:

As a mom, it was KILLING me that Chloe wasn't eating to control her diabetes. I wanted to force feed her a turkey sandwich myself.
Things I worry my own kids will do someday:

See the discussion here.

Question 8:

Chloe isn't a fan of her red hair.
Things I wanted to change when I was a teenager:

See the discussion here.

Question 9:

One thing is clear, customers buy & wear strange things at grocery stores.
Strangest things I've seen at Target/Walmart/Grocery Store:

See the discussion here.

Question 10:

Chloe has an adorable moment with her crush Tyson at the end of the book.
Things I'd tell my younger self about dating:

See the discussion here.

There are three fun ways you could spin a book club party menu for Top Ten Clues You're Clueless:

Your Favorite Teen Snacks: Stockpile a bunch of things you loved to eat during sleepovers during your teen years, Cool Ranch Doritos and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups would top my personal list.
Top 5 List: Brainstorm five recipes on a fun theme like one of Chloe's lists.
Grocery Store Samplers: Since the book takes place in a grocery store, serve snacks like you might see on Samples Saturday! My easy baked taquitos are much more delicious than the frozen variety. You could also serve seasoned pretzels and raspberry mustard or this easy cheddar snack board.