The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge discussion

For this April Fool's Day release, the prompts on our April 2024 mini-challenge are inspired by the classic internet prank, a rickroll! (Rickrolling is the unexpected appearance of the music video, “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley song.)

Prompt 1 on our April 2024 challenge is, (Never Gonna) Give You Up. You can find the challenge graphics on our website here: https://www.the52book.club/april-2024...

The prompts on this mini-challenge are a little more abstract, but as always, you’re welcome to get as creative as you like. If you think a book fits the prompt, it does! For each of these prompts you may choose whether or not you’d like to include “Never gonna.” This will change your interpretation of the prompt, and we’ll walk through that below.

For this prompt, you could choose a book with the words (or a variation of the words) “Give you up” in the title, subtitle, or book blurb.

“Give you up” may also be a theme or plot point within the story. For example, you may choose a fiction or non-fiction book in which a character is trying to give up a specific bad habit or vice. The character may be sacrificing something – example: giving up a dream in order to support their family. It could be a character who has to give someone or something up, or a character who is dealing with the effects of someone else giving them up, or giving up on them.

Alternatively, you may also decide to use the “never gonna” in front of this prompt, which would change the prompt to, “Never gonna give you up.” Instead of a character who is giving something up or sacrificing something, they’re now holding very tightly to it. Some examples might include: a forbidden star-crossed lovers plot, a thriller featuring a stalker, or a mystery featuring a retired detective who has never given up on trying to track down answers for a specific crime. For non-fiction, it could feature any inspiring memoir about not giving up on your dreams or passions.

There are a lot of creative variations and interpretations for this prompt, so have fun with it!

Here is the link to the Goodreads List for this prompt, feel free to add your suggestions and book choices to this list!

Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Featuring characters who give up on someone
(break-up)

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

1. 17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis and the Biggest Cover-Up in History by Andrew Morton is about how King Edward VIII gave up his throne rather that giving up Wallis Simpson. 2. I found it to be kind of boring, and hard to read, but it was for a book club, so I didn't want to give it up.

Before I was Rickrolled this morning, I got my hands on an early audio of Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's new book, The Night War about a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazi's in occupied France. There is a lot of 'giving people up" to the Nazis but also 'not giving them up'. I choose this interpretation of the prompt. I also loved the trick.

I have Sword of Kaigen on my TBR for April and I believe it works for this prompt.

I've read Star Wars: Age of Republic - Anakin Skywalker #1 for this prompt. Actually I picked the book for prompt 3 of this mini challenge, as Darth Vader is one of the most wellknown fictional deserters, but the comic I just read tells a story set way before Anakin Skywalker switches sides in the war. General Yularen sends Anakin on a mission to bomb an imperial droid facility in Kudon country. Anakin doesn't want to give up his Jedi beliefs and principles by sacrificing innocent Kudon, as he doesn’t want to give up the hope Kudon had remained neutral in the war, so he ignores Yularen's commandos and embarks on a solo mission. In the facility, he discovers Kudon have been forced into slave labour by the Empire. Leaking the false info that Kudon had decided to side with the Empire, it was a trap for the Republic to bomb the facility, kill numerous innocent Kudon and make the public opinion lose trust in the Republic. Anakin destroys the droids guarding the facility and rescues the Kudon.

I read Never Give You Up

I started reading You by Caroline Kepnes, but I'm going to have to DNF it as it's giving me the ick. So I'm going for something completely different - How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum

I used Iron Flame for this.

I used Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers for this prompt. The main character doesn't give up on solving the case despite numerous setbacks, and he also doesn't give up his brother's secret potentially at the cost of his brother's life.

I am using Memoirs of a Geisha for this prompt. The main character never gave up on her dream of the chairman.

I read Second Chance Love Affair It was your standard second chance high school lovers meet again contemporary romance. He tried to give up on her because he thought he wasn't good enough for her but he couldn't actually let go.

I read The Sun Also Rises. An astounding number of men just don't want to "give up" Lady Brett Ashley! Every one of them falls head over heels and some even get stalkerish and think she is going to marry them

For Desert You, I read Wasps in the Ice Cream where George deserted Mark.

For Let You Down I read The Maid where Rodney lets Molly down.

For Give You Up I read Book of Night where Charlie decides not to give Vince up

For this mini challenge i'm using Exe's & O's by Amy Lea as in the search for a second chance romance Tara re-examines her exes as she doesn't want to give up on love, even if it turns into finding a romance closer to home.

I read Brokeback Mountain about a relationship between two cowboys in Wyoming. The struggle to honor their feelings for each other, and balance the expectations of society and their families stressed them over the years.
Short, 55 pages. I liked it, but the movie is better.

I went with Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.

Alex committed to his relationship with Henry "for forever."

I read Jack and Joe by Diane Capri where FBI agents Otto and Gaspar continue their search.
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2024...

I read Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo

I don't think there's a more extreme version of never giving someone up than helping your little sister clean up the gore after her latest murder, and even to cover up for her with the cops if they get too curious.

So my entry here is My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

I read Kevin by Rob Biddulph, 5 Stars

I read Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall.

I read The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman