June Group Read Discussion: West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

[L Y N N]

This is the June Monthly Group Read discussion of West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #12 A book about a road trip. Take a Road Trip Day is June 20, 2025!
Who is the "tricky traveler" willing to facilitate this discussion? Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
*Sigh* Yet once again, no one has volunteered to lead this discussion. I will be posting some questions this week to get us started. I read this about 18 months ago and will reread it, but must dig it out first!! 😉 Wish me luck!

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book. 😊

[JessicaMHR]

I'm tempted to say I can post questions because I do have the Kindle version sitting on my tablet since like forever ago. But, I am hesitant because I have so many other books to read as well.

BUT...OK. It's the year of challenging myself and of change so let's do this. I volunteer as tribute.


I first want to say that I have a hard time reading books on my Kindle. I tend to forget about them and also I just am old school and prefer an actual book in my hand, and an occasional audiobook. So please do give me some grace when it comes to posting on here. I just may not have gotten very far in the book.


Beginning Questions:

Did you plan to read this book for this challenge? If not, did you already fulfill this prompt with another book? Which one?

Have you read up on what this book is about? Or are you flying blind into it?

Had you heard of this book before it was chosen as our book of the month?

Is June a month where you find it easy or hard to get reading done?



**To Lynn and Nadine, sorry I know I didn't message you first but, I was on the fence about it and just now decided to do it. Hopefully this relieves some obligation for Lynn.**

[JessicaMHR]

Beginning Questions:

Did you plan to read this book for this challenge? If not, did you already fulfill this prompt with another book? Which one?

I did not plan to read this book mostly because before this was picked, I had already read something that happened to be a road trip book. I used Tangled Up in You.

Have you read up on what this book is about? Or are you flying blind into it?

At one point I know I did at least read the blurb because I have this book on my Kindle. I can't remember if it was a first reads or if it was a prime pick. But, either way it has been there for a long time. So I am considering this as a flying blind into it situation.

Had you heard of this book before it was chosen as our book of the month?

Yes, in fact I think that is why I voted for this book. Because I already own it.

Is June a month where you find it easy or hard to get reading done?

I find that since I am watching the kiddo more hours out of the day and have to be on alert with less down time my reading can often suffer. Especially since by the time I have time to read at night I am too tired or I only get a little bit read before I start falling asleep.

[JessicaMHR]

Update: I started to read this book but I keep falling asleep at about two pages read so I have read like 5 pages. LOL!

[JessicaMHR]

Update: I am having a hard time remembering to read this book. When I don't see the actual physical book it is hard to remember you are reading it.

I have made it to the part where he follows them to quarantine and is just hanging around waiting. I know, not far in.



***If anyone else wants to contribute some questions...feel free.***

[JessicaMHR]

Update: So I went and got the physical book from the library on Saturday and have made a little more progress.


**I am on page 68 (still not very far)**

What do you guys think of his brazenness so far? He follows the truck on a stolen motorcycle and then convinces the Old Man to let him drive after the first guy walks off. Brave or Stupid?

I think it is interesting that he has such a drive to follow this truck all the way to California. As for convincing the guy to let him drive...I feel like he saw it as his only option to keep going; especially since he lied to get the job.

As for the Giraffes... What do you think about how Lynda has written them? She has them kind of chill but also like don't mess with me cause I kick, esp. the girl one.

I am liking how they are portrayed so far. But I do find myself waiting for the implied connection he has with them to show itself more.

[JessicaMHR]

UPDATE: So this past week I finally got back into this book after having it sit on my nightstand for a few weeks.

It is actually a really good read and an easy read I just had one of those put it off for no reason moments. I have about 90 pages left and am hoping to finish it today. (It is due at the library today). They are currently in the Texas panhandle and just survived the "flood". I had to stop mid-page, mid-chapter so all I know is they get the truck started again, but they haven't moved yet.

Some other questions I have thought of so far:

Why the onions? Did you know, or do you think it is true that Giraffe's eat onions?
I really don't know much about giraffe's but, are there onions on the Savannah? Plus wouldn't it be hard for a giraffe to eat them off the ground? Also how many bushels do you think they must be going through since they tend to buy one at every stop?

Do you believe that Woody can see the future?
It has happened a few times so far in the book where Woody has dreams that partially have a future truth in them. I don't think he realizes it is a kind of premonition until he has the one with the giraffe's floating in water, and proceeds to ask a Old Man Riley a bunch of questions about where they're going. This dream comes after the one of them lost in a corn field, (view spoiler)[which does come true when the circus folk try to steal them one night. (hide spoiler)]

Do you think it was wise of August "Red" to make this journey all on her own? And would you have done the same?
I think it was maybe not the best choice, especially since it turns out that (view spoiler)[she has no money and has a bounty on her head. (hide spoiler)] But I also think that, just like Woody, she felt this immense pull to follow the giraffes and sometimes you gotta follow your gut. Also it seems as though she was feeling a little stuck and held back from being able to live her own life how she wanted. Maybe she saw this as her only way out.

I like to think that had I been in a situation where I needed to get out I could. I'm an extremely independent person and can be impulsive at times. But I can also be very hesitant to do such drastic things. So I'm not too sure what I would have done.

A few chapters back the Ringmaster tells Woody about Old Man Riley's past. He tells him that he is a murderer. How much do you think that is true and if so, in what way?
Since we know already that Riley was in the circus way back I can see how the ringmaster could know who he is, and maybe know a bit about his past discretions. Riley himself admitted he was no angel, especially when he was younger. I also had this thought though that maybe calling him a murderer was an over-exaggeration or a spin on some other truth. I can see it being possible that he may be talking about him killing animals, since Riley mentioned before he was the one to lead animals to slaughter at the slaughter house. So maybe he had to kill a circus animal that was suffering. We shall see...


Since I have about 90 pages left and at least three more states to go, hopefully these men can make it with out much more crazy trouble, and before Girl's leg gets any worse. Also we still need to wrap up Woody's story about what happened with his Dad and why he's running.