Thursday is the deadline to reserve a copy of “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson for a book club discussion at 5 p.m. Friday, March 24.

The novel centers on the author’s childhood as an African-American growing up in New York and South Carolina in the 1960s. It was the 2014 winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and of the Coretta Scott King Book Award.

Students who sign up by the March 2 deadline can check out a free copy of the book from Textbook Rental Services, senior psychology major K.C. Campanano said. She said they can sign up by emailing her at kscampanano@eiu.edu or by visiting the Facebook group page “EIU WHAM Book Club.”

Students will need to provide their E-number to her, which she will give to Textbook Rental. The books should be available to check out within a few days after the Thursday deadline, Campanano said. They can also purchase the book on their own if they prefer, she said.

She and other students in her Feminist Theory course organized the book club meeting as part of Women’s History and Awareness Month. Their instructor, Jeannie Ludlow, suggested the book in part because it would be easily accessible.

Campanano said the story is fairly easy to read, since it is relatively short, and it is not a traditional novel but incorporates elements of poetry. “It would be a good read over spring break,” she said.

“Brown Girl Dreaming” is important, she said, because it highlights the difficulties women have had getting an education. “If you have lived a privileged life, it can be hard to see that education is hard to reach for women, especially women of color,” she said.

Leon Mire can be reached at 581-2812 or lkmire@eiu.edu.