10TH GRADE INCOMING ENGLISH 2 STUDENTS SHOULD SELECT AND READ ONE TITLE
KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS AWARD WINNERS
ALEX AWARD WINNERS
Novels specifically written for young adult readers
More challenging novels written for an adult
audience, but have wide appeal for teen readers
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina’s family is pulled from their
Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her
father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for
her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by
burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil.
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
Finley, an unnaturally quiet boy who is the only white player on his
basketball team, is asked to mentor a troubled African American
student just arrived from an elite private school.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou, a lovely, enigmatic 17-year-old art student in a Prague
boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening
monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has.
DJ Rising by Love Maia
16-year-old Marley Diego-Dylan's career as "DJ Ice" is skyrocketing,
but his mom’s heroin addiction keeps dragging him back to earth.
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Rory, of Boueuxlieu, Louisiana, is spending a year at a London
boarding school when she witnesses a murder by a Jack the Ripper
copycat and becomes involved with the very unusual investigation.
Recovery Road by Blake Nelson
Seventeen-year-old Maddie meets Stewart in a rehabilitation
facility for drug and alcohol abuse, and they begin a relationship,
which they try to maintain after they both finish treatment.
What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez
Marooned in a broken-down Houston neighborhood--and in a
Mexican immigrant family where making ends meet matters much
more than making it to college--smart, talented Marissa seeks
comfort elsewhere when her home life becomes unbearable.
LITERARY CLASSICS
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Ashima and Ashoke arrive in America at the end of the 1960s,
shortly after their arranged marriage in Calcutta. Soon after they
arrive, a son is born, and, according to Indian custom, he is given
two names: an official name and a pet name to be used only by
family. The son must figure out where he fits in the world.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Poet Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment and
frustration. She learned a great deal from her exceptional
grandmother and the black community there. These lessons
carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Sharing a room at an exclusive prep school, in the summer prior to
World War II, Gene and Phineas form a complex friendship that
draws out both the best and worst characteristics of each boy and
leads ultimately to violence, a confession, and the betrayal of trust.
The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson
15-year-old Darren Bennett is a typical teenager, but his new,
socially awkward best friend, Eric Lederer, lives a life
unrecognizable to everyone: Eric can't sleep, at all, ever.
When a fight leads Darren to tell a stranger about Eric's
bizarre secret, Darren gets caught up in a fight for his life.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Ah-Kim Chang, or Kimberly as she is known in the U.S., had
been a promising student in Hong Kong when her father died.
Now an outsider in an elite private school, she deals with
added social pressures, only to be comforted by an
understanding best friend, Annette.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple
Bernadette Fox is notorious, but to 15-year-old Bee, she is a
best friend and, simply, Mom. When Bernadette disappears,
Bee sets out to find her mother, in a compulsively readable
and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and
daughter's role in an absurd world.
NONFICTION
The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the
African Wild by Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence
Lawrence Anthony devoted his life to animal conservation,
protecting the world's endangered species. Then he was asked
to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula
game reserve in Zululand. His common sense told him to
refuse, but he was the herd's last chance of survival: they
would be killed if he wouldn't take them.
The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir by Gaby Rodriguez
Gaby Rodriguez was often told she would end up a teen mom
like the rest of her family, and she wondered how she would
be treated if she “lived down” to others’ expectations. This
question sparked her high school senior project: faking her
own pregnancy to see how her family, friends, and community
would react. What she learned changed her life forever—and
made international headlines in the process.
Counting Coup by Larry Colson
In Native American tradition, a warrior gained honor and glory
by "counting coup" -- touching his enemy in battle and living
to tell the tale. In this extraordinary work of journalism, Colton
journeys into the world of Montana's Crow Indians and
follows the struggles of a talented, moody, charismatic young
woman named Sharon LaForge, a gifted basketball player and
a descendant of one of George Armstrong Custer's Indian
scouts. But "Counting Coup" is far more than just a sports
story or a portrait of youth. It is a sobering exposé of a part of
our society long since cut out of the American dream.