FARMINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
Summer Reading Lists
Farmington Public Schools
The Farmington Library
Farmington, Connecticut
2011
4/15/2020
Introduction and Expectations for Students
Summer is a time to relax and read. This year we’ve once again provided a wide list of
titles recommended by students, teachers and staff. The titles are organized by genre, and
generally the more challenging titles are listed toward the end of each category. Students
are expected to read at least three titles during the summer, but their selections are not
required to come from this list. The list of websites provided at the end offer another way
for students to search for books they may find interesting.
When students return in the fall, they should be prepared to show evidence of their
reading. A reading guide is provided in this packet for students who might find it helpful.
In general, English teachers will use this reading assignment as a way to get to know their
new students as readers.
Select courses – A.P. Literature, World Literature, British Literature and A.P. Language have required reading and writing assignments. The required reading for each of these
courses is listed below. The writing assignments are available from the English department
or on line at http://www.fpsct.org. Select FHS from the drop down menu at the top, then
library on the left. Once at the library website, select the link to the “Reading Room” on
the left. This link provides the larger reading list as well as the specific writing
assignments for the courses listed above.
Have a wonderful summer and please share your favorite books with us in the fall.
4/15/2020
Required Reading for Select Courses
A.P. Literature (Grade 12)
Metamorphosis
Reservation Blues
Animal Dreams
Franz Kafka
Sherman Alexie
Barbara Kingsolver
World Literature H (Grade 12)
Students should select three works written by authors not native to the United States. Choices may include
novels, memoirs, or short story collections. See the resource lists (select public) at the FHS library catalog
for suggestions of appropriate works from different regions of the world.
British Literature H (Grade 12)
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time
And
Brave New World
Or
1984
Mark Haddon
Aldous Huxley
George Orwell
Students are strongly encouraged to follow their reading of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two
Towers with the third in The Lord of the Ring Trilogy: The Return of the King. However, those students
with a strong preference may select a different novel written by a British author as an alternative.
A.P. Language (Grade 11)
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Catcher in the Rye
J. D. Salinger
In addition, students should select one work from the A.P. English Language Book List posted on the
FHS library webpage.
These websites are great for finding lists of recommended books:

Best Books for Young Adults
What you’ll find: Lists of award winning books selected for young adults by librarians
around the country.
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya

Outstanding Books for the College Bound
What you’ll find: Lists of books by subject area recommended for students planning
to attend college.
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/obcb

BookPage: America’s book review
What you’ll find: Interviews with authors, “BookPage Archives,” Advice for Writers,
Book reviews
http://www.bookpage.com

BookSense.com
What you’ll find: “Book sense Picks” and “Bestseller List.”
http://www.booksense.com
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Reading Guide
Comprehending and remembering what you’ve read can sometimes be challenging. What follows are
some suggestions that might be helpful to you as you read.
Underline and annotate your text. If you own the books that you’re reading, highlight or underline
important passages. Write notes (annotate) in the margins. Then, review your notes before you return to
school in the fall.
Keep a journal. Journals are used by many readers to assist them in taking notes when they read. Use your
journal to record personal reactions, your thoughts, feelings and connections to what you’ve read. Try
writing in a journal right after you read. This is an opportunity to think on paper without worrying about
the mechanics of writing. It’s also good practice for any writing assignments you’ll be given when you
return to school in the fall.
Questions to consider as you read:
What are the significant events in the book?
What predictions do you have about what will happen in the book?
What problems or conflicts develop in this book? Which problem stands out? Why do you think this
problem is important?
Who are the important characters? What are their prominent qualities? What characters from books, film,
or real life do they remind you of?
What does the book suggest about people in general?
What is the author’s purpose in writing the book? What argument or message was he/she trying to
express? What problem or issue was he/she trying to tackle?
What do you notice about the author’s writing style?
What have you learned about yourself as a reader this summer? What types of books do you enjoy?
What did you enjoy about the books you selected this summer? Who else might enjoy reading them?
4/15/2020
FHS SUMMER READING LIST
JUST PLAIN GOOD STORIES - GENERAL FICTION
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
Charlie, a freshman in high school, explores the dilemmas of
growing up through a collection of letters he sends to an
unknown receiver.
A Room on Lorelei Street (Mary Pearson) To escape a
miserable existence taking care of her alcoholic mother, 17-yearold Zoe rents a room from an eccentric woman, but her earnings
as a waitress after school are minimal, and she must go to
extremes to cover expenses.
Rainbow Boys (Alex Sanchez) Three high school seniors - a
jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and
a flamboyant gay rights advocate - struggle with family issues,
gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other.
Diva (Alex Flinn) Despite her mother's objections, 16-year-old
Caitlin determines to pursue her dream of becoming an opera
singer by attending a performing arts school in Miami.
The First Part Last (Angela Johnson) Bobby's carefree teenage
life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for
his adored baby daughter.
Cuba 15 (Nancy Osa) Violet Paz, a Chicago high school
student, reluctantly prepares for her upcoming "quince," a
Spanish nickname for the celebration of an Hispanic girl's
fifteenth birthday.
The New Rules of High School (Blake Nelson) Seventeenyear-old Max Caldwell has been the perfect high school student on the honor roll, captain of the debate team, and soon-to-be
editor of the school newspaper - but during his senior year, he
begins questioning his approach to life and things start to change.
Who Am I Without Him: Short Stories About Girls and the
Boys in Their Lives (Sharon Flake) Hilarious and anguished,
these 10 short stories about growing up black today speak with
rare truth about family, friends, school, and especially about
finding a boyfriend.
The Truth About Forever (Sarah Dessen) Macy plans to work
at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from
camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where
she makes new friends and finally faces her grief.
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Maureen Johnson) When 17-yearold Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her
favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a
sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.
Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult) One day Peter Houghton, an
alienated teen who has been bullied for years by the popular
crowd, brings weapons to his high school in Sterling, New
Hampshire, and opens fire, killing ten people.
The Guardian (Nicholas Sparks) On Christmas Eve, Julie
Barenson, 25-years-old and newly widowed, finds an unexpected
present - a Great Dane pup that her late husband, Jim, had
arranged for her to receive after he died from a brain tumor.
Acceptance (Susan Coll) While following the senior year of
several students agonizing over college acceptance, the novel is a
thinly disguised attack at the U.S. News and World Report
college ranking system. Will AP Harry fulfill his lifelong dream
of getting into Harvard? Oh no, 30 of his classmates are applying
there too!
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) Fourteen-year-old
Lily and her companion, Rosaleen, an African-American woman,
flee their home after Rosaleen is victimized by racist police
officers. They find a safe haven in South Carolina at the home of
three beekeeping sisters named May, June, and August.
My Sister’s Keeper (Jodi Picoult) Thirteen-year-old Anna,
conceived specifically to provide blood and bone marrow for her
sister Kate who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at
the age of two, decides to sue her parents for control of her body
when her mother wants her to donate a kidney to Kate.
Ragtime (E.L. Doctorow) Presents life in the early 20th Century
when immigration and race were affecting society. This book is
the source of the hit musical by the same name.
Bottled Up (Jay Murray) A high school boy comes to terms
with his drug addiction, life with an alcoholic father, and a
younger brother who looks up to him.
Zorro (Isabel Allende) A fictionalized account of the life of
Zorro. Tells the story of how a young boy in Spanish California,
through his adventures and escapades, became the legendary hero
we’ve come to know through television and movies.
Cruise Control (Terry Trueman) A talented basketball player
struggles to deal with the helplessness and anger that come with
having a brother rendered completely dysfunctional by severe
cerebral palsy and a father who deserted the family.
Stones from the River (Ursula Hegi) Trudi, a dwarf, living in a
small German town, through both world wars, learns to find
acceptance because she learns that all humans are different.
Breathing Underwater (Alex Flinn) Told in the form of a
journal, Nick recounts his violent relationship with Caitlin, while
spending time in a violence class for boys.
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) Beautifully written story of a
young man born of Indian parents in America who struggles with
issues of identity from his teens to his thirties.
Chinese Handcuffs (Chris Crutcher) Still troubled by his older
brother's violent suicide, 18-year-old Dillon becomes deeply
involved in the terrible secret of his friend Jennifer, who feels she
can tell no one what her stepfather is doing to her.
The Life of Pi (Yann Martel) The compelling story of one
young man’s journey in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for
company.
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Snow in August (Pete Hamill) Eleven-year-old Irish Catholic
Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch form a wonderful, if
unlikely, friendship in Brooklyn in 1947, but the actions of a
group of anti-Semitic thugs soon have them trapped in a spiral of
hate and hoping for a miracle.
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Nitta Sayuri, a young
Japanese woman who was taken from her home at the age of nine
and sold into slavery as a geisha, discovers a rare opportunity for
freedom when the outbreak of World War II forces an end to the
only life she has ever known.
The Darling (Russell Banks) The story of Hannah Musgrave, a
political radical, who flees America for Liberia where she marries
a Liberian man and encounters terrorism, political violence and
the clash of cultures.
A Million Little Pieces (James Frey) Frey drew controversy with
this dramatic and partially fictionalized tale of his recovery from
drug and alcohol addiction, beginning with his enrollment in a
Minnesota rehabilitation center.
Peace Like a River (Leif Enger) In the 1960s, a spiritual man
named Jeremiah Land sets out from his Minnesota home with his
young son and daughter to find his elder son, Davy, after he
escapes jail on the morning of his sentencing for murder.
Bel Canto (Anne Patchett) A group of international guests, taken
hostage by terrorists while attending a birthday party at the home
of the vice president of a small South American country, form
bonds with their captors and enter into an almost idyllic lifestyle,
united by the music of Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered
soprano.
Empire Falls (Richard Russo) Miles Roby, called back from
college to the small town of Empire Falls in Dexter County,
Maine, to take care of his ailing mother, falls into a rut that keeps
him trapped until years later when a series of revelations and
tragedies jolts him back into an awareness of his life.
Love in the Time of Cholera (Garbriel Garcia Marquez)
A story of love, loss, waiting and joy set in the lush lands of
South America.
GET OUT OF THAT CHAIR! - ACTION/ADVENTURE
Downriver (Will Hobbs) 15-year-old Jessie and the other
rebellious teenage members of a wilderness survival school team
abandon their adult leader, hijack his boats, and try to run the
dangerous white water at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz) After the death of the uncle
who had been his guardian, 14-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to
continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence
agency, MI6.
Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who
Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World
War II (Robert Kurson) Two rival divers discover a treasure
that is said not to exist – a sunken Nazi submarine! This story
tells how the men eventually become allies in order to find the
downed sub.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Aron Ralston) The true
story of the avid rock-climber and outdoorsman who became
trapped in a Utah mountain canyon when an 800-pound boulder
pinned his right arm.
Redeye: A Western (Clyde Edgerton) A rollicking, hilarious
tale of cowboys and Indians, Englishmen and maidens, all set in
Colorado 100 years ago.
Maiden Voyage (Tania Aebi) The story of Tania Aebi, the
youngest person to sail around the world by herself.
Flash Fire (Caroline Cooney) As fire sweeps through a
canyon near Los Angeles, a group of children must work together
to save themselves.
The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey (Linda
Greenlaw) The story of a grueling 30-day, sword-fishing
voyage during which the fishermen face savage weather,
equipment failure, and sharks.
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
(Sebastian Junger) The incredible true account of the most
extraordinary storm of the 20th Century. This is the story of a
rare combination of factors deemed "perfect" and of the doomed
fishing boat with her crew of six that was helpless in the midst of
a force beyond comprehension.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest
Disaster (Jon Krakauer) The true account of the disastrous
1996 ascent of Mt. Everest. The author was one of the climbers.
A heart-wrenching, breathtaking adventure about people, glory
and tragedy.
The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleboat Essex
(Nathaniel Philbrick) A dramatic account of a real life tale of
tragedy and survival. The historical and sociological information
about Nantucket and the whaling industry is fascinating.
Alive (Paul Read Piers)
In 1972 an airplane crashed in the Andes wilderness. This is the
true story of those who survived. Gripping!
All the Pretty Horses (Cormac McCarthy) John Grady Cole is
too young to be given charge of the family ranch and is cut off
from the only life he has ever imagined wanting.
TELLING OUR STORIES –
MEMOIR/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/BIOGRAPHY
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an
Autistic Savant (Daniel Tammet) Daniel Tammet, an autistic
savant, describes how his rare condition, which gives him
incredible mental powers and a compulsive need for order and
routine, has influenced every aspect of his life and what
challenges he has faced while trying to be independent.
The Burn Journals (Brent Runyon) When Brent Runyon was
14 years old, he set himself on fire in a suicide attempt. This is
the story of his recovery and his re-entry into his old life.
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Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo (Zlata
Filipovic) Zlata, a 13-year-old girl living in Sarajevo, kept a
diary during the war which devastated so many lives. The diary
begins just before her eleventh birthday when there was still
peace in her homeland and traces the devastation through Zlata’s
own words.
My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban: A Young
Woman’s Story (Latifa) Latifa was a 16-year-old aspiring
journalist when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Suddenly,
she was confined to her apartment, unable to venture out
uncovered by the hated burka.
Falling Leaves: The True Story Of An Unwanted Chinese
Daughter (Adeline Yen Mah) After Mah’s mother’s death,
Mah’s father remarries and moves the family to Shanghai to
evade the Japanese during WWII, but Mah and her siblings are
relegated to second-class status by their stepmother.
Hole in My Life (Jack Gantos) In this autobiographical sketch
of his restless final years of high school, the popular young adult
novelist Gantos reveals his short-lived career as a drug smuggler
and his harrowing time in prison.
Death Be Not Proud (John Gunther) This deeply moving book
is a father’s memoir of his brave, intelligent, and spirited son who
was 17-years-old when he died of a brain tumor.
In the Company of Men: A Woman at the Citadel (Nancy
Mace) Nancy Mace chronicles the experiences she had as one
of the first women allowed to attend The Citadel and discusses
how the male students reacted to her presence.
Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode The Internet Out of Idaho
(Jon Katz) Tells the true story of Jesse and Eric, 19-year-old
roommates in the small town in Idaho, who changed their lives
and built a new future for themselves with the power of the
Internet.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Jeannette Walls) Walls
chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic
parents. She describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a
child in this family.
Finding Fish (Antwone Fisher) Antwone Fisher tells the story of
his life - from his life as a prison inmate to his success as a
screenwriter in Hollywood - discussing his childhood and teen
years in foster homes, his stint in the Navy, his attempts to find
his mother and father, and the determination that led him to
create the life of his dreams.
I Have Lived a Thousand Years (Livia E. Bitton-Jackson)
A memoir of Elli Friedmann who tells about her experiences at
Auschwitz, a concentration camp where she was taken in 1944
when the Nazis invaded her native Hungary.
The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His
Backyard Nuclear Reactor (Ken Silverstein) The story of
David Hahn who built a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard,
endangering the residents of his Michigan hometown and raising
the ire of the federal government.
Thura's Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq (Thura al-Windawi)
The author, now a scholarship student at an American university,
writes of her daily life in war-besieged Baghdad.
Dreams From My Father: A Story Of Race and Inheritance
(Barrack Obama) Presidential hopeful Barack Obama tells the
story of his life as the son of a black African father and a white
American mother searching for a workable meaning to his life as
an African-American.
Autobiography of a Face (Lucy Grealy) This is a woman’s
honest memoir of her struggle with childhood cancer and her
attempt to live as normal a life as possible with her
disfigurement.
King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American
hero (David Remnick) Biography of heavyweight boxing
champion Muhammad Ali.
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) The author chronicles his
impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and
1940s, describing his father's alcoholism and talent for
storytelling and his early experiences in the Catholic church; he
balances painful memories with humor.
If I Die in a Combat Zone (Tim O’Brien) A personal memoir
describing combat from behind an infantryman's rifle, walking
the mine fields of My Lai, snipers, and the ambiguities of
morality in a war gone wrong.
Tuesdays With Morrie (Mitch Albom) The author, an alumnus of
Brandeis University, tells of his meetings with a former professor
suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and of the lessons he learned
about life and death from his college mentor.
GRAPHICALLY SPEAKING – GRAPHIC NOVELS &
MANGAS
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., Vol. 1: This Is What They Want
(Warren Ellis) The Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, or H.A.T.E. (a
subsidiary of the Beyond Corporation) put Nextwave together to
fight Bizarre Weapons of Mass Destruction. When Nextwave
discovers that H.A.T.E. and Beyond are terrorist cells
themselves, and that the BWMDs were intended to kill them,
they are less than pleased. In fact, they are rather angry. So they
make things explode. Lots of things.
Sloth(Gilbert Hernandez)
“The story is of young people too creative, too smart and too
passionate for the constraints of suburbia. Miguel Serra wakes up
from a yearlong coma, slower physically but not mentally. He is
literally out of step with the rest of the world, a perfectly
disaffected youth” (Publisher’s Weekly).
Castle Waiting (Linda Medley)
“A long time ago in the happy kingdom of Putney, a king and a
queen accidentally snub the local wicked witch. The result is the
standard curse: a 100-year sleep brought on, you guessed it, when
the princess pricks her finger on a needle. But what happens after
the princess awakes and goes off with her charming prince?
There's nothing left for a castle full of characters to do except to
wait. Thus the stage is set for a surprising, quite wonderful story
Autobiography of Malcolm X The Black Muslim leader,
firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells his life story to veteran
writer and journalist, Alex Haley. Powerful!
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True Believers: Runaways (Brian K. Vaughn) A group of six
young friends, having discovered their parents are all secretly
super-powered villains, run away from home and embark on a
series of adventures, fueled by their desire to thwart their legacy
of evil.
Death Note (Tsugumi Ohba ) Light Yagumi comes across a
Death Note dropped by a Shinigami death god and vows to use
this power to rid the world of evil; but when criminals start
dropping dead, the great detective is sent to track down the killer.
V For Vendetta (Alan Moore) The date is November 5, 1997.
War has ravaged England, entire races have been eradicated, the
entire British populace is under constant surveillance, and the
absolute power is absolutely corrupt. A man with a strong
resemblance to Guy Fawkes blows up Parliament. The bomber, a
masked character named V, saves a girl named Eve from a
violent crime and takes her under his wing. Readers must
ultimately decide if V is a mad anarchist/terrorist or a freedomfighting avenger for good.
Love as a Foreign Language (J. Torres) Joel can't wait until
his one-year tenure in Korea is up and wonders why he ever
thought teaching in a foreign country would be fun until he meets
Hana, the new secretary at the school.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller) Ten years
after his retirement, a troubled Batman returns to the streets
evening the score with criminals in an increasingly violent
manner, which brings trouble from the police and a gang called
the Mutants and a conflict with Superman.
Firestorm: Nuclear Man (Stuart Moore) Jason Rusch is an
ordinary college student. Lorraine Kelly is a respected United
States Senator. Merged together, they wield the atomic forces of
the universe as Firestorm, the Nuclear Man. Firestorm must stop
a deadly nuclear accident and a threat to his very existence.
Girl Stories (Lauren Weinstein) The author recounts her early
teen years in which she was obsessively concerned with her
social standing and weight, annoyed by being Jewish at
Christmas, tormented by a navel piercing gone awry and
perplexed by the mystery of boys and why they like her or don't.
American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang) “As alienated kids
go, Jin Wang is fairly run-of-the-mill: he eats lunch by himself in
a corner of the schoolyard, gets picked on by bullies and jocks
and develops a sweat-inducing crush on a pretty classmate. And,
oh, yes, his parents are from Taiwan.” (Publishers Weekly)
LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT – ROMANCE
The Boy Next Door (Meg Cabot) Melissa Fuller, celebritygossip columnist, lives a relatively shallow existence until her
elderly neighbor is attacked and sent to the hospital in a coma,
leaving behind her Great Dane and two cats. A funny story told
entirely in emails.
Just Listen (Sarah Dessen) Isolated from friends who believe
the worst because she has not been truthful with them, 16-yearold Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and
passion for music help her to face and share what really happened
at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.
Romiette and Julio (Sharon M. Draper) Romiette, an AfricanAmerican girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they
attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet
but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their
interracial dating.
How To Ruin a Summer Vacation (Simone Elkeles) When 16year-old Amy, a spoiled American, goes to Israel for a threemonth summer vacation with a father she barely knows, she is
not prepared for his Jewish family and the changes they bring
about in her life.
Veil of Roses (Laura Fitzgerald) Tamila Saroush, a 27-year-old
Iranian woman, is in the U.S. courtesy of a 90-day visa. If she
doesn’t find a husband with American citizenship in that time,
she’ll be forced back under the veil of repression.
The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things (Carolyn
Mackler) Feeling like she does not fit in with the other
members of her family who are all thin, brilliant, and goodlooking, 15-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image,
her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some
of the people closest to her.
Wait for Me (An Na) As her senior year in high school
approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in life but working
at the family business, taking care of her little sister, and dealing
with her Korean mother's impossible expectations are as stifling
as the southern California heat until she falls in love with a man
who offers a way out.
Hard Love (Ellen Wittlinger)
dreams, only she likes girls.
John has met the girl of his
If You Come Softly (Jacqueline Woodson) After meeting at
their private school in New York, 15-year-old Jeremiah, who is
black and whose parents are separated, and Ellie, who is white
and whose mother has twice abandoned her, fall in love and then
try to cope with people's reactions.
Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier) This riveting tale of fear,
suspicion, and love opens as the unnamed narrator reminisces
about her former home, the grand English estate, Manderley. She
had been young and shy, a lady's companion, when she met the
wealthy recent widow, Maxim de Winter, fell in love with him,
and married him in a matter of weeks. They return to his home,
but her new husband is strangely distant until a horrible secret is
revealed that changes their lives.
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) In early nineteenth-century
England, a spirited young woman copes with the courtship of a
snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her
four sisters.
THIS IS FOR REAL! – NON-FICTION
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 (Mike
Capuzzo) Details the first documented cases in American
history of sharks attacking swimmers which occurred along the
Atlantic coast of New Jersey in 1916.
Teen Ink: What Matters (Stephanie H. Meyer, ed.) A
collection of stories and poems by teenage writers about what's
really important to today's teens. In "Locked Up," a young man
incarcerated for murder writes about turning his life around.
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We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success
(Sampson Davis; George Jenkins; Rameck Hunt) “What
started out as three boys skipping class turned out to be the most
significant experience of our lives,” says George Jenkins, who,
together with Sampson Davis and Rameck Hunt, made a teenage
pact to leave their impoverished New Jersey neighborhood,
attend medical school, and become doctors.
with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence
program named Bork.
The Everything College Survival Book: From Social Life To
Study Skills - All You Need To Fit Right In (Michael S.
Malone) What to bring with you, how to manage money, social
life, classes, friends.
Raiders Night (Robert Lipsyte) Matt Rydeck, co-captain of his
high school football team, endures a traumatic season as he
witnesses the rape of a rookie player by teammates and grapples
with his own use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast
Food (Eric Schlosser) From the best-selling author of Fast
Food Nation, a more teen-friendly look at the fast food industry’s
growth, practices and effect on public health. According to
School Library Journal, the author lays out the gruesome details
behind the tasty burgers and sandwiches.
How I Fell In Love and Learned to Shoot Free Throws (Jon
Ripslinger) Seventeen-year-old Danny Henderson, an
indifferent basketball player, has his eye on Angel McPherson,
star of the girls' team in their Iowa high school. But Angel is a
loner and she’s hiding a secret about her unconventional family.
10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War (Philip
Caputo) A look at the Vietnam War by a prize-winning
journalist. Photographs and personal anecdotes of soldiers and
civilians bring to life what is perhaps the most unpopular war in
American history to date. *** Also read other titles by this
author.*****
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (Barbara
Ehrenreich) Writer and cultural critic Ehrenreich hides her real
identity and attempts to make a life on a salary of just over $300
per week after taxes. She is often forced to work at two jobs,
leaving her time and energy for little else than sleeping and
working.
Freedom Writers: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to
Change Themselves and the World Around Them (Freedom
Writers/Erin Gruwell) This collective journal brings together the
work of a group of students, the Freedom Writers, from an English
class at an "at risk" public high school. Compare it to the movie!
Marley and Me: Life and Love With The World’s Worst Dog
(John Grogan) The story of a family in the making and the
wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in
life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness
through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.
Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Changed America (Time
Magazine) An account of the devastation that was Hurricane
Katrina, complete with dozens of amazing photographs.
Being Digital (Nicholas Negreponte) The founder of the media
lab at MIT makes predictions about the technological future of
the world. Wearable computers? The end of the nation state?
Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do? (Cynthia Voight)
As new ninth-graders eager only to survive high school, Mikey
and Margalo must deal creatively with stolen money and cheating
on the tennis courts.
Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long Distance Swimmer
(Lynne Cox) Distance swimmer Lynne Cox describes her
emotional and spiritual need to swim and chronicles some of her
more memorable swims.
Black and White (Paul Volponi) Two star high school
basketball players, one black and one white, experience the
justice system differently after committing a crime together and
getting caught.
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to
Get Back on the Board (Bethany Hamilton) Bethany Hamilton
shares the story of her lifelong love of surfing, and tells how she
was able to recover and return to competition with the help of her
family, friends, and faith, after losing her arm in a shark attack at
the age of thirteen.
Crackback (John Coy) Miles barely recalls when football was
fun after being sidelined by a new coach, constantly criticized by
his father, and pressured by his best friend to take performanceenhancing drugs.
Baseball: The Perfect Game: An All-Star Anthology
Celebrating The Game’s Greatest Players, Teams, and
Moments (Josh Leventhal, ed.) Baseball is the ultimate
American game. This anthology brings together the greatest
writing and images chronicling the game’s heroes and heroics from its earliest moments to present day.
Damage (A.M. Jenkins) Seventeen-year-old football hero
Austin, trying to understand the inexplicable depression that has
drained his interest in life, thinks that he has found relief in a girl
who seems very special.
PLAY BALL! (AND OTHER SPORTS)
In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle (Madeline Blais) Chronicles
one basketball season of a girls' high school team in Amherst,
Massachusetts.
Dairy Queen, A Novel (Catherine Murdock) After spending
her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback
for her school's rival football team, 16-year-old D.J. decides to go
out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those
around her.
Wrestling Sturbridge (Rich Wallace) Stuck in a small town
where no one ever leaves and relegated by his wrestling coach to
sit on the bench while his best friend becomes state champion,
Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip
by without challenging his friend and the future.
Rash (Pete Hautman) In a future society that has decided it
would "rather be safe than free," 16-year-old Bo's anger
management problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives
Offsides (Erik Esckilsen) Tom Gray, a Mohawk Indian and
star soccer player, moves to a new high school and refuses to
play for the Warriors with their insulting mascot.
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Beckham: Both Feet on The Ground: An Autobiography
(David Beckham) British soccer legend David Beckham on his
life as an internationally famous soccer star. He talks candidly
about the perils of life as a superstar and the difficulties juggling
his family life and travel.
Roberto Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last
Hero (Jeff Manariss) A great sports biography about one of the
most charitable figures in sports history.
Also try books by these authors: Chris Crutcher, Carl Deuker,
Thomas Dygard, Robert Lipsyte, John Feinstein.
I COULD USE A GOOD LAUGH!
Dunk (David Lubar) Chad, hoping to work out his frustrations
and his anger by taking a summer job as a dunk tank Bozo on the
boardwalk at the New Jersey shore, comes to a better
understanding of himself and the uses of humor as he undergoes
training in the fine art of insults.
I’m a Stranger Here Myself (Bill Bryson) Bryson’s hilarious and
poignant account of his return to America after twenty years in
England.
Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris) Another uproarious
collection of essays on life’s weirdness from a man who seems to
have lived more of that weirdness than most.
OUT OF THIS WORLD – SCIENCE FICTION AND
FANTASY
Feed (M. T. Anderson) In a future where most people have
computer implants in their heads to tell them what to do and how
to act, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble for
questioning the need for a feed.
Ender’s Game* (Orson Scott Card) Ender, who is the result of
genetic experimentation, may be the military genius Earth needs
in its war against an alien enemy.
Absolutely, Positively Not (David LaRochelle) A teenage boy's
humorous attempts to fit in at his Minnesota high school by
becoming a macho, girl-loving heterosexual.
Lord of the Rings* (J.R.R. Tolkien) Epic story of MiddleEarth and the battle to save mankind. A great read for those who
enjoy interesting characters and fantasy fiction adventure!
All American Girl (Meg Cabot) Sophomore Samantha Madison
stops a presidential assassination attempt, is appointed teen
ambassador to the United Nations, and catches the eye of the very
cute First Son. Laugh out loud narration.
A Wizard of Earthsea* (Ursula K. Le Guin) A boy grows to
manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the
world as an apprentice to the master wizard.
Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging: Confessions of
Georgia Nicolson (Louise Rennison) The humorous journal of
a year in the life of a 14-year-old British girl who tries to reduce
the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the
neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk
Robbie.
Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World
Today Or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door
(Lynne Truss) Hilarious rant on the abysmal state of manners in
the world today.
Rat Boys: a Dating Experiment (Thom Eberhardt) Marci and
Summer, two somewhat geeky ninth graders, have to come up
with the dates they boasted about for the end-of-school dance. A
magic ring at a junk shop and a pair of pet rats do the job, but the
girls have to keep the rat boys from gnawing everything in sight.
Three Clams and an Oyster (Randy Powell) During their
humorous search to find a fourth player for their flag football
team, three high school juniors are forced to examine their long
friendship, their individual flaws, and their inability to try new
experiences.
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie (David Lubar) Despite being
pushed around by seniors and not having classes with his best
friends, not to mention feeling uncomfortable around a girl he
likes, high school freshman Scott Hudson handles his new and
often intimidating environment with sensitivity and humor.
Born to Rock (Gordon Korman) Leo Caraway thinks he has
his life planned out until he gets falsely accused of cheating on an
exam, loses his scholarship to Harvard and discovers his bio-dad
is a legendary punk rocker, King Maggot of Purge.
Fairest (Gail Carson Levine) In the Kingdom of Ayortha,
Aza, an unattractive woman with a magical voice, learns to
balance her appearance with her talent. Meanwhile, her singing
attracts both Prince Ijori, who cannot resist it, and Queen Ivi, who
plots to use it to benefit herself.
Eragon* (Christopher Paolini) In Aagaesia, a 15-year-old boy
of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that
weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and
power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment* (James Patterson)
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their
group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic
experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves
struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Life As We Knew It (Susan Beth Pfeffer) Through journal
entries 16-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to
survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide
tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* ( J.K. Rowling) The
final book (number seven) in the Harry Potter series, this book is
due to be released on July 21, 2007.
Endymion Spring* (Matthew Skelton) Having reluctantly
accompanied his academic mother and pesky younger sister to
Oxford, 12-year-old Blake Winters is at loose ends until he
stumbles across an ancient and magical book and which now
draws Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.
The Thief* (Megan Whalen Turner) Gen flaunts his ingenuity
as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote
temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious
stone.
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Uglies* (Scott Westerfeld) Tally is faced with a difficult
choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the
outside rather than submit to the forced operation that turns 16year-old girls into gorgeous beauties.
The Rag and Bone Shop (Robert Cormier) Trent, an ace
interrogator from Vermont, works to procure a confession from
an introverted 12-year-old accused of murdering his 7-year-old
friend in Monument, Massachusetts.
Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) The “King Arthur”
story from the point of view of the women, especially Morgan le
Fey.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark
Haddon) Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with
people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic 15-year-old
boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and
uncovers secret information about his mother.
Wicked (Gregory Maguire) Elphaba, born with emerald green
skin, comes of age in the land of Oz, rooms with debutante
Glinda at the university, and follows a path in life that earns her
the label of Wicked.
On a Pale Horse (Piers Anthony)
Zane belongs to a world in which the scientific revolution has
been followed by the revolution of magic, and he is thrust into
the role of Death.
Kindred (Octavia Butler) Dana, a modern black woman, is
celebrating her 26th birthday when she is snatched abruptly from
the 20th Century and transported to the antebellum south.
Other authors to look for: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke,
Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Gary Paulsen, Lemony Snicket,
and Sheri S. Tepper
*Indicates this book is part of a series
Dance Hall of the Dead (Tony Hillerman) No one is seriously
alarmed by the disappearance of two Native American boys until
Lt. Joe Leaphorn finds the splattered trail of blood which leads to
a ritually slaughtered victim.
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) World-renowned Harvard
symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research
facility to analyze a mysterious symbol seared into the chest of a
murder victim. Here he discovers evidence of the resurgence of
an ancient brotherhood with a vendetta against the Catholic
Church.
Where are the Children? (Mary Higgins Clark) Nancy
Harmon, freed when the main witness in her trial for the murder
of her children flees the country, changes her identity and moves
to the East coast where she remarries and has two more children,
but her nightmare begins again when she looks out the window
one day to find that Mike and Missy have disappeared.
IT’S A MYSTERY TO ME
Also read books by Agatha Christie and P.D. James.
The Body of Christopher Creed (Carol Plum-Ucci) When
class misfit Chris Creed suddenly disappears, his fellow students
are not so much worried but abuzz with speculation: Is he a
runaway, a suicide, or a crime victim?
VISITING THE PAST – HISTORY & HISTORICAL
FICTION
The Killer’s Cousin (Nancy Werlin) After being acquitted of
murder, 17-year-old David goes to stay with relatives in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he finds himself forced to face
his past as he learns more about his strange young cousin, Lily.
Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo) When Thomas
Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army,
Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only 14 years
old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood
love and himself.
Acceleration (Graham McNamee) Stuck working in the Lost
and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, 17year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to
stop him.
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (Arthur Japin) Fascinating
story of the African slave trade and Dutch colonialism as seen
through the eyes of two young African princes.
Shattering Glass (Gail Giles) When Rob, the charismatic
leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince
Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.
Sky: A Novel in Three Sets and an Encore (Rod Townley) In
New York City in 1959, 15-year-old Alec Schuyler, at odds with
his widowed father over his love of music, finds a mentor and
friend in a blind, black jazz musician.
The Grounding of Group 6 (Julian F. Thompson) Arriving at
what they believe is an exclusive school, five 16-year olds are
unaware that they have been sent there to be exterminated and
that their teacher is a murderer for hire.
Dance of the Assassins (Herve Jubert) A sorceress and a police
detective track a reborn Jack the Ripper through historically
recreated cities, from Victorian London to Montezuma's Mexico
City.
As Simple As Snow (Gregory Gallaway) An unnamed teenage
boy is struggling through a lonely adolescence until a new girl in
his school's Goth crowd, Anna, becomes interested in him
romantically. When she suddenly goes missing and is presumed
dead, her heartsick boyfriend ponders her fate. An accident,
surely – or was it?
Christy (Catherine Marshall) When 19-year-old Christy
Huddleston leaves a life of privilege and ease to teach in the
impoverished Smokey Mountains, her faith is severely tested by
her pupils, the love of two men, and the curious customs of the
mountain people in her community. Set in the early 20th Century.
The Thief Lord (Cornelia Funke) Two brothers, having run
away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are
sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found
shelter with - and protection from - Venice's "Thief Lord.”
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A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) After the
suspicious death of her mother in 1895, 16-year-old Gemma
returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing
school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and
ability to see into the spirit world.
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway) An American
ambulance officer serving on the Austro-Italian front deserts to
join an English nurse after the retreat of Caporetto.
WAXING POETIC
More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Connecticut Women
(Antonia Petrash) The lives of thirteen strong and determined
women, all of whom broke through social, cultural, and political
barriers to advance women's roles in the arts, on the battlefield,
and in education, exploration, and commerce.
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) Trying to make sense of the
horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a
young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents
help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding as
well as their neighbors.
In Johnstown, In A Beautiful Garden (Kathleen Cambor) Set
against the backdrop of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood of
1889. The South Fork Dam separates two very different worlds:
above it lies the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club;
below it are scattered several working-class towns. When James
Talbot, a lawyer hired to secure the club's charter, alerts the
members to the earthen dam's structural problems, his warnings
go unheeded.
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War (Howard Bahr) A
vivid retelling of the November 1864 Battle of Franklin,
Tennessee. A haunting portrayal of suffering and death. (See
also sequels The Year of Jubilo and The Judas Field)
Mississippi Trial 1955 (Christopher Crowe) In Mississippi in
1955, a 16-year-old finds himself at odds with his grandfather
over issues surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a 14-yearold African American from Chicago.
Finding Moon (Tony Hillerman) Set mostly in Vietnam
during the fall of Saigon in 1975, this is the story of Moon
Mathias. When his younger brother dies in Southeast Asia,
Moon discovers that there is a baby daughter missing somewhere
in Vietnam. He leads a motley group of culturally varied misfits
in his quest.
Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) The story of medieval France
and the building of the gothic and Roman cathedrals told through
the life of a family.
King Leopold’s Ghost (Adam Hochschold) The history behind
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The story of the Belgian
Congo and human rights during the late 19th Century.
Good Poems for Hard Times (Garrison Keillor) Garrison
Keillor has compiled a collection of poetry that he calls
“memorable, recitable, and accessible.”
Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems
(Billy Collins) A collection by Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet
Laureate. Collins will tackle any topic: his subject matter varies
from snow days to Aristotle to forgetfulness.
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went
Crazy (Sonya Sones) In a series of short, intense poems, a
younger sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her older
sister has a mental breakdown.
Crank (Ellen Hopkins) Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect
daughter, gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But
on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina meets crystal meth,
“crank.” Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family
and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the
monster just to get through the day. ”Hypnotic and jagged free
verse wrenchingly chronicles 16-year-old Kristina's addiction to
crank” (Kirkus Review).
Food (Ogden Nash) America’s funniest poet discourses on the
topics of food and the perils of eating in the modern world.
The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time (Leslie Pockell, ed.)
Timeless verses of passion and romance, from old favorites to
modern classics.
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in
the United States (Lori Marie Carlson, ed.) Latino poets tell us,
in English and in Spanish, who they are, where they are, and
what their hopes are for the future.
Poems From Homeroom: A Writer’s Place to Start (Kathi
Appelt) A collection of poems about the experiences of young
people and a section with information about how each poem was
written to enable readers to create their own original poems.
Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems (WritersCorps) A collection
of poems by teens who have taken part in writing programs run
by a national nonprofit organization called WritersCorps. To read
the words of these young people is to hear the diverse voices of
teenagers everywhere.
Fallen Angels (Walter Dean Myers) Seventeen-year-old Richie
Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in
the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty
in Vietnam.
NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED
(HORROR/SUPERNATURAL)
The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara) Historical fiction about the
battle of Gettysburg. Excellent storytelling combined with an
accurate depiction of historical events.
Cirque du Freak (Darren Shan) Two boys who are best friends
visit an illegal freak show where an encounter with a vampire and
a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.
In the Time of the Butterflies (Julia Alvarez) Gives a
fictionalized account of four sisters in the Dominican Republic
under the dictatorship of General Trujillo.
Vampire Kisses (Ellen Schreiber) Sixteen-year-old Raven, an
outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire
some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town who
is eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true.
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A Fate Totally Worse Than Death (Paul Fleischman) In this
horror novel parody, three self-centered members of Cliffside
High School's ruling clique, who are beginning to age rapidly,
become convinced that the beautiful new exchange student is the
ghost of the girl whose death they caused the year before.
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends
(Jan Harold Brunvand) More than 90 frightening urban legends.
Shattered Mirror (Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) As 17-year-old
Sarah, daughter of a powerful line of vampire-hunting witches,
continues to pursue the ancient bloodsucker Nikolas, she finds
herself in a dangerous friendship with two vampire siblings in her
high school.
Watchers (Dean Koontz) The adventures of two creatures
which have escaped from a secret, sinister government laboratory
where experiments in genetic engineering are conducted.
Full Tilt (Neal Shusterman) When 16-year-old Blake goes to a
mysterious, by-invitation-only carnival he somehow knows that it
could save his comatose brother but soon learns that much more
is at stake if he fails to meet the challenge presented there by the
beautiful Cassandra.
Being Dead (Vivian Vande Velde) Seven supernatural stories,
all having something to do with death.
Paranoid Park (Blake Nelson) A 16-year-old Portland,
Oregon, skateboarder, whose parents are going through a difficult
divorce, is engulfed by guilt and confusion when he accidentally
kills a security guard at a train yard.
Dreamcatcher (Stephen King) Four friends’ association with a
mentally handicapped boy with supernatural abilities leaves them
with special gifts that come in handy when they unite as adults
for an annual hunting trip in Maine and find themselves in the
middle of an alien invasion.
Dracula (Bram Stoker) After discovering the double identity of
the wealthy Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, a small
group of people vow to rid the world of the evil vampire.
Edgar Allen Poe (Edgar Allen Poe) A collection of five of
Poe's unsettling short stories, including “The Fall of the House of
Usher,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,”
“The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Oval Portrait.”
*Summaries adapted from Amazon.com & Titlewave.com
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