Sophomore Literature Circle Books
Theme: Coming of Age, Rite of Passage Novels
The Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci
"Libby Brin, the Queen of Cool, is bored. 'Everything is "boring".' The 16-year-old finds no excitement in her classes or
even her friends — beautiful Perla, whose 'every move results in a disco effect'; Mike Dutko, to whom Perla gives hand
jobs in a school bathroom stall; unflappable Sid, who's in a band; and handsome Kenji, with whom Libby often plays 'kissy
face' but also has 'an understanding.' To create some drama, she peels off her 'fabulous purple gown' at the Fall Formal, puts
a paper bag over her head, and streaks (in her underwear) through the gym — then asks herself, 'What is wrong with me?'
Her apathy sets the stage for cool Libby to do the unthinkable: she signs up for an internship at the Los Angeles Zoo. The
brief, episodic chapters make it hard for readers to get to know any of the characters deeply — but perhaps that's the point.
They aren't deep — except for 'Tiny' Carpentieri, a dwarf, and Tiny's friend, overweight Sheldon, who are also both interns
at the zoo, and whose strong sense of self begin to affect Libby in positive ways. ('All this time I've thought I was an "It"
girl. Really, I am the Without — "It" girl,' she realizes, as Perla moves in on Kenji.) The changes in Libby may not be as
compelling as the subtle shifts in Egg, the heroine of Castellucci's debut Boy Proof, but readers may well enjoy watching
Libby grow up, and hope for more from this promising author." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information,
Inc.)
An Abundance of Katherine’s by John Green
"Green follows his debut novel, Looking for Alaska, with this comic story about Colin Singleton, who at 17, considers
himself a failure. 'Formerly a prodigy. Formerly full of potential. Currently full of shit,' he thinks, when, on graduation day,
his girlfriend breaks up with him, the 19th girl named Katherine he has dated and been dumped by. (That number includes
some third- and fourth-grade encounters, one of which lasted three minutes.) Colin's best friend, Hassan, an overweight
underachiever, suggests a road trip to lift Colin out of his funk. A highway sign advertising the grave of the AustroHungarian archduke whose assassination sparked WWI leads them to Gutshot, Tenn., and Lindsey Lee Wells, whose
mother, Hollis, is the town's largest employer — she owns a factory that makes tampon strings. Hollis offers the boys jobs
recording oral histories of local residents, which they accept, though Colin's true preoccupation is a mathematical formula
('The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability'), which will forecast the duration of all romantic relationships and
enable him to make his mark on the world. It's not much of a plot, but Green's three companionable main characters make
the most of it.
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
This fiercely moving, unforgettable first novel tells the story of Ruth Anne Boatwright--called Bone by her family--a South
Carolina bastard with an annotated birth certificate to tell the tale. Bone's story is inseparable from that of her family, the
notorious Boatwright clan. This tender yet disturbing tale is a harrowing story of family violence and incest that is "simply
stunning" ( New York Times Book Review).
A Room on Lorelei Street by May Pearson
A room is not much. It is not arms holding you. Not a kiss on the forehead. Not a packed lunch or a remembered birthday.
Just a room. But for seventeen-year-old Zoe, struggling to shed the suffocating responsibility of her alcoholic mother and
the controlling guilt of her grandmother, a rented room on Lorelei Street is a fierce grab for control of her own future. Zoe
rents her room from Opal Keats, an eccentric old lady who has a difficult past of her own, but who chooses to live in the
possibility of the future. Zoe tries to find that same possibility in her own future, promising that she will never go crawling
back. But with all odds against her, can a seventeen-year-old with a job slinging hash make it on her own? Zoe struggles
with this worry and the guilt of abandoning her mother as she goes to lengths that even she never dreamed she would in
order to keep the room on Lorelei Street.
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up
in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of
playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith. A profound and utterly beautiful work. (illustrated
novel)
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
The Jarrets are a typical American family. Calvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient
wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. In this memorable, moving novel, Judith Guest takes
the reader into their lives to share their misunderstandings, pain...and ultimate healing.
This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolf
This unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and
vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning. Separated by divorce from his father and brother, Toby and his
mother are constantly on the move, yet they develop an extraordinarily close, almost telepathic relationship. As Toby fights
for identity and self-respect against the unrelenting hostility of a new stepfather, his experiences are at once poignant and
comical, and Wolff does a masterful job of re-creating the frustrations and cruelties of adolescence. His various schemes —
running away to Alaska, forging checks, and stealing cars — lead eventually to an act of outrageous self-invention that
releases him into a new world of possibility.
When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Said's Iranian-born father and American Jewish mother had one thing in common: their unshakable conviction that the
workers' revolution was coming. Separated since their son was nine months old, they each pursued a dream of the perfect
socialist society. Pinballing with his mother between makeshift Pittsburgh apartments, falling asleep at party meetings,
longing for the luxuries he's taught to despise, Said waits for the revolution that never, ever arrives. Soon, his mother
assures him, while his long-absent father quixotically runs as a socialist candidate for president in an Iran about to fall
under the ayatollahs. Then comes the hostage crisis. The uproar that follows is the first time Said hears the word Iran in
school. There he is suddenly forced to confront the combustible stew of his identity: as an American, an Iranian, a Jew, a
socialist... and a middle-school kid who loves football and video games.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High
School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life-which means getting into the right high school to get into
the right college to get the right job-Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start
to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe
not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating
and sleeping-until, one night, he nearly kills himself. The author of "Be More Chill" takes a poignant look at teenage
depression in this remarkably moving and authentic picture of the physicality, the despair, and even the hilarity of
depression.
Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeiffer
Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her
family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic
ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the
unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a woodburning stove. In her journal, Miranda records the events of each desperate day, while she and her family struggle to hold
on to their most priceless resource--hope.
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
"When I was young, I would think of ways to kill my daddy."
So begins Kaye Gibbon's debut novel, Ellen Foster, a powerful story told by the epononymous Ellen, an 11-year orphan
whose violent father is responsible for her mother's suicide. Ellen is eventually taken out of her father's care and placed in a
series of temporary homes — first with her grandmother, where she is made to toil in the fields as twisted payback for her
father's brutality, and then with a neglectful aunt and her spoiled daughter, Dora. Told as a dual narrative, Ellen Foster
follows the heroine's ordeals both chronologically and in reflection, and ends with her wish of a "new mama" fulfilled.