Intro Page | Philosophy | Guidelines | Response Sheet Summer Reading List
The Summer Reading List was compiled after consulting teachers, librarians, bookstores, booklists and journals. Although students are free to read any book on the list, suggested grade levels are given for each book.
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Abelove, Joan. Go and Come Back. 1996. Nonfiction. (8-12)
The remarkable true adventure of the 18-year-old girl who left on a 27,000-mile, two-and-a-half-year solo sail around the globe, braving typhoons, pirates, and starvation to return home a woman, and a hero.Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie. 1997. Nonfiction. (8-12)
Mitch Albom's second chance to learn from his mentor. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live. Audio Cassette or CDAllison, Dorothy. Bastard Out of Carolina. 1992. (9-12)
Bone confronts poverty, the troubled marriage of her mother and stepfather, and the stigma of being considered "white trash" as she comes of age in South Carolina.(FCTB)Alvarez, Julia. In the Time of Butterflies. 1994. (9-12)
Dede, the only survivor of the four Mirabel sisters, code named Mariposas or butterflies, reveals their role in the liberation of the Dominican Republic from the dictator Trujillo. (FCTB)Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. 1976. (9-12)
Ultima, a wise old mystic, helps a young Hispanic boy resolve personal dilemmas caused by the differing backgrounds and aspirations of his parents and society. (FCTB)Anderson, Laure Halse. Speak. 2000. (8-12) Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. (ALA Best Book, SLJ, National Book Finalist)
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. 1971. Nonfiction (9-12)
A poetic and frank autobiography about a talented black girl who recounts her experiences growing up in Arkansas, St. Louis, and San Francisco. Audio Cassette (SLJ, CWIS, HTR, Bank Street, ALA2, FTCB, 500)Atwood, Margaret. Cat's Eye. 1989. (10-12)
Atwood's candid, witty,and intensely moving novel about a feminist artist who remembers growing up in the 1940s and 1950s evokes the vicious power games played by young girls who call themselves "friends." (ALA YA Editors' Choice, Bank Street, 500)Barry, Max. Jennifer Government. 2003. (9-12) In an America governed by massive corporations, Hack Nike, is a merchandiser embroiled in a murder plan, while Jennifer Government, a tough agent, pursues him. A hip, ironic adventure filled with futuristic scenoarios that seem chillingly plausible. (ALA)
Blais, Madeleine. In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle. 1994. Nonfiction. (8-12)
They were a talented team with a near-perfect record but a reputation for choking in the crunch of the state playoffs. Finally, after five straight years of disappointments, the Amherst Lady Hurricanes found they just might have what it takes to go all the way. This is a fierce, funny, and intimate look into their minds and hearts during one special season. A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction.Block, Francesca Lia. Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books. (8-10)
Available for the first time in a single volume, Francesca Lia Block's five post-modern fairy tales chronicle the thin line between fear and desire, pain and pleasure, cutting loose and holding on in a world where everyone is vulnerable to the most excruciatingly beautiful and dangerous angel of all--love. A great read.Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Mists of Avalon. 1987. (10-12)
The Arthurian legend is retold from the feminine point of view with an emphasis on the conflict between the old religion and Christianity. Audio Cassette (SLJ, 500)Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 2001. (8-12)
Quirky, irreverent, and written from the heart, this is the story of four best friends, the biggest summer of their lives, and the magical pants that bring them together. . . an extraordinary celebration of life, laughter, roots, and self-discovery.Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code. 2003. (8-12) When Robert Langdon is called in to investigate the murder of a curator at the Louvre, he discovers that the body is surrounded by strange ciphers evidently linked to the paintings of Da Vinci-and a powerful relic protected by the Priory, a secret society to which the artist belonged. This is a page-turning thriller that also provides an amazing interpretation of Western history as Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries--from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail.
Butler, Octavia. The Parable of the Sower. 1993. (8-12)
Lauren Olamina, who suffers from an hereditary trait called "hyperempathy" that causes her to feel others' pain physically, journeys north along the dangerous highways of twenty-first century California. (FTCB)Card, Orson Scott. Sarah. 2001. (8-12) The character of Sarah, Abraham's beloved wife, illuminates this rendering of a pivotal story from the Old Testament. (FTCB)
Chevalier, Tracey. Girl with a Pearl Earring. 1999. (9-12)
Inspired by Vermeer's painting of the same name, this is an elegant and intriguing story of a young peasant girl's coming-of-age in seventeenth century Holland. (ALA YA Best Book)Choi, Sook Nyui. Year of Impossible Goodbyes. 1991. (8-10)
In 1945 the courageous ten-year-old Sookan and her family must endure the cruelties of the Japanese military occupying Korea, and later the Russian Communist troops. Here is an incredible story of one family's love for each other and their determination to risk everything to find freedom. (ALA YA Best Book)Cisneros, Sandra. Caramelo.(9-12) When Celaya (or "Lala") Reyes takes a family vacation from Chicago to Mexico City, she begins a journey from girl to young adult and from the present to the past. Generous digressions trace roots and branches on the luxuriant family tree, telling the tales of ancestors, family members, and sometimes even walk-on players. The book's title refers to an unfinished, candy-colored rebozo (shawl) that comes to symbolize both the interconnectedness of all these individual histories and the author's act of weaving them together.(ALA, FCTB)
Coman, Carolyn. Many Stones. 2000. (8-12)
In plain words, this small, riveting novel connects the anguish in one American family with the struggle of South Africa to come to terms with its savage past. Teenager Berry doesn't want to take a 10-day tourist trip to South Africa with her divorced dad, but her older sister was murdered there, and a memorial to her is about to be unveiled. Avoiding tourist clichés, Coman shows that both political and personal reconiciliation are difficult and often incomplete. (ALA Best Book)Conway, Jill Ker. Road From Coorain. 1989. 1989. (8-12)
Australian outbacker Jill Ker Conway fights for an education and, against the odds, becomes the first woman president of Smith College.Cook, Karin.What Girls Learn. 1997. (8-12)
In a poignant story, the lives of two sisters are forever changed when their beloved mother falls in love and remarries, only to be stricken with breast cancer. (ALA Best Book)Crew, Linda. Children of the River. 1991. (8-10)
Having fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge army, Sundara, 13, struggles to adjust to a new culture without knowledge of the fate of her immediate family. (SLJ, CWIS)Crichton, Michael. Timeline. 1999. (8-12)
In a thrilling time-travel rescue adventure that combines the latest quantum technology with historical fiction, a group of historians from the year 1999 find themselves trapped in a medieval civil war. (ALA Best Book)Cross, Donna Wookfolk. Pope Joan. 1996. (9-12)
For a thousand years men have denied her existence--Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to rule Christianity for two years. Now this compelling novel animates the legend with a portrait of an unforgettable woman who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. When her older brother dies in a Viking attack, the brilliant young Joan assumes his identity and enters a Benedictine monastery where she distinguishes herself as a scholar and healer. Eventually drawn to Rome, she soon becomes enmeshed in a dangerous mix of powerful passion and explosive politics that threatens her life even as it elevates her to the highest throne in the Western world.Dallas, Sandra. Alice's Tulips. 2000. (8-12)
When her husband enlists in Union army, newlywed Alice is left to mind the family farm with her cantankerous mother-in-law. Alice's matter of fact, sometimes funny letters to her sister tell of the uncertainty and daily hardships of women on the home front. Then Alice becomes prime suspect in a local murder. (ALA Best Book)Danticat, Edwidge. The Farming of Bones--. 1999. (9-12) A Caribbean holocaust story, when nationalist madness and ethnic hatred turn island neighbors into executioners. Amid the rumors of terror, Annabelle and Sebastien hold on to love, to dignity-and struggle to survive. (FTCB)
Delany, Elizabeth, Sarah Delany, and Amy Hill Hearth. Having Our Say. 1993. (8-12)
Two daughters of former slaves tell their stories of fighting racial and gender prejudice during the twentieth century. Audio Cassette (FCTB)Dessen, Sarah. Someone Like You. 1998. (8-10)
Quiet Halley and popular Scarlett have been friends for years. They balance each other perfectly—until the beginning of their junior year. Then, Scarlett's boyfriend is killed in a motorcycle accident; soon after, she learns that she is carrying his baby. For the first time, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever. Sarah Dessen's poignant, funny voice has earned her raves and legions of teenaged fans. (ALA Best Book)Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. 1997. (9-12)
This novel is an attempt to breathe life into the story of Jacob's daughter, Dinah, who is known in an episode in the book of Genesis as a woman dishonored by Shalem and the cause of a bloody massacre. Dinah herself narrates this novel, giving a new perspective on herself, Jacob's wives, and her famous half-brother, Joseph. This is a celebration of women and their work: of life, birth, cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening, and even dying. Audio Cassette.Dickinson, Peter. A Bone from a Dry Sea. 1995. (8-10) In two parallel stories, a prehistoric child prepares her people for evolutionary advances, and a present-day girl visits her father on a dig in Africa, where they discover important fossil remains. A fascinating look at a controversial theory of evolution. (ALA Best Book)
Dillard, Annie. An American Childhood. Nonfiction. 1987. (10-12)
That rare thing in literature (if not in "real life") of an exciting, joyous, intellectually exciting childhood. An autobiography of life in an upper middle class, emotionally supportive family in the 1950s. (Bank Street, CWIS, FTCB)Donati, Sara. Into the Wilderness. 1999. A beautifully wrought, passionately evoked novel of early America is actually a sequel of sorts to The Last of the Mohicans.. When Elizabeth Middleton leaves England to join her father and brother in the remote mountain village of Paradise, New York, she does so with a strong will and an unwavering purpose: to teach school.
Emecheta, Buchi. The Bride Price. 1976. (10-12)
Aku-nna, a young Ibo girl, and Chike, her teacher and the son of a prosperous former slave , fall in love despite tribal custom forbidding their romance. (SLJ, FTCB)Erdich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1993. (9-12) A multigenerational saga of two extended families who live on and around a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. Each chapter is narrated in a memorable voice like the one of Lipsha Morrissey, a young man who is believed to have "the touch," with which he attempts to bring his wandering grandfather back to his long-suffering grandmother with a love medicine made from goose hearts. By placing us right inside the heads of her remarkable characters, Erdrich allows us to feel the despair that insensitive government policies, poverty, and alcoholism have brought them.
Esquivel, Laura.Like Water for Chocolate. 1992.(9-12)
As the youngest of three daughters in a turn of the century Mexican family, Tita may not marry but must remain at home to care for her mother. Audio Cassette (FCTB, 500, 375)Flagg, Fannie. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. 1988. (9-12)
A folksy, funny and endearing story of life in a small town in Alabama in the Depression and in the 1980s. However, the novel's laughter and tears are interrupted by a strange murder and a still stranger trial.Flannery, Sarah. In Code: A Mathematical Journey. 2001. (8-12) One teenager's discoveries in the science of cryptography dramatically impact the modern world. (FTCB)
Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy. 1994. (11-12)
Sixteen-year-old Sophie develops a sense of wonder and meaning as she searches for her father, herself, and the answers to the questions of the mysterious Major. Audio CassetteGarden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind. 1982. (8-10)
When Liza and Annie, two New York City high school seniors meet, they are immediately drawn to each other. Although both young women face conflicts in accepting their feelings of attraction, the story captures the magic and intensity of first love. (ALA YA Best Books 1970-1982)Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. (8-12)
When Jefferson's attorney states, "I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this," disillusioned teacher Grant Wiggins is sent into the penitentiary to help this slow learner gain a sense of dignity and self-esteem before his execution. (FTCB)Geras, Adele. Troy. 2001. (8-12) A city under siege, epic battles and heroes, powerful supernatural forces-it's the story of the Trojan war seen through the eyes of its women in one our oldest stories of the cruelty of war. (FTCB)
Gibran, Kahlil. The Prophet. 1923. (8-12) In a distant, timeless place, a mysterious prophet walks the sands. At the moment of his departure, he wishes to offer the people gifts but possesses nothing. The people gather round, each asks a question of the heart, and the man's wisdom is his gift. It is Gibran's gift to us, as well, for Gibran's prophet is rivaled in his wisdom only by the founders of the world's great religions. On the most basic topics--marriage, children, friendship, work, pleasure--his words have a power and lucidity that in another era would surely have provoked the description "divinely inspired." Free of dogma, free of power structures and metaphysics, consider these poetic, moving aphorisms a 20th-century supplement to all sacred traditions--as millions of other readers already have.
Glancy, Diane. Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea. 2003. (9-12) You are there on the epic journey of Lewis and Clark that opened the west to the call of manifest destiny. Contrasts between the explorers' actual journals and the young Shoshone woman's own records reveal the inherent clash of cultures in this vast new land. (FTCB)
Godwin, Gail. Father Melancholy's Daughter. 1992. (10-12)
This insightful novel is an emotionally tangled, subtle tale about the mysteries of family relationships, loss, forgiveness, and redemption told from the point of view of Father Melancholy's Daughter. (SLJ)Goldberg, Myla. Bee Season. 2000. (9-12) Eliza's extraordinary gift for spelling leads her to understand the sounds of the alphabet, in a way that echoes the teachings of the mystical Kabbal. (FTCB)
Greenlaw, Linda. The Hungry Ocean. 2000. In the bestseller, The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger describes Linda Greenlaw as ;one of the best sea captains, period, on the East Coast. Now Greenlaw tells her own riveting story of a thirty-day swordfishing voyage aboard one of the best-outfitted boats on the East Coast, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of Moby Dick.
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 2003. (8-12) When a teen discovers his neighbor's dog savagely stabbed to death, he decides to use the deductive reasoning of his favorite detective to solve the crime. Employing Holmesian logic is not an easy task for even the cleverest amateur sleuth and, in Christopher's case, it is particularly daunting. He suffers from autism that causes, among other things, compulsive behavior; the inability to read others' emotions; and intolerance for noise, human touch, and unexpected events. He has learned to cope amazingly well with the help of a brilliant teacher who encourages him to write a book. (ALA Best Book)
Haizlip, Shirlee. The Sweeter the Juice. 1995. Nonfiction. (8-12)
This is a provocative memoir that goes to the heart of our American identity. In an effort to reconcile the dissonance between her black persona and her undeniably multiracial heritage, Haizlip started on a journey of discovery that took her over thousands of miles and hundreds of years. While searching for her mother's family, Haizlip confronted the deeply intertwined but often suppressed tensions between race and skin color.Hoffman, Alice. Local Girls. 2000. (9-12)
It's not only her parents' divorce that complicates Gretel Samuelson's adolescence, as readers will gather from the poignant, funny perspectives in these interconnected coming-of-age stories. (ALA Editor's Choice)Hornbacher, Marya. Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulemia. 1998. Nonfiction. (9-12)
This vivid and emotionally wrenching memoir of the author's lifelong love affair with bulimia and anorexia offers a devastating critique of the American obsession with food and body image.Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. 1990. (9-12)
This novel is set in New Hampshire in the 1950s and 1960s. Owen Meany is a short boy with a squeaky voice, who foresees his own death and sees himself as an instrument of God. He hits a baseball that kills the mother of JohnWheelwright, the novel's narrator. Because of Owen, John becomes a Christian.Jiles, Paulette. Enemy Women. 2002. (9-12) Eighteen year old Adair Colley is the headstrong heroine of this novel set in Missouri during the Civil War. Living at the southern end of the politically divided state, Adair and her family are Confederate sympathizers have done their best to remain neutral throughout the war. This means nothing to the Union militia, who burn her family home and arrest her elderly father as a conspirator. Soon Adair finds herself unjustly behind bars with countless other women accused of treason simply for feeding and clothing their Confederate fathers and brothers. Adair escapes from jail with the help of a Union major who is enamored of her, and she makes her way back home, hoping to reunite her torn family once again.
Lang, Ji-Li Jiang. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. 1997 (8-12) A young Chinese girl must make difficult choices when the government urges her to repudiate her ancestors and inform on her parents. (FCTB)
Kaysen, Susanna.Girl, Interrupted. 1994. (10-12)
At the age of 18, Kaysen was sent to McLean Hospital, where she spent the next two years in a psychiatric ward for teenage girls. This brilliant work gives lasting and specific dimension to the defintions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery. Reading GuideKidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. 2002 (9-12) This sweeping debut novel tells the tale of a 14-year-old white girl named Lily Owen who is raised by the elderly African American Rosaleen after the accidental death of Lily's mother. Following a racial brawl in 1960s Tiburon, SC, Lily and Rosaleen find shelter in a distant town with three black bee-keeping sisters. The sisters and their close-knit community of women live within the confines of racial and gender bondage and yet have an unmistakable strength and serenity associated with the worship of a black Madonna and the healing power of honey. In a series of unforgettable events, Lily discovers the truth about her mother's past and the certainty that "the hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."
King, Laurie R. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, or, on the Segregation of the Queen. 1994. (8-12) Retired Sherlock Holmes meets his intellectual match in 15-year-old Mary Russell, who challenges him to investigate yet another case.
King, Florence. Southern Ladies and Gentlemen. 1993. (10-12).
A humorous, sharp, scathing, and affectionate guide to the ways and means of the Southern culture, including story types such as the Southern Woman, the Self-Rejuvenating Virgin, and the Good Ole' Boy.Kingsolver, Barbara. Prodigal Summer. 2001. (10-12)
This novel is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself. It weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives amid the mountains and farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, this novel's intriguing protagonists face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with which they necessarily share a place. Audio Cassette.Klause, Annette Curtis. The Silver Kiss. 1992. (8-12) This suspenseful novel depicts the romantic but perilous love between a lonely girl grieving for her dying mother and a reluctantly immortal vampire. (ALA Best Book)
Lamb, Wally. She's Come Undone. 1996. (9-12)
An extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, this novel tells the story of Dolores Price, a dysfunctional, heartbreakingly comical young heroine, and her wild journey to love, pain, and renewal. Audio Cassette, Reading Group GuideLeGuin, Ursula. Left Hand of Darkness 1969. (9-12)
First envoy to the technologically primitive world of Winter, Al must deal with a hostile climate; a suspicious, bickering government; and his own conventional sexual mores. (FCTB)L'Engle, Madeline. A Wrinkle in Time. 1962. (8-10)
Combining theology, fantasy, and science, it is the story of travel through space and time to battle a cosmic evil. With their neighbor Calvin O'Keefe, young Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace embark on a cosmic journey to find their lost father, a scientist studying time travel. Assisted by three eccentric women the children travel to the planet Camazotz where they encounter a repressed society controlled by IT, a disembodied brain that represents evil. Among the themes of the work are the dangers of unthinking conformity and scientific irresponsibility and the saving power of love.Lord, Bette B. Spring Moon: A Novel of China. 1981. (9-12)
A heart wrenching cultural and personal history of Twentieth-century China in transition. History unfolds through the experiences five generations of an upper-class family with special focus on Spring Moon, who though intelligent and educated, suffers the bound feet and other traditional bonds of Chinese women, and whose rebellious daughter takes part in the Long March of 1934-35. (FTCB, 500)Lowry, Lois. The Giver. 1993.
In simple yet powerful prose, Lowry creates an anti-Utopian world where the lack of hardship, war, and poverty only covers the citizens' lack of freedom. Audio CassetteMackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things. 2003. (8-10) Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-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.
Maguire, Gregory. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. 2000. (10-12)
This retelling of Cinderella is set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, and tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister.Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve. 1954. (9-12)
Married at the age of 12 to a tenant farmer she has never seen but comes to love, a simple peasant girl, Rukmani, struggles quietly and courageously against poverty and natural disasters in a changing rural India. (SLJ, CWIS, FTCB, 500)Markham, Beryl. West with the Night. Nonfiction. (8-12) West with the Night is the story of Beryl Markham--aviator, racehorse trainer, beauty--and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and '30s. (500)
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. 1986. Nonfiction. (9-12)
A harrowing portrait of growing up black in South Africa and the true story of one man's struggle to leave behind its seething turmoil. (ALA, FTCB) Audio CassetteMaynard, Joyce. The Usual Rules:A Novel. 2003. (8-10) Wendy, the 13-year-old heroine lives in a happy, haphazard Brooklyn household with her dancer/secretary mom, her jazz musician stepfather, and her eccentric little brother. Life for Wendy is fraught with the usual teen angst until September 11, when her mom heads off to work at the World Trade Center and never comes home. (ALA Best Book)
McCafferty, Megan. Sloppy Firsts. 2001. (8-12)
When her best friend, Hope, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, 16-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. Jessica is a fish out of water at school, a stranger at home, and now -- with the only person with whom she could really communicate gone -- more lost than ever. How is she supposed to deal with the boy-and-shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad's obsession with her track meets, and her nonexistent love life? Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica's predicament, from the dark days following Hope's departure to her hopelessly mixed-up feelings about the intelligent and mysterious bad-boy who works his way into her life. (ALA Best Book)McEwan, Ian. Atonement. 2002. (10-12) On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives–together with her precocious literary gifts–brings about a crime that will change all their lives. The novel then follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century.
McKinley, Robin. Beauty. 1979. (8-12)
The plot follows that of the renowned legend Beauty and the Beast. Beauty selflessly agrees to inhabit the Beast's castle to spare her father's life. Beauty's gradual acceptance of the Beast and the couple's deepening trust and affection are amplified in novel form. Robin McKinley's writing has the flavor of another century, and Beauty heightens the authenticity as a reliable and competent narrator. (FCTB)Michael, Pamela. Editor. The Gift of Rivers. 2000.
Rushing, rolling, flowing - rivers provide the ultimate metaphor for movement. They carve borders, create livelihoods, provoke adventure, and offer healing. From white-knuckle rafting rides to fishing stories to eco-essays, this collection by top authors explores the historical, practical, and spiritual significance of rivers.Moody, Anne.Coming of Age in Mississippi: An Autobiography. 1968. (8-12)
Living in two-room shacks in rural Mississippi and forced into menial jobs for little pay, Anne Moody learned at an early age the degradation of being African American. (FTCB, 500)Moriarity, Jaclyn. Year of Secret Assignments. 2004 (8-12) A tenth grade English teacher attempts to unite feuding schools by launching a pen-pal project. Best friends Cassie, Emily and Lydia initiate the correspondence, and are answered by Matthew, Charlie and Seb. Emily and Lydia are more than pleased with their matches, but quiet Cassie has a frightening experience with Matthew. When Lydia and Emily discover that Matthew has threatened their fragile friend, the Ashbury girls close ranks, declaring an all-out war on the Brookfield boys. Soon, the couples are caught up in everything from car-jacking and lock-picking, to undercover spying and identity theft. Moriarty's captivating comedy of manners reads like a breezy 21st century version of Jane Austen--with no end of ridiculous misunderstandings, angst-ridden speeches, and heartfelt make-ups.
Napoli, Donna Jo.Song of the Magdalene. (8-12)
Napoli tells a haunting story of Mary Magdalene's youth and the tragic romance that may have led to her biblical downfall. (ALA YA Best Book 1996)Naylor, Gloria. The Women of Brewster Place. 1982. (9-12)
In a series of interrelated vignettes, the focus is on seven black women who take different roads to Brewster Place, a street that once meant hope and upward mobility to white immigrants but is now a dead end for blacks. Audio Cassette (ALA2, CWIS)Nolan, Han.Dancing on the Edge. 1997. (8-10)
Elaborately drawn characters will surprise readers at every turn in this compelling story of a girl's descent into madness. (ALA Best Book)Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi. 1997. (8-10)
Fourteen-year-old Liyana loves to hear her father call her habibi – Arabic for “darling.” But she is not prepared for her family’s move from St. Louis to Jerusalem. This provocative novel builds a bridge to the Arab world, introduces a family readers won’t soon forget, and offers a hope for peace. (ALA Best Book)Oates, Joyce Carol. Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang. 1994. (9-12) Five teenage girls from upstate New York in the 1950s form a blood sisterhood to protect one another against the world and its oppressors, until their leader's disastrous act of revenge puts all their lives in turmoil.
Otsuka, Julie. When the Emperor Was Divine. 2002. (9-12) This heartbreaking, bracingly unsentimental debut describes in poetic detail the travails of a Japanese family living in an internment camp during World War II. Spare, intimate, arrestingly understated, When the Emperor Was Divine is a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and an unmistakably resonant lesson for our times.
Power, Susan. The Grass Dancer. 1994. (9-12) Ending in the 1980s with the love story of Charlene Thunder and grass dancer Harley Wind Soldier, this multigenerational tale of a Sioux family is told in the voices of the living and the dead. (FCTB)
Pullman, Philip. The Ruby in the Smoke. 1994. (8-12)
In search of clues to solve the puzzle of her father's death, 16-year-old Sally ventures bravely into 19th century London's shadowy world. This page turner is the beginning of the Sally Lockhart Trilogy.Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials Trilogy. (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass). In an epic trilogy, Philip Pullman unlocks the door to a world parallel to our own, but with a mysterious slant all its own. Dæmons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes--if it isn't destroyed first. Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventures of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands.
Quindlen, Ana.Object Lessons. 1992. (10-12)
The suburban childhood of Maggie Scanlon changes over one summer in the 1960s, when she begins to view her parents and large Irish/Italian family from an outsider's perspective that develops as she grows up. (SLJ)Robson, Lucia St. Clair. Ride the Wind. 1992. (8-12) In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. This is the story of how she grew up with them, mastered their ways, married one of their leaders, and became, in every way, a Comanche woman. It is also the story of a proud and innocent people whose lives pulsed with the very heartbeat of the land. It is the story of a way of life that is gone forever....
Rowling, J.K. Any of the Harry Potter series. (8-12) Young wizard-in-training Harry Potter has had his hands full during his first four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As if excelling on and off the Quidditch field isn't enough, Harry has heard evil voices in the walls, saved lives, and fended off convicts. Only time will tell how Harry will manage the certain dangers in store for him over the next few years.
Sasson, Jean. Princess: A True Story of Life behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia. 1992. (8-12) A Saudi Arabian princess describes the inequities for women in her country, discussing arranged marriages for child brides, the murder of female babies, and her own life in the shadow of men. (500)
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. 2002. (9-12) Growing up in Iran wasn't all that bad, or all that different, except that Marjane wanted to be a prophet when she grew up. Dramatic black-and-white illustrations tell her story. (FTCB)
Sebold, Alice. Lovely Bones. 2002. (8-12)
After 14-year-old Suzie Salmon is murdered, she goes to heaven and is able to observe her family, friends, and even her murderer dealing with the aftermath of her death. Sebold’s beautiful debut novel is a powerful and unique coming-of-age story. (ALA Best Book)Shamsie, Kamila. Kartography. 2002. (8-12) Amid the violence and upheaval of Karachi, Pakistan, a boy and a girl grow up as best friends, until separation and adolescence change their feelings for each other. A thoughtful, romantic story that beautifully conveys the drama within families and on the streets. (ALA Best Book)
Shange, Ntozake. Betsey Brown. 1986. (8-12)
Betsey, full of dreams about changing the world, struggles with her loving but conflict-torn family in this portrait of three generations of black women living in newly integrated St. Louis of 1959. (SLJ, CWIS, FTCB) ReviewSiegel, Jan. Prospero's Children. 2000. (8-12)
A strong sense of foreboding permeates this fast-paced fantasy about 16-year-old Fern, who discovers she's not the matter-of-fact person she thought she was, but a descendant of ancient Atlantis, one of Prospero's children, and possessor of the Gift. (ALA)Smith, Lee. Fair and Tender Ladies. 1989. (8-12)
Ivy Rowe may not have much education, but her thoughts are classic, and her experiences are fascinating. Born near the turn of the century in the Virginia Mountains, Ivy's story is told completely through letters she is forever writing, and that you will forever want to read.Sones, Sonya. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. 2001. (8-10) Drawing on the recognizable cadences of teenage speech, this novel in verse poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy. The author keenly portrays ninth-grader Sophie's trajectory of lusty crushes and disillusionment whether she is gazing at Dylan's "smoldery dark eyes" or dancing with a mystery man to music that "is slow/ and/ saxophony." Best friends Rachel and Grace provide anchoring friendships for Sophie as she navigates her home life as an only child with a distant father and a soap opera-devotee mother whose "shrieking whips around inside me/ like a tornado." (ALA Best Book)
Southgate, Martha. The Fall of Rome: A Novel. 2002. (9-12) Latin instructor Jerome Washington is a man out of place. The lone African-American teacher at the Chelsea School, an elite all-boys boarding school in Connecticut, he has spent nearly two decades trying not to appear too "racial." So he is unnerved when Rashid Bryson, a promising black inner-city student who is new to the school, seeks Washington as a potential ally against Chelsea's citadel of white privilege. Preferring not to align himself with Bryson, Washington rejects the boy's friendship. Surprised and dismayed by Washington's response, Bryson turns instead to Jana Hansen, a middle-aged white divorcée who is also new to the school -- and who has her own reasons for becoming involved in the lives of both Bryson and Washington.
Sparks, Beatrice. Editor.It Happened to Nancy. 1994. Nonfiction. (8-12)
Nancy's own story taken from the pages of her diary reveals her deepest feelings—from the wonderful romantic fantasies of first love to the nightmare of facing the cruel reality of AIDS. With the disease progressing, death near, and youthful dreams destroyed, she reveals her most private thoughts and experiences in the hope of saving others. (VOYA)Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. 2000 (8-10)
Susan was home-schooled until tenth grade. She has utter disregard for convention by the time she enters Mica High. Her hugely embarrassing behavior, such as playing the ukulele and singing "Happy Birthday" in the lunchroom appalls Leo, a junior. He is both attracted and repelled by this young woman who calls herself Stargirl. The novel, which Leo tells in the first person, unfolds. Slowly, Leo and we come to know the girl's behavior is based in kindness. Star Girl is a unique love story and humorous tragedyThom, James Alexander. Follow the River. 1996. (9-12)
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people.Von Drehle, David. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. (9-12) Beyond the terror, destruction and loss of life, this event changed the landscape of our cities and the lives of working people everywhere. (FTCB)
Von Ziegesser, Cecily. Gossip Girl. 2002 (8-12) Gossip Girl is the anonymous narrator of this campy, scandal-hungry glimpse into the lives of privileged teens in Manhattan's Upper East Side. In between pages made to resemble Gossip Girl's Web site, with updated gossip about the characters, the novel follows its central characters through a few months of private school, drinking, shopping, pot-smoking, and sex (described in relatively non-explicit scenes). When "tall, eerily blond" Serena is kicked out of boarding school, she encounters rumors, ostracism, and romance with a boy from the other side of the tracks (the Upper West Side) as she tries to find her place again. (ALA)
Welty, Eudora. One Writer's Beginnings . 1983. Nonfiction. (8-12)
An exceedingly distilled and focused autobiography, yet packed full of early sensory and auditory, as well as social experiences and wit. (Bank Street, 500)Zemser, Amy Bronwen. Beyond the Mango Tree. 1998. (8-12) In this moving contimporary novel about a 12-year-old American white girl in Liberia, the first-person narrative captures the loneliness—and the blindness—of the privileged expatriate in a world apart. (ALA YA Editors' Choice)
Williams, Brett. Girl Walking Backwards. 1998. (9-12) Bett Williams tells the coming-of-age story of Skye, a young woman with conflict from a new-age mother who wishes to hamper her emerging sexuality. It's not until she receives aid from Mol and Lorrie that she learns to feel authentic emotions in a culture of poseurs and new-age charlatans.
ALA YA Editors’ Choice—American Library Association
Bank Street—Bank Street College of Education. “Child Development Through Literature and Autobiography.”
CWIS—National Association of Independent Schools/Council for Women in Independent Schools. ”Many Women’s Voices: A
Bibliography of Authentic Women’s Voices.” 1992.FTCB—American Library Association. “For the College Bound: Outstanding Books”
SLJ—Recommended reviews in School Library Journal.
VOYA—Selected and reviewed in Voices of Youth Advocates.
