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| Summer Reading Program 2010 |
Flop down & Flip the pages
Run With a Best Seller
 |
Student recommnended titles |  |
Staff recommended titles |  |
Award Winners |
Students read reviews and find more books like this in Novelist, you need to use your password.NoveList |
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| Or check Amazon for similar reviews. Amazon |
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Back to top
The List (Titles in blue are new to the list).
This list of adult and young adult reading contains a sampling of fiction and non-fiction titles from current and past best sellers lists.
Fiction
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Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez After his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure, eleven-year-old Tyler befriends the oldest daughter, but when he discovers they may not be in the country legally, he realizes that real friendship knows no borders. (Novelist) |
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Thirteen Reasons Why by
Jay Asher © 2007- When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing
thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed
suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their
town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her
death.(Novelist) |
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City of Thieves by David Benioff -
Documenting his grandparents' experiences during the siege of Leningrad, a young writer learns his grandfather's story about how a military deserter and he tried to secure pardons by gathering hard-to-find ingredients for a powerful colonel's daughter's wedding cake.
(Novelist) |
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Paradise Lost by Kate Brian - Reed and two former Billings Girls, Kiran and Taylor, venture off on a luxurious vacation to the Caribbean, but it quickly becomes evident that exclusive shops and a private island are not enough to keep them out of harm's way. (Novelist) |
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Going Bovine by Libba Bray - All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most. (Amazon) |
Chosen: a House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast © 2008 - Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledging vampyre Zoey
Redbird's adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear
to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies
are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment
of this "highly addictive series" in which Zoey's mettle will
be tested like never before. (Novelist) |
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City of Ashes by
Cassandra Clare © 2008 - Sixteen-year-old Clary continues trying to make sense of the swiftly changing
events and relationships in her life as she becomes further involved with
the Shadowhunters and their pursuit of demons and discovers some terrifying
truths about her parents, her brother Jace, and her boyfriend Simon.(Novelist)
City of Bones 2nd in trilogy, City of Glass, final installment. |
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Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler -
An omnibus gathers the trilogy of romantic suspense-- Kissed by an Angel, The Power of Love, and Soulmates--in which Ivy's late boyfriend returns to her as a guardian angel to protect her from a murderer. Original.
(Novelist) |
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California Dreaming: an A-list Novel by
Zoey Dean- With college just a week away, the private jets are booked,
the vintage Gucci steamer trunks packed, and it is time for the A-list crew
to say goodbye. Or is it? Sam is head to USC film school, but when Eduardo
offers her a different ending, like moving to Paris as newlyweds, will she
go? There are only a few precious days left in LA, and then it is time for
everyone to choose what their futures will hold. Only one thing is certain:
wherever they go, they will always be on the A-List. (Novelist) |
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Just Listen by
Sarah Dessen - Isolated
from friends who believe the worst because she has not been truthful with
them, sixteen-year-old 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. (Novelist) |
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| Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen"The intricacy of relationships that is Dessen's signature
shines here...[the] characters are pure pleasure to spend time with" (Horn
Book). |
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Wildeness by
Roddy Doyle - "Fans of Gary Paulsen's survival
stories will enjoy bouncing alongside Tom and Johnny as they head out into
the frigid darkness in search of their beloved Mam, but these readers won't
go for the Gráinne story line. Parents might find the revelations
and narrative parallels more poignant than the target audience will" (Publishers
Weekly). |
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November Blues by
Sharon Draper ©2007-
"A teenaged boy's death in a hazing accident has lasting effects on
his pregnant girlfriend and his guilt-ridden cousin, who gives up a promising
music career to play football during his senior year in high school"
(November 2007). |
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King of the Screwups by K. L. Going -
After getting in trouble yet again, popular high school senior Liam, who never seems to live up to his wealthy father's expectations, is sent to live in a trailer park with his gay "glam-rocker" uncle. (Novelist) |
 |
Memoirs of a Geisha - by Arthur Golden,A young woman in Kyoto has
to reinvent herself after World War II begins. |
|
Hamill, Pete - Snow in August - Michael Devlin, an 11-year-old
Irish American, meets Rabbi Hirsch, recently arrived from Europe, and in
return for teaching the rabbi about baseball and English, the rabbi teaches
Michael Yiddish and tells him about Prague, until an Irish gang becomes
violent in its anti-Semitism. |
 |
Project Sweet Life by Brent Hartinger - When their fathers insist that they get summer jobs, three fifteen-year-old friends in Tacoma, Washington, dedicate their summer vacation to fooling their parents into thinking that they are working, which proves to be even harder than having real jobs would have been.(Novelist) |
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A Voyage Long and Strange byTony Horwitz
- Tracing this legacy with his own epic trek-from Florida's
Fountain of Youth to Plymouth's sacred Rock, from desert pueblos to subarctic
sweat lodges-Tony Horwitz explores the revealing gap between what we enshrine
and what we forget. Displaying his trademark talent for humor, narrative,
and historical insight, A Voyage Long and Strange allows us to
rediscover the New World for ourselves.(Novelist) |
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Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner - Traces the unlikely
friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son, in a tale that
spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of
the present day. Sequel (still going strong) |
 |
A Thousand Splendid Suns - His tale is a powerful,
Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Marvin is stuck in New York City for the summer working at her quirky family's historic hotel, but her brother's attractive new friend and a seasonal guest who offers her an intriguing and challenging writing project improve her outlook.
harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical
evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters"
(Publishers Weekly). |
 |
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson -
Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Marvin is stuck in New York City for the summer working at her quirky family's historic hotel, but her brother's attractive new friend and a seasonal guest who offers her an intriguing and challenging writing project improve her outlook. (Novelist) |
 |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: last straw, book 3. by Jeff Kinney -
Middle-schooler Greg Heffley nimbly sidesteps his father's attempts to change Greg's wimpy ways until his father threatens to send him to military school. (Novelist) |
|
The Big Field by
Mike Lupica- When fourteen-year-old baseball player Hutch feels threatened by
the arrival of a new teammate named Darryl, he tries to work through his
insecurities about both Darryl and his remote and silent father, who was
once a great ballplayer too. (Novelist) |
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Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
- "I'm a computer geek, a comic book geek, a study geek. Even in
the Fast-Track classes, I'm apart." Fifteen-year-old Fanboy is miserable
at school, where he is bullied, and at home, with his pregnant mother and
her husband, the "step-fascist." His only relief is the late hours spent
creating his own comic book. Then he receives an instant message from Kyra,
an enigmatic Goth who seems to be the only witness to the violence he endures,
and the two form a cagey, charged friendship" (Booklist). |
 |
Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely) by Melissa Marr - Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance. Sequel Ink Exchange Fragile Eternity. (Novelist) |
|
Martel, Yann Life of Pi: A Novel - Possessing
encyclopedia-like intelligence, unusual zookeeper's son Pi Patel sets sail
for America but when the ship sinks he escapes on a life boat and is lost
at sea with a dwindling number of animals until only he and a hungry Bengal
tiger remain. |
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The Road by
Cormac McCarthy - "A man and a boy, father and son, each the others world entire, walk
a road in the ashes of the late world. In this stunning departure from his
previous work, McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, 2005) envisions a postapocalyptic
scenario" (Booklist). |
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Hot Fudge Sundae Blues by
Bev Marshall - "In Marshall's third novel set in sultry Zebulon, Mississippi,
the author treads mother-daughter territory reminiscent of Janet Fitch's White Oleander (1999) and Mona Simpson's Anywhere but Here (1986) . Layla Jay and her mother, a widow on the prowl for
a good man (or just a good time), stave off sorrow by indulging in Tastee
Freeze hot-fudge sundaes: 'Filled with that cup of joyful sweetness, suddenly
you don't have the blues anymore'." (Booklist) |
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Still going strong! Stephanie Meyer, Twilight - New Moon & Eclipse - Began as a simple vampire series and quickly became a megaselling publishing phenomenon. The fourth book in the series is due August 2008. |
Host by
Stephanie Meyer - The author of the Twilight series a #1 bestseller delivers her
brilliant first novel for adults: a gripping story of love betrayal in future
with the fate of humanity at stake. (Amazon) |
 |
Bliss by Lauren Myracle -
Having grown up in a California commune, Bliss sees her aloof grandmother's Atlanta world as a foreign country, but she is determined to be nice as a freshman at an elite high school, which makes her the perfect target for Sandy, a girl obsessed with the occult.(Novelist) |
 |
Burn My Heart by Beverly Naidoo -
Two boys--one white, one black--share an uneasy friendship in Kenya in the 1950s, a country shaken by a rebellion of Africans against white landowners, but suspicions and accusations are escalating, and an act of betrayal could change everything. (Novelist) |
 |
Evermore by Alyson Noel -
Since the car accident that claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras and hear people's thoughts, and she goes out of her way to hide from other people until she meets Damen, another psychic teenager who is hiding even more mysteries.
(Novelist) |
 |
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini -
The further adventures of Eragon and his dragon Saphira as they continue to aid the Varden in the struggle against the evil king, Galbatorix.
(Novelist) |
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The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson - While on a mission to Antartica to save the world from global
warming, fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the Flock--a
band of genetically modified children who can fly--are pusued by their creator,
the Uber-Director, who wants to auction them off to the highest bidder.(Novelist) |
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My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult- Conceived to provide
a bone marrow match for her leukemia-stricken sister, teenage Kate begins
to question her moral obligations in light of countless medical procedures
and decides to fight for the right to make decisions about her own body. |
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Nineteen Minutes: a nove by Jodi Picoult - Popular and prolific
Picoult ( My Sister's Keeper, and The Tenth Circle ,
2006) now tackles the troubling topic of a school shooting. Picoult considers
the tragedy--in 19 quick minutes, 10 are dead and 19 are wounded--from several
different perspectives, including that of the shooter, a troubled boy named
Peter, who was mercilessly picked on at school.(Novelist) |
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Three Girls and Their Brother by Theresa Rebeck -
Transformed into the fashion world's latest "It" girls, the three Heller sisters fall prey to the venal forces and temptations of show business, unleashing a rivalry that threatens the three girls and their quiet, neglected brother with a self-destructive disaster. (Novelist) |
|
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Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve -
When her village is attacked and burned, Gwyna seeks protection from the bard Myrddin, who uses Gwyna in his plan to transform young Arthur into the heroic King Arthur. (Novelist) |
|
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Three Little Words: a Memoir by
Ashley Rhodes-Courter (2008) - Ashley spent nine years in foster care after being taken away from
her mother. She endured many caseworkers, moving from school to school and
manipulative, humiliating and abusive treatment from one foster family.
See how she survives and eventually thrives against the odds.
(Novelist) |
 |
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The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle:
Day One by Patrick RothfussA hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble
proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted
young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, andassassin
in his world. (Novelist) |
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Pride of Baghdad by Brian Vaughan, 2006 - Based on true events and told in graphic novel format. "This story
of a pride of lions who escape fro the Badhdad Zoo during Operation Iraqi
Freedom bombing is simple, lavishly drawn, and devastating...Stunning"
(Publishers Weekly). |
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The Book Thief by
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. (Novelist) |
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Non-fiction
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Class Pictures by Dawoud
Bey ©2007 - For the past 15 years, Dawoud Bey has been making striking, large-scale color portraits of students at high schools across the United States. Depicting teenagers from a wide economic, social and ethnic spectrum--and intensely attentive to their poses and gestures--he has created a highly diverse group portrait of a generation that intentionally challenges teenage stereotypes. Bey spends two to three weeks in each school, taking formal portraits of individual students, each made in a classroom during one 45-minute period. At the start of the sitting, each subject writes a brief autobiographical statement. By turns poignant, funny or harrowing, these revealing words are an integral part of the project, and the subject's statement accompanies each photograph in the book. Together, the words and images in Class Pictures offer unusually respectful and perceptive portraits that establish Dawoud Bey as one of the best portraitists at work today. (Amazon) |
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Moon by Michael Carlowicz ©2007 - The Moon explores how our celestial sister works her magic on the earth, how she has profoundly influenced our beliefs and our cultures, and how she continues to affect our oceans and our science. This is the full picture, from the moon's fiery and violent birth four billion years ago to the near future, when we will once again stand on its dusty surface. Amazon |
 |
Encyclopedia Horrifica: The Terrifying TRUTH! About Vampires,
Ghosts, Monsters, and More by Joshua Gee ©2007 - Nominated for the BRAM STOKER AWARD for "SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT
IN NONFICTION" and A YALSA Quick Pick |
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Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits"This irreverent, witty collection should resonate with a wide audience."
(School Library Journal). |
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Thin by Lauren Greenfield ©2006 - Critically acclaimed
for Girl Culture and Fast Forward , Lauren Greenfield
continues her exploration of contemporary female culture with Thin ,
a groundbreaking book about eating disorders. Greenfield's photographs are
paired with extensive interviews and journal entries from twenty girls and
women who are suffering from various afflictions. (Amazon) |
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Graffiti L.A. : Street Style and Art by Steve Grody ©2007 -
"The importance of Grody's work-as in any other street art roundup-is
in capturing these short-lived pieces before they're inevitably defaced
by rivals or painted over by the authorities; what makes this beautiful
book stand out is the way Grody completes his vibrant picture with the voices
of the street artists themselves" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race
amd Inheritance by Barach Obama - Barack Obama, a black man raised by his white mother and grandparents,
decided to journey to Kenya to learn more about his African father after
receiving news of his death. |
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Grace After Midnight: A Memoir by Felicia 'Snoop'
Pearson ©2007 - "This isn't a light celebrity bio, but a powerful story of someone
trying to find her way in a dark world, realizing she can still choose her
life's direction even in tremendously difficult circumstances. Pearson's
narrative is spare, even poetic, rendering traumatic moments all the more
powerful" (Publishers Weekly). |
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The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose -
Roose documents his experiences as a student for a semester at Liberty University, the largest Christian fundamentalist university in the United States. (Publisher's Weekly) |
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The Burn Journals by
Brent Runyon - "Some excruciatingly painful moments notwithstanding, this can and
should be read by young adults, as much for its literary merit as for its
authentic perspective on what it means to attempt suicide, and, despite
the resulting scars, be unable to remember why" (Booklist). |
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Leaving Dirty Jersey : A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant - "This book stands out. The atmosphere and the detail with which the bit players are brought to life recall William S. Burroughs's classic Junky" (Library Journal). |
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Slam Dunks and No-Brainers by Leslie Savan - " Language
mavens rejoice! This new book by three-time Pulitzer finalist Savan is spunky,
well reasoned, perceptive, and massively entertaining. It's a nearly encyclopedic
catalog of what the author calls pop language: "the catchwords, phrases,
inflections, and quickie concepts that Americans seem unable to communicate
without." Terms that rely on inflection ( Hel-lo ?! for example)
are well represented, and Savan carefully explains how inflection can change
meaning ("whatever" versus " what -ever") (Booklist). |
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Tweak by
Nic Sheff - The author details his immersion in a world of hardcore drugs,
revealing the mental and physical depths of addiction, and the violent relapse
one summer in California that forever changed his life, leading him down
the road to recovery.(Novelist) |
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Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack ©2007 - "Though intensely personal and perhaps of necessity repetitious,
this harrowing chronicle may well provide support and solace to teens facing
a similar crisis" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Twelve Rounds to Glory by
Charles R. Smith Jr ©2007 - "A dynamic author-illustrator team follows the threetime heavyweight
champ through twelve rounds of a remarkable life" (Amazon 2007). |
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Brett Favre: The Tribute by Sports Illustrated "The Tribute includes 16 of SI's finest Favre stories, by such renowned
writers as Peter King, Michael Silver, Leigh Montville, Jeff MacGregor and
Alan Shipnuck, plus brilliant pictures from the recognized leader in sports
photography--stunning action shots, intimate portraits and candid off-the-field
moments--that illuminate this icon, a man who, more than any other of our
time, played his game the way it should be played" (Amazon). |
