Nashua School District
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SUMMER READING LIST 2008
Grades 9-12
The following is a list of suggested quality titles for summer reading. Books with an * are 2009 The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award nominees. This year, we made some suggestions for each academy. Feel free to read anything else that interests you!
*Click Title to Reserve a Copy*
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility.
Two sisters of opposing temperaments share the pangs of tragic love. Their mutual suffering brings a closer understanding between the two sisters and true love finally triumphs.
*Barakat, Ibtisam. Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood.
A memoir in which the author describes her childhood as a Palestinian refugee, discussing her family's experiences during and after the Six-Day War, and the freedom she felt at learning to read and write.
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. The Tortilla Curtain.
This 2008 NASHUA READS selection tells the explosive story of a yuppy couple (a stay-at-home dad and his real-estate whiz wife), and their clash with two illegal aliens who have crossed into California from Mexico and are living in a camp awaiting the birth of their baby.
*Brooks, Kevin. Road of the Dead.
Two brothers, sons of an incarcerated gypsy, leave London traveling to an isolated and desolate village, in search of the brutal killer of their sister.
*Clare, Cassandra. City of Bones.
Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.
Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen.
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 party that changed her life.
The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.
Tells the story of how young English teacher Erin Gruwell confronted the problem of racial and ethnic intolerance in her classroom, and features excerpts from the diaries of her students, now known as The Freedom Writers.
Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines.
Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.
Grogan, John. Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog.
The author presents a tender story of his family's love for their golden retriever, Marley, and recalls how he grew from a mischievous puppy into a nearly impossible adult that no amount of obedience school training could correct, and of the love they felt for him.
Hearn, Julie. The Minister’s Daughter.
In 1645 in England, the daughters of the town minister successfully accuse a local healer and her granddaughter of witchcraft to conceal an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, but years later during the 1692 Salem trials their lie has unexpected repercussions.
*Hopkins, Ellen. Glass.
Kristina is determined to break her addiction to drugs in order to keep her newborn child; but when she fails and the pull becomes too strong, her greatest fears are quickly realized. Check out her website: www.ellenhopkins.com
*Horowitz, Anthony. Raven’s Gate.(Gatekeepers series: see Evil Star and Nightrise)
Sent to live in a foster home in a remote Yorkshire village, Matt, a troubled fourteen-year-old English boy, uncovers an evil plot involving witchcraft and the site of an ancient stone circle.
Jansen, Hanna. Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You.
Jeanne, the only member of her family not murdered in the Rwandan genocide, struggles to start a new life without her family while coping with the violent memories that haunt her.
Krovatin, Chris. Heavy Metal and You.
High schooler Sam begins losing himself when he falls for a preppy girl who wants him to give up getting wasted with his best friends and even his passion for heavy metal music in order to become a better person.
Meyer, Stephenie. Eclipse. (and earlier titles in series, Twilight and New Moon)
When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward, leave Forks rather than risk revealing that they are vampires, it is almost too much for eighteen-year-old Bella to bear, but she finds solace in her friend Jacob until he is drawn into a "cult" and changes in terrible ways.
Na, An. Wait for Me.
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 mother's impossible expectations are stifling, until she falls in love with a man who offers a way out.
*Ohba, Tsugumi. Death Note, Vol. 7, Zero.
Light regains the Death Note and his memories and continues to evade L as well as the Shinigami thanks to the planning he put in place before he went into confinement.
*Ortiz, David. Big Papi.
Pro baseball player David Ortiz chronicles his life and career, discussing his childhood in the Dominican Republic, immigration to America, years with the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins, and role in the Boston Red Sox's first World Series win in 86 years.
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It.
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
*Picoult, Jodi. Nineteen Minutes.
The people of Sterling, New Hampshire, are forever changed after a shooting at the high school leaves ten people dead, and the judge presiding over the trial tries to remain unbiased, even though her daughter witnessed the events and was friends with the assailant.
*Pierce, Tamora. Terrier.
When sixteen-year-old Beka becomes "Puppy" to a pair of "Dogs," as the Provost's Guards are called, she uses her police training, natural abilities, and a touch of magic to help them solve the case of a murdered baby in Tortall's Lower City. Check out her website: www.tamora-pierce.com
Portman, Frank. King Dork.
High school loser Tom Henderson discovers that "The Catcher in the Rye" may hold the clues to the many mysteries in his life.
*Reinhardt, Dana. Harmless.
Instead of telling the truth about why they are home late, fourteen-year-old private school students Emma, Anna, and Mariah lie and say a strange man attacked one of them, and the untruth results in a slew of problems for themselves, their families, their community, and the wrongly accused man.
*See, Lisa. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Friends Snow Flower and Lily find solace in their bond as they face isolation, arranged marriages, loss, and motherhood in nineteenth-century China.
Whitcomb, Laura. A Certain Slant of Light.
After benignly haunting a series of people for 130 years, Helen meets a teenage boy who can see her and together they unlock the mysteries of their pasts.
Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. (also sequels Pretties, Specials, and Extras)
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 sixteen-year-old girls into gorgeous beauties, and realizes that there is a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn't like. Check out his website: www.scottwesterfeld.com
*Zarr, Sara. Story of a Girl.
During the summer after her sophomore year, Deanna tries to come to terms with the reputation she got in eighth grade when she was caught by her father in the backseat of a car with a high school senior, and struggles with her relationship with her father and best friend.
*Zevin, Gabrielle. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac.
After a nasty fall, Naomi realizes that she has no memory of the last four years and finds herself reassessing every aspect of her life.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief.
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.
