Diman Summer Reading List for 2008

Notice:

Young adult literature often deals with subjects that are controversial and realistic. Many of these books do not contain easy answers to problems and the characters do not "live happily ever after." Teens struggling with the issues and pressures of modern society often find these novels can be of help in dealing with their own problems because they are able to identify with the characters in the stories.

Parents are encouraged to review the recommended selections prior to their son/daughter reading the book.

All questions concerning the summer reading assignments can be directed to Mrs. Michelle Letendre, Academic Coordinator, at 508-678-2891 x1320.

The following books from the summer reading list are all highly recommended. Several of the selections may contain subject matter or language that might be disturbing to some readers and/or parents.

Grade 9

Lubar, David. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. 1st ed. New York : Dutton Children's Books, c2005.
Summary: While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.

Shan, Darren. Cirque du Freak. 1st U.S. ed. Boston : Little, Brown, c2001.
Summary: 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.

Sorrells, Walter. Fake ID. 1st ed. New York : Sleuth/Dutton, c2005.
Summary: After a lifetime of moving and assuming new identities, sixteen-year-old Chass begins to piece together the past that haunts her and her mother which involves a mysterious tape, a deceased popular singer, and the secrets of several people in a small Alabama town.

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. 1st Simon Pulse ed. New York : Simon Pulse, 2005.
Summary: 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.

Woodson, Jacqueline. If You Come Softly. New York : Puffin Books, 2000, c1998.
Summary: After meeting at their private school in New York, fifteen-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 peoples' reactions.

Grade 10

McNamee, Graham. Acceleration. New York : Wendy Lamb Books, c2003.
Summary: Stuck working in the lost and found department of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, seventeen-year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to stop him.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Catalyst. New York : Speak, 2003, c2002.
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Kate, who sometimes chafes at being a preacher's daughter, finds herself losing control in her senior year as she faces difficult neighbors, the possibility that she may not be accepted by the college of her choice, and an unexpected death.

Salisbury, Graham. Eyes of the Emperor. New York : Wendy Lamb Books, c2005.
Summary: Following orders from the United States Army, several young Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt Asians during World War II.

Flinn, Alex. Fade to Black. 1st ed. New York : HarperTempest, c2005.
Summary: An HIV-positive high school student hospitalized after being attacked, the bigot accused of the crime, and the only witness, a classmate with Down Syndrome, reveal how the assault has changed their lives as they tell of its aftermath.

Dessen, Sarah. Keeping the Moon. New York : Viking, 1999.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends the summer working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant, staying with her overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her sense of self.

Grade 11

Rinaldi, Ann. A Break with Charity : A Story About the Salem Witch Trials. 1st Gulliver Books pbk. ed. Orlando : Harcourt, 1994, c1992.
Summary: While waiting for a church meeting in 1706, Susanna English, daughter of a wealthy Salem merchant, recalls the malice, fear, and accusations of witchcraft that tore her village apart in 1692.

Hale, Marian. Dark Water Rising. 1st ed. New York : Holt, 2006.
Summary: While salvaging and rebuilding in the aftermath of the Galveston flood of 1900, sixteen-year-old Seth proves himself in a way that his previous efforts never could, but he still must face his father man-to-man.

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen : a Novel. New York : Viking, 2006.
Summary: 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.

Mikaelsen, Ben, 1952-. Touching Spirit Bear. 1st rack ed. New York : HarperTrophy, 2005, c2001.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Cole, trying to avoid prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life.

Carter, Alden R. Up Country. New York : Scholastic, 1991, c1989.
Summary: When his mother's drinking problem causes him to spend several months with country relatives in upstate Wisconsin, sixteen-year-old Carl begins to build a new life for himself, only to see it threatened by a serious mistake...

Grade 12

Runyon, Brent. The Burn Journals. 1st ed. New York : Knopf :, c2004.
Summary: Presents the true story of Brent Runyon, who at fourteen set himself on fire and sustained burns over eighty percent of his body and describes the months of physical and mental rehabilitation that followed as he attempted to pull his life together.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Prom. New York : Viking, 2005.
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Ash wants nothing to do with senior prom, but when disaster strikes and her desperate friend, Nat, needs her help to get it back on track, Ash's involvement transforms her life.

Haworth-Attard, Barbara, 1953-. Theories of Relativity. 1st American ed. New York : Henry Holt, 2005.
Summary: When his emotionally volatile relationship with his mother ends with him being kicked out of the house, sixteen-year-old Dylan meets three other teenagers while struggling to survive on the streets and must determine which of them he can trust.

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones : A Novel. 1st ed. Boston : Little, Brown, c2002.
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon, the victim of a sexual assault and murder, looks on from the afterlife as her family deals with their grief, and waits for her killer to be brought to some type of justice.

Springer, Nancy. I Am Mordred : A Tale from Camelot. New York : Firebird, 2002, c1998.
Summary: When Mordred learns the identity of his father, he struggles with feelings of hatred, but also fights the fate which determines that he kill the good and gracious king.