Book Club Choices English I Honors 4th quarter

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins ✤ Synopsis: In the future, the U.S. is gone. In its place is Panem, in which the city of Capitol, somewhere in the Rockies, rules over 12 rebellious districts. To maintain an iron grip, the Capitol holds an annual televised reality show, a lethal form of Survivor to which each district must send one boy and one girl. Out of these 24 teens, only one will survive. Katniss, who volunteers to take her sister's place, and Peeta are District 12's competitors, but their competition is complicated by Peeta's announcement that he is in love with Katniss.The book is the first in a trilogy. The other books are Catching Fire and Mockingjay. ✤ Links to find out more: collins/ ?ean= ✤ For parents: ✤ Lexile: 810 ✤ Film connection: The Hunger Games was made into a movie in 2012 starring Jennifer Lawrence. The movie Catching Fire, the second in the series, was released in November. The movie for the third book, Mockingjay, will be released later this year.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie ✤ Synopsis: Junior has more than his fair share of burdens. He was born hydrocephalic, and he lives on an Indian reservation where there is little hope or money, but plenty of alcoholics, including his parents. His sister hardly ever comes out of the basement. He gets beaten up a lot for looking weird. But he has a few things going for him too. He's smart, good at drawing and basketball, and, unlike his friends and relatives, he has ambition and hope. But when he decides to reach for more by going to a white school 22 miles away, his burdens grow even greater. ✤ Links to find out more: sherman-alexie/ ?ean= ✤ Lexile: 600 ✤ For parents: time-indian ✤ Film connection: According to the New York Times, there is a movie in the works.

Winter’s Bone By Daniel Woodrell ✤ Synopsis: Seventeen year-old Ree lives in the Missouri Ozarks with her invalid mother, and is now in charge of raising her younger brother and sister. She receives word that her father, a meth "cooker," is out of jail. He has put up the family house as part of his bail bond, and if he fails to show up for his court date, they will lose the house. Ree must navigate the treacherous world of backwoods drug-makers and drug dealers, looking for clues to her father's whereabouts, facing escalating violence wherever she goes. The deeper she gets, the more she begins to realize that her father may not even be alive anymore. Only her dangerous uncle Teardrop can help, but how far can Ree trust him? ✤ Links to find out more: woodrell/ ?ean= ✤ Lexile: 1430 ✤ For parents: ✤ Film connection: This novel was the basis of the 2010 movie Winter’s Bone, starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson ✤ Synopsis: ”Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party. ✤ Links to find out more: anderson/ ?ean= ✤ Lexile: 690 ✤ For parents: ✤ Film connection: The novel was the basis for a movie in 2004 starring Kristen Stewart.

The Chocolate War By Robert Cormier ✤ Synopsis: When high school teen Jerry Renault refuses to sell chocolate during his school fundraiser, his decision kicks off a stream of events that cause the school to unravel. Is he a hero or a scapegoat? The school divides on the subject. The book has some terrifying characters including a vicious student and the corrupt temporary headmaster who controls the school, targeting freshman Jerry Renault when he quietly resists them. With the whole school against him, Jerry stands alone. The book raises deep questions of good, evil, independence, and compliance. All serious grist for a developing teen's mill. This dark, disturbing novel towers as one of the true classics of Young Adult Literature. ✤ Links to find out more: ✤ Lexile: 820 ✤ For parents: ✤ Film connection: The Chocolate War was made into a movie that’s now available on DVD.

Reasons Why By Jay Asher ✤ Synopsis: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face. ✤ Links to find out more: ✤ Lexile: 550 ✤ For parents: ✤ Film connection: A movie is in the works starring Selena Gomez, possibly to be released this year.

The Book Thief By Markus Zusak ✤ Synopsis: It is Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Death is the narrator of this story. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist – books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. ✤ Links to find out more: zusak/ ?ean= ✤ Lexile: 730 ✤ For parents: ✤ Film connection: The Book Thief movie was released in November