1. Short month, short books!
8th grade February booktalks 2019

2. Orchards by Holly Thompson
Powerfully heavy story told in verse (poetry) centered on teenage Kana Goldberg, a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American
She and her friends engage in some thoughtless behavior towards a classmate, Ruth, never understanding the true impact their words can truly have
When Ruth takes her own life, details surface about reasons why, but who is to blame?
Kana is sent to Japan for the summer to reflect on her behavior and finds connection in the place her mother left behind
But when news of another tragedy reaches her across the world she must come home and find a way to make things right

3. Worlds Afire Paul Janeczko
This short novel, told in verse, shares haunting poems of dreams and disaster, heroism and heartbreak from a true event
The Hartford Circus Fire occurred July 6, 1944.
167 people were killed (mostly women and children)
More than 500 were injured
News account

4. Inventing Elliot by Graham gardner
main character is Elliot Sutton, a fourteen-year-old high school freshman, new student at Holminster High
He was the victim of brutal bullying in his last school and all he cares about is not being noticed for the wrong reasons
Things are going okay until he is forced to witness someone else being bullied---someone that isn’t him
He is introduced to the Guardians, upperclassmen obsessed with George Orwell’s 1984 and power.
They don’t want to terrorize Elliot though, they want him to join them…and eventually replace them.
What happens when the bullied becomes the bully?
Can you ever truly reinvent yourself?

5. Emako Blue by Brenda Woods
Fan-made trailer
Emako is a young girl growing up in a tough neighborhood
She decides to switch high schools to get a better education
Her talent is music and recording studios want to sign her, even at 15-but she has to finish high school first
Told by multiple perspectives, this book packs many emotions into a small package
Does contain mature themes

6. The Playbook: 52 rules to aim, shoot, and score in this game called life Kwame alexander
Quick, motivational, nonfiction read
He is also the author of many award-winning books in verse (The Crossover, Swing, Solo, and more)
Shares the author’s personal failures and triumphs as well as well-known athletes by Pele, Wilma Rudolph, Venus & Serena Williams, and more)
Told in four quarters
1st quarter-GRIT (courage and resolve; strength and character)
2nd quarter-MOTIVATION (the desire of willingness of someone to do something)
3rd quarter-FOCUS (ability to see clearly, to concentrate)
4th quarter-TEAMWORK & RESILIENCE (1-the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective, 2- the ability to recover quickly from difficulty; toughness)

7. “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career
“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
------Michael Jordan, six-time nba champ with the Chicago bulls and five-time mvp

8. ---Wilma Rudolph, three time Olympic gold medalist, track and field
“Winning is great, sure, but if you are going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat and on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”

9. -----Michelle Obama, Former first lady of the U.S.
“There is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices, and persistence.”
-----Michelle Obama, Former first lady of the U.S.