Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Prevent the Summer Slide - READ!

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“One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by.”― Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle

We are pleased to present the W.C. Mepham High School Summer Reading Program 2014. Summer should be filled with joyful times, and we hope that reading will be an important part of your summer plans. Below is a required reading list from which you can select a book. Students who are having difficulty choosing a book should ask their teachers, a librarian, or the English Department Chair for help. Enjoy the summer with a good book!

Please note, each Regents and Honors level student entering grades 9-12 is required to read one of the books on the list. All students will be assessed on their summer reading in September. Students entering English 2 Honors, Senior Experience, and Advanced Placement English courses have different requirements. They will read the books that are designated for their courses. AP and Senior Experience students will also be given a writing assignment to complete over the summer.

Incoming Ninth Grade (E1) - select one 
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only Native American is the school mascot. While this book is not a graphic novel, it does contain several inspiring illustrations.
In 1659, after becoming the sole survivor of a shipwreck, Englishman Robinson Crusoe lives on a deserted island for more than twenty-eight years.
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.
Haunted by grief and by her past after losing her family in a fire, fifteen-year-old Green retreats into her ruined garden as she struggles to survive emotionally and physically on her own.
Eighth-grade star quarterback Nate Brodie's family is feeling the stress of the troubled economy, and Nate is frantic because his best friend Abby is going blind, so when he gets a chance to win a million dollars if he can complete a pass during the halftime of a New England Patriot's game, he is nearly overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.
Mortenson, Greg & David Oliver Relin – Three Cups of Tea
Traces how the author, having been rescued and resuscitated by Himalayan villagers after a failed attempt to climb K2, worked to build schools that would benefit the young girls who were forbidden an education by Taliban restrictions. 
*Three Cups of Tea is not to be confused with Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition, which is a special adaptation for younger people.
Liz Murray, who was homeless at the age of fifteen and had drug-addicted parents, reflects on how she overcame obstacles and eventually attended Harvard University.
Recounts the twelve-day pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, with a discussion of Abraham Lincoln as a father, husband, and friend that examines the impact of his death on those close to him.
Incoming Tenth Grade Honors (E2H) - required reading 
An adolescent boy, knowing he is about to be dropped by his school, spends three days and nights in New York City on a quest for self-discovery.
Incoming Tenth Grade (E2) - select one 

Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions. This improbable story of a young boy’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.
When Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe learn about their daughter's illness, they wonder if they should have known about it sooner and begin to question what constitutes the value of even the most fragile life.
In a harrowing memoir about combat, friendship, fear, and a soldier's commitment to his country, Smithson brings teen readers inside a world that few understand, as he describes his experience as a 19-year-old Army engineer in Iraq.
Enzo, the dog of professional race car driver Denny Swift, recalls the memories of his life and shares his insight into the human condition that he learned from observing his owner. 
*The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel is not to be confused with Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog, which is a special adaptation for younger people.
The classic story of a mischievous 19th-century boy in a Mississippi River town and his friends, Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher, as they run away from home, witness a murder, and find treasure in a cave.
Yousafzai, Malala – I Am Malala
Malala Yousafzai describes her fight for education for girls under Taliban rule, the support she received from her parents to pursue an education, and how the Taliban retaliated against her by trying to kill her.
Incoming Eleventh Grade Advanced Placement (3 AP) - required reading 
Rosen, Larry D. – iDisorder
Psychology of technology expert Dr. Larry Rosen explains Internet addiction and the compulsive need to check in with technology and offers strategies to help overcome the obsession while still making use of technology.
Incoming Eleventh Grade (E3) - select one 
After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
After losing an important game for his team, NFL backup quarterback Rick Dockery is fired, but his agent finds him an opportunity to play for the Panthers of Parma, and even though he has never been to Europe, he moves to Italy hoping for a second chance.
This book tells the parallel stories of Daniel Burnham, the main architect of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and serial killer Henry H. Holmes, discussing the challenges Burnham faced in creating the hugely successful White City, and looking at how Holmes used the opportunities afforded by the fair to lure victims to their deaths.
Emma Hunt’s son, Jacob, who has Asperger’s Syndrome and occasionally tries helping the police with his unique forensic analysis abilities, falls under suspicion when a murder occurs in town, reminding Emma of society’s — and the legal system’s — misunderstanding with regard to the behavioral cues associated with Asperger’s.
This book contains black-and-white comic strip images in which the author shares the story of her life in Tehran, Iran, where she lived from ages six to fourteen while the country came under control of the Islamic regime.  

Wells, H.G. – The War of the Worlds
Martians land on Earth just outside of London in the late nineteenth century, and an Englishman tries to find his wife while the British military and human technology fail in their efforts to stop the Martians, which have begun to kill and feed off of humans.
Incoming Twelfth Grade Advanced Placement (12AP) - required reading (both)

Alvarez, Julia – In the Time of the Butterflies
Gives a fictionalized account of four sisters in the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of General Trujillo.
Presents a discussion on how to understand symbolism in literature, discussing the appearance of journeys, eating, drowning, rain, violence, sex, illness, geography, Christ figures, and other signifiers, and how to see patterns the way literature professors do.
Incoming Senior Experience - required reading 
Gladwell, Malcolm – Outliers: The Story of Success
The author explores why some people are high achievers and others are not, citing culture, family, and upbringing as possible reasons some people are not as successful as others.

Incoming Twelfth Grade (E4) - select one
The story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?
This book tells the explosive story of yuppies, Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher, a stay-at-home dad and his real-estate whiz wife, and their clash with Candido and America Rincon, illegal aliens who have crossed into California from Mexico and are living in a camp awaiting the birth of their baby.
An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France.
A novel set against the three decades of Afghanistan's history shaped by Soviet occupation, civil war, and the Taliban, which tells the stories of two women, Mariam and Laila, who grow close despite their nineteen-year age difference and initial rivalry as they suffer at the hand of a common enemy: their abusive husband.
Computer science professor Randy Pausch, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, discusses how to overcome obstacles in one's life and achieve one's dreams.
An apocalyptic tale of the planet's ultimate fate, featuring a cast of unlikely heroes. Scientists, G-men, and even ordinary folks are caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Keep Calm and...

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Can you believe it is already THAT time of year? If you have a library book and you are finished reading it, please return it to us as soon as possible. Overdue notices will be going out on Wednesday. As always, this school library does not charge you late fines. Hooray!