NOHS 2009 Top 25 books for Summer Reading

1. NOHS 2009Top 25 books forSummer Reading

2. Every student will participate in reading a book this summer. Students may choose from: NOHS Top 25 Independent choice AP required listVisit www.oldham.kyschools.us/nohs for previous years Top 25 booklists

3. The BIG QuestionHow will my reading be assessed?How summer reading is used in the English class is up to the creative choice of each teacher.Possibilities…. Discussion groups Book talk Reflection/review essay

4. The Chosen Oneby Carol Lynch Williams • Have you ever had the choice between two things and neither option looked good? Kyra, who is almost 14, lives in a closed community with her father, his three wives, and her 20 brothers and sisters. When the whole family is brought together for a visit from Prophet Child, the leader of their community, the family thinks they may be getting promoted, which would mean a nicer house than the three trailers the family live in now. Instead, they learn that the Prophet has decreed that Kyra is to marry Hyrum, her sixty-year old uncle who has 6 wives already. Kyra does not want to, but as she starts to rebel, the consequences fall on people she cares about. Kyra must choose between her freedom and her family.

5. http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m34WM2E3L2INP4In a world where some people are born with extreme and often feared skills called Graces. Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying grace, the grace of killing, teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king. Gracelingby Kristen Cashore

6. The transition from high school to college often brings a sense of freedom and release, but Chris' first few days on a university campus were impacted by the arrival of an FBI agent full of questions about his best friend. Author Jennifer Bradbury does an exquisite job of seamlessly weaving past and present scenes into an intriguing, cohesive story as Chris struggles to decide what to do about his missing friend, Win, last seen at the end of their cross-country bike trip Shiftby Jennifer Bradbury

7. Wintergirlsby Laurie Halse Anderson http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mBR84KI4N5BRO

8. The Hunger Gamesby Suzanne Collins http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m154XLKNYB5WH0

9. A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers. When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. Perfect Chemistryby Simone Elkeles

10. Ten Mile Riverby Paul Griffen • Ten Mile River is 21st century Twain: the dialect, the close escapes, fishing for their dinner, a near-drowning, even the floating dead bodies. • Two teenage boys living on their own in an abandoned shack in New York City.

11. No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, Teenagers on Death Rowby Susan Kuklin • No Choirboy takes readers inside America’s prisons, and allows inmates sentenced to death as teenagers to speak for themselves. In their own voices—raw and uncensored—they talk about their lives in prison, and share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up there. Susan Kuklin also gets inside the system, exploring capital punishment itself and the intricacies and inequities of criminal justice in the United States. • This is a searing, unforgettable read, and one that could change the way we think about crime and punishment.

12. In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. Unwindby Neal Shusterman

13. Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee • Cursed with the nickname “the Artichoke” after wearing an ill-chosen green jacket to school way back in sixth grade, Rosemary continues to cope with the cool kids’ disdain by making food her friend. It’s a treacherous ally, though, and when she tops 200 pounds, she decides to make radical changes and begins to lose some serious weight. Then, Rosemary discovers that an A-list girl wants to befriend her, the boy she adores returns her feelings, and (most incredible of all) her mother has cancer.

14. The ethics of bioengineering in the not-so-distant future drives this story. Jenna, 17, severely injured in a car crash, is saved by her heartbroken father, a scientist who illegally uses the latest medical technology to help her. Only 10 per cent of her original brain is saved, but Dad has programmed her by uploading the high-school curriculum. She could live two years, or 200. Is she a monster or a miracle? What startling secret does she learn about herself? The Adoration of Jenna Foxby Mary Pearson

15. The Astonishing Life of Octavian NothingbyM.T. Anderson • In this fascinating and eye-opening Revolution-era novel, Octavian, a black youth raised in a Boston household of radical philosophers, is given an excellent classical education. He and his mother, an African princess, are kept isolated on the estate, and only as he grows older does he realize that while he is well dressed and well fed, he is indeed a captive being used by his guardians as part of an experiment to determine the intellectual acuity of Africans.

16. Looking for Alaskaby John Green • Green's debut YA novel follows a year in the life of high school junior Miles Halter, a friendless Floridian who begged his parents to enroll him in the Culver Creek boarding school. Miles dreams of starting anew at his elite Alabama prep school, of finding Francois Rabelais's "The Great Perhaps." At school, he falls in with a prankster of a roommate, the Colonel, and the sassy, sexy, messed-up Alaska Young. For an unforgettable 128 days, Miles learns life lessons in love, loyalty, friendship, literature, and poetry, as well as experiences the thrill of a first girlfriend. When tragedy strikes Culver Creek, Miles is forced to undertake an even closer examination of his own character and relationship with his friends.

17. Junger, a journalist reconstructs here the last moments before the wreck of a swordfish boat during a fierce storm off the coast of Nova Scotia in October 1991. The Andrea Gail was a 70-foot, steel-hulled vessel that fished for swordfish using a 30-mile "longline" with thousands of hooks. Junger provides an excellent account of the fishing industry, detailing various fishing techniques; he also chronicles the rowdy lifestyle of fishermen. He recounts harrowing stories of the search and rescue efforts of other vessels caught in the same storm, including a fascinating look at "rescue swimmers." The Perfect Stormby Sebastian Junger

18. Kabul Beauty Schoolby Deborah Rodriguez • Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. With warmth and humor,Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.

19. Falling Leaves, the Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughterby Adeline Yen Mah • In 1937, Adeline Yen Mah's mother died giving birth to her. Because of this, she was considered "bad luck", tormented by her siblings and shunned by her father. Her father soon remarried a beautiful, young Eurasian woman who was cruel and manipulative. She treated all five of her stepchildren badly, but saved her real hatred for Adeline. Falling Leaves is the powerful, riveting memoir of emotional abuse and isolation that Ms Yen Mah suffered at the hands of her stepmother. At this point, most would say, "Why would I want to torture myself by reading a book about child abuse?" The answer is simple...Adeline Yen Mah didn't just survive her childhood, she triumphed. With great wisdom and insight, she tells a story not just about her life, but the life of China, before and after the cultural revolution and how both were changed forever. .

20. The Last Lectureby Randy Pausch • http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2YH4U3WTBO0QA

21. The Associateby John Grisham • Kyle McAvoy grew up in his father’s small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal, and his future has limitless potential. • But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget. The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job he doesn’t want—even though it’s a job most law students can only dream about. • Three months after leaving Yale, Kyle becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world, where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed.

22. Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Livesby Brian Weiss, MD • In 1980, Weiss, head of the psychiatry department at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, began treating Catherine, a 27-year-old woman plagued by anxiety, depression and phobias. When Weiss turned to hypnosis to help Catherine remember repressed childhood traumas, what emerged were the patient's descriptions of a dozen or so of her hitherto unknown 86 past lives, as well as philosophical messages channeled from "Master Spirits." Catherine's anxieties and phobias soon disappeared, says Weiss, and she was able to end therapy.

23. For One More Day by Mitch Albom • For One More Day is 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? • From the author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People you Meet in Heaven

24. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse • Siddhartha's life takes him on a journey toward enlightenment. Afire with youthful idealism, the Brahmin joins a group of ascetics, fasting and living without possessions. Meeting Gotama, the Buddha, he comes to feel this is not the right path, though he also declines joining the Buddha's followers. He reenters the world, hoping to learn of his own nature, but instead slips gradually into hedonism and materialism.

25. And Then There Were Noneby Agatha Christie • Considered the best mystery novel ever written by many readers, And Then There Were None is the story of 10 strangers, each lured to Indian Island by a mysterious host. Once his guests have arrived, the host accuses each person of murder. Unable to leave the island, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets--

26. The Shack by William Young • Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him.

27. Derailed by James Siegel • Derailed' is a STUNNER! This is a well written, intense novel that will grab you and not let go. this story of a middle-class professional whose life goes incredibly, criminally awry is one of the most exciting thrillers in years. The gripping plot is packed with twists and turns galore, and that ending??? What an ending, you will be surprised. `Derailed' has it all ; complex plot, well-drawn characters, relentless suspense and a shocking climax. This is a thriller of the highest order.

28. Water for Elephantsby Sarah Gruen • At the beginning of Water for Elephants, Jacob is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best.