LibGuides: Edward R. Murrow High School Summer Reading 2019: 9th Grade

Summer Reading Task

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENTS

Your assignment is to read at least one (1) book over the summer and complete the task at the bottom of this box. The goal is for you to come prepared to discuss the book you read with your classmates in September.

Below is a list of suggested titles of excellent books to read. We believe you will enjoy them. However, if you have a favorite author or topic you are interested in pursuing, feel free to choose your own book. You can also access a more comprehensive reading list from the NYC Department of Education by clicking here.

SUMMER READING TASK

Complete the literature log that is linked below. Then using your notes, respond to one of the topics below in essay form. Use specific examples from the book you read.

TOPICS FOR FICTION

Explain how and why the protagonist changes over the course of the novel.
What "life lessons" does the novel offer? Do you think these lessons are valid?
Describe a conflict in the novel and explain whether it is resolved or not.

TOPICS FOR NONFICTION

Describe how the book you read is a snapshot of the time and period it exists.
Describe the real life issues that the book discusses and discuss the solutions posed by the author to alleviate the problem.
Critically evaluate two (2) of the author's main points. How does the author provide reasonable evidence to support their argument? Cite evidence from the text.

Summer Reading 2019 Task Sheet
FOR INCOMING 9TH GRADERS ONLY.
Print out this PDF and follow the directions for each column.

Incoming 9th Grade

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
Call Number: SLA 364.1555
ISBN: 9780374303235
Publication Date: 2017-10-17
One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.
If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.
The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
Call Number: FIC Sur
ISBN: 9780062659002
Publication Date: 2018-01-30
Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict immigrant Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend, Henry, has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer. Tired, isolated, scared—Evan finds that his only escape is to draw in an abandoned monastery that feels as lonely as he is. And yes, he kissed one guy over the summer. But it’s Henry who’s now proving to be irresistible. Henry, who suddenly seems interested in being more than friends. And it’s Henry who makes him believe that he deserves more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse. But as things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by being silent. This is a powerful and revelatory coming-of-age novel based on the author’s own childhood, about a boy who learns to step into his light.
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Call Number: FIC Kin
ISBN: 9780062277756
Publication Date: 2013-05-07
The Bean Trees is bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver’s first novel, now widely regarded as a modern classic. It is the charming, engrossing tale of rural Kentucky native Taylor Greer, who only wants to get away from her roots and avoid getting pregnant. She succeeds, but inherits a 3-year-old native-American little girl named Turtle along the way, and together, from Oklahoma to Tucson, Arizona, half-Cherokee Taylor and her charge search for a new life in the West. Written with humor and pathos, this highly praised novel focuses on love and friendship, abandonment and belonging as Taylor, out of money and seemingly out of options, settles in dusty Tucson and begins working at Jesus Is Lord Used Tires while trying to make a life for herself and Turtle.
Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
ISBN: 9780142426296
Publication Date: 2015-09-29
If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing him in the library stacks. She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead. Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Call Number: FIC Sto
ISBN: 9781101939529
Publication Date: 2018-09-04
Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer
Call Number: FIC Dor
ISBN: 9780142422045
Publication Date: 2012-09-13
Duncan Dorfman, April Blunt, and Nate Saviano don't seem to have much in common. Duncan is trying to manage his newfound ability to "read" with his fingers. April is striving to be accepted by her family of jocks. And Nate is struggling to meet his father's high expectations. But when a Scrabble Tournament brings them together, their stories intertwine. Driven by competition, drama, and just a touch of magic, the story will have readers flying through the pages, anxious to discover who will be the real winners.
Flight by Sherman Alexie
ISBN: 9780802170378
Publication Date: 2007-04-17
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Call Number: FIC Nel
ISBN: 9780142425763
Publication Date: 2015-10-27
The novel is about twins, Jude and her brother Noah. Although the twins were incredibly close at thirteen, three years later they are hardly speaking to each other. The early years are narrated by Noah as he struggles with an enormous secret that affects his past, present, and future. The later years are narrated by Jude and everything changes when she meets an arrogant and broken, yet beautiful boy. Jude also encounters a tormented, mysterious artist—an even more unpredictable force that changes her life, and Noah's, forever
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Call Number: FIC For
ISBN: 9780147514035
Publication Date: 2016-01-26
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Call Number: FIC Gre
ISBN: 9780525555360
Publication Date: 2017-10-10
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. (Amazon Reviews)