Mod 5 A Northern Light

Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light. Orlando: Harcourt, 2003. ISBN 9780152167059

Summary:

Promises, promises, promises. Sixteen year-old Mattie Gokey has made plenty of promises. She promises her dying mother that she will always take care of her father and sisters. She promises Royal Loomis that she will marry him. And she promises Grace Brown, a guest at the Glenmore hotel where she is working, that she will burn a pile of letters. Now she is stuck living in poverty, engaged to a man that may not love her for who she is, and carries around a stack of letters for a woman who has turned up dead. Using the true story of Grace Brown’s murder in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Mattie uses her love of words and Grace Brown’s letters to discover herself, her dreams, and which promises must be kept and which ones can be broken.

Analysis:

Donnelly keeps readers captivated in this historical fiction novel by alternating between Mattie’s time spent at the Glenmore Hotel and flashbacks from the previous year until they catch up to each other. Mattie is worried about graduating from high school, passing her tests, and being accepted into college. She spends time learning vocabulary with Weaver, the only other graduating student as well as the only African American boy in the town. “Mattie's strength, courage, and love of learning mark her as a captivating heroine” according to VOYA. Donnelly weaves Mattie’s struggles around the true and tragic story of Grace Brown. Publisher’s weekly says, "The author's ability to recast the murder mystery as a cautionary tale for Mattie makes the heroine's pending decision about her future the greatest source of suspense.”

Reviews:

Booklist

"In an intelligent, colloquial voice that speaks with a writer's love of language and an observant eye, Mattie details the physical particulars of people's lives as well as deeper issues of race, class, and gender as she strains against family and societal limitations."

School Library Journal 2003

"Donnelly's characters ring true to life, and the meticulously described setting forms a vivid backdrop to this finely crafted story. An outstanding choice for historical-fiction fans, particularly those who have read Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy."

Awards:

Carnegie Medal Winner, United Kingdom

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner

Borders 2004 Original Voices Award Winner

Named a Printz Honor Book by the ALA

Awarded a De Gouden Zoen Honor, The Netherlands

Named a Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults by the ALA

Named a Best Book of 2003

Connections:

For more information about the author visit http://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/

To read more about Grace Brown and Chester Gillette visit http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/chester_gillette/index.html

For games and quizzes using SAT vocabulary visit http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games_vocab_sat.htm

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Postcards from No Man’s Land by Aidan Chambers

Send Me Down a Miracle by Han Nolan

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan

A Foreign Field by Gillian Chan

Picture:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780152053109&imId=38321128

Mod 5 The Book Thief

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 9780375931000

Summary:

Nine year-old Liesel Meminger believes her life is over. It is 1939 in Nazi Germany. She and her brother are on their way to Molching, Germany to live with a foster family. During the train ride, the brother dies. After he is buried in the snow-covered ground, Liesel finds a book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, and it changes her life forever. Obsessed with learning to read, Liesel becomes the book thief. Upon arriving in Molching, Liesel lives with Hans and Rosa Huberman. Hans, the fun-loving painter and accordionist teaches her to read. Rosa, the stern, swearing laundress secretly loves her. Liesel spends her days reading and playing with her friend Rudy while keeping a secret. A Jew is hiding in their basement. Liesel earns her title of book thief by stealing the books she needs to continue to learn to read until she ultimately writes her own book. Narrated by Death, who, according to VOYA, is impressed with Liesel as she “makes a profound impression on him, and he carries her words with him everywhere he goes.”

Analysis:

The Book Thief is a gripping story of intense danger yet the reader is warned in advance of what is going to happen from the narrator, Death. The main character, Leisel is realistic in that she misses her mother and brother, gets into fights at school, steals to keep from being hungry, and steals to fill her need for words. She also grows to love the stranger, Max, who is the Jew hiding in their basement. Set in 1939 Nazi Germany, there is real fear of searches from the Gestapo, air raids, and of not being accepted into the Nazi Party. Tragedy (and death) is the main theme of this story as Liesel seems to lose everyone close to her during the war. As the narrator, Death is obsessed with the tragedy and deaths surrounding Liesel as she grows.

Excerpt:

Liesel reversed.

Cautiously.

She took the first few steps backward, calculating.

Perhaps the woman hadn’t seen her steal the book after all. It had been getting dark. Perhaps it was one of those times when a person appears to be looking directly at you when, in fact, they’re contentedly watching something else or simply daydreaming. Whatever the answer, Liesel didn’t attempt any further analysis. She’d gotten away with it and that was enough.

She turned and handled the remainder of the steps normally, taking the last three all at once.

“Let’s go, Saukerl.” She even allowed herself a laugh. Eleven-year-old paranoia was powerful. Eleven-year-old relief was euphoric.

***A LITTLE SOMETHING TO ***

DAMPEN THE EUPHORIA

She had gotten away with nothing.

The mayor’s wife had seen her all right.

She was just waiting for the right moment.

Reviews:

School Library Journal 2006

" Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward...An extraordinary narrative."

Booklist 2006

"It's Liesel's confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth."

Awards:

NOMINEE 2006 - Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific)
WINNER 2007 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 2007 - Michael L. Printz Honor Book
WINNER 2007 - Book Sense Book of the Year
WINNER 2006 - Horn Book Fanfare
WINNER 2006 - Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award
WINNER 2006 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
WINNER 2006 - Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
WINNER 2006 - Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
WINNER 2006 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
WINNER 2009 - Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Master List

Connections:

For more information about the author visit http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/

To watch an interview with Mark Zusak visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7B8ioiZz7M

Visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/

For more information about the Holocaust, visit the Jewish Virtual Library at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holo.html

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Dream Merchant by Isabel Hoving

Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian

By the Time You Read This, I’ll be Dead by Julie Anne Peters

Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, A Shirtwaist Worker by Deborah Hopkinson

An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub

Chase by Jessie Haas

If I Just Had Two Wings by Virginia Frances Schwartz

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Picture:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780375831003&imId=12591277

Mod 5 Copper Sun

Draper, Sharon M. Copper Sun. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008. ISBN 9780689821813

Summary:

Fifteen year-old Amari has her whole life to look forward to. She is engaged to the most handsome man in the tribe, Besa, loves the Ashanti village in which she lives, and has nothing better to do than laugh and joke with her friends. One day, however, strange white men come to visit the elders of the tribe. The welcoming feast turns deadly when the white men shoot fire from a stick and kill most of Amari’s tribe. The rest are taken prisoner and sold into slavery. Amari endures a long voyage across the ocean, and is sold to Percival Derby, a plantation owner. Mr. Derby intends for Amari to be a birthday present for his sixteen year-old son. Though she is overworked, beaten, and repeatedly raped, Amari befriends Polly, a white indentured servant. Together, Amari and Polly escape and head south to Florida. Can Amari and Polly survive the journey and the hardships without being caught?

Analysis:

Copper Sun is a historical fiction novel set in 1738. While the actual story is fiction, a lot of the references are true. Young, strong black adolescents were taken from their homes, sold into slavery, and treated as property. The punishments described in the book are accurate as well as the location of Fort Mose and Captain Menendez. Amari, however, is a fictional character who feels all the same emotions of any teenager who witnesses the murder of her parents, the loss of her home, and the humiliation of rape. She shows remarkable determination in her survival, especially in keeping her name throughout the story. School Library Journal says, “This action-packed, multifaceted, character-rich story describes the shocking realities of the slave trade and plantation life while portraying the perseverance, resourcefulness, and triumph of the human spirit." Draper keeps the reader invested in the story by alternating points of view between Polly and Amari. “Polly's cynicism and realistic outlook on life provides a welcome contrast to the lost innocence of Amari, whose voice often disappears beneath the misery of her circumstances,” says Kirkus.

Reviews:

Booklist 2006

" Draper builds the explosive tension to the last chapter, and the sheer power of the story, balanced between the overwhelmingly brutal facts of slavery and Amari's ferocious survivor's spirit, will leave readers breathless, even as they consider the story's larger questions about the infinite costs of slavery and how to reconcile history. A moving, personal author's note discusses the real places and events on which the story is based."

Kirkus 2006

"Sobering, yet essential."

Awards:

2007 Coretta Scott King Literature award

2007 Ohioana Award for Young Adult Literature

Top Ten Historical Fiction Books for Youth by Booklist

Nominated for the 2007 NAACP Image Award for Literature

IRA Notable Book for a Global Society

Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

Listed on the New York Times Bestseller List

Chosen by the National Underground Railroad Freedom center as a major museum exhibit

Chosen by the International Reading Association, the United States State Department, and Reading Across Continents as the novel to be read by students from the US and Africa. A true international, intercontinental, multi-cultural literary experience!

Connections:

For information about the author visit http://sharondraper.com/

For information about slavery visit http://www.sciway.net/afam/slavery/indexs.html

For a map of the Middle Passage/slave trade route visit http://www.juneteenth.com/mp2.htm

For an interactive map of the Underground Railroad visit http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/books/applications/imaps/maps/g5s_u6/index.html

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phyllis Wheatley by Ann Rinaldi

The Red Rose Box by Brenda Woods

Hope’s Crossing by Joan Elizabeth Goodman

Names Will Never Hurt Me by Jamie Adoff

Pemba’s Song: A Ghost Story by Tonya Hegamin

Annie, Between the States by Laura Malone Elliott

The Night I Disappeared by Julie Reece Deaver

Picture:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780689821813&imId=12576258

Mod 4 Uglies

Westerfield, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. 978068986538

Summary:

For almost 16 years, Tally has woken up every morning and looked out her window at New Pretty Town. Everyone is born ugly, but at sixteen you have an operation that will make you pretty-like everyone else. All of Tally’s friends are already in New Pretty Town and Tally cannot wait to see them again. In the meantime, she meets Shay, another Ugly who happens to share her birthday. Tally and Shay become fast friends while playing tricks and sneaking out at night. As her sixteenth birthday gets closer, Shay reveals that she does not want to be pretty. She plans to run away and asks Tally to go with her to live with the Smokies. Tally does not go, but does not stop Shay from running away either. The authorities, also known as Specials, give Tally a choice-help them find her friend or never be pretty. Tally’s choice gives her a new definition of Pretty.

Analysis:

Tally, the main character in this science fiction dystopian novel, is just like every other teenager. She wants to be accepted and pretty. She allows her feelings to rule her decisions, feels trapped by authority, and ends up giving her loyalty to her friends rather than the authority. The futuristic setting describes how the “Rusties” became too dependent on oil and most died in a panic. However, the metal left behind gave way to hoverboard transportation that uses magnetic fields to move. While the reader must suspend some disbelief in the novel, the typical teen novel includes the absence of parents, evil adults in authority, and world altering decisions to be made by the teens. Kirkus review says, “Tally inflicts betrayal after betrayal, which dominates the theme for the midsection; by the end, the nature of this dystopia is front and center and Tally-trying to set things right-takes a stunning leap of faith.”

Excerpt:

“Maybe I think my face is already right”

“Yeah, it’s great.” Tally rolled her eyes. “For an ugly.”

Shay scowled. “What, can’t you stand me? Do you need to get some picture into your head so you can imagine it instead of my face?”

“Shay! Come on. It’s just for fun.”

“Making ourselves ugly is not fun.”

“We are ugly!”

“This whole game is just designed to make us hate ourselves.”

Reviews:

Booklist 2005

"...teens will sink their teeth into the provocative questions about invasive technology, image-obsessed society, and the ethical quandaries of a mole-turned-ally."

Publisher's Weekly

"Teens will appreciate the gadgetry-including bungee jackets and hoverboards that work by magnetic levitation."

School Library Journal 2005

"...highly readable with a convincing plot that incorporates futuristic technologies and a disturbing commentary on our current public policies"

Awards:

Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best for Teens, 2005
Kirkus Editor's Choice, 2005
New York Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age", 2005
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2005
Texas Lone Star Reading List, 2006-2007
VOYA's Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers, 2005
YALSA Best Books For Young Adults, 2006
YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2006
YALSA Quick Picks Nominee, 2006

Connections:

For more information about the author visit http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/

For more information on reconstructive surgery visit http://www.webmd.com/skin-beauty/guide/reconstructive-surgery

For more information on hoverboards visit http://www.howstuffworks.com/hoverboard.htm

If you are wondering about the plausibility of the oil-eating bacteria that devastated the world of the “rusties" you might want to see these pages at the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency - http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/bioagnts.htm.

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian

Elsewhere by Will Sheterly

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Cover photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780689865381&imId=60059691

Mod 4 Ender's Game

Card, Orson S. Ender's Game. New York: TOR, 1991. ISBN 9780765342294

Summary:

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is a not-so-ordinary six year-old boy. He is gifted, of course, as everyone in his family is. But, he is a third. A special circumstance. Not every family can have three children. Ender’s family is different, though. Ender’s older brother, Peter, and sister, Valentine are both gifted, but they did not pass the military standards needed for the perfect general. Ender is the last hope. He begins training immediately. Taken from his family at the age of six, Ender trains at Battle School, an off-planet site where training is a game and growing up is not.

Analysis:

Ender’s Game is a futuristic, dystopia science fiction novel. It begins on Earth, which is doomed to invasion by “buggers.” The military has been looking for a general to lead the army in battle in defense of the planet for more than one hundred years. In that time, technology has allowed space stations with on-demand gravity, instant communication between spacecraft, and life-like simulations. Ender, the smallest and smartest soldier, must learn combat, leadership, and self-preservation. There is no time for coddling, only learning. Ender learns self-defense tactics that keep him safe from the other soldiers who are jealous of his growing leadership abilities. Library Journal review says, “Aptest pupil ever Ender quickly rises to the top of Battle School, which has twice the nasty of any boarding school and all the charms of a snake pit.” The training takes place in a space station, where gravity is manufactured when needed. As Ender’s abilities grow, he is transferred to a small planet on the other side of the solar system to practice commanding a fleet of warships. Ender soon learns that the simulations here are more than a game.

Reviews:

School Library Journal 2008

"Despite Ender's age, this is not a children's novel. Its profound themes (and mild profanity) call for intelligent teens who appreciate a complex novel."

Awards:

Nebula

Hugo Award

Connections:

For more information about the author visit http://www.hatrack.com/

For discussion questions and study guides visit http://www.hatrack.com/research/index.shtml

For more information about the International Space Station visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

To listen to an audio excerpt visit http://us.macmillan.com/endersgame-card

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Owlflight by Mercedes Lackey

Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Cover photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780765342294&imId=42095598

Mod 4 Life as we knew it

Pfeffer, Susan B. Life As We Knew It. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. ISBN 9780152058265

Summary:

Sixteen year-old Miranda is a typical teenager at the end of her sophomore year. She works hard in school, hangs out with her friends, follows her heartthrob on the Internet, and is looking forward to driving. Her dad’s new wife is pregnant, and her mom is dating a new man, Peter. The big topic on the news is that an asteroid is supposed to collide with the moon. In a party-like atmosphere, the whole town turns out to watch the impact. But it wasn’t what was expected. “But the moon wasn’t a half moon anymore. It was tilted and wrong and a three-quarter moon and it got larger, way larger, large like a moon rising on the horizon, only it wasn’t rising.” Miranda’s typical teenage life comes to a screeching halt. Worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions lead to food shortages, gas shortages, and climate changes. Miranda and her family shift into survival mode until things return to normal. And they will return to normal…won’t they?

Analysis:

Life as we knew it is written in a diary format that keeps the readers involved in the day to day struggles of Miranda, her family, and neighbors. It is a well-written futuristic fantasy novel that makes the reader ask, “What would I do if this happened to me?” Miranda’s plight becomes more and more personal as the setting closes in from the town to the neighborhood to the house to one room. Miranda also develops as a character from the carefree teenager interested only in driving, friends, and dates to the one who is increasingly responsible for the survival of the family as family members succumb to injury, illness, and malnutrition. Amazon.com says this is a “haunting book that documents one adolescent's journey from self-absorbed child to selfless young woman.”

Reviews:

School Library Journal 2006

…readers will be left stunned and thoughtful.

Voice of Youth Advocates 2006

this novel reminds readers of the wild power of nature that far outstrips human ability to either predict or control it.

Booklist 2006

…readers will respond to the authenticity and immediacy of their [Miranda and her family] plight. Each page is filled with events both wearying and terrifying and infused with honest emotions. Pfeffer brings cataclysmic tragedy very close.

Awards:

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

CCBC Choices

Junior Library Guild Premier Selection Junior Library Guild Premier Selection

Connections:

For information about the author visit susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/

For information on preparing for a disaster visit http://www.ready.gov/

To view a meteoroid hitting the moon visit http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/13jun_lunarsporadic/

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz

Nightrise by Anthony Horowitz

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

School’s Out Forever by James Patterson

Passager by Jane Yolen

Rowan and the Travelers by Emily Rodda

Cover photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780152061548&imId=53228696