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Here is my hit for recommended books for a high school book club.
Do what NPR did and use the Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. =
Wonderful tie ins with 9/11 and Our Town. A nice way to link generations.
We started a book club this year. Did To Kill a Mockingbird in September. =
Tuesdays with Morrie in October (kids loved it), Bean Trees in November, =
and starting A Christmas Carol in December. These were all
preselected by an English teacher.
January will be the first Harry Potter book, February may be The Good =
Earth, also looking at Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These are all member =
picked.
Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
Tribes of Palos Verde by Joy Nicholson
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Renison
We are starting the same thing here. We meet for the first time next week =
so I can let you know how it goes. I chose Stuck in Neutral by Terry =
Trueman as the first book for a number of reasons. First, it's not that =
long. Second, available in PB - a must for me. Third, the students here =
do extensive adult literature reading so I very much wanted something YA =
that would provide thought but that didn't require so much work that it =
wasn't fun anymore. =20
I've decided that the students can make suggestions for the next book but =
that I will make the final determination. I very much want it to be =
informal and fun with food, coffee and a book - they do enough homework. =
=20
I just started a book club here too (with 9th grade students only) and I =
selected the first book. I also did not want a difficult read, one that =
could appeal to both sexes. We started off with "Monster" by Walter Dean =
Myers. The first selection was well received. I offered a few title =
choices for the next read- a genre of their choice - and I let them =
decide. I hope that the next one will work as well. They picked scienc =
fiction- not my favorite! Good luck with your club. =20
We have had an afterschool book discussion group in our high school for =
about the past four years. An English teacher and I run it and it's open =
to students, teachers and parents. We meet about once a month and even try =
for a summer poolside meeting. Attendance varies, but we usually see =
between 5-6=20
adults and 6-10 students at each meeting -refreshments are voluntarily =
contributed and we meet in the LMC.
We've read everything from classics to contemporary novels, depending upon =
the mood and suggestions of the participants. The novel that stands out =
most in my mind as everyone's all-time favorite is The Pact by Jodi =
Picoult. I'll forewarn you - it's powerful stuff, about a teenage suicide =
pact. It features two families, next door neighbors, the parents are best =
friends,the kids are raised practically as sister and brother. When they =
hit their teen years and begin to look at each other differently, everyone =
thinks it's=20
wonderful. The guy and girl are great kids, talented, bright, seniors in =
high school with plans to go off to college. When the girl realizes she's =
pregnant, she keeps it to herself and goes into a deep depression,=20
believing that she's ruined her life and destroyed everyone's love and =
trust for her. She decides the only way out is to commit suicide. She =
convinces=20
her boyfriend to help her, and he pretends to agree, thinking he can =
change her mind eventually. He never does know why she's so upset, nor =
does he ever seek out anyone else's assistance in dealing with the =
situation. Ultimately, he fails to talk her out of it and she shoots =
herself. Believe it or not, this much of the plot takes up less than half =
the book, which features transcripts of his murder trial alternating =
between flashbacks told from the varying perspectives of all the characters=
involved in the story. Warning -=20
this is not a book for the innocent or squeamish because it contains =
graphic sex and violence, although it is all well done and not at all =
sensaional. I=20
HAVE NEVER MET ANYONE WHO DID NOT LOVE THIS BOOK!! And it has been read by =
many of my students, teachers, secretaries, administrators and Board of =
Ed. members. Like Harry Potter, reading this book turns people into =
readers. They come back asking for more by Jodi Picoult (she's written 8 =
novels), and more like it by other writers. It has taken this school so =
much by storm that we are hosting Jodi Picoult as our visiting author this =
Feb!
Of course we've read other titles, too. I've asterisked the favorites:=20
Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
My Daughter's Eyes by Inclan
Into the Forest by Jean Hegland*
The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III*
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
Lolita by Nabokov
Caucasia by Danzy Senna*
The Hobbit by Tolkien
The Stand by Stephen King*
Criime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
Wuthering Heights by Bronte
Here on Earth by Hoffman
Girl, Interruped by Kaysen
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Chevalier*
Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Vreeland
Dracula by Bram Stoker
As you can see from the length of my response, book group is one of my =
favorite things. It's a win-win situation, we keep it light, very little =
planning except for a scurry a day or so beofre the meeting to come up =
with discussion questions which are either available online or created by =
a volunteer group member.
At my school. It is just faculty and staff and we then
meet at someone's home. If you haven't checked out
www.readinggroupguides.com, try it. It has good discussion questions, and =
it's just a good place to look for suggested titles. My group is currently
reading Rick Bragg's All Over But the Shoutin'. I have on my personal list =
to read next The Girl With the Pearl Earring. Good luck with your club. It =
sounds like fun.=20
I just started a literary club after school where we discuss books. If =
your get any neat ideas could you please send them to me. My kids don't =
all read the same book, but some in commo that have had gread discussions =
are: Speak by ---Laurie Anderson, A Walk to Remember by Nicolas Sparks, =
Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Haddix
We have a little book club at Naples High that was started last year. We =
meet once a week over lunch and have done a variety of things. At first we =
had no source of funds and did not get a local grant so we started buying =
Dover classics at $1 per title. We also borrowed some anthologies from =
the English Department and read Langston Hughes poetry and short stories.
This year the Friends of the Library have adopted us and bought club sets =
we will share with another school on a rotating basis.
These are some of the titles that have or will most likely be ordered.
The Color of Water by James McBride
Finding Forrester by James Ellison
Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
Into Thin Air
It's Not about the Bike by Lance Armstrong
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen
Occas. we invite guest discussion leaders and once a month we meet at =
Barnes & Noble for an evening of fun - charades, book buying, scavenger =
hunt, trvia contest, poetry reading, etc.
Try the following website. It has all the state award programs listed. =
I know that Maryland has a High School list. We have been doing it for 3 =
years and my students really like the books.
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/newreadingd.htm
Our first book we did was: _In the forests of the night_, by AmeliaAtwate=
r-Rhodes (she is a YA author, 14 at the time she wrote the book). Our =
discussion leader (who volunteered the previous month) made up a fabulous =
jeopardy style game that included characters, setting, past, present,animal=
s, and common misconceptions as categories. these students made the
selections, and the young lady that was monitor did a fabulous job with =
the discussion. Our English teachers would have been proud.
I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed The Wanderer by Sharon Creech. =
Short, but really interesting. Lots of great characterization. A journey =
- in mny ways.
I loved "The Giver" by Lois Lowry; it's a YA novel, but every adult I =
know who's read it loved it. It's a very thought-provoking novel. =20
I also loved Anita Diamat's "The Red Tent", but it might be too explicit =
for high school; it would depend on your area. If it's very "bible belt =
Christian", they wouldn't go for it.
I would suggest Rocket Boys...it is a true story with a good ending =
hopeful to hs students..something we all need now plus they read all those =
grim books in English...plus, you can watch October Sky based on the book =
and talk about the similarities and differences from the book to the =
movie.
=20
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