Previous by DateNext by Date Date Index
Previous by ThreadNext by Thread Thread Index
LM_NET Archive



I asked for reading suggestions for a book club at our high school. Thanks
to everyone who gave me such great suggestions. We're going with the Glass
Castle by Jeannette Walls this time but there are many other excellent
choices that I can't wait to suggest in the future. Thank you so much!

Gayle Lawrence
Library Media Specialist
Charles Page High School
Sand Springs, OK
gayle.lawrence@sandites.org

Lovely Bones, Glass Castle, It Happened to Nancy,
Uglies, Please Stop Laughing at Me, Speak, Breathing
Under Water are all books my high school book club has
read and loved.

They really got into a great discussion with 2 of Scott
Westerfield's series - Uglies (set of 4 total) and the Midnighters
(set of 3).

We are considering a different genre for our next read, though I am
meeting with opposition by some who don't want to stray from their
beloved fantasy.  I am giving them the following choices - Twisted by
Anderson, My Sister's Keeper by Picoult, Bucking the Sarge by Curtis,
Good Brother-Bad Brother by Giblin and Al Capone Does My Shirts by
Choldenko.  I tried to pick a wide variety and will do a short book
talk on each one.

sounds like you've got a lot of girls in your club... if you read Twilight.
how about anything by Jodi Picoult?? she's very popular, and the subject
matter
usu. makes for good discussions.

I highly recommend Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.  We did a One Book
program in Oct. 2006 with it in a 7-12.  Students loved it.

My new book club just read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and the students
all
loved it.
How about a "boy" book like Deadline by Chris Crutcher or Fat kid rules
the world, by Going.  I also liked Looking for Alaska, by Green.  Lots
of meaty stuff in all three!


Anything by Robert Cormier, particularly "Fade" (does have some adult
content).

Twisted or Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I think that because the book club participation is optional, one can read
more
adult fiction, but you have to be careful.

I would recommend the following titles:

The House of the Scorpion/ Nancy Farmer  (science fiction)

Nothing but the Truth/Avi  (documentary novel)

Martyn Pig/ Kevin Brooks ( dark comedy)

I am trying a "manga" themed book club. I am trying to force myself to
read this
genre. The kids basically come together and share their favorites,
recommend new
titles, and then soon we will pick one to read together.

  In the past we have read Uglies and My Sister's Keeper

This is my 2nd year doing a Book Discussion at my high school. This had
never been
done here before. The number of students participating has doubled this
year. We
keep it very low-key and we meet once or twice a month during late starts
at our
school. This group also does our state Battle of the Books so often we
discuss these
books. Our most successful discussions have been: Harry Potter and the
Deathly
Hallows, Lord of the Rings, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, The Uglies
series,
and The Twilight series (students really came out for Eclipse). The
students always
pick the book and I just facilitate the discussion. Good luck. This is a
great way
to encourage reading while actually creating a little excitement over it.

This year we are reading:
I'd Tell You I Love You but then I'd Have to Kill You (Girls spy
school...great read...a boy one is coming out soon). Disney bought the
rights to a film version.
What Happened to Cass McBride
Code Talkers by Bruchac (Dec. selection for Pearl Harbor)
Down the Rabbit Hole
The Lightning Thief
Harry Potter 7
Any novel from the Twilight Series

Last year we read
My Sister's Keeper because we have such a fan base for Jodi Picoult
here.

Our book club includes boys this year, and they seem to be enjoying
most of the books.

Octavian Nothing
Godless
Dark Sons
The Book Thief ******

I loved Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Trilogy...Uglies, Pretties, Specials
which now includes a 4th book, Extras. (It was originally a trilogy).
This is my favorite series ever and I am a voracious reader.

Also you could try Jay Asher's 13 Reason's Why - very thought provoking.

Nancy Farmer's House of the Scorpion takes on cloning in a future
society.
Anything by Mary Higgins Clark for mystery/suspense/murder

Seeker by Nicholson.  That will soon be a movie, so might be a good
one to get them into it.

Our book club which includes students and teachers is discussing
Runner by Carl Deuker tomorrow. (Living with his alcoholic father on
a broken-down sailboat on Puget Sound has been hard on
seventeen-year-old Chance Taylor, but when his love of running leads
to a high-paying job, he quickly learns that the money is not worth the
risk.)

Our first title was Double Helix by Nancy Werlin. (Eighteen-year-old
Eli discovers a shocking secret about his life and his family while
working for a Nobel Prize-winning scientist whose specialty is
genetic engineering.)

Our next title is Twilight.

How about Black and White by Paul Volponi (Speak)  It's about two high school
basketball players who decide to make money by robbing some people; it
goes too far
and one of them shoots someone.

Two great book club books for high school students are:
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I have 25+ students in my book club and I thought it was too many for one
good book
discussion, so I purchased sets of 7 and the students are reading with a
smaller
group. I float from group to group and 2 teachers help me. Here are the
books I
selected:
The Book Thief--this group loved the book.
Briar Rose--also enjoyed by the group who read it
Looking for Alaska--I required a parent permission form for this one; the
group
liked it.
Glass Castle--again, very popular
The Thirteenth Tale--mixed reviews
A Thousand Splendid Suns--no one selected this one yet, but we will be
changing
books this Friday, so I am hopeful.


Try The Pact 0 or My Sister's Keeper - both by Jodi Picoult. I guarantee
tons of
discussion!!

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon--we read it two years ago.
It is gothic, full of suspense, mystery, intrigue, murder, etc. IT was a
a bestseller in Spain for one year and then it was a NY Times bestseller
list.  Poetic, like you wouldn't believe!!!

It is the best book I've EVER read, second only to To Kill a
Mockingbird. You simply MUST read this book, if not in your book club,
read it for yourself.

I think your book club would enjoy reading Jeannette Walls' book The
Glass Castle or Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Our students have really
been reading both of these books, giving excellent feedback to me and
other fellow students.

This year, we have read/are reading:

I am the Messenger
The Glass Castle
The Secret Life of Bees
In the Time of the Butterflies
Naughts and Crosses
The Kite Runner
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
The Book Thief
Elsewhere
Tamar

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
 3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
 * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------

LM_NET Mailing List Home