Introduction and Expectations for Students

IT’S A MYSTERY TO ME

The Body of Christopher Creed (Carol Plum-Ucci) When class misfit Chris Creed suddenly disappears, his fellow students are not so much worried but abuzz with speculation: Is he a runaway, a suicide, or a crime victim?
The Killer’s Cousin (Nancy Werlin) After being acquitted of murder, 17-year-old David goes to stay with relatives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he finds himself forced to face his past as he learns more about his strange young cousin, Lily.
Acceleration (Graham McNamee) Stuck working in the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, 17-year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to stop him.
Missing Persons: The Rose Queen ( M.E. Rabb)

After their father dies, Sam, 17, and Sophie, 15, are forced to leave their home in Queens, NY, and begin a new life on the lam. Afraid that their evil stepmother will separate them and force Sophie to attend a boarding school in Canada, they take their father's funds and make a run for it. With the help of a schoolmate with criminal connections, the sisters establish new identities as Sam and Fiona Scott and take up residence in the small town of Venice, IN. There, they meet many new people, including Noelle McBride, the 16-year-old Rose Queen of Venice and a stuck-up snob. When she disappears after Sam and Sophie drop her off one evening, they become the prime suspects because they were the last people to see her. With the police on their trail, the sisters become amateur sleuths to crack the case and clear their own names

Shattering Glass (Gail Giles) When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.
The Grounding of Group 6 (Julian F. Thompson) Arriving at what they believe is an exclusive school, five 16-year olds are unaware that they have been sent there to be exterminated and that their teacher is a murderer for hire.
As Simple As Snow (Gregory Gallaway) An unnamed teenage boy is struggling through a lonely adolescence until a new girl in his school's Goth crowd, Anna, becomes interested in him romantically. When she suddenly goes missing and is presumed dead, her heartsick boyfriend ponders her fate. An accident, surely – or was it?
The Rag and Bone Shop (Robert Cormier) Trent, an ace interrogator from Vermont, works to procure a confession from an introverted 12-year-old accused of murdering his 7-year-old friend in Monument, Massachusetts.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark Haddon) Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic 15-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.
Dance Hall of the Dead (Tony Hillerman) No one is seriously alarmed by the disappearance of two Native American boys until Lt. Joe Leaphorn finds the splattered trail of blood which leads to a ritually slaughtered victim.
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol seared into the chest of a murder victim. Here he discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient brotherhood with a vendetta against the Catholic Church.
Where are you now? (Mary Higgins Clark) Twenty-six-year-old Carolyn MacKenzie, having suffered from the September 11, 2001, death of her father and finished her clerkship in Manhattan, decide to track down her brother who disappeared ten years earlier, and uncovers a web of lies and deceit involving her family and wealthy, powerful people who want to keep a secret quiet.
Also read books by Agatha Christie and P.D. James and James Patterson

VISITING THE PAST – HISTORY & HISTORICAL

FICTION

What I Saw and How I Lied (Judy Blundell)

In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.

Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo) When Thomas Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only 14 years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love and himself.
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (Arthur Japin) Fascinating story of the African slave trade and Dutch colonialism as seen through the eyes of two young African princes.
Sky: A Novel in Three Sets and an Encore (Rod Townley) In New York City in 1959, 15-year-old Alec Schuyler, at odds with his widowed father over his love of music, finds a mentor and friend in a blind, black jazz musician.
Dance of the Assassins (Herve Jubert) A sorceress and a police detective track a reborn Jack the Ripper through historically recreated cities, from Victorian London to Montezuma's Mexico City.
The Thief Lord (Cornelia Funke) Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with - and protection from - Venice's "Thief Lord.”
The Luxe by Anna Godberson

The story opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a well-bred beauty said to have plunged to her death in the Hudson River. The narrative then travels back several weeks, tracing the relationships and events that have led to the somber assembly. This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York.

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, 16-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world.

More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Connecticut Women (Antonia Petrash) The lives of thirteen strong and determined women, all of whom broke through social, cultural, and political barriers to advance women's roles in the arts, on the battlefield, and in education, exploration, and commerce.
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding as well as their neighbors.
In Johnstown, In A Beautiful Garden (Kathleen Cambor) Set against the backdrop of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood of 1889. The South Fork Dam separates two very different worlds: above it lies the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club; below it are scattered several working-class towns. When James Talbot, a lawyer hired to secure the club's charter, alerts the members to the earthen dam's structural problems, his warnings go unheeded.
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War (Howard Bahr) A vivid retelling of the November 1864 Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. A haunting portrayal of suffering and death. (See also sequels The Year of Jubilo and The Judas Field)
Mississippi Trial 1955 (Christopher Crowe) In Mississippi in 1955, a 16-year-old finds himself at odds with his grandfather over issues surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a 14-year-old African American from Chicago.
Finding Moon (Tony Hillerman) Set mostly in Vietnam during the fall of Saigon in 1975, this is the story of Moon Mathias. When his younger brother dies in Southeast Asia, Moon discovers that there is a baby daughter missing somewhere in Vietnam. He leads a motley group of culturally varied misfits in his quest.
Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) The story of medieval France and the building of the gothic and Roman cathedrals told through the life of a family.
King Leopold’s Ghost (Adam Hochschold) The history behind Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The story of the Belgian Congo and human rights during the late 19^th Century.
Fallen Angels (Walter Dean Myers) Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam.
The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara) Historical fiction about the battle of Gettysburg. Excellent storytelling combined with an accurate depiction of historical events.
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway) An American ambulance officer serving on the Austro-Italian front deserts to join an English nurse after the retreat of Caporetto.

WAXING POETIC

Good Poems for Hard Times (Garrison Keillor) Garrison Keillor has compiled a collection of poetry that he calls “memorable, recitable, and accessible.”
Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (Billy Collins) A collection by Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate. Collins will tackle any topic: his subject matter varies from snow days to Aristotle to forgetfulness.
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy (Sonya Sones) In a series of short, intense poems, a younger sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her older sister has a mental breakdown.
Crank (Ellen Hopkins) Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter, gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina meets crystal meth, “crank.” Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. ”Hypnotic and jagged free verse wrenchingly chronicles 16-year-old Kristina's addiction to crank” (Kirkus Review).
Food (Ogden Nash) America’s funniest poet discourses on the topics of food and the perils of eating in the modern world.
The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time (Leslie Pockell, ed.) Timeless verses of passion and romance, from old favorites to modern classics.
Cool Salsa (Lori Carlson)

Whether discussing the immigrant's frustration at not being able to speak English, the violence suffered both within and outside of the ethnic community, the familiar adolescent desire to belong, or celebrating the simple joys of life, these fine poems are incisive and photographic in their depiction of a moment.

Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States (Lori Marie Carlson, ed.) Latino poets tell us, in English and in Spanish, who they are, where they are, and what their hopes are for the future.

Poems From Homeroom: A Writer’s Place to Start (Kathi Appelt) A collection of poems about the experiences of young people and a section with information about how each poem was written to enable readers to create their own original poems.

Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems (WritersCorps) A collection of poems by teens who have taken part in writing programs run by a national nonprofit organization called WritersCorps. To read the words of these young people is to hear the diverse voices of teenagers everywhere.

NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED (HORROR/SUPERNATURAL)

The Host (Stephanie Meyer) Melanie, whose mind has been almost completely taken over by an alien named Wanderer, convinces the alien to search for her lost lover, who fled the extraterrestrial invasion, and tries to find a way in which she and Wanderer can coexist.

Cirque du Freak (Darren Shan) Two boys who are best friends visit an illegal freak show where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.
Vampire Kisses (Ellen Schreiber) Sixteen-year-old Raven, an outcast who always wears black and hopes to become a vampire some day, falls in love with the mysterious new boy in town who is eager to find out if he can make her dreams come true.
Twilight (Stephanie Meyer)

When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human. The story continues in Eclipse, New Moon and Breaking Dawn .

A Fate Totally Worse Than Death (Paul Fleischman) In this horror novel parody, three self-centered members of Cliffside High School's ruling clique, who are beginning to age rapidly, become convinced that the beautiful new exchange student is the ghost of the girl whose death they caused the year before.
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends (Jan Harold Brunvand) More than 90 frightening urban legends.
Shattered Mirror (Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) As 17-year-old Sarah, daughter of a powerful line of vampire-hunting witches, continues to pursue the ancient bloodsucker Nikolas, she finds herself in a dangerous friendship with two vampire siblings in her high school.
Watchers (Dean Koontz) The adventures of two creatures which have escaped from a secret, sinister government laboratory where experiments in genetic engineering are conducted.
Everlost (Neal Shusterman) When Nick and Allie are killed in a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls, where although Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing--even skinjacking--to break free.
Being Dead (Vivian Vande Velde) Seven supernatural stories, all having something to do with death.
Paranoid Park (Blake Nelson) A 16-year-old Portland, Oregon, skateboarder, whose parents are going through a difficult divorce, is engulfed by guilt and confusion when he accidentally kills a security guard at a train yard.
Dreamcatcher (Stephen King) Four friends’ association with a mentally handicapped boy with supernatural abilities leaves them with special gifts that come in handy when they unite as adults

Dracula (Bram Stoker) After discovering the double identity of the wealthy Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, a small group of people vow to rid the world of the evil vampire.
Edgar Allen Poe (Edgar Allen Poe) A collection of five of Poe's unsettling short stories, including “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Oval Portrait.”
Coraline ( Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean)

After Coraline and her parents move into an old house, Coraline asks her mother about a mysterious locked door. Her mother unlocks it to reveal that it leads nowhere: "When they turned the house into flats, they simply bricked it up," her mother explains. But something about the door attracts the girl, and when she later unlocks it herself, the bricks have disappeared. Through the door, she travels a dark corridor into a world that eerily mimics her own, but with sinister differences.

Prom Dates from Hell (Rosemary Clement-Moore)

Under normal circumstances, Maggie Quinn would want nothing to do with the vicious, elite clique at her high school. But when the jocks and their girlfriends start falling prey to a series of situations ranging from embarrassing to potentially fatal, not to mention reeking of sulfur, the school newspaper reporter can't ignore the story. In addition to being a Nancy Drew wannabe, Maggie has inherited her grandmother's sixth sense, as evidenced by the demon appearing in her dreams. Although she is initially reluctant to believe that anything supernatural is going on, her partnership with a paranormal-studies college student who is in one of her father's classes eventually leads her to a salt-throwing showdown with the demon and his minions at her senior prom.

*Summaries adapted from Amazon.com & Titlewave.com

for an annual hunting trip in Maine and find themselves in the

middle of an alien invasion.