Summer Reading Challenge----Mrs. Murray's List
1.God Rest Ye Merry Soldiers: Civil War History
2.Mornings with Barney : Dog book, yes the dog dies and I cried.
3.Roughnecks: I really liked it, (even though sometimes when he was talking
about girls it should have been X-rated!)Does the ending bother you? Who do
you think won?
4.The Pigman: I liked this one too. I liked seeing the story from two points
of view. If I have time I might read the sequel.
5.January 1905: Interesting that this book also is told from two points of
view. I likes learning more about life was like back then. I'm really happy
I have indoor bathrooms!
6.The Last Days of Summer: I can't believe this! Another book written from
several points of view through letters. An adult book about a boy and his
baseball hero and the start of World War II.
7.The Middle Place: an adult book someone loaned me---just ok
8.Afterlife by Gary Soto: It's by Gary Soto so you know it's about someone in
a Hispanic community in San Francisco! (The Spanish words are all in a
glossary in the back.) The main character gets stabbed and dies in the first
chapter! He floats around like a ghost for several days before he heads for
(we hope) heaven. Kind of a teenage GHOST (without Whoopie Goldberg, Patrick
Swazy and a soundtrack). I found this one in Mrs. Girten's room.
9.The Master's Choice (Mystery Short Stories collected by Arthur Hitchcock)
some great stories in this book, it was perfect for the plane and the beach.
10. Shadow of the Dragon Sherry Garland If you read this book, you might
want to read GOODBYE, VIETNAM, which tells the story of how hard it was to get
out of Vietnam. We think going to school is tough as it is, how much harder
would it be if you didn't know the language? And what would it be like going
to school everyday knowing your girlfriend's brother wanted to bash your head in?!
11. Good-bye Vietnam Gloria Whelan I learned a lot about Vietnamese
culture. After reading this book, you might enjoy SHADOW OF THE DRAGON which
is the story of a Vietnamese family in the United States. (See above) I cannot
imagine taking a trip like that and not having food, money, or how to enter
into the United States.
12. 1984 George Orwell Well, this is definitely for mature readers and is
full of politics and deep thoughts! (Relax, it definitely won't be a class
novel!) If you got bogged down and didn't finish--that's okay! Funny though,
George Orwell was inspired by Charles Dickens, which explains my next book!
13. Three Dickens Christmas Novellas I learned something, because Dickens
wrote stories for magazines, (which people buy every month) he wrote a story
every Christmas. His stories always had a message about society (usually
about the poor or how people treated others) and often had ghosts, spirits, or
fairies sending warnings about the future in dreams. Unlike Orwell, Dickens's
characters always "saw the light" and had a change of heart.
14. Touching Spirit Bear Ben Mikaelsen This is a novel they read as a class
at Holy Redeemer, so I thought I should check it out. It was really good, I
can see why Mrs. Keenan likes it so much. It is the story of a bully who
nearly kills another student in a fight, Native American practices, survival,
a huge bear, change, and forgiveness. If you liked HATCHET you will like
this one too I bet.
15 & 16. MAUS I & II by Art Spiegelman These are graphic novels (like comic
books) about the author's grandfather and his experiences in the holocaust. I
had heard about these books and couldn't imagine a comic book about the
holocaust! The books (and the author!) are a little strange. there is
obvious symbolism in the drawings. For example the Jews are all drawn as mice
and the Germans are all drawn as pigs. When the main characters are trying to
make others think they are German, he draws pig mask on them. There are many
details of life in the concentration camps also some bad language and lots of
smoking! This wasn't a very cheerful book.
17. The Chosen Chiam Potok This is the story about two Jewish boys who
became friends after one was nearly blinded during a baseball game. Learning
to be a rabbi is very difficult. I wanted to read the sequel, but is is an old
book and I guess it wasn't very popular, because I couldn't find anything else
written by this author in the library. I have a friend who teaches in a
Jewish school in Washington DC, I'll ask her about it. I have a whole stack of
books, the next one needs to be
18. Perfect Natasha Friend The main character in this novel has an eating
disorder. Reading this book helped me understand more about why people have
eating disorders, how they feel, and how difficult it is to admit they might
need help. There are also different reasons. I thought it was a good book
and it will be on the shelf in the room.
19. The Heat Islands R.W. White I bought this novel when I was in Florida in
a restaurant that was named after the main character. Doc Ford is a marine
biologist who would also make a great detective. It was a real page turner
(but I figured it out)!
20. Stickers M.R. Hartman (A "How to Be a Better Teacher" Book)