Lafayette High English Dept. Summer Reading

English II, Honors, Regular, & Special Ed.

Booklist:

1) The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell                                              

Derfel, once a captain in Arthur`s war band, recalls the days of Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and Bishop Sansum. But, above all, it tells the story of Arthur, the only man who can hold Uther`s throne for its infant heir, and unite Britain’s squabbling kingdoms against the enemy.
      Set firmly in Britain's Dark Ages, The Winter King goes far beyond the usual tales of romance and chivalry to forever change the way the legend of Arthur is told, introducing readers to an Arthur who is both utterly convincing and a true hero--a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.
     Bernard Cornwell puts the Legendary Arthur into the time period when the historical Arthur, a great warlord of the sixth century, lived. The book is a Tolkien-like romance and adventure based on the stories of King Arthur.   Advisory:  This work contains some graphic descriptions of medieval battles and adult relations.

Paperback: 433 pages ISBN-10: 0312156960 ISBN-13: 978-0312156961

The book is part of a 3 part series -- Learn more about the Novels of Arthur - The War Load Series    http://alasandras.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html

More information - http://www.bernardcornwell.net/index.cfm?page=2&BookId=28

2) The Mists of Avalon by Marian Zimmer Bradley    

         Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon's Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes.
        Young and old alike will enjoy this magical Arthurian reinvention by science fiction and fantasy veteran Marion Zimmer Bradley.   Advisory:  Mature Subject Matter inherent in the Arthurian Legends

Paperback: 912 pages   ISBN-10: 0345350499   ISBN-13: 978-0345350497

Learn more about The Mists of Avalon-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mists_of_Avalon   http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/mists_avalon1.asp

3)  Lord of the Flies  - “William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition.” --Jennifer Hubert

  More information - http://www.seymour.k12.wi.us/shs/teachers/brogley/10/units/lof/lofhome.htm

4) If I Should Die Before I Wake by Hans Nolan (YOUNG ADULT FICTION)    

Hilary hates Jews. As part of a neo-Nazi gang in her town, she's finally found a sense of belonging. But when she's critically injured in an accident, everything changes.
     Somehow, in her mind, she has become Chana, a Jewish girl fighting for her own life in the ghettos and concentration camps of World War II.
      Han Nolan offers powerful insight into one young woman's survival through the Holocaust and another's journey out of hatred and self-loathing

Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks; Reissue edition (May 1, 2003) ISBN-10: 0152046798 ISBN-13: 978-0152046798

web pages to serve as guides for your reading:  http://www.secondaryenglish.com/ifishoulddie.htm http://www.asu.edu/clas/english/englished/yalit/ifishould/index.htm

  5) Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust - Revised & Expanded Edition (2002)   

by Barbara Rogasky    (YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION)   

Smoke and Ashes is a stark, powerful and comprehensive treatment of the Nazi-sponsored genocide. Rogasky traces the dark roots of the Holocaust to the early years of Christianity to show that anti-Semitism has been rampant for millennia.   

Rogasky presents information about the causes, ghettos, concentration and death camps, non-Jewish victims, resistance, "rescuers," the fate of the most notorious of the Nazis, and anti-Semitism and hate groups today. Readable and evenhanded, the text incorporates numerous quotations and photos that support and extend the information.   The final chapter includes sections on hate-group use of the Internet and Holocaust denial.

Publisher: Holiday House (P); Reprint edition (March 1991) ISBN: 0-08234-1677-1    Paperback: 256 pages

web pages to serve as guides to your reading:  http://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/00/2/children.html

6)  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

     Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute... 

                Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence.

Paperback: 208 pages   Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (April 1, 2001)    ISBN-10: 014131088X   ISBN-13: 978-0141310886

Read a review on Teenread.com              http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0374371520.asp

Speak – lesson plans to guide your reading: http://www.viterbo.edu/personalpages/faculty/GSmith/LessonPlanforSpeak.htm 

Lesson Plans & Guide for Speak
http://www.viterbo.edu/personalpages/faculty/GSmith/LessonPlanforSpeak.htm

 7)  Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

  T. J. Jones is black, Japanese, and white; his given name is The Tao (honest!), and he's the son of a woman who abandoned him when she got heavily into crack and crank. As a child he was full of rage, but now as a senior in high school he's pretty much overcome all that. With the help of a good therapist and his decent, loving, ex-hippie adoptive parents, he's not only fairly even-keeled, he has turned out to be smart and funny.

Injustice, however, still fills him with fury. So when big-deal football star Mike Barbour bullies brain-damaged Chris Coughlin for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket, T.J. hatches a scheme for revenge. He assembles a swim team (in a school with no pool) made up of the most outrageous outsiders and misfits he can find and extracts a conditional promise of those sacred letter jackets from the coach. After weeks of dedicated practice at the All Night Fitness pool, the seven mermen get good enough not to embarrass themselves in competition. The really important thing, though, turns out to be the long bus rides to meets, a safe place to share the hurts that have made them who they are. Meanwhile, T.J.'s father, who has taken in a battered little girl to ease his lifelong guilt over his role in the accidental death of a baby, tangles with another bully--her stepfather--and his growing murderous rage.

Chris Crutcher, therapist and author of seven prize-winning young adult books, here gives his many fans another wise and compassionate story full of the intensity of athletic competition and hair-raising incidents of child abuse.

Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages   Publisher: Laurel Leaf; Reprint edition (December 10, 2002)  ISBN-10: 0440229383   ISBN-13: 978-0440229384

Read a review on Teenreads. com                         http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0688180191.asp

American Association of School Librarians Book Reading guide  http://www.ala.org/ala/aaslbucket/pittsburgh/WhaleTalk.pdf

American Association of School Librarian - discussion guide for Whale Talk - great guide
http://www.ala.org/ala/aaslbucket/pittsburgh/WhaleTalk.pdf

Great site for guide to reading Whale Talk
http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-whale.html

Whale Talk discussed on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_Talk