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WRHS Summer Reading 2017-18

F iction

SixofCrows,byLeighBardugoCriminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildestdreams.Toclaimit,he'llhavetopullofftheimpossibleheist:breakintothenotorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached),retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world), andsurvivetocollecthisreward.Kazneedsacrewdesperateenoughtotakeonthissuicidemissionanddangerousenoughtoget the jobdone:sixof thedeadliestoutcasts thecityhastooffer.Together,theyjustmightbeunstoppable—iftheydon'tkilleachotherfirst.ReadyPlayerOne,byErnestCline✪ WRHSStaffBookClubpick

Intheyear2044,theonlytimeWadeWattsfeelsaliveiswhenhe'sjackedintothevirtualutopiaknownas“TheOasis.”Wade'sdevotedhislifetostudyingthepuzzleshiddenwithinthisworld'sdigitalconfines—puzzlesthatarebasedontheircreator'sobsessionwiththepopcultureofdecadespastandthatpromisepowerandfortunetowhoevercanunlockthem.ButwhenWadestumblesuponthe first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this

ultimateprize.IfWade'sgoingtosurvive,he'llhavetowin-andconfronttherealworldhe'sbeensodesperatetoescape. TheSmellofOtherPeople’sHouses,byBonnie-SueHitchcockIn Alaska, 1970, being a teenager here isn’t like being a teenager anywhereelse.Ruthhasasecretthatshecan’thideforever.Dorawondersifshecanevertruly escape where she comes from, even when good luck strikes. Alyce istryingtoreconcileherdesiretodance,withthelifeshe’salwaysknownonherfamily’sfishingboat.Hankandhisbrothersdecideit’ssafertorunawaythanto stay home—until one of them ends up in terrible danger. Four verydifferentlivesareabouttobecomeentangled.TheBoomerangEffect,byGordonJack

Aftercausingaruckusataschoolassembly,LawrenceBarryavoidsexpulsionby cutting a deal tomentor Spencer, aNorwegian freshman transfer studentwith Spock-like intelligence and no social skills. Up to this point, Lawrence'slife'saimhadbeen…well,aimless.Nowhehastochangehishabits,andbecome"a man with a purpose." That's easier said than done, especially when thewhole school thinks he's out to sabotage homecoming, and his on-again-off-again ex wants to take him to the dance in a dog collar. Along the way,

Lawrencediscoversnotonlywhohistruefriendsarebutalsothatbeing"normal"mightbehighlyoverrated.(SchoolLibraryJournal).

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F iction WeWereLiars,byE.Lockhart

Abeautifulanddistinguishedfamily.Aprivateisland.Abrilliant,damagedgirl;a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whosefriendshipturnsdestructive.Arevolution.Anaccident.Asecret.Liesuponlies.Truelove.Thetruth.WeWereLiarsisamodern,sophisticatedsuspensenovelfrom National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E.Lockhart.Beautiful, heartbreaking, and more than it seems.Read it, and ifanyoneasksyouhowitends,justLIE(Goodreads).

ChallengerDeep,byNealShustermanCaden Bosch is on a galleon that's headed for the deepest point on Earth:Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Bosch is abrilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his oddbehavior. He is designated the ship's artist in residence to document thejourneywithimages.Heissplitbetweenhisallegiancetothecaptainandtheallure of mutiny. Caden is dealing with schizophrenia...and as fantasy andparanoiabegintotakeover,hisparentshaveonlyonechoiceleft.ChallengerDeep,aformidableandpoeticvoyageintothemindofateenwithamisunderstoodmentalillness,wonthe2015NationalBookAwardforYoungPeople’sLiterature.TheHateUGive,byAngieThomas✪ WRHSStaffBookClubpick

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poorneighbor-hood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school sheattends.TheuneasybalancebetweentheseworldsisshatteredwhenStarrwitnessesthefatalshootingofherchildhoodbestfriendKhalilatthehandsofapoliceofficer.Somearecallinghima thug,maybeevenadrugdealer.Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Everyone wants toknow:whatreallywentdownthatnight?Andtheonlypersonalivewhocan

answerthatisStarr.ButwhatStarrdoesordoesnotsaycouldupendhercommunity.Itcouldalsoendangerherlife.HighlyIllogicalBehavior,byJohnCoreyWhaleySixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic—he hasn’t left the house inthreeyears.AmbitiousLisadesperatelywantstogetintothesecond-bestpsychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But is ambitionalone enough to get her in? Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa steps into hisworld,alongwithhercharmingboyfriend,Clark,andsoonthethreeformanunexpectedbond.But,asLisalearnsmoreaboutSolandheandClarkgrowcloserandcloser,thewallsthey’vebuiltaroundthemselvesstarttocollapseandtheirfriendshipsthreatentodothesame.

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Nonfiction & Memoir SymphonyfortheCityoftheDead:DmitriShostakovichandtheSiegeofLeningrad,byM.T.AndersonDmitriShostakovichcomposedLeningradafterNaziforcessurroundedthecity.The symphony rallied his fellow citizens when it was performed in 1942—duringonethelongestandharshestsiegesinhistory.Thisisthetruestoryofacityundersiege: thetriumphofbraveryanddefiance inthe faceof terrifyingodds.Itisalsoalookatthepower—andlayeredmeaning—ofmusicinbeleagueredlives.

AWalkintheWoods,byBillBrysonInordertorediscoverhiscountry, theunpreparedandout-of-shapeauthorsetsout to walk the length of the Appalachian Trail. He is armedwith nothing butSnickersBars andRamenNoodles, and accompanied by a college roommate hehasnotseeninyears.Hisaccountofthatadventureisatoncehilarious,inspiring,andthought-provoking.

IWillAlwaysWriteBack:HowOneLetterChangedTwoLives,byMartinGanda,CaitlinAlifirenka,andLizWelch

Itstartedasanassignment:In1997,Caitlin,anAmerican,andMartin,aZimbabwean,becamepenpalsthroughschool.Sixyearslater,theyfinallymet.Inthiscompellingdualmemoir,CaitlinandMartinrecounthowtheybecamebestfriends—andbetterpeople—throughtheirlong-distanceexchange.Thisstorywillinspirereaderstolookbeyondtheirownlivestowonderabouttheworldatlargeandtheirplaceinit.

IntheCountryWeLove,byDianeGuererroDiane Guerrerowas 14-years-old on the day her parents and brotherwerearrested and deported while she was at school. Born in the U.S., Guerreroremainedinthecountrytocontinuehereducation,dependingonthekindnessoffamilyfriendswhotookherinandhelpedherbuildalifeandasuccessfulacting career. In theCountryWeLoveis amoving, heartbreakingmemoir ofpersonal triumph that also casts a much-needed light on the fears that haunt the dailyexistenceoffamilieslikestheauthor'sandonasystemthatfailsthemoverandover.AlltheGallantMen:AnAmericanSailor'sFirsthandAccountofPearlHarbor,byDonaldStrattonAt8:06a.m.onDecember7,1941,amillionpoundsofexplosiveshaddetonatedbeneath19-year-oldSeamanFirstClassDonaldStratton’sbattlestationaboardtheUSS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan's surprise attack on AmericanforcesatPearlHarbor.Inthisextraordinary,never-before-toldeyewitnessaccountofthePearlHarborattack—theonlymemoireverwrittenbyasurvivoroftheUSSArizona—94-year-oldDonaldStrattonshareshisunforgettablepersonal taleofbraveryandsurvival,hisharrowingrecovery,andhisinspiringdeterminationtoreturntothefight.

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Nonfiction & Memoir BrownGirlDreaming,byJacquelineWoodsonRaisedinSouthCarolinaandNewYork,Woodsonalwaysfelthalfwayhomeineachplace.Invividpoems,sheshareswhatitwasliketogrowupasanAfricanAmericaninthe1960sand1970s, livingwiththeremnantsof JimCrowandhergrowingawarenessof theCivilRightsmovement.Touchingandpowerful,eachpoemisemotionallycharged,eachlineaglimpseintoayoungperson’ssoulasshesearchesforherplaceintheworld(Goodreads).This bookwon theNationalBookAward forYoungPeople’s Literature, aNewberyHonor,and theCorettaScottKingAward for theauthor (amongotherprestigiousrecognitions).Don’tletthatscareyou!BrownGirlDreamingistremendouslyreadableandbeautifullywritten.Graphic Novel DrownedCity,byDonBrown

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging wateroverwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana.Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water.Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. 1,833 people losttheirlives.ThetaleofthishistoricstormandthedrowningofanAmericancityisoneofselflessness,heroism,andcourage—andalsoofincompetence,racism,andcriminality.

Seen On Screen:

13ReasonsWhy,JayAsher

TheHandmaid’sTale,MargaretAtwoodEnder’sGame,OrsonScottCard

Wonder,R.J.Palacio

TheGlassCastle,JeanetteWallsEverything,Everything,NicolaYoon

Learn more about WRHS’s Summer Reading List at

http://www.wrsd.net/wrhs

A. Stern for Wachusett Regional High School • Holden, MA

• Summer 2017•