FOR YOUR

CONSIDERATION

books to ponder

For Your Consideration:

books for you to ponder

For those of you who feel like

you are a more

advanced/ambitious reader,

please click below and it will

take you to more advanced

novels.

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Click the broomstick to fly away to Rowling’s website

Even if you have seen the

film versions of this series

picking up these books are

definitely worth it! These

books will take you away to

the Hogwarts School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry and

you won’t want to come back!

Mrs. Malinowski’s rating: A+

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

This book will

remind you of

the importance

of acceptance

and tolerance.

It’s ok (and

preferred in my

class) to be

different! Our

differences are

what make us

who we are and

we should

appreciate

everyone’s

special abilities

Mrs.

Malinowski’s

rating: B+

Click Me

A touching

story about a

high school

girl who

through the

loss of her

mother finds

out about

herself.

Mrs.

Malinowski’s

rating: B

Click Me!!!

CLICK ME

Zora and Me is a

fictional story

about real life

author Zora Neal

Hurston. It is

based in her real

home town in a

time when

racism was

rampid but as a

small child Zora

doesn’t realize

the troubles

around her. All

Zora is focused

on is the mystery

that is plaguing

her town.

Mrs.

Malinowski’s

rating: B

Three of my favorite reads of 2010. These three books follow Katniss Everdeen

who is selected for the Hunger Games, a gladiator type fight to the death. Katniss

must survive the games to rejoin her family and friends however this is difficult

when everyone is targeting her.

Click Me

My ratings: A A+ B

The Book Thief

by Markus

Zusak is a

holocaust novel

that is narrated

by death. Liesel

is a German girl

in WWII who is

haunted by the

events that are

surrounding

Germany. Her

only escape is

reading and

even writing

books. My

favorite read of

2011 so far!

My rating: A+

Click Me

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-

time Indian by Sherman Alexie was

another one of my favorites in 2011.

The book follows Junior, a teenager

from the “rez” while he transitions

from his reservation school to a

traditional/mostly white school.

Another great story about finding out

your true self while facing adversity.

Also, there is great artwork

throughout the book, the pictures on

this page are just one small example.

My

rating: A

CLICK ME

Beautifully written

story about Kaitlyn, a

girl with Asperger

syndrome.

Throughout the book

Kaitlyn is searching

for closure in the

death of her brother.

In her notes in the

back of the book,

Erskine writes why

she wrote this book,

“I wanted to write this

book so we can

better understand

eachother.”

My rating: B+

You know the

drill!

You may have already

read this book in

Middle School but it is

worth many reads.

Every time I read this

story I take something

new away from it. I like

to imagine living in The

Community and what it

would be like for Jonas

to realize that there is

life outside the

Community. I

recommend reading

this for a second and

third time if you haven’t

already done so.

My rating: A+

This novel follows a

high school girl who

decides to go mute

after being sexually

assaulted at a

summer party. When

she calls the police

after the assault, her

friends think that

she has called the

police to break up

the party and turn

on her before

knowing what really

happens. She finds

her voice again

because of an art

teacher who sees

her true self.

Note: I really enjoy anything that Anderson

writes and I have linked you to her website.

She writes incredible historical fiction my

favorite being Chains.

My rating: A-

For more ambitious readers:

books for you to ponder

This book holds a

special place in my

heart. This is the

book was the one

that hooked me into

reading. It’s

definitely a more

advanced read but a

page turner. I

recommend anything

from Steinbeck but

remember that

Steinbeck develops

more adult themes.

This goes for the

rest of the books in

this presentation:

you may want to

speak with your

parents about

reading these novels

as some material is

mature.

My rating: A+

Hopefully at some point

in your lives you will

read a Dickens novel. I

was a little skeptical in

the beginning too, but

once you get used to

Dicken’s writing style

his stories come alive.

A Tale of Two Cities

was my first Dickens

novel and I struggled

through the first 50

pages or so.

However, once the

story began to develop

I couldn’t put it down. A

great twist at the end!

After reading this

novel, you may even

want to pick up some

more Dickens. Also a

great history lesson on

the French Revolution.

My rating: B

I know what you’re

thinking, we HAVE to

read this book anyway

so why would you put it

on this list! This is

why, this is probably

one of the best books

of all time. It is

definitely worth reading

and reading again.

There are so many

amazing themes to

explore in this book

and its another one of

those where you will

take something new

away every time you

read it. Don’t judge this

book because it’s a

required

read…everyone reads

this one for a reason!

The film version of this

book is excellent too

but READ THE BOOK

FIRST!!!

My rating:

A+

Another one of

my faves!

However, this

is an example

of a book for

mature

readers only.

You might

want to

discuss the

contents of

this novel with

your parents.

This book

takes place

during a

different time

than today so

some things

may be

difficult to

understand.

But, if you are

a strong

reader it

should be

My rating: A

This is a fun book! It

is the “true” story of

the Wicked Witch of

the West from L.F.

Baum’s Wizard of

Oz. It was really fun

to see the Wicked

Witch (named

Elphaba) in a new

light in Maguire’s

novel. Broadway

even adapted this

book to a

musical…one of my

favorite musicals of

all time. I

recommend seeing

it when it tours

through town again!

However, borrow or

check this book out

from the library;

while it’s a fun book

you may want to

save your pennies

for a better novel.

My rating: B-

Note: Maguire writes a lot of

books about fairy tales. If you

have a favorite you might want to

see if he has written a parody of

it…they are truly fun reads!

For all of you Harry

Potter fanatics out

there, this may be a

good trilogy for you to

follow Rowling’s

novels. Tolkien’s story

is endless and you

will enjoy Frodo’s

journey from

beginning to end. I

know what you are

thinking…I have seen

the movies! While the

movies are great,

they didn’t include

Tolkien’s entire story;

I highly recommend

reading these books

even if you think you

know the story. Also,

seeing the movies

might help you read

these books, you will

already be familiar

with the funny names

throughout the

My rating for all 3

novels: A

You may also be

interested in The

Hobbit the prequel to

the trilogy. I however

didn’t enjoy it as

much as I did the

trilogy…but its up to

you to decide!!

I love reading Jodi

Picoult novels when

I just want to a

quick mindless

read. I included My

Sister’s Keeper on

here but I

recommend any of

her novels. I

especially enjoy

them for high

school age students

because many of

her novels are

about Young adults.

She has written

many novels and I

have only read a

couple that I felt

disappointed in.

My rating: Each book is

different. Read some of

Picoult’s novels and let

me know what you

think!

I hope that you have

enjoyed this book tour

and that you were able

to find a book that you

may enjoy. Don’t forget

that I am always

available if you need

help finding a book. I

love discussing any type

of literature so I would

be happy to read with

you!!! Happy Reading