Books Your High School Aged Child Will Love
Summer reading is of critical importance for all students, including those in high school. Educators tell us that time spent reading supports the retention of skills and knowledge, enhances student achievement, and fosters social-emotional learning, as reading offers a deeper understanding of humanity and the world. Students report that they most enjoy the books they have selected themselves, and it is our pleasure to share recommendations that school librarians were so kind as to offer us. There are surely several that will resonate with your student!
The Serpent King
Jeff Zentner
The critically acclaimed debut novel offers a deeply engaging portrayal of the lives of three teenagers growing up in rural Tennessee. Family, friendship, and forgiveness are central themes in this funny, witty, and heartbreaking tale about Dill, Lydia, and Travis, all seniors in high school and best friends who are definitely not “popular.”
Highly Illogical Behaviour
John Corey Whaley
The story of sixteen-year-old Solomon, who has agoraphobia and has not left his house in three years. Lisa, who is determined to be accepted to the college offering the top-tier psychology program, decides to befriend Solomon and gain his trust, help him get better, and then write about it in her application. Complications ensue in this engaging, heartwarming, and funny tale, as we wonder what is it that makes us who we are.
The Sun Is Also a Star
Nicola Yoon
The Sun Is Also a Star is a book about falling in love, fate, and destiny. Natasha is a realist, guided by science and facts. Yet, when she meets Daniel on a crowded New York City street, there is an instant connection. Daniel is "the good son," responsible and ever-mindful of meeting his parents’ expectations, but upon seeing Natasha, he instantly believes that the universe has a plan for them.
Curveball
Jordan Sonnenblick
Peter Friedman is a high school freshman, a talented photographer, and a star baseball player, until an unexpected injury ends his pitching career. Not only does he have to figure out whether there is life after sports but, his beloved grandfather, a professional photographer, has developed Alzheimer’s. Exploring multiple themes, including family, friendship, romance, and tragedy, this book is engaging and entertaining.
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.
A River Runs Through it and Other Stories
Norman Maclean, Annie Proulx (Foreword)
Just as Norman Maclean writes at the end of "A River Runs through It" that he is "haunted by waters," so have readers been haunted by his novella. A retired English professor who began writing fiction at the age of 70, Maclean produced what is now recognized as one of the classic American stories of the twentieth century. Originally published in 1976, A River Runs through It and Other Stories now celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary, marked by this new edition that includes a foreword by Annie Proulx.
Maclean grew up in the western Rocky Mountains in the first decades of the twentieth century. As a young man he worked many summers in logging camps and for the United States Forest Service. The two novellas and short story in this collection are based on his own experiences—the experiences of a young man who found that life was only a step from art in its structures and beauty. The beauty he found was in reality, and so he leaves a careful record of what it was like to work in the woods when it was still a world of horse and hand and foot, without power saws, "cats," or four-wheel drives.
New Kid
Jerry Craft
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.
As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
Happy Reading!