B: The Books

Ok, so I haven't read all of the literature out there, but I have read all of the novels.

I enjoy movie tie-in novels, I always have. But, what I like about the X-Files novels themselves is that they aren't episodes of the show, but have plots and characters on and introduced in the series. My favorite one is Whirlwind.

Serial killers come in all shapes and sizes, but this one is particularly puzzling. There's no pattern to the mutilated bodies that have been showing up in Albuquerque: both sexes, all races, ages, ethnic groups. There is no evidence of rape or ritual. Only one thing connects the victims. They were the victims of a natural disaster. One of the most unnatural natural disasters imaginable, leading to a most painful, most certain and most hideous death.... 

Mulder and Scully, FBI: the agency maverick and the female agent assigned to keep him in line. Their job: investigate the eerie unsolved mysteries the Bureau wants handled quietly, but quickly, before the public finds out what's really out there. And panics. The cases filed under "X."

Novels

• Goblins by Charles L. Grant

• Whirlwind by Charles L. Grant: 

• Ground Zero by Kevin J. Anderson

• Ruins by Kevin J. Anderson

• Antibodies by Kevin J. Anderson

• Skin by Ben Mezrich

To find a full list of literature click here.

Educational Buzzwords...F: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades

From the back cover:

Ken O'Connor

A Repair Kit for Grading: Fifteen Fixes for Broken Grades, 2/e

Communicating about student achievement requires accurate, consistent and meaningful grades.
Educators interested in examining and improving grading practices should ask the following questions:

• Am I confident that students in my classroom receive consistent, accurate and meaningful grades that support learning? 
• Am I confident that the grades I assign students accurately reflect my school or district’s published performance standards and desired learning outcomes?

In many schools, the answers to these questions often range from "not very" to "not at all." When that’s the case, grades are "broken" and teachers and schools need a "repair kit" to fix them. A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, 2/e gives teachers and administrators 15 ways to make the necessary repairs.

The "fixes" are in four categories that reflect common grading challenges: distorted achievement, low-quality or poorly organized evidence, inappropriate grade calculation and linking grades more closely to student learning. Student achievement isn’t only about "doing the work" or accumulating points. But, when students receive points for merely turning in work on time, or when teachers put a mark on everything students do and simply count them up to determine a grade, the message is clear: success is determined by the quantity of points earned, not the quality of the learning taking place. In fact, messages about learning quality get lost.  Grades are artifacts of learning, and students need to receive grades that reflect what they’ve actually learned. That’s why this book advocates the implementation of grading systems based strictly on student achievement – and shows educators how to create them.


Ken O’Connor is a former Curriculum Coordinator with the Scarborough Board of Education in Ontario, Canada. He is an expert on grading and reporting with a particular emphasis on using these techniques to improve student achievement through student involvement. With over twenty years of teaching experience in secondary schools in Australia and Ontario, he has presented hundreds of workshops for teachers at every grade level, and is the author of the very successful How to Grade for Learning.

The Fifteen Fixes:
With comments about each in, um, green...

1. Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc) in grades; include only achievement. I'm not sure why this one is even a problem. Of course, grades should be about achievement!
2. Don’t reduce marks on ‘work’ submitted late; provide support for the learner. I love this one, but our school hasn't really gotten on board. I understand the reservation. I also understand having whole building rules about this just muddies the waters.
3. Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher level of achievement. Um, isn't this just a fancy way of assigning extra credit or bonus points...
4. Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. This makes sense, as academic dishonesty is a behavior not lack of mastery in a given standard...
5. Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately. Um, duh...and, yet, colleges and universities are BIG, FAT MEANIES about this!
6. Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. Definitely unfair otherwise!
7. Don’t organize information in grading records by assessment methods or simply summarize into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards/ learning goals. I'm not really sure how to do this, if my grading system isn't aligned in that way, sure I can find things free online, but I find they are full of glitches and I still have to translate those into grades for our building online grade-book...
8. Don’t assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions of achievement expectations.Duh...
9. Don’t assign grades based on student’s achievement compared to other students; compare each student’s performance to preset standards. Duh...
10. Don’t rely on evidence gathered from assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on quality assessments. Duh...
11. Don’t rely on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional
judgment. With online grade-books this just makes sense, weighing grades works out for everyone...
12. Don’t include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternatives, such as reassessing to determine real achievement or use “I” for Incomplete or Insufficient evidence. This is the one I have the most problems with, knowing that fair isn't always equal I believe that sometimes it is fair to give a zero or two or five. If I've done all I can to get a kid to do the work/assignment and they don't when is it appropriate to say enough? For some kids the end is never...for others...a zero is motivation...I think it helps to know when, as a teacher I must know when. I also don't mind changes zeroes into passing grades. Obviously, I'm still stewing on this one...
13. Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence. Duh...
14. Don’t summarize evidence accumulated over time when learning is developmental and will
grow with time and repeated opportunities; in those instances emphasize more recent achievement. I'd like to see how this looks, I think I do aspects of this, I'd like to know how I can do this with more alacrity...
15. Don’t leave students out of the grading process. Involve students - they can - and should - play key roles in assessment and grading that promote achievement. I'd like to do this one better and all of the time. 

World Book Night 2014: Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim

This year I applied to be a World Book Night Giver a wee bit late, like the last day...after they extended the deadline date and I just figured that I wouldn't get it. But, yesterday I received the loveliest of emails. Seriously, no matter how many times I get to do this I will always feel excited by these words:

Dear Stephanie,

Congratulations! You will be a 2014 World Book Night giver.

The book I get the pleasure of giving is Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim.

From this review:

"Same Difference is the story of Korean-American 20-something slackers in San Francisco who wrestle with the stereotypes and ambitions that they feel guide their lives. It has the feel of vintage Douglas Coupland, a drifting ennui shot through with moments of human warmth and connection. And though it's a quick read, it leaves a lasting emotional coal smouldering in its wake."

I can't wait to sell the idea of reading this book to the world!!!

Amazon's Top 100

My friend Sara knows that I am fond of lists, all lists, but especially reading lists. She found this list and posted it on my FB page and then she posted how many she'd read. I, of course, had to do the same. Thanks, Sara! 

Read red (54)

*Recommend (46)

Want to read blue (28)

Will never read green (4)

Not read normal (46)

1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
2. Dune by Frank Herbert*
3. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks
4. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
6. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
7. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
8. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
9. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien*
10. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
11. The World According to Garp by John Irving
12. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
13. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
14. The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion
15. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
16. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien*
17. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens*
18. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
19. Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
20. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins*
21. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
22. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared M. Diamond
23. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
24. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry*
25. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson*
26. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll*
27. Alice Munro: Selected Stories by Alice Munro*
28. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak*
29. The Shining by Stephen King*
30. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
31. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
32. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
33. Moneyball by Michael Lewis
34. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald*
35. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
36. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
37. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
38. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
39. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
40. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
41. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley*
42. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl*
43. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton*
44. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
45. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen*
46. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
47. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 1 by Jeff Kinney
48. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster*
49. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood*
50. Beloved by Toni Morrison*
51. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
52. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
53. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison*
54. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle*
55. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
56. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury*
57. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
58. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
59. 1984 by George Orwell*
60. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote*
61. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan
62. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
63. The Color of Water by James McBride
64. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White*
65. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle*
66. The Stranger by Albert Camus*
67. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen*
68. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown*
69. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
70. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris*
71. All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
72. A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning: The Short-Lived Edition by Lemony Snicket
73. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
74. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
75. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
76. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt*
77. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain*
78. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
79. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein*
80. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
81. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
82. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
83. The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
84. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
85. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
86. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger*
87. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
88. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
89. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway*
90. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
91. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
92. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen*
93. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi*
94. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
95. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
96. The Liars' Club: A Memoir by Mary Karr
97. The Giver by Lois Lowry*
98. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
99. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Dantica
100. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov*

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 12

Last year I found this book challenge (since then I have seen many variations of it, but I like this one best!), and have been intrigued about how I would answer the questions posed. Obviously, I started this challenge over 30 days ago...I just wasn't inspired. It isn't as easy to write about books as I thought.

Feel free to comment with your own answer or post the challenge to your own blog.

A Book Or Series of Books You've Read More Than Five Times

Book

You can read all about my love of this play here.

Book Series

I love these books and could read them over and over.
I can't wait for Lila to read them.

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)

Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11– A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

Dear Sarah Ockler

Dear Sarah Ockler,

About a week ago I read your treatise entitled I CliffsNoted My Way Through H.S. Lit & All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.

I was disappointed.
I was appalled.
I wailed and gnashed my teeth.

Then I realized something. As an English Major who now teaches High School English, I was the anomaly, you were just being a normal teenager. Teenagers today are no different. I think they aren't as good at hiding it as you may have been, but they would prefer to do anything else besides read a book that doesn't interest them (ie. a book that they are being forced to read). As teachers get more and more frustrated, the kids pretend less and less. There are whole entire groups of people making money on this fact.

Still there is no answer.

Here's a list of books we read in my Sophomore English classes (those that are bold are taught in Honors only, the others are taught at all levels)

Of Mice and Men (moving to Seniors next year to be replaced with Antigone)
The Crucible
The Scarlet Letter
Ethan Frome
Our Town
The Sun Also Rises
The Great Gatsby
A Separate Peace
Julius Caesar

I think that most teens do not find these books interesting in any way. In most cases I feel this is the fault of the teacher who, for whatever reason, didn't attach the proper hangers for the students to grasp the book or gave too many hangers and the students became over-loaded with the work's meaning and didn't even see how good the book could have been. I know that I have been guilty of both. I know that I forget that I am an anomaly. You see I love to read and I will read anything, just look at my Goodreads list from last year to see I'm all over the map. I think there's something to be said for reading those classics of lit that may or may not be easy to read, but have in them themes and characters that are truly universal. It's important to read pieces of literature that have stood the test of time.

All of those books above have within them a hook (a character or plot point or theme) that really grabs the interest of a student. It's up to me to figure out what that is and to make it work. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not some sort of Book Whisperer who entrances her students to read and understand and love every book we read (I know several students who feel compelled to tell me that they didn't read a book all year like it's some sort of honor), but I do try to get them to do so.

Example One: There was a student I had who I knew wouldn't like or want to read The Crucible. I also knew that he had just gotten out of a relationship with a girl who definitely wanted him back. While we're reading the play aloud it was easy for me to assign him the character of John Proctor. He immediately identified with the character and in the end was really mad with the outcome. I had him hooked for the rest of the year.

Example Two: It's easy to get students interested in Julius Caesar, all you have to do is tell them the best part of the story...the fact that a man literally gets stabbed to death because of his best friend. "Et Tu Brute?" And, if that doesn't hook them, tell them that man's other best friend may or may not be the best guy in the world, and ask them to tell you why.

Example Three: Once students read Of Mice and Men, they get certain SNL parodies, certain Bugs Bunny cartoons and even an episode of "Friends". They get pretty excited about that. Then you can teach them all about allusions.

That being said, below you will find a list of books from your list that you MUST read.

The Scarlet Letter...if you are going to reference in your book, you really must read it and then watch "Easy A" and cry for joy about all the nuances you are now getting. There is this chapter where Dimmesdale and Hester meet again in the forest and it is so beautiful and romantic that I can't help but love it.

The Canterbury Tales...find a list that details each tale and read the bawdier ones first. Seriously, there's one where a guy with a hairy butt gets a hot poker in the bum, that's good stuff.

Shakespeare...the stereotypical high school ones are Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and Hamlet. There's crazy teen romance, a mother that gets a little too close to her son and then yells at the Gods to rip out her womb, friendships that go a-rye, premarital sex, suicide (I mean a girl swallows hot coals, hot coals, I say! and another drowns herself in the reeds), sword fights and battles on the fields of war. Good stuff. Girl, get thee to Shakespeare I say!

The Great Gatsby...first Modern American novel. Ask yourself "What does it mean to be an American today?" This book will tell you. It also has a character (Daisy) that I love to hate. Gosh, she gets under my skin. Understand that you're seeing Gatsby through Nick's eyes and wonder if you have ever had a friend that was that good to you. Then, if you find that you like this book go ahead and read Ethan Frome, another book that has a character or three that I love to hate. Choose a side. Read it again. Choose another. It's so much fun!

Our Town...I flipping love this play. Read all about that here.

I can only hope that at some point in time my students also come to the realization that they would love to read the classics they skimmed over, and that they do so "all in the name of keeping an open mind, finding human connections, and cashing in on all of the wonderful lovey-dovey of books." I am afraid, however, that they will think the movie or SNL parody will suffice.

If you read the above and feel I haven't steered you too wrong, I've got a whole delicious list of about 100 books just waiting for you!

Sincerely,
Stephanie M. Hasty
Communication Arts Teacher

PS. I don't like To Kill A Mockingbird (but, I have read it all the way through so I can say that). I also don't like The Help...maybe one day I will be brave enough to talk to the blog-world in a serious tone about why...

Y is for Yakkity Yak Yak Yak Yak Yak

From the second she wakes up ("Mommy, I need something to eat.") to the second she goes to bed ("I don't want to go to sleep. Don't say that!") my daughter's mouth does not close.

I suppose this isn't a bad thing, but she was so much easier to control before she became verbal. Please, don't laugh at this simple and logical response.

So, I've been reading this book...I say 'reading' because I haven't really read it all the way through. If you'll recall from "G", I actually hate books like this, but it is my go-to resource at the moment...I suppose it's because I feel like I've been especially snippy lately.

What I've learned

1. I was right...talking to kids like they're people (and, not babies) really does go a long way.
2. You can never encourage your kid enough.
3. These tips and tricks (yes, some of them really are tricks...) are a lot like those concepts I learned about in my adolescent child methods courses...wow, becoming a teacher really does pay off.
4. I do not like filling out workbooks, it makes me feel like I'm in school...I'd rather just talk about it.
5. If you give your kid time (which usually means putting off your thing and paying attention to theirs) your kid will respect you.
6. This perfect world, doesn't always happen...so, be willing to say you're sorry and mean it. It always goes a long way.
7. I enjoy talking to my daughter.

Here's a lovely little chart detailing the whole thing
Article about the book, plus mind map

Some interesting articles
How to talk to Preschoolers about sex
How to talk to Preschoolers about death
25 Ways to Talk So Children Will Listen

Other books that are in the back of my mind at all times
Cinderella Ate My Daughter
Queen Bees and Wannabes

Six Word Saturday #32

My life in six words
Who's a WBN giver? It's Me!

About World Book Night (WBN)

What is World Book Night?

World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.

World Book Night, through social media and traditional publicity, will also promote the value of reading, of printed books, and of bookstores and libraries to everyone year-round.

Successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, World Book Night will also be celebrated in the U.S. in 2012, with news of more countries to come in future years. Please join our mailing list for regular World Book Night U.S. news. And thank you to our U.K. friends for such a wonderful idea!

Additionally, April 23 is UNESCO’s World Book Day, chosen due to the anniversary of Cervantes’ death, as well as Shakespeare’s birth and death.

If this sounds interesting or you want to learn more go here for US, here for UK and Ireland

I'm soooo excited!!!

Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. Feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing. The full list and linky can be found here. And, here's where I found it.

Kelly Gallaghar's "101 Books Reluctant Readers Love to Read"

Means I've read it

"Shameless!: the true story of how I won over a reluctant reader,
in graphic form,
 by LaDuska Adriance and Ellen Lindner.
Found on School Library Journal (9/26/2008).
I found it here.

Means I want to read it

Means I have no idea what this book is or whether I want to read it or not

COMING OF AGE/PEER PRESSURE/RELATIONSHIPS

1.  The Bluford series, Paul Langan.  Life in an inner city school.

2.  The Book Thief, Markus Zusak.  Death narrates this story of a young girl who finds solace in books during the Holocaust.

3. Cut, Patricia McCormick.  Callie, a fifteen-year old, is a “cutter” who seeks help for her self-destruction.

4.  Dark Angel, David Klass.  A family has a dark secret that is about to reemerge.

5.  Dreamland, Sarah Dessen.   This book explores the consequences of having an abusive boyfriend.

6.  Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, Robin Brande.  Mena knew her first day of high school would be bad, but this bad? Examines the evolution of debate in high school.

7.  The First Part Last, Angela Johnson. A sixteen year-old father struggles to care for his baby.

8.  Gossip Girl series, Cecily Von Ziegesar.  Life in side a New York City jet set private school.

9.  I am the Messenger, Markus Zusak.  A botched bank robbery changes a nineteen-year-old’s life.

10.  I Love You, Beth Cooper, Larry Doyle.  Denis’s life changes when he blurts out at his graduation speech that he loves Beth Cooper.

11.  Invisible, Pete Hautman.  Doug, 17, has come to terms with a tragic past.

12.  It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Ned Vizzini.  A teen seeks counseling in a psychiatric hospital.

13.  Just Listen, Sarah Dessen.  An incident at a high school party has far-reaching consequences.

14.  The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini.  Two young boys in 1970s Afghanistan take very different paths.

15.  Lemonade Mouth, Mark Peter Hughes.  Five outcasts in detention form a bond.

16.  Looking for Alaska, John Green. Miles, 16, is an outcast sent to a boarding school.

17.  Madapple, Christina Meldrum. A girl raised in isolation must learn to cope with the world after her mother dies.

18.  Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, Gabielle Zevin.  A teenager loses her memory after a bad fall.

19.  My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult.  Examines the difficult choices a family must make when one of the children is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

20.  Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult.  Another delicate topic: the consequences of a high school shooting.

21.  The Pact, Jodie Picoult.  A teenage suicide has devastating consequences for two families.

22.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky.  Charlie, a freshman, tries to find his way in a high school.

23.  Rooftop, Paul Volponi.  A shooting becomes a focal point for social justice.

24.  The Rules of Survival, Nancy Werlin.  The story of three siblings struggling to overcome child abuse.

25.  Running Out of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix.  Jessica, who thinks it is 1840, is more than surprised to find out it is really 2006.

26.  The Skin I’m In, Sharon Flake.  An adolescent navigates an inner-city school.

27.  Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, Davis Lubar.  Scott Hudson hopes to survive his freshman year.

28.  Snitch, Allison van Diepen.  A teen tries to navigate between rival gangs.

29.  Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, Peter Cameron.  James, 18, is trying to find his way in the world after high school graduation.  For mature readers.

30.  Someone Like You, Sarah Dessen.  Two best friends lean on each other when a calamity occurs.

31.  A Step from Heaven, An Na.  The trials and tribulations of a Korean family’s journey to America.

32.  Strays, Ron Koerge.  Ted’s parents are killed in a car crash, and his troubles are just beginning.

33.  Street Pharm, Allison van Diepen.  A teenager takes over his father’s drug dealing business but must decide if it’s worth it.

34.  That Summer, Sarah Dessen. A teenage girl deals with her parents’ divorce.

35.  Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher.  A teenager receives haunting audiotapes after a suicide.

36.  This Lullaby, Sarah Dessen.  A modern-day teen romance.

37.  The Truth about Forever, Sarah Dessen.  A teen has to cope with her father’s death.

38.  Twisted, Laureie Halse Anderson.  Tyler, busted for tagging, tries to find his way through his senior year.

39.  Tyrell,  Coe Booth.  Tyrell is determined to stay clean despite a father in jail and a mother who is involved in welfare fraud.

40.  Upstate, Kalisha Buckhanon.  Two lovers are separated by a horrendous crime.

FANTASY/ SCIENCE FICTION/ VAMPIRE

41.  The Alfred Kropp Series, Rick Yancey.  Fifteen-year-old Alfred has a series of adventures after finding a magic sword.

42.  A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb.  Helen died 130 years ago, but she’s still around.

43.  Cirque du Freak series, Darren Shan.  There is more to a traveling freak show than meets the eye.

44.  The Demonata series, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes.  The adventures of a 300-year old night stalker.

46.  Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zebin.  Liz is getting younger, not older, every day.

47.  The Gemma Doyle trilogy, Libba Bray.  Gemma, who has visions, travels to other worlds.

48.  A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray.  The School Library journal calls this novel “an interesting combination of fantasy, light horror, and  historical fiction, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure.”

49. The Host, Stephanie Meyer. N The human race is infiltrated by a species of parasites.

50.  House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer.  In the future, a scientist brings a number of clones to life.

51. How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff.  A world war breaks out in the twenty-first century.2.  52.  Life as We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfefs, A meteor collides with the moon, with disastrous results for Earthlings.

53.  Mother’s Helper, A. Bates.  A most unusual babysitting experience.

54.  Rash, Pete Hautman.  Life in 2076 is not easy.

55.  Rebel Angels, Libba Bray.  A sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty.

56.  Remember Me, Christopher Pike. Shari is dead, and she is determined to find out who killed her.

57.  The Twilight Saga series. Stephen Meyer. A teenage romance with a vampire twist.

58.  The Uglies series, Scott Westerfeld.  Life in a futuristic society where everyone is “ugly.
59.  Walk of the Spirits, Richie Tankersley Cusick.  Seventeen-year-old Miranda  hears voices at night.

60.  Wheel of time series, Robert Jordan. The world has been broken by a phenomenal power in this series that is reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien.

61. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks. The world is threatened by a zombie invasion.

MEMOIR AND NONFICTION

62.  Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A., Luis Rodriguez.  Memoirs of an East L.A. gang member.

63.  Come Back: A Mother and Daughter Journey to Hell and Back, Claire and Mia Fontaine. A riveting account of a mother’s fight to rescue her daughter from drugs.

64. Getting Away with Murder, Chris Crowe. The story of Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old African American boy murdered for “inappropriately” talking to a white woman.

65.  Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen. A sixteen-year old is  hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital.

66.  The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls.  Another account of growing up in an eccentric, dysfunctional family.

67.  Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence, Paul Feig.  A series of stories about the rigors of high school survival.

68.  A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah. A twelve-year-old’s account of surviving civil war in Sierra Leone.

69.  Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, Sanyika Shakur. The personal account of an L.A. gangbanger.

70.  Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but  True Story About Brain Science, John Fleischman. The incredible story of a recovery from severe trauma, and what it taught the scientific community.

71.  Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs.  An account of growing up in an eccentric, dysfunctional family.

72.  True Notebooks, Mark Salzman. The author tries to reach convicts through the formation of a writing group.

73.  Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose.  Meriwether Lewis overcomes disease, starvation, hostile Native Americans, and an unforgiving environment as he explores the American West.

74.  U.S. Army Survival Handbook, Department of the Army.  How to survive under the most adverse conditions.

75.  Young Men and fire, Norman Maclean.  The courageous story of Forest Service smoke jumpers.

POETRY

76. Burned, Ellen Hopkins. Growing up in an abusive household, told in verse.

77. Crank, Ellen Hopkins. A teenager's struggle with crystal meth, told in poetic form.

78. Glass, Ellen Hopkins. This picks up Crank a year later.

79. Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems from Writerscorps, Bill Aquado. Poems written by disadvantaged youth.

80. A Rose That Grew from Concrete, Tupac Shakur. The poetry of the late rapper.

81. Tears for Water, Alicia Keys. Poems that recall the singer's childhood.

82. Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writings by Teenage Girls, Betsy Franco Yas. Teens from around the country submit poems about growing up.

83. You Hear Me? Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys, Betsy Franco Yas. Real world topics addressed through poems and notes.

SPORTS
84.  Ball Don’t Lie, Matt De La Pena. Stick, 17, is determined to make it out of the neighborhood through basketball.

85.  Black and White, Paul Volponi.  Two boys, “Black” and “White” try to make it to big-time basketball.

86.  Crackback, John Coy.  The trials and tribulations of teenage life, woven through the lens of a high school football team.

87.  Gym Candy, Carl Deuker.  Mick Johnson, high school football star, considers using steroids.

88.  Knights of the Hill Country, Tim Tharp.  Readers who liked Friday Night Lights will like this football drama.

89.  Three days in August, Buzz Bissinger.  An in-depth, behind the scenes look at three-game series between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. 

MYSTERY
90.  Crazy Little Things, Adam P. Knave.  Twelve very strange tales.

91.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon. A poodle, Wellington, has been murdered.  Christopher, who is autistic, is on the case.

92.  Fake IE,, Walter Sorrells.  Chase, 16, only has six days to figure out why his mother disappeared.

93.  Falling, Christopher Pike.  FBI agent Kelly Feinman is on the trail of the “Acid killer.
94.  The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold.  Susie Salmon recalls her murder from heaven (10^th grade curriculum)

95.  The Perfect Shot, Elaine Marie Alphin.  A triple homicide is not what it seems.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

96.  300, Frank Miller. Only a few hundred warriors stand against a huge army.

97.  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller.  Gotham is falling apart, and Batman has not been seen for ten years.

98.  The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore.  A group of adventurers are pulled together ot protect the Empire.

99.  Sin city: The Hard Goodbye, Frank Miller.  Tough guy Marv hunts the back streets to find the murderer of his girlfriend.

100. V Is for Vendetta, Alan Moore.  Rebellion under authoritarian British government.

101.  Watchmen, Alan Moore. Time calls this story of Crimebusters a “masterpiece.”