Sophomore Booktalks

1. Sophomore Booktalks Fall 2012

2. Period 1

3. Important Information Books checked out today are due _________ World Literature often contains themes of war and oppression. By its very nature, literature derived from cultures that are much different than ours may contain some information and imagery that will shock audiences in the US. If you have objections (or believe your parents will have objections) to certain types of materials, please be sure to let your teacher and/or Mrs. Will know so that you can get a book that will be just right for you. Please keep in mind that what one student finds offensive might be perfectly appropriate for another student.

4. Romeo’s Ex: Rosaline’s Storyby Lisa Fielder • In a story based on the Shakespeare play, sixteen-year-old Roseline, who is studying to be a healer, becomes romantically entangled with the Montague family even as her beloved young cousin, Juliet Capulet, defies the family feud to secretly marry Romeo.

5. Three Cups of Tea • One man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia.

6. Allah is not Obligedby AhmadouKourouma • A ten-year-old orphan from the Ivory Coast, is seized by rebels on the way to Liberia to live with his aunt and forced to become a soldier

7. Radiant Darknessby Emily Whitman • Persephone runs off to the Underworld with Hades, with whom she has fallen in love, but when her mother Demeter threatens to destroy the earth to save her, Persephone finds a way to come back once a year, bringing Spring

8. Oh. My. Gods.by Tera Lynn Childs • When her mother marries a man from Greece and moves the family onto an island in the Aegean Sea, Phoebe's life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers that her new classmates at her exclusive academy are all descendants of real Greek gods--and her very real competition on the track team!.

9. Spudby John van de Ruit • In 1990, thirteen-year-old John "Spud" Milton, a prepubescent choirboy, keeps a diary of his first year at an elite, boys-only boarding school in South Africa, as he deals with bizarre housemates, wild crushes, embarrassingly dysfunctional parents, and much more..

10. The Juliet Clubby Suzanne Harper • When high school junior Kate wins an essay contest that sends her to Verona, Italy, to study Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" over the summer, she meets both American and Italian students and learns not just about Shakespeare, but also about star-crossedlovers--and herself.

11. A Thousand Splendid Sunsby KhaledHosseini • Two women born a generation apart witness the destruction of their home and family in wartorn Kabul, losses incurred over the course of thirty years that test the limits of their strength and courage

12. Waiting for Odysseusby Clemence McLaren • Presents the story of Odysseus's epic journey through the eyes of his faithful wife Penelope, the sorceress Circe, the goddess Athena, and his old nanny Eurycleia.

13. The Kommandant’s Girlby Pam Jenoff • Becoming a spy for the resistance after the Nazi's invade Poland, Emma Bau, taking on a new identity as a gentile, becomes a high-ranking Nazi official's assistant and, leading a double life, compromises her marriage vows, her safety, and the lives of those she loves for the cause

14. The Song of Achillesby Madeline Miller • Patroclus, an awkward young prince, follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Set during the Trojan War.

15. A Brief History of Montmarayby Michelle Cooper • On her sixteenth birthday in 1936, Sophia begins a diary of life in a fictional island country off the coast of Spain, where she is among the last descendants of an impoverished royal family trying to hold their nation together on the eve of the second World War.

16. 2nd Period

17. Important Information • Books checked out today are due January 14th • World Literature often contains themes of war and oppression. By its very nature, literature derived from cultures that are much different than ours may contain some information and imagery that will shock audiences in the US. If you have objections (or believe your parents will have objections) to certain types of materials, please be sure to let your teacher and/or Mrs. Will know so that you can get a book that will be just right for you. Please keep in mind that what one student finds offensive might be perfectly appropriate for another student.

18. Curse of the ChupaCabraby Rudolfo Anaya • Professor Rosa Medina, a folklorist researching the ChupaCabra, goes to Mexico to track down recent sightings of the creature which kills its victims, particularly goats, by sucking their brains out.

19. The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini • Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son, in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day.

20. Quicksilverby Stephanie Spinner • Hermes, Prince of Thieves and son of Zeus, relates why the seasons change, the history of the Trojan War, his friendship with Pegasus, and many more adventures.

21. My Swordhand is Singingby Marcus Sedgwick • In the dangerous dark of winter in an Eastern European village during the early seventeenth century, Peter learns from a gypsy girl that the Shadow Queen is behind the recent murders and reanimations, and his father's secret past may hold the key to stopping her.

22. Saving Julietby Suzanne Selfors • Seventeen-year-old Mimi Wallingford's stage fright and fight with her mother on the closing night of Romeo and Juliet are nothing compared to the troubles she faces when she and her leading man are transported to Shakespeare's Verona, where she decides to give the real Juliet a happy ending.

23. Avalon Highby Meg Cabot • Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

24. Shanghai Shadowsby Lois Ruby • From 1939 to 1945, a Jewish family struggles to survive in occupied China; young Ilse by remaining optimistic, her older brother by joining a resistance movement, her mother by maintaining connections to the past, and her father by playing the violin that had been his livelihood.

25. The Dante Clubby Matthew Pearl • In 1865, the preparations of the Dante Club--led by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes--to release the first translation of Dante's "The Divine Comedy" are threatened by a series of murders that re-create episodes from "Inferno.".

26. A Little Piece of Groundby Elizabeth Laird • During the Israeli occupation of Ramallah in the West Bank of Palestine, twelve-year-old Karim and his friends create a secret place for themselves where they can momentarily forget the horrors of war.

27. Nobody’s Princessby Esther Friesner • Determined to fend for herself in a world where only men have real freedom, headstrong Helen, who will be called queen of Sparta and Helen of Troy one day, learns to fight, hunt, and ride horses while disguised as a boy, and goes on an adventure throughout the Mediterranean world.

28. Koyal Dark, Mango Sweetby KashmiraSheth • Growing up with her family in Mumbai, India, sixteen-year-old Jeeta disagrees with much of her mother's traditional advice about how to live her life and tries to be more modern and independent.

29. Chenxi and the Foreignerby Sally Rippin • When Anna, an Australian art student, moves to Shanghai for her studies, she feels alienated as a foreigner until she befriends Chenxi, her fellow student and guide, and becomes entangled in his political activism.

30. Purple Hibiscusby ChimandaNgoziAdichie • Growing up in a wealthy Nigerian home with a tyrannical father, Kambili and her brother, find happiness during a visit to their Aunty Ifeoma, but as Kambili enjoys her freedom and falls in love, the country begins to fall under a military coup.

31. Period 3

32. Important Information • Books checked out today are due _________ • World Literature often contains themes of war and oppression. By its very nature, literature derived from cultures that are much different than ours may contain some information and imagery that will shock audiences in the US. If you have objections (or believe your parents will have objections) to certain types of materials, please be sure to let your teacher and/or Mrs. Will know so that you can get a book that will be just right for you. Please keep in mind that what one student finds offensive might be perfectly appropriate for another student.

33. Sphinx’s Princessby Esther Friesner • Although she is a dutiful daughter, Nefertiti's dancing abilities, remarkable beauty, and intelligence garner attention near and far, so much so that her family is summoned to the Egyptian royal court, where Nefertiti becomes a pawn in the power play of her scheming aunt, Queen Tiye.

34. Martyn Pigby Kevin Brooks • Faced with the possibility of living with a dreadful aunt, fifteen-year-old Martyn Pig decides not to tell authorities when his alchholic father dies accidentally, instead asking a friend for her help in disposing of the body.

35. Before We Were Freeby Julia Alvarez • In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.

36. Romiette and Julioby Sharon Draper • An African-American girl and a Latino boy fall in love after meeting on the Internet, but they are harrassed by a gang who objects to their interracial dating.

37. Solace of the Roadby Siobhan Dowd • While running away from a London foster home just before her fifteenth birthday, Holly has ample time to consider her years of residential care and her early life with her Irish mother, whom she is now trying to reach.

38. Tropical Secretsby Margarita Engle • Escaping from Nazi Germany to Cuba in 1939, a young Jewish refugee dreams of finding his parents again, befriends a local girl with painful secrets of her own, and discovers that the Nazi darkness is never far away.

39. Wanting Morby Rukhsana Khan • Based on a true story, Jameela, a young girl living in war-torn Afghanistan, must struggle to find her place in the world after her mother dies and she is moved to Kabul with her drunken father

40. Unconfessedby Yvette Christianse • Driven by the horrors of slavery to commit an unspeakable crime, Sila van den Kaap, a slave woman in eighteenth-century South Africa, narrowly escapes the gallows to be confined to the notorious prison on Robben Island.

41. Englishby Wang Gang • Young Love Liu, who wonders about life outside of the conformist region of Xinjiang during the Cultural Revolution, is inspired by a teacher to learn English but finds his survival threatened by the atmosphere of suspicion and repression that marks his home.

42. Once on a Moonless Nightby Dai Sijie • Presents the story of the search for an ancient silk scroll inscribed with a lost Buddhist sutra, and one woman's search for her lost love.

43. Grave Mercyby Robin LaFevers • In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts--and a violent destiny.

44. Climbing the Stairsby PadmaVenkatraman • In India, in 1941, when her father becomes brain-damaged in a non-violent protest march, fifteen-year-old Vidya and her family are forced to move in with her father's extended family and become accustomed to a totally different way of life.

45. Absent a Miracleby Christine Lehner • Losing her dream job as a radio talk-show host, New Yorker Alice Fairweather takes a spelunking vacation with her family and ailing dog but finds the venture challenged by a family friend's effort to get his aunt canonized, a new friendship with an eccentric hagiographer, and an impulsive trip to Nicaragua.

46. Swift as Desireby Laura Esquivel • Jublio is a telegraph operator and interpretor until the telegraph becomes obsolete. Now Jublio lies on his deathbed, mute and estranged from his wife. The daughter must figure out how to begin communication again between her parents and make them see that keeping secrets always leads to unhappiness.

47. The Smileby Donna Jo Napoli • In Renaissance Italy, Elisabetta longs for romance, and when Leonardo da Vinci introduces her to Guiliano de Medici, whose family rules Florence but is about to be deposed, she has no inkling of the romance--and sorrow--that will ensue.

48. Period 4

49. Important Information • Books checked out today are due _________ • World Literature often contains themes of war and oppression. By its very nature, literature derived from cultures that are much different than ours may contain some information and imagery that will shock audiences in the US. If you have objections (or believe your parents will have objections) to certain types of materials, please be sure to let your teacher and/or Mrs. Will know so that you can get a book that will be just right for you. Please keep in mind that what one student finds offensive might be perfectly appropriate for another student.

50. The Enemy Has a Faceby Gloria D. Miklowitz • Netta and her family have relocated temporarily from Israel to Los Angeles, and when her seventeen-year-old brother mysteriously disappears, she becomes convinced that he has been abducted by Palestinian terrorists.