The Book Bunch

1. The Book Bunch Sign up for the following reading groups in the library!

2. Bruiserby Neal Shusterman Group Leader- Ms. Penn Brewster "Bruiser" Rawlins was voted "Most Likely to get the Death Penalty" by the school - so when 16 year old Tennyson discovers the brute is dating his twin sister, Bronte, he's madand does everything possible to sabotage the relationship, from following the pair to mini-golf to making sure their dad knows the kid's brutal reputation. Bronte, however, insists the others don't know Bruiser - they don't know he's memorized "Howl" and how tenderly he cares for his little brother after their mother has died and they're living with a drunk uncle. Tennyson is reluctantly drawn to Bruiser, after seeing him in the locker room with his back covered in bruises and scars. As Bruiser becomes closer to Tennyson and Bronte, the twins start  noticing strange things happening when he's around - their injuries heal and disappear quickly, while Bruiser adds new ones daily. And while their parents' marriage is crumbling, when Bruiser is around their problems don't seem to be so bad. Bruiser's friendships with Tennyson, Bronte and their family lead to complex questions about the meanings of friendship, family and pain.

3. Revolverby Marcus Sedgwick “God created man, Sam Colt made them equal,” reads a quotation at the start of a chapter in Revolver. The power of a single gun is worked out in Marcus Sedgwick’s children’s thriller, which is based around quick thinking, tension, mysterious pasts and unanswered questions. Sig, a young boy who lives in the tundra with his gold-mining father, sister and step-mother, is fascinated by the gun his father has showed him that is hidden in a box in their house. But one day his father dies on a dangerous ice crossing, when his sledge crashes through the ice. Sig finds the body and sees what a pitiful death it must have been. Soon after his father dies, Sig is visited by a large man who is there to collect a debt his father owes him. As Sig and his sister protest they have not got the money, they find themselves in increasing danger from the brutal intruder. There seems to be no way of escape and they must rely on their wits and their knowledge of the hostile arctic. Group Leader-Rod Turpin

4. Looking For AlaskabyJohnGreen Group Leader Karen McAnelly Miles Halter has no idea what’s in store for him when he transfers to his father’s old prep school looking for “the Great Perhaps”. He certainly doesn’t anticipate rooming with a short, stocky boy nicknamed "The Colonel" who memorizes the capital and populations of all the countries in the world. He definitely doesn’t predict Takumi, the rapper with the fox hat, or Lara, the quiet Russian girl who is his first date. And he never anticipates a girl like dead sexy Alaska Young coming into his life and changing it forever.Overall, the characters of John Green’s novel, Looking for Alaska, are multi-faceted and diverse. They indulge in witty dialogue that will entertain readers when paired with Miles' internal musings. Peppered with relevant teen themes, such as drinking and pranks, LFA is direct and edgy. The novel's events are arranged in a "countdown" manner, which helps progression of the novel reach a chilling magnitude- and the ensuing effect is the heightening of the reader's tension and excitement. LFA will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotion as you learn to live and love with Miles, The Colonel, Takumi, Lara, and Alaska Young

5. Incarceronby Catherine Fisher Imagine a living prison so vast that it contains corridors and forests, cities and seas. Imagine a prisoner with no memory, who is sure he came from Outside, even though the prison has been sealed for centuries and only one man, half real, half legend, has ever escaped. Imagine a girl in a manor house in a society where time has been forbidden, where everyone is held in a seventeenth century world run by computers, doomed to an arranged marriage that appalls her, tangled in an assassination plot she both dreads and desires. One inside, one outsideBut both imprisoned.Imagine a war that has hollowed the moon, seven skullrings that contain souls, a flying ship and a wall at the world's end.Imagine the unimaginable.Imagine Incarceron. Group Leader: Jack Neely

6. The Maze Runner by James Dashner Thomas has no memory. He doesn’t know how he came to be in the pitch black metal box that seems to be traveling upward. Time means nothing. It’s too difficult to make sense out of what’s happening and when the box finally stops, he feels both relieved and scared. When the doors open, he has no idea what to expect. Thomas has arrived in the Glade, a small village inhabited by a variety of boys. Some as old as seventeen while others are as young as twelve. The Gladers were expecting Thomas. Once a month The Creators (the unseen and unknown people who created the Glade) sends a new boy in the box. Once a week, supplies arrive in the same fashion. At first glance, things seem pretty nice in the Glade. There is a working farm, animals to slaughter for meat, and electricity. Everyone has a job to do and the village seems to work smoothly. There is only one major rule that Thomas has to follow – don’t go into the Maze. The Maze surrounds the Glade. Everyday boys called Runners go out into the Maze to explore and look for ways to escape. The problem is the walls move everyday making it difficult to find a pattern. Every evening the doors leading into the Glade close automatically, locking the boys inside –  for their own good. While everything seems peaceful enough inside the Glade, it is just the opposite in the Maze. Grotesque and dangerous creatures called Grievers roam the Maze at night. Grievers have metal spikes and stingers that poison those unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. If they make it back to the Glade in time and receive a serum, it is possible to survive, but only after going through the The Changing. Things change the day after Thomas arrives when the Glade receives another delivery. This time a girl is in the metal box and she whispers, “Everything is going to change,” before she loses consciousness. A note is clutched in her hand that states: She’s the last one. Ever. Group Leader Troy Benningfield

7. Stay by Deb Caletti Group Leader Renee Duplantis Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he’s willing to do to make her stay. Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough….

8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Group Leader Laura Benningfield Melinda Sordino suffers through her freshman year at Merryweather High School in silence. Her transition from middle school to high school is complicated by a misunderstanding which sends Shockwaves throughout her existence. Gradually, readers become aware that Melinda is spiraling out of control as she becomes mute and loses interest in herself, her family, and school. Abandoned by her friends, she yearns to confide in them. Her voice is presented through a subdued inner monologue which becomes stronger and louder as Melinda struggles to reveal the truth behind her action to call for help at a summer party. Ostracized because her classmates believe she betrayed their trust, Melinda expresses herself through an art project and gardening. She ultimately confronts her antagonist and begins to heal.

9. Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers What would it feel like to be fighting for your country --- and your life --- right after graduating from high school? Get a close-up view of the beginning of the current Iraq War in SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH, another powerful novel by Walter Dean Myers. Against his father’s wishes, Robin Perry chooses the military over going to college in 2003. He finds himself near the border of Iraq, struggling to understand who he is and what he is doing there. Group Leader Lindsey McPherson Walter Dean Myers draws readers right into his story with alternating beautiful scenery, searing emotions and life-threatening situations. Loosely set as a sequel to his notable FALLEN ANGELS, in which Robin’s Uncle Richie fought in the Vietnam War, SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH offers an unforgettable look at the war being fought by many young adults who will never return home.

10. Copper Sun-Sharon Draper When pale strangers enter fifteen-year-old Amari's village, her entire tribe welcomes them; for in her remote part of Africa, visitors are always a cause for celebration. But these strangers are not here to celebrate. They are here to capture the strongest, healthiest villagers and to murder the rest. They are slave traders. And in the time it takes a gun to fire, Amari's life as she knows it is destroyed, along with her family and village.Beaten, branded, and dragged onto a slave ship, Amari is forced to witness horrors worse than any nightmare and endure humiliations she had never thought possible--including being sold to a plantation owner in the Carolinas who gives her to his sixteen-year-old son, Clay, as his birthday present. Now, survival and escape are all Amari dreams about. As she struggles to hold on to her memories in the face of backbreaking plantation work and daily degradation at the hands of Clay, she finds friendship in unexpected places. Polly, an outspoken indentured white girl, proves not to be as hateful as she'd first seemed upon Amari's arrival, and the plantation owner's wife, despite her trappings of luxury and demons of her own, is kind to Amari. But these small comforts can't relieve Amari's feelings of hopelessness and despair. With strength and dignity, Amari first learns to survive, then yearns to escape to a most unlikely destination. When the opportunity to escape presents itself, Amari and Polly decide to work together to find the thing they both want most--freedom. Group Leader Tim Peterson

11. Artichoke’s Heart by Simone Elkeles Rosemary Goode is smart, funny, and a nice person. Not to mention the best eyebrow waxer in Spring Hill, Tennessee. But no one really cares about all those things, because she's overweight. Rosemary's only friends are the chocolate bars she has stashed under her bed. Everyone constantly reminds her of the weight she needs to lose. Like with the treadmill her mother bought her for Christmas, which she's probably never going to use and the rickets to the weight loss convention that she got from her aunt. And since her mother runs the best beauty shop in town, blending in with her surroundings is not as easy as she hopes for. So when she finally resolves to lose the weight after hitting an all time high of two hundred three pounds after Christmas, she realizes that this is about more then just the extra pounds. And with the help of two unexpected allies from her school, an always happy and popular cheerleader and bluebird, Kay-Kay Reese, and a jock from her study hall, Kyle Cox, she realizes that not all people judge her by her weight and some can see her inner beauty that she has trouble seeing on her own. Group Leader-Ms. Mackin