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Recommended by Ms. Abrams
From Goodreads:
There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lesson all her life. But when she meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question-How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

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Discover and share books you love on Goodreads.

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I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Latrice Jones and Gilly Segal

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I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Latrice Jones and Gilly Segal

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Recommended by Ms. Abrams
From Goodreads:
An NAACP Image Award Nominee, I’m Not Dying with You Tonight follows two teen girls—one black, one white—who have to confront their own assumptions about racial inequality as they rely on each other to get through the violent race riot that has set their city on fire with civil unrest.

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It's about two high-school seniors who are working a concession stand at a Friday night football game. Campbell is white, a newcomer to the school. LeIt's about two high-school seniors who are working a concession stand at a Friday night football game. Campbell is white, a newcomer to the school. Lena is African American, has a "bad" boy friend and cool. Suddenly words lead to violence, the violence grows exponentially around the concession stand, into the stands, and finally throughout close-by neighborhoods. Both girls, who see things from very different perspectives, must lean on each other to get safely home. Will they make it? ...more (less)

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It's about two high-school seniors who are working a concession stand at a Friday night football game. Campbell is white, a newcomer to the school. LeIt's about two high-school seniors who are working a concession stand at a Friday night football game. Campbell is white, a newcomer to the school.

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This Is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio

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This Is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio

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Recommended by Ms. Abrams
From Goodreads:
Jocelyn Wu has just three wishes for her junior year: To make it through without dying of boredom, to direct a short film with her BFF Priya Venkatram, and to get at least two months into the year without being compared to or confused with Peggy Chang, the only other Chinese girl in her grade.

Will Domenici has two goals: to find a paying summer internship, and to prove he has what it takes to become an editor on his school paper.

Then Jocelyn's father tells her their family restaurant may be going under, and all wishes are off. Because her dad has the marketing skills of a dumpling, it's up to Jocelyn and her unlikely new employee, Will, to bring A-Plus Chinese Garden into the 21st century.

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I was a sensitivity reader for Ilene for this book as a side character is on the autism spectrum. Charming and full of heart, THIS IS MY BRAIN IN LOVE is about two teens who deal with being first generation immigrant kids, the family business, mental health issues, and falling in love. Recommended for fans of The Sun Is Also a Star....more

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I was a sensitivity reader for Ilene for this book as a side character is on the autism spectrum. Charming and full of heart, THIS IS MY BRAIN IN LOVE is about two teens who deal with being first generation immigrant kids, the family business, mental health issues, and falling in love.

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Recommended by Ms. Abrams
From Goodreads:
Thirty years after four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.

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As a 14 year old, I really enjoyed this book! I didn't think that the romance was too much, and it definitely felt age appropriate. The writing style As a 14 year old, I really enjoyed this book! I didn't think that the romance was too much, and it definitely felt age appropriate. The writing style and the plot were easy for me to follow, and I never felt that the book was overly complicated or dense. Emma_the_bookworm...more

One of my favorite parts of Lovely War was that Greek Gods were tied into the story. I was only familiar with Greek gods from reading Percy Jackson, so it was fun to read about them again in a new setting, with different personalities then I was used to. I also loved that music played such a huge role in Lovely War, and that I got to read about the beginnings of jazz in the US.

The hardest part of this book for me was reading about the pain and suffering that comes with war, but I thought the author handled it very well. The book is not overly depressing, violent or graphic. However, there are some descriptions of life in the trenches, racial prejudice/hate crimes and PTSD. There is also discussion about racial prejudice in the military. I think that it would be a great way to start/continue a conversation about racial prejudice in the US, especially because one of the main characters is an African American soldier facing discrimination.

Lovely War had a very creative plot, with characters who I connected with and cared about. I would recommend this to any teenager who likes historical fiction, enjoys romance that isn't graphic, and appreciates music. I hope this helps! :)(less)

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As a 14 year old, I really enjoyed this book! I didn't think that the romance was too much, and it definitely felt age appropriate. The writing style As a 14 year old, I really enjoyed this book! I didn't think that the romance was too much, and it definitely felt age appropriate.

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The Choice:  Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

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The Choice:  Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

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Recommended by Mrs. Zederbaum

Eger’s book reaches beyond the memoir as she takes the reader beyond the horrors of the Holocaust and allows us to witness her gripping journey of healing others and herself through making the ultimate choice of self-forgiveness.

At 16 years old, Eger and her family were removed from their Hungarian Jewish home and taken to the infamous Auschwitz.  Her mother and father did not survive; however, Eger, together with her sister Magda, survived multiple death camps and the Death March.

After leaving Europe, raising a family in America, and becoming a clinical psychologist, Eger returns to Auschwitz and learns to stop asking the question, “Why did I live?” and begin asking, “What is mine to do with the life I’ve been given?”

At times the book is certainly a disturbing read, yet you cannot help but turn each page in hopes of understanding how she not only survived the unimaginable horror but goes on to live a full life of love, learning, self-healing and healing others.

Today in her 90’s, Dr. Edith Eva Eger serves as a consultant for the U.S. Army and Navy in resiliency training and the treatment of PTSD.

Be sure to place Eger’s memoir on your bookshelf next to Wiesel’s Night and Mans Search for Meaning written by Eger’s mentor, Viktor Frankl.

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Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Recommended by Mr. Agelis

A page turning novel about a young, rising gangster named Pinkie who is devoid of feeling or emotion when it comes down to levying punishment to other gangsters, however, as Catholic, he firmly believes his comeuppance is around the corner and one that only God could render. This juxtaposition alone makes the book worth reading. It’s a story about the underbelly of societies.

Graham Greene is a really good author. One worth driving into.

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Black Boy by Richard Wright

Recommended by Mr. Agelis

An eminently interesting and readable autobiography about a young Richard Wright trying to navigate his youth in the Jim Crow Law South. It’s an actual well written work. Not just a good story. Read it.

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A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

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A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

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Recommended by Mr. Agelis
A novel posthumously published in 1980, which eventually won the author the 1981 Pulitzer Prize is set in New Orleans and follows the story of Ignatius O’Reilly, a 30 something, lazy, know it all, who still lives with his mother, however, when he’s nearly arrested and then in a car accident with his mother, he is forced to look for a job, ultimately getting one pushing a hot dog cart, where his profits are low because he eats the product. That’s just one example of comedy. It’s a funny novel. Actually funny with witty and zany dialogue from all sorts of different people in New Orleans. I just reread it and loved it even more this time. Will Ferrell tried getting it made into a movie. It didn’t happen.

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The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson

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The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson

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Recommended by Mrs. Gagliardi

Nonfiction as crafted by Eric Larson always reads like fiction: this one focuses upon 1 year in the life of Winston Churchill from May of 1940-May 1941 during the Blitz of WWII. What a picture of leadership... of intestinal fortitude... of grit. Compelling and fascinating for history buffs everywhere.

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If I Die In a Combat Zone (Box Me Up and Ship Me Home) by Tim O'Brien

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If I Die In a Combat Zone (Box Me Up and Ship Me Home) by Tim O'Brien

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Recommended by Mrs. Gagliardi

If you enjoyed The Things They Carried then you must go backwards: read O'Brien's memoir. You'll see where the parts of Kiowa's story came from... events that sparked "On the Rainy River,"  and meet Chip: the Rat Kiley of the actual Alpha Company. The final line of the book: "It's impossible to go home barefoot."

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The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac

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The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac

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Recommended by Ms. Falkner

Short, practical, realistic but hopeful...This “behind-the-scenes" look at the Paris Climate Accord negotiations is certainly inspiring and builds confidence that monumental change can happen. I especially appreciated the "10 Actions" section. The authors strike a nice balance between individual action and collective movement-building/voter strategy, smartly linking these approaches and pointing out how they inform one another. The authors are careful not to insinuate that we're going to solve the problem of climate change one vegan or one EV driver at a time, but they also don't discount the value of taking personal actions that make you feel plugged in to the issue and active on it in your own life. When they address personal actions, they approach these recommendations as a kind of spiritual balm and stepping stone to political engagement rather than as an endpoint or ultimate aim. The book definitely combats the "it's all futile at this point" outlook that social media feeds seem to exacerbate.

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Recommended by Ms. Falkner

In this book, we get the perspective of Lucy Adler, a middle-class 17-year-old girl growing up in NYC in the 90s, as she navigates friendships, love, athletics, and her future plans. Much of what I loved about the book is her awareness and recognition of the ways in which the world was made by and for young men, and yet she doesn’t give in to the pressure to fit herself into the boxes offered to her. I think high school students, young women especially, would find much to identify with and appreciate in here.

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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Recommended by Mr. Ricciardi

Say Nothing is a story about the violent conflict in Ireland between the Irish Republicans and British Loyalists which came to be known as “The Troubles.” This book was so interesting and engaging that I had a hard time putting it down and it made me curious to learn more about this conflict and all of the people involved.

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Punchy, forthright, square shouldered.

There's a jungle of material, an overgrowth of people, currents and counter-currents, infiltration, informers, betrayals, turnarounds, lies, obfuscation, secrecy, guilt and idealism. How Patrick Radden Keefe manages to hack a clear and cogent path through this mass and turn it into a gripping narrative is an absolute marvel. I was hooked from the start.
I knew a lot of it, of course I did, but it's odd how I remember nothing of the aftermath of the London bo...more

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Punchy, forthright, square shouldered. There's a jungle of material, an overgrowth of people, currents and counter-currents, infiltration, informers, betrayals, turnarounds, lies, obfuscation, secrecy, guilt and idealism. How Patrick Radden Keefe manages to hack a clear and cogent path through this mass and turn it into a gripping narrative is an absolute marvel.

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Recommended by Mr. Ricciardi

Red Platoon is the story of a Taliban attack on an American outpost in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2009. Written by Medal of Honor recipient, Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha, I recommend this book because it is honest, well-written, and it grabs your attention and holds it from cover to cover. It’s important for me to read/listen to the stories of veterans because I think it’s one of the best ways for a civilian to honor the sacrifice of the people who serve in our military.

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"There was a type of black ant that that had legs like those of a spider. They could move so fast that if you sat down near a cluster of them while you were on patrol, they would swarm all over you. We couldn't find them listed in any book, so we called them "crack ants."

"Inside, there were seven Afghan patients who were suffering from a variety of gunshot wounds and lacerations, plus one man whose abdomen had been eviscerated."

More quotes...

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"There was a type of black ant that that had legs like those of a spider. They could move so fast that if you sat down near a cluster of them while you were on patrol, they would swarm all over you. We couldn't find them listed in any book, so we called them "crack ants."

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Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan

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Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan

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Recommended by Ms. McCabe
While I've read many books about WWII, I knew virtually nothing about what Italy was like. This book tells the true story of Pino Lello, an Italian teenager who goes through incredible lengths to help Jews get to safety and later becomes a spy working for one of the top Nazi leaders. It's an incredible, moving story, and I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend!

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"You know, my young friend, I will be ninety years old next year, and life is still a constant surprise to me. We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose. Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always a drama, if not a tragedy. But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed."

"How do you find happiness?" Anna paused, then said, "You start by looking right around you for the blessings you have."

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"You know, my young friend, I will be ninety years old next year, and life is still a constant surprise to me. We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose.

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Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay 

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Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay 

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Recommended by Mrs. Ruffner

Jay Reguero is planning to coast through the end of his high school experience before enrolling in the University of Michigan in the fall. His world is turned upside down when he learns of his cousin's mysterious death in the Philippines. When Jay's family refuses to tell him what happened to his cousin, Jay resolves to find the answers to his questions. even when this quest causes him to confront real danger. In doing so, Jay journeys to the Philippines and becomes immersed in President Duterte's war on drugs. Jay is forced to reckon with his cousin's many layers, while better understanding the circumstances that led to his death. If you loved Dear Martin, you'll love Patron Saints of Nothing.

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Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell

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Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell

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Recommended by Mrs. Ruffner

Malcolm Gladwell once again challenges us to consider how and why we interact with one another. But this time rather than exploring those we know, he has us explore those we don't know and more importantly, why our interactions with strangers tend to go terribly wrong. Through the use of history and a variety of controversial cases from the last few years (i.e. Brock Turner and Sandra Bland), Gladwell astutely evaluates how our inability to talk to strangers is actually inviting both conflict and misunderstanding into our lives.

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"Recommended by Ms. Crawley

This is that book you pray will never end. Set in 1924 South Carolina, Call Your Daughter Home brings you deep into the challenges of three courageous women -- a freed slave, a "swamp" mother of four, and a white plantation owner -- who end up saving each other from their private hells. Gertrude is plagued by poverty and a violent husband. Retta has lost her daughter and her spirit, and Annie must face the truth about the man she blindly supported for decades. If you loved Where the Crawdads Sing or The Secret Life of Bees, you will fall hard for these three women and their painful tales. As wise messengers from an earlier time, these mothers will call you to back to the fiercest parts of yourself: "We make the best of what we got."

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Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

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Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

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Recommended by Ms. Crawley

Monday is a teenage girl who's gone missing. But no one seems to care
-- especially the adults. Told in the lyrical voice of Monday's best friend Claudia, this story will shake your trust in family and society. As Claudia wonders,  "How can a whole person, a kid, disappear and no one say a word?" Think Gone Girl  meets The Hate U Give. Jackson's poetic writing will lift you through the dark streets and ugly truths of poverty, violence and deception.

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Recommended by Ms. McCabe

Jade is growing up in a poor neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, but she desperately does not want that to be the single story of who she is. She learns about who she is, how to accept help, how to make a difference, and ultimately how to define herself on her own terms while still respecting where she came from.

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This would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible. The characters were well writThis would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible. The characters were well written and developed and there'd would be some GREAT discussions. This is one of the best books I've read this year. Juli Hoffman...more

*Bonus, this book is a "clean read," and yet the writing feels incredibly realistic. It deals with a lot of complicated issues in a positive, character-growing way.(less)

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This would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible. The characters were well writThis would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible.

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Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

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Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

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The story semi-autobiographical novel tells the story of Chula, a wealthy 9-year-old girl living in Bogotá, Columbia in the 1990s when Pablo Escobar was running rampant.  It is told in 2 different narratives: Chula's perspective offers a naive yet disturbing look at upper-class suburban Bogotá, while Petrona (Chula's 15-year-old maid) comes from the invasión and has a completely different perspective of the events that take place in Bogotá regarding poverty and the guerrillas that control her neighborhood.  The book is gorgeously written in a style much like House on Mango Street where major life events are captured through the eyes of two very different children dealing with one of the most corrupt and dangerous countries in the world at the time of its telling. The story is compelling, poignant, and heart-breaking but maintains the innocence and levity of a 9-year-old dealing with 9-year-old (and adult!) problems.

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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

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Recommended by Mr. Ricciardi

The subtitle “An African Childhood” sets the tone for this story about a white family of itinerant tobacco farmers living in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) during and after the Rhodesian civil war in the 1970s. Enlightening and beautifully atmospheric, the descriptions of an expat’s childhood in southern Africa will simultaneously captivate and haunt you.

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The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

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The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

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Recommended by Ms. Rocco

“You are either part of the death squad, or you are banging on the bars.” This book will infuriate you while also showing you the power of hope. This man survived being put on death row for crimes he did not commit. After nearly 30 years on the row, he was exonerated. Hinton has dedicated his life to revealing the inhumanity and danger of sentencing people to death. He calls himself the “voice of death row.” I hope everyone reads this compelling memoir and hears what he has to say.

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the sun does shine by anthony ray hinton paperback

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Amazon.com: the sun does shine by anthony ray hinton paperback

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Amazon.com: the sun does shine by anthony ray hinton paperback

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Recommended by Mr. Agelis

A World War II memoir following Sledge as he battles in the Pacific.  An unbridled and brutal retelling of the war and the effects it had on the men who served highlighting the climate, the terrain, the enemy and their own mental afflictions. This simply written, yet compelling slim volume is worth reading and adding to your collection of historical texts.

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Recommended by Mr. Agelis

Wrongly labeled as a children's book, Robinson Crusoe is the first person narrative of the shipwrecked title character. Though told from first person point of view, the novel shifts in style using letters and journals, alongside the traditional first person narration. Follow and enjoy the journey as an 18 year old Robinson disregards his father's advice to sail and then learns to accept his misgivings. As the novel progresses, Robinson Crusoe grows, matures and fully realizes what is important in life, as he contemplates his life and teachings in isolation.

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Thought to have been inspired by the true-life experiences of a marooned sailor, Robinson Crusoe tells the story of the sole survivor of a shipwreck, stranded on a Caribbean island, who prevails against all odds, enduring almost three decades of solitude while mastering both himself and his stra...

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Recommended by Mrs. Ruffner

In light of the racial injustice surrounding him, Justyce McAllister struggles to understand his place at an elite prep school in Atlanta. He begins a journal to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the hopes of learning more about Dr. King's teachings and uncovering answers to his lofty questions. In a unique combination of journal entries, news reports, and debate transcripts, Nic Stone explores what happens after Justyce finds himself caught in the crosshairs of this injustice and, in an instant, is now the one under attack.

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Recommended by Mrs. Gagliardi
A beautifully-written coming-of-age story, intertwined with a murder mystery. A young girl, abandoned as a child, first by her mother and then, one by one, all of her family members, Kya has to fend for herself living in the marshlands of North Carolina. She embraces nature, befriending animals rather than people, and struggles when she does finally find a male friend. You won't see the end coming! If you like the writing style of Kristin Hannah, you'll enjoy this.

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The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed their Lives by Dashka Slater

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The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed their Lives by Dashka Slater

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Recommended by Mrs. Ruffner

If not for the 57 bus that runs through Oakland, CA, Sasha and Richard would never have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, leading completely different lives. Their paths overlapped for only eight minutes every day on the 57 bus. One afternoon ride home leaves Sasha severely burned and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life in prison. Dashka Slater offers a candid portrait of Sasha and Richard's experiences, along with the case that changed their lives forever. Fascinating account of not only their lives, but also our criminal justice system.

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Recommended by Ms. Falkner

I love a book that reimagines a "canonical" narrative from the perspective of a minor character. In this book, we hear not Odysseus's story, but Circe's. In The Odyssey, we learn very little about this "witch," and she's mostly depicted as a vengeful and cruel temptress (as, infuriatingly, powerful women so often are!). In Circe, we come to understand her as a multidimensional character with a full story in her own right - and a story that is just as compelling as Odysseus's. From her upbringing to her study of sorcery to her encounters with Odysseus and beyond, Circe's story is as rich as it is accessible.

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Recommended by Mrs. Abrams

From Goodreads:

"Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story."

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Patron Saints of Nothing book. Read 65 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the...

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Recommended by Mrs. Abrams

From Goodreads:
"From early childhood, she heard the story of her adoption as a comforting, prepackaged myth. She believed that her biological parents had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hopes of giving her a better life; that forever feeling slightly out of place was simply her fate as a transracial adoptee. But as she grew up—facing prejudice her adoptive family couldn’t see, finding her identity as an Asian American and a writer, becoming ever more curious about where she came from—she wondered if the story she’d been told was the whole truth."

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no. it is honest about the authors experience and questions and search. she doesn't gloss over the hard part of growing up as a transracial adoptee. sno. it is honest about the authors experience and questions and search. she doesn't gloss over the hard part of growing up as a transracial adoptee. she is clear about her love for her adoptive parents but she also doesn't glorify adoption as what saved her. Dorothy Young...more (less)

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no. it is honest about the authors experience and questions and search. she doesn't gloss over the hard part of growing up as a transracial adoptee. sno. it is honest about the authors experience and questions and search. she doesn't gloss over the hard part of growing up as a transracial adoptee.

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Recommended by Ms. Falkner

Did you know that trees communicate, travel, care for their children, sense your presence, and even have sex? You will never look at a tree in the same way again after reading this book!  The book may seem like a collection of short stories with a tree motif, but then you discover that these stories intersect in the most surprising and unpredictable ways. You even discover that the main characters in this story aren't the people...but the trees. So few authors can write about the natural world in a way that makes it as compelling as the human one, but Richard Powers succeeds incredibly in this regard. This book is an incredible, necessary story for anyone who yearns to think beyond the self and see the wonderful ways that we humans and the natural world are all interconnected, across the universe, across time.

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Trees talk in Richard Powers' new novel The Overstory. They talk to each other, and they talk to a handful of humans, and they say things like "Light and water and a little crushed stone demand long answers" or "Long answers need long time ... and long time is exactly what's vanishing" or "The world is turning into a new thing."

This is, needless to say, an exorbitant risk for any author to take, even one as popular and critically acclaimed as National Book Award-winning Powers. If you write a long book in which trees talk, you run the risk looking silly, which is the green kryptonite of serious fiction. Likewise if you preach, you run the risk that your preaching will outstrip your storytelling - if it doesn't, you have a work of mind-changing art like Uncle Tom's Cabin, but if it does, you're stuck with a leaden piece of polemic like The Jungle.

The preaching risk is compounded in The Overstory even before the narrative begins. On the book's copyright page, readers are told that the whole thing is printed on 100 percent recycled paper, which saved "408 trees, 393, 576 gallons of water, 132, 288 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, and 40, 272 pounds of solid waste." In the face of such data, whither book reviewing?

"The world had six trillion trees, when people showed up," a character observes in these recycled pages. "Half remain. Half again will disappear, in a hundred years. And whatever enough people say that all these vanishing trees are saying is what, in fact, they say."

A handful of characters in The Overstory become convinced, to varying degrees of personal shock, that trees are talking to them. There's Douglas "Fir" Pavlicek, a toughened veteran; there's Nick and Olivia, who engage in a series of confrontations with redwood loggers; there's Neelay, a tech-whiz looking to green the world with ecology 2.0; most movingly there's Dr. Patricia Westerford, a biologist who bears several of the tell-tale signs of being Powers' foremost author stand-in, a figure crying out against the cynics about the endangered soul of the world's respiratory system. Powers reputedly spent a good deal of time in out in the glory of the California redwoods, and whenever Dr. Westerford does that, her perceptions change in born-again ways:
... she turns back outside, into the woods, the green negation of all careers. She no longer theorizes or speculates. Just watches, notes, and sketches into a stack of notebooks, her only persistent possession aside from clothes. Her eyes go near and narrow ... The particle of her private self rejoins everything it has been split off from - the plan of runaway green.
That "plan of runaway green" wavers in and out of focus throughout The Overstory, which too often has the breathlessness of all over-zealous fiction - one of the signs of which is always the distrust of fiction itself. Are the trees here trees, or are they tree-shaped narrative tools? Is the wisdom they impart translated from the heart of their ancient, silent world, or is it the artificial construct of the dippy, trippy humans communing among them? Powers very deliberately refuses to settle the question; he gives those fortune-cookie "the world is turning into a new thing" pronouncements, but he also calls them into question:
The man with his head sticking out of the tent asks himself: What are those treetops like? They're like that cog-toothed drawing toy, spinning out surprise patterns from the simplest nested cycles. They're like the tip of a Ouija planchette, taking dictations from beyond. They are, in fact, like nothing but themselves. They are the crowns of five white spruces laden with cones, bending in the wind as they do every day of their existence. Likeness is the sole problem of men.
The handful of tree-chosen go through some pitched adventures that are, in their raw energy, very reminiscent of the clashes with the law in Powers' previous book, Orfeo, and then, intriguingly, the narrative gently moves on and eventually finds some of them looking back at their own adventures and wondering what it all meant.

Readers of The Overstory will certainly know how that feels. The book is saved from being simply silly by sheer dint of Powers' staggering writing talent - but it's saved only barely, and no amount of writing talent can disguise the pamphleteering tones. Very likely this is intentional on the author's part, a reflection of his heightened ecological awareness. But it results in something intensely strange: a novel by Richard Powers that feels distracted.

Steve Donoghue was a founding editor of Open Letters Monthly. His book criticism has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, and the American Conservative. He writes regularly for the National, the Washington Post, the Vineyard Gazette, and the Christian Science Monitor. His website is http://www.stevedonoghue.com.

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Trees talk in Richard Powers' new novel The Overstory. They talk to each other, and they talk to a handful of humans, and they say things like "Light and water and a little crushed stone demand long answers" or "Long answers need long time ...

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Salinger is most known for his novel The Catcher in the Rye, where he provides scathing social critique through the eyes of a seventeen year old boy named Holden Caulfield. In these nine stories, Salinger hits upon the social critique notes, but with different characters as his instruments. The jewels of this collection are "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "For Esme with Love and Squalor." Both provide a soldier's insight into the lasting damage of World War II. Even if you don't read the whole book, these two are worth the effort.

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by Daniel Woodrell
Recommended by Ms. Crawley
In this YA novel, 16-year-old Ree is raising two younger brothers in the cold poverty of the Ozarks, while managing her mentally ill mother. Now her father has skipped bail and she has to go find him, so she doesn't lose the house. The spare, poetic prose that pulls us through the barren Ozarks is gripping as we follow this young girl into the violent underworld of crystal meth. This book is filled with suspense, is easy to fall into, and has short chapters.

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Recommended by Ms. Crawley
Imagine your 16, your dad has just died, and your mom decides to adopt a new baby. This is a beautifully written YA novel about two teen girls who end up in the same family as they both navigate their own traumas. Told from two different perspectives, with clear, simple prose, this story will entice even the most reluctant reader. Lots of short sentences and white space! And it's one of those can't-put-down tales. (And one of those, What the heck was my mom thinking? stories.)

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How to Save a Life touched me in the way not many novels have. Sara Zarr, an expert in her field of YA contemporaries, crafted a unique story of family, love, independence and dependance, without alienating her readers with a story too bizarre to believe. With inspirational writing and beautiful, multidimensional characters, this novel isn't one soon to be forgotten.

The MacSweeneys lost a husband and father a year ago, and while the wife, Robin, has been doing everything she can to keep going -...more

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How to Save a Life touched me in the way not many novels have. Sara Zarr, an expert in her field of YA contemporaries, crafted a unique story of family, love, independence and dependance, without alienating her readers with a story too bizarre to believe.

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By Herman Hesse

Simply, it is a novella about two boys, Sinclair and Demian and their friendship. Sinclair, the younger of the two and the narrator, has much to learn, and Demian patiently waits for his friend to understand what he already knows. Like all Hesse books, the story teeters on the edge of reality, it plays with the philosophical, and it explores aspects of humanity in new and expansive ways. At its core, Hesse embraces the good and evil that ebb and flow throughout us all; namely, Abraxas. You can't help but probe your soul while Sinclair is contemplating his. A simple lesson learned? How to steer one's own madness. If you haven't read a Hesse book yet, this is good starting point. Thomas Mann writes in the forward of my copy, "This chaste and daring work; full of fantasy and at the same time highly intellectual, is full of tradition, loyalty, memory, secrecy  - without being in the least derivative." A glowing recommendation from Hesse's dear friend and intellectual equal.

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Demian / Siddhartha has 3,448 ratings and 172 reviews. Tai said: I read Demian & plan to read Siddhartha soon. Demian was such an amazing book. With all ...

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by Robin Benway
Recommended by Mrs. Abrams

This YA novel alternates in points of view between three biological siblings whose mother died. Two of the siblings were adopted, while the other ended up in foster care throughout his life. One sibling was adopted by an affluent couple, while the other was adopted by a middle class family. As they all meet for the first time and try to find reconcile their past, the complexities of their situations play out. This was very well crafted, and definitely my favorite novel by this author.

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Far from the Tree has 13,740 ratings and 2,825 reviews. Emma said: What an absolutely amazing contemporary novel. I am truly BLOWN AWAY by how fantastic ...

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Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration

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Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration

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edited by Rose Brock
Recommended by Mrs. Abrams

This is a collection of short personal essays written by young adult authors. The common theme is hope, but I really liked how each author interpreted and defined hope quite differently. I also like how this book not only included authors with whom I was already familiar, like Angie Thomas, Nicola Yoon, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, but it also introduced me to authors whose works I might not otherwise have considered reading, such as I.W. Gregorio, Libba Bray and Jenny Torres Sanchez.

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Hope Nation has 89 ratings and 34 reviews. Jessica said: I received a sample of this, with essays by Libba Bray, Angie Thomas and Jeff Zentner. Each one ...

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The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely

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The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely

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Recommended by Ms. McCabe

This is a moving, sweet story about a cross-country road trip taken by two high school students and a runaway grandfather. I really liked the portrayal of discovery along the journey -- lots of allusions to The Odyssey!

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The Last True Love Story has 561 ratings and 137 reviews. Sandra said: Reseña completa3.5/5La historia de amor más bonita del mundo es un libro que n...

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How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

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How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

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Recommended by Ms. McCabe

This is an incredibly powerful and inspiring memoir about Uwiringiyimana's life growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, surviving a brutal massacre, and eventually moving to America and facing racism here. What she experienced is absolutely devastating (you will cry many times!), but what she has done with her life is truly awesome. This is such an important book.

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How Dare the Sun Rise book. Read 498 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. This profoundly moving memoir is the remarkable and inspirin...

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Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

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Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

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by Eric Barker (pun intended?)
Recommended by T. Ferguson
With a title like that, I don't think I need to add much.  I haven't read this book yet, but I'll be picking it up soon.  Please reach out to me with comments/feelings about the text.  Maybe it could be included in the curriculum if the reactions are positive.

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Barking Up the Wrong Tree has 153 ratings and 24 reviews. Sonya said: Bad boys do well in life. Much better than the class toppers, says Eric Barker, in ...

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Recommended by Mrs. Abrams

Three close friends are stuck in a rural suburban high school and have to stick it out until they can make it into "the real world."  The authenticity, honesty and vulnerability of the narrator made this a memorable read. I loved the graphic novel/comic inserts.

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Draw the Line has 610 ratings and 155 reviews. Emily May said: Unlike Michelangelo, I may not have church ceilings and museum walls to hang art on, to ...

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Recommended by Mrs. Gagliardi

A wonderful non-fiction work about 911 hero Welles Crowther, a Boston College graduate, volunteer fireman, Wall Street trader, son and friend. He lost his life helping others on 911, but it is a book about family, sports, dedication and character. You'll want to start carrying a red bandana...

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Recommended by Ms. McCabe
*This book contains mature language and content*

Sixteen-year-old Starr is forced to navigate between the world of her home (poor, black, violent with gangs) and the world of her school (rich, white prep school). This novel raises many questions and makes you think about about race, white privilege, police brutality, loss, grief, friendship, and so much more. The voice and perspective are unique, which made it an engaging read.

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Recommended by Ms. Rocco
When a flu epidemic kills nearly 99% of the word's population, how does the 1% continue to survive? Candidly, this is not my typical genre, and I could not put this novel down. The characters are compelling and the plot twists and turns throughout this page turner. I highly recommend it to students (and their parents).

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Recommended by Ms. Rocco

I rarely cry over a book, but this one had me in tears. It is one of the best YA books I have read this year. Adults will appreciate it as much as the teenagers in their lives. Sparse, poignant writing that mirrors the story's landscape and the circumstances. And yet, the book bursts with love. This is a must read, but keep tissues nearby.

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I'm a middle school librarian and I think this book is appropriate for middle school. Even though there is some mature subject matter involving teen pI'm a middle school librarian and I think this book is appropriate for middle school. Even though there is some mature subject matter involving teen pregnancy, it is only the result of the pregnancy that is discussed in any detail in the book. There may be some sensitivity to the concluding chapters as well for some students, but I believe my seventh and eighth graders, as well as my mature sixth grade readers would be fine with the book. I do agree that "Children's" is a misleading label, however. ...more (less)

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I'm a middle school librarian and I think this book is appropriate for middle school. Even though there is some mature subject matter involving teen pI'm a middle school librarian and I think this book is appropriate for middle school.

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Recommended by Mrs. Ruffner
Kyle Donohue is sitting in his classroom on the morning of September 11, 2001 looking out the window as the South Tower of the World Trade Center falls. As he desperately seeks the safety of his family's apartment, he discovers a girl on the Brooklyn Bridge covered in ash and wearing a pair of angel wings. In light of the chaos surrounding him, he can't bear to leave her alone and impulsively decides to bring her home with him. Kyle is tasked with not only determining the whereabouts of his immediate family, but also unraveling the girl's identity. Narrated by both Kyle and the girl with angel wings, this is a novel about resilience and friendship in the face of disaster.

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On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first Twin Tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant ...

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Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall

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Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change by George Marshall

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Recommended by Ms. Falkner

Why have human beings collectively ignored the greatest existential threat that civilization has ever faced? That's the question that George Marshall sets out to answer in this informative and engaging book.  From why Hurricane Sandy victims are psychologically averse to accepting the reality of climate change to how the fossil fuel industry bought the Smithsonian exhibit on climate,  Marshall draws on his dry British wit to provide compelling answers to explain the seemingly inexplicable.

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Don't Even Think About It has 359 ratings and 73 reviews. Blair said: Looking in the Mirror at the Tea PartyGeorge Marshall bravely steps outside of hi...

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Recommended by Ms. Marohn

Ahab is the captain of "The Pequod." He is obsessed with hunting Moby Dick, the whale who bit off his leg and left him fragmented and fanatic. In her 761 poem, Emily Dickinson writes that our lives move "From Blank to Blank-- A Threadless Way"-- and Ahab is determined to stab the great white down and rid himself of this pesky ambiguity once and for all. If you are curious about the ocean, mythic quests, morality, whales, or a seaman's life, this book is for you.

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Moby-Dick or, The Whale has 393,300 ratings and 11,031 reviews. Jason said: "Where the White Whale, yo?"Ah, my first DBR. And possibly my last, as this...

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Recommended by Mrs. Lesnewich

This novel is told from the perspective of an English teacher looking back on his childhood during the years leading up to and encompassing the Vietnam war. While the narrator definitely explores the political issues associated with his childhood, his story is, above all, one of friendship and faith.

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This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

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This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

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Recommended by Mrs. Fallon

This is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family.  It explores the complexities of gender and what people will do to safeguard those they love.  As our world is evolving, this is a story that awakens new understandings of what  is "normal" and expands ideas of acceptance.

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Set in, of course, a post-apocalyptic world in 2044, the main character, Wade Watts maneuvers his online avatar Parzival through a series of challenges in a complicated gaming site, OASIS. Parzival and his digitized friends compete in some seriously nail-biting moments against an evil multinational corporation’s gaming crew known as The Sixers to find a hidden “Egg” and win prize money. The world is so well developed, the young protagonist is so relatable, and the layers of complicated political and economic structures and institutions are so real and matrixed that you naturally become engrossed in and hypnotized by the spell Ernest Cline casts. An easy comparison is Harry Potter or Wicked. More than the engaging underdog tale and the commentary on the engulfing monstrosity of a technology-driven age, however, it references every fun 1980s memory one can recall. Perhaps worth a read just to test your ‘80s trivia. Read it before the movie comes out. The movie is due out in March 2018, and it is directed by Spielberg.

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Ready Player One has 565,317 ratings and 68,861 reviews. Kemper said: I originally gave this book 3 stars as harmless lightweight fun, but my opinion of ...

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Recommended by Mr. Agelis

Great novel recommended by a student of mine and one that has since passed the hands of four others. It tells the story of two unlikely companions in Russia during World War II who are sent on an errand to retrieve a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel.  What transpires from there is one of the best examples of a budding friendship and tests of loyalty and trust. The author David Benioff is also the co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones.

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City of Thieves has 76,176 ratings and 8,309 reviews. Doug said: I have read some good fiction lately, but this one is special like Catcher in the Rye ...

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Recommended by Ms. Rocco

Daily Show Host Trevor Noah shares stories from his childhood spent in a racially divided South Africa.  It is a riveting memoir filled with both pain and joy that will keep you turning the pages.  The audiobook is fantastic too!