2006-2007 High School Book Forum

Editor's note: This forum, the High School Book Blog-In, was set up and held in the spring of 2007. Feel free to join in this discussion but be aware that we will be starting a new one in the fall of 2007 -- gg

The idea is to read ONE of the books below over the next three weeks and write about it as you go on our special forum. Try not to get ahead of yourselves and the others; here's the outline and booklist:

Week of May 7 -- The beginning. Choose the book and get started. Discuss the first 50 pages. Write about what you think when first encountering a book -- its setting, mood, characters and developing themes, etc.

Week of May 14 -- The middle. Write about the first half of the book. Impressions? Where do you think it's headed? What do you like about it? etc.

Week of May 21 -- The end. Write about the second half, the ending and overall reflections on the work. Why would you recommend (not recommend) this book?

Thanks to Matthew Peterson, a high school English teacher at Hartford High School for the initial idea. Thanks, too, go to the Vermont librarians who work at selecting the annual Green Mountain Book Award; many of these books came from their list of finalists. (Click here to download more information about the GMBA.) Other books were chosen by students and teachers. Choose one (or more if you're so moved):

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Science fiction. In a future where mankind has barely survived two invasions by the "buggers", an alien race, the world's most talented children, including the extraordinary Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, go into "Battle School" at a very young age to become commanders to withstand the expected Third Invasion.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon. The story is written in the first-person narrative of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy living in England, in 1998, who has a form of autism.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Fiction. Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. Tired of being used as "spare parts," Anna does the unthinkable -- she sues her parents to take control of her own life.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. Non-fiction. The extraordinary tale of survival of Aron Ralston who survived for six days in one of the most inhospital spots in America and how one act of bravery brought him home.

Moneyball By Michael Lewis. Non-fiction. Described as one of the best books on baseball ever written, Lewis tells the tale of the Oakland Athletics, a collection of low-paid, under-appreciated young ball players who defied logic and triumphed over the better financed teams.

The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien. Fiction; interrelated stories. The book depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and of course, the character Tim O'Brien who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three.

The Long Road Home By G.B. Trudeau. Illustrated fiction. The creator of Doonsebury has B.D. travelling to Baghdad. On a road outside Fallujah, an RPG blows apart a Humvee and upends the life of the former football star. As a medevac chopper swoops down, the wounded Guardsman hears "Not your time, bro. Not today," and his remarkable healing journey begins.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Review from Amazon: This funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while's he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He's a wallflower--shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story.

The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian. Amazon review: Written as an alleged account that a teen prophet handed to the author to publish, Tashjian's (Tru Confessions) funny, thoughtful novel takes on some sophisticated issues. Highly intelligent 17-year-old Josh Swensen wants to save the world and hopefully seduce Beth, the best friend for whom he pines. Josh's self-deprecating, humorous tone carries readers swiftly along.

CLASS CREDIT? Get your teacher involved! If you are going to read, and read for fun, why not get credit? See if your teacher would let you do this for class credit. Or, maybe, you can get your whole class involved.

The aim of all this is to read, to have fun and to create a discussion online that connects students from all over the state of Vermont and parts of New Hampshire.

We invite teachers and librarians to make this a classroom or school-wide initiative. Make reading and writing about it a project that transcends geography.

Questions? Contact Geoff Gevalt, YWP Editor.