Embedded Files
Featured books and book trailers:
Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman
Check out these websites for reading ideas:
http://www.readkiddoread.com/home/
Mrs. Drexler's 2021 Summer Reading List (I didn't get to read many books this summer with 3 small, busy children at home!)
1. The Last Flight by Julie Clark - Thriller
The Last Flight is the story of two women--both alone, both scared--and one agonizing decision that will change the trajectory of both of their lives.
2. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
A novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood--and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Mrs. Drexler's 2020 Summer Reading List
1. Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks - Romance
This is a story about a chance encounter that becomes a touchstone for two vastly different individuals—transcending decades, continents and the bittersweet workings of fate.
2. Taste Test by Kelly Fiore – Light mystery and Romance
The fun begins when Norah, a small town girl, is accepted to Taste Test, a reality-television teen cooking competition. She encounters a variety of competitors which include her snobbly, high society roommate and the strikingly handsome son of a famous chef. Accidents begin happening on the set and soon it is apparent someone is deliberately trying to eliminate the competition. Who is next and who is the culprit?
3. This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Esther Earl, Lori Earl,Wayne Earl and John Green - Biography
In full color and illustrated with art and photographs, this is a collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Essays by family and friends help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her.
Mrs. Drexler's 2019 Summer Reading List
1. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
Each chapter of Girl, Wash Your Face begins with a specific lie Hollis once believed that left her feeling overwhelmed, unworthy, or ready to give up. As a working mother, a former foster parent, and a woman who has dealt with insecurities about her body and relationships, she speaks with the insight and kindness of a BFF, helping women unpack the limiting mind-sets that destroy their self-confidence and keep them from moving forward.
2. Hoot by Carl Hiassen
The setting takes place in Florida, where new arrival Roy makes two oddball friends and a bad enemy, and joins an effort to stop construction of a pancake house which would destroy a colony of burrowing owls who live on the site.
3. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
During World War II, 8-year-old Bruno (Asa Butterfield) and his family leave Berlin to take up residence near the concentration camp where his father (David Thewlis) has just become commandant. Unhappy and lonely, he wanders out behind his house one day and finds Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish boy of his age. Though the barbed-wire fence of the camp separates them, the boys begin a forbidden friendship, oblivious to the real nature of their surroundings.
4. Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
A brilliant, emotionally charged novel about two boys. One is a slow learner, too large for his age, and the other is a tiny, disabled genius. The two pair up to create one formidable human force known as "Freak the Mighty". MAX. FREAK. BEST FRIENDS. FOREVER. I never had a brain until Freak came along. . .That's what Max thought. All his life he'd been called stupid. Dumb. Slow. It didn't help that his body seemed to be growing faster than his mind. It didn't help that people were afraid of him. So Max learned how to be alone. At least until Freak came along. Freak was weird, too. He had a little body, and a really big brain. Together Max and Freak were unstoppable. Together, they were Freak the Mighty.
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
In Beatrice Prior”s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is; she can”t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
Stunning her meek and selfless family, Beatrice elects to join the brave and reckless Dauntless faction, if she can pass the grueling and violent initiation designed to pit her against her deepest fears and classmates willing to let cruelty take the place of courage. With an infuriating but handsome trainer preparing her for the trials, Beatrice must also decide whether to unleash the secret she is keeping, a secret that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society and possibly destroy Beatrice as well.
Beatrice's struggles with loyalty and individuality make her an appealing and easily relatable character in a story packed with suspense and excitement.
6. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.
7. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight—the fight to stay alive.
8. Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he’s not so blind that he can’t see there are some very unusual things about his family’s new home in Tangerine County, Florida. Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and lightning strike at the same time every day?The chaos is compounded by constant harassment from his football–star brother, and adjusting to life in Tangerine isn’t easy for Paul—until he joins the soccer team at his middle school. With the help of his new teammates, Paul begins to discover what lies beneath the surface of his strange new hometown. And he also gains the courage to face up to some secrets his family has been keeping from him for far too long. In Tangerine, it seems, anything is possible.
9. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Black Beauty spends his youth in a loving home, surrounded by friends and cared for by his owners. But when circumstances change, he learns that not all humans are so kind. Passed from hand to hand, Black Beauty witnesses love and cruelty, wealth and poverty, friendship and hardship . . . Will the handsome horse ever find a happy and lasting home? Carefully retold in clear contemporary language, and presented with delightful illustrations, these favorite classic stories capture the heart and imagination of young readers. By retelling the story in a shorter, simpler form, these books become highly engaging for children, and the color illustrations help with both comprehension and interest level. Black Beauty is part of a collectible series that has strong gift appeal.
10. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked…but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all—the lights are failing. Soon Ember could be engulfed by darkness…
But when two children, Lina and Doon, discover fragments of an ancient parchment, they begin to wonder if there could be a way out of Ember. Can they decipher the words from long ago and find a new future for everyone? Will the people of Ember listen to them?
Mrs. Drexler's 2018 Summer Reading List
1. House Arrest by K.A. Holt - real life drama - easy-moderate level, novel in verse
Timothy is a good kid who did a bad thing. Now he's under house arrest for a whole year. He has to check in weekly with a probation officer and a therapist, keep a journal, and stay out of trouble. But when he must take drastic measures to help his sick brother and his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be.
2. Nine, Ten by Nora Raleigh Baskin - A September 11th story - real life drama - easy
a touching look at the days leading up to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and how that day impacted the lives of four middle schoolers
3. My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter girls. realistic fiction cult life
Behind the white-washed walls of the Arizona compound, life was simple. Follow the rules, "live in the light," and all would be well. Zylynn was excited to turn thirteen and begin the work of bringing others into the light, to save them from the liars and the darkness of the outside world. But when she is taken away by a man who claims to be her father, Zylynn is confused, and desperate to return to her home.
Zylynn resists her new life—until she finds small comforts, like shampoo, the color pink, and strawberries. But as her thirteenth birthday approaches, Zylynn must make a difficult decision—to stay here with the enemy, or find her way back to the light. And neither may be what they seem.
4 .Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott - a novel based on true events during the Holocaust, touching story written in verse
Amid the brutality of Auschwitz during the Holocaust, a forbidden gift helps two teenage girls find hope, friendship, and the will to live.
5. Ghost by Jason Reynolds - sports, realistic, easy to moderate read
Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down. Ghost has a crazy natural talent, but no formal training. If he can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all starting with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who blew his own shot at success by using drugs, and who is determined to keep other kids from blowing their shots at life.
6.O C Daniel by Wesley King - realistic drama, mystery, moderate
Daniel is the back-up punter for the Erie Hills Elephants. Which really means he’s the water boy. He spends football practice perfectly arranging water cups—and hoping no one notices. Actually, he spends most of his time hoping no one notices his strange habits—he calls them Zaps: avoiding writing the number four, for example, or flipping a light switch on and off dozens of times over. He hopes no one notices that he’s crazy, especially his best friend Max, and Raya, the prettiest girl in school. His life gets weirder when another girl at school, who is unkindly nicknamed Psycho Sara, notices him for the first time. She doesn’t just notice him: she seems to peer through him.
7. The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney The powerful story of one girl's triumphant journey, inspired by true tales of life in Sudan.
Life in Amira's peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when Janjaweed attackers arrive, unleashing unspeakable horrors. After losing nearly everything, Amira needs to find the strength to make the long journey on foot to safety at a refugee camp. She begins to lose hope, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind -- and all kinds of possibilities.
8. Project 1065 by Alan Gratz
World War II is raging. Michael O'Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth.But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies. Michael despises everything the Nazis stand for. But he joins in the Hitler Youth's horrific games and book burnings, playing the part so he can gain insider knowledge.
9. Unbound by Ann E. Burg - realistic fiction, novel in verse, girl protagonist
The day Grace is called from the slave cabins to work in the Big House, Mama makes her promise to keep her eyes down. Uncle Jim warns her to keep her thoughts tucked private in her mind or they could bring a whole lot of trouble and pain. This novel sheds light on a startling chapter of American history--the remarkable story of runaways who sought sanctuary in the Great Dismal Swamp--and creates a powerful testament to the right of every human to be free.
10. Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart - survival,
Jonathan Grisby is the newest arrival at the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys--an ancient, crumbling fortress of gray stone rising up from the ocean. It is dark, damp, and dismal. And it is just the place Jonathan figures he deserves. Because Jonathan has done something terrible. And he's willing to accept whatever punishment he has coming. This is a tale of misfits and outcasts at odds and in peril, and a redemption story that shines a light on dark truths to reveal that the strongest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.
11. What Light by Jay Asher - romance
Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other. Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.
12. Watched by Marina Budhos - modern day political and social issues, drama
Marina Budhos’s extraordinary and timely novel examines what it’s like to grow up under surveillance, something many Americans experience and most Muslim Americans know. Naeem is far from the “model teen.” Moving fast in his immigrant neighborhood in Queens is the only way he can outrun the eyes of his hardworking Bangladeshi parents and their gossipy neighbors. Even worse, they’re not the only ones watching. Cameras on poles. Mosques infiltrated. Everyone knows: Be careful what you say and who you say it to. Anyone might be a watcher.
Naeem thinks he can charm his way through anything, until his mistakes catch up with him and the cops offer a dark deal. Naeem sees a way to be a hero—a protector—like the guys in his brother’s comic books. Yet what is a hero? What is a traitor? And where does Naeem belong?
13. Lost in the Sun by LIsa Graff - drama, realist fiction
Everyone says that middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than the year he had in fifth grade, when a freak accident on Cedar Lake left one kid dead, and Trent with a brain full of terrible thoughts he can't get rid of. Trent’s pretty positive the entire disaster was his fault, so for him middle school feels like a fresh start, a chance to prove to everyone that he's not the horrible screw-up they seem to think he is. It isn’t until Trent gets caught up in the whirlwind that is Fallon Little—the girl with the mysterious scar across her face—that things begin to change.
14. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.
Mrs. Drexler's 2017 Summer Reading List
1. Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel - real life drama - easy-moderate level
Maisie leads a normal teenage life until she has an accident and needs to have a face transplant.
2. Nest by Esther Ehrlich - real life drama - easy
Set in 1972. A tragic change in her family leads Chirp through despair but finds healing power in friendship.
3. Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt - real life drama - mature read
From Amazon " the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he’s placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost. In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires."
4. Code of Honor by Alan Gratz - action, mystery
From Goodreads "Kamran Smith has it all. He’s the star of the football team, dates the most popular girl, and can’t wait to enlist in the army like his big brother, Darius. Although Kamran’s mother is from Iran, Kamran has always felt 100% American. Accepted. And then everything implodes. Darius is accused of being a terrorist. Kamran refuses to
believe it." This book focuses on the racism endured by Iranian- Americans.
5. The Green Bicycle by Haifaa Al Mansour - real life drama easy-moderate read
From Goodreads; "Spunky eleven-year-old Wadjda lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with her parents. She desperately wants a bicycle so that she can race her friend Abdullah, even though it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes. . . Set against the shifting social attitudes of the Middle East, The Green Bicycle explores gender roles, conformity, and the importance of family, all with with an irresistible heart." This book will give a lot of insight into life in a place many U.S. children are unfamiliar.
7. Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
8. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
9. Crash by Lisa McMann
10. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Keily
11. George by Alex Gino
12. Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed
13. Once by Morris Gleitzman
14. The Dumbest Idea Ever by Jimmy Gownley
Mrs. Drexler's 2016 Summer Reading List
1. Girl Stolen by April Henry – drama, modern day. Moderate reading level
Cheyenne is asleep in the back of her mom's car when it's stolen. Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia—she's also blind. Griffin, the teenager who was stealing packages out of parked cars, hadn't meant to kidnap her; he just impulsively stole the car with her in it. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of Nike, everything changes—now there's a reason to keep her. Will Cheyenne survive?
2. Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz – realistic fiction – story of family lies and redemption,
basic story is easy to read but there are some deep themes
It's 1977. Annie and Rew live with their grandma. Their mom left them in her care long ago, when their father died, killed in a bar fight. They are more or less happy--sometimes Gran is well enough to take care of them, sometimes they have to take care of themselves, but they get along well enough. During a prison break at the nearby prison, their lives take a drastic turn and they are taken hostage by a con with a mysterious past. Family secrets are revealed during the ordeal and Annie’s and Rew’s lives will never be the same.
3. The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech – magical realism, easy read but need to set aside logic to appreciate
One day a young couple awake to find a boy asleep on their porch. Unable to speak, the boy cannot explain his history. What kind of person would leave their child with a stranger? All they know is that they have been chosen to care for this boy. As their connection to him grows, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family, but how long can their happiness last?
Sharon Creech also wrote Walk Two Moons and Ruby Holler, two other great reads
4. The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson – memoir of one of the youngest on Schindler’s List
Leon Leyson was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List.
5. Allegiant by Veronica Roth – Science Fiction -the final book in the Divergent trilogy If you read the other two, you will want to read this to find out how it ends!
6. The Abundance of Katherines by John Green – fiction, quirky humor, higher level read
Colin, a prodigy who is in search of his “Eureka Moment” goes on a road trip with his friend Hassan after hight school graduation. The two are offered job in Gutshot, Tennessee. If you like other John Green books this will not disappoint.
7. Shelter by Harlan Coben – mystery, crime,
A beginning of a trilogy
Mickey Bolitar has lost his father in a car crash and his mother to drugs so he needs to move in with his Uncle Myron. At a new school he falls for a girl named Ashley who mysteriously disappears. As he works to find her, he finds out disturbing information about her and his family.
8. The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan – mystery, thriller
First book in The Homelander Series
Charlie wakes up and finds himself beaten and strapped to a chair. He manages to escape his captors and tries to piece back his memory by flashing back to the last thing he remembered which was a typical day in his school. The rest of the novel deals with Charlie trying to us recovered memories to understand while people are pursuing him and trying to kill him.
9. Torn Away by Jennifer Brown – drama, author of Hate List
Jersey’s life is torn apart when her town is devastated by a tornado and many lives are lost. Jersey must overcome her grief and rebuild her life with relatives she has never known.
Mrs. Drexler's 2015 Summer Reading List
1. The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (5 Star +, WWII historical fiction)
2. Legend by Marie Lu (dystopian novel - June versus Day)
3. We'll be the Last Ones to let you Down by Rachel Hanel (adult, memoir, local writer)
4. All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg (novel in verse, Vietnamese boy war survivor)
5. Raft by S.A. Bodeen (survivor novel with a surprising twist)
6. Inside out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (novel in verse, Viet Nam war survivor- girl and family)
7. I'm not Her by Janet Gurtler (realistic fiction sister with bone cancer)
8. A World Away by Nancy Grossman (realistic fiction, Amish girl's rumspringa)
9. Compound by S.A. Bodeen (science fiction, life in a compound after a nuclear war-or not?)
10. Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu (realistic fiction, Lucy's mom is a hoarder)
11. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (realistic fiction, A track star loses her leg in an accident)
12 Looking for Alaska by John Green (For Mature readers, Realistic fiction/drama, boy deals with life in a private HS
13. Framed by Gordon Korman (comedy, easy read, swindle series, Griffin Bing is in trouble again)
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