Embedded Files
INCOMING SENIOR RECOMMENDED READING
Legend
MC = Borrow it from the RHAM High School Media Center
* easier reading level
** moderate reading level
*** more difficult reading level
FICTION
NON-FICTION
*2021 PURA BELPRE AWARD WINNER*
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez*
Camila “La Furia” Hassan, a young Argentine girl and fútbol player with monumental talent lives in a household that considers fútbol a boys’ sport. In a society fighting for gender equality, Camila goes against all odds to follow her dreams and her heart.
*2020 PRINTZ AWARD WINNER*
Dig by A.S. King ** MC
A crazy page turner that weaves and connects five teenagers’ lives, revealing secrets within a complicated history that they all share. Both captivating and educating in human psychology and social injustices.
*2020 MORRIS AWARD RUNNER UP*
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool **
The Seven Prophets foretell the end of the world and five very different characters interweave in a race to prevent this prophecy from becoming a
reality.
In Darkness by Nick Lake ** MC
A stunning historical fiction book that takes place after the earthquake in Haiti. “Shorty”, a 15 year old boy, is trapped in the ruins of a hospital that has collapsed hoping he will be rescued while he clings to life.
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead *** MC
The tale of a woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage in antebellum South. After learning about the underground railroad, Cora travels state by state in search for true freedom.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant ** MC
In the Bible, Dinah’s life is only hinted at alongside Jacob and his twelve sons. Told in Dinah's voice, Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past.
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut ** MC
Vonnegut presents a vivid portrait of his harrowing escape from the fire-bombing of Dresden. The story then moves into fiction full of humor, the impossibility of peace in the world, and exposes truths through jokes and an Apocalypse.
I, Claudia by Mary McCoy
In this political thriller set in a privileged high school, underestimated and unreliable narrator Claudia chronicles her rise to power. Sharp, biting humor pervades McCoy’s novel about vicious high school students embroiled in an explosive struggle for control.
Live by Night: The American Dream Has a Price by Dennis Lehane MC
Unflinching tale of the making and unmaking of a gangster in the Prohibition Era of the Roaring Twenties.
The Cider House Rules by John Irving ** MC
Taking place during both pre and post WWII era, main character Homer Wells grows up in an orphanage. After meeting new people, Homer has a coming of age moment and leaves the orphanage to explore the world.
Feed by M.T. Anderson ** MC
It started out like any ordinary trip to the moon -- a chance to party during spring break and play at the Ricochet Lounge. Unfortunately this was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction...
The Road by Cormac McCarthy ** MC
Set during a post-apocalyptic world, the story follows a father and son who journey across a landscape that has been wiped of almost all life. This is a tale of survival and discovery to find out exactly what happened to life on earth.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens * MC
The story is set in the 1950s and revolves around a young woman named Kya Clark, who is from extremely rural North Carolina. Known by others as the Marsh Girl, she lives alone in nature—but the draw of other people, and specifically love, brings her into contact with the greater world.
The Long Run: A Novel by Leo Furey ** MC
By day the boys are obedient students, but when the sun goes down the Dare Klub rules the night: raiding the bakery; stealing sacramental wine; and talking endlessly about girls. Then the Brothers discover the wine is missing…
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ** MC
A heart-wrenching story about two Afghani women’s power of love, the bonds of friendship, the love of country, and the struggle to survive. The book covers the issues of class, religion, work, education, sexuality, and raising children.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer ** MC
Taking place during World War II in Paris, France after the Nazis have invaded, a blind French girl is forced to take refuge while another boy is recruited to the military for his skills in radio technology.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah **
Autobiographical comedy book written by a South African comedian.The book focuses on Noah’s childhood growing up in South Africa after he was born of an illegal interracial relationship during the apartheid era.
CLASSICS
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ** MC
Originally written in 1932, this novel predicts the future which includes people who are genetically designed to be passive and therefore consistently useful to the ruling class.
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller *** MC
The novel is a satire that describes the murderous insanity of war as nothing less than a rite of passage.
Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo ** MC
Victor Hugo writes the story of Quasimodo, a deformed man, who is believed to be evil. Yet beyond the deformities, he is a good person.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte *** MC
A Gothic romance, Jane Eyre is the story of an orphaned girl who, after securing a position as governess at Thornhill Manor, falls in love with Rochester, its owner.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe ** MC
Son of a middle-class Englishman, Crusoe takes to the sea to find adventure and finds it when on one of his voyages he is shipwrecked on a deserted South American island for thirty-five years. After scavenging his broken ship, he had only his skills and ingenuity to keep him alive.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse *** MC
Siddhartha, who is a Brahmin, is a young man searching for the truth in life. Although he is torn between the spiritual and the materialistic, the ascetic and the indulgent lifestyles, he has an epiphany by the end of the novel that will never leave its reader.
Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas ** MC
This story about a young nobleman who travels to Paris in hopes of joining the Musketeers, and a group of adventurers who serve King Louis XIII is filled with swordplay and treachery.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison *** MC
Narrated by an unnamed black man, this novel explores the social, intellectual and identity-based issues that many African Americans faced in the early 20th century and that transcend into today.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques *** MC
Tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women -- this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens *** MC
Set during the French Revolution, a wrongly accused doctor is finally set free and sent to London to live with his daughter who he has never met. This story depicts what it was like to live during the Reign of Terror.
*2021 ALEX AWARD WINNER*
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf *
In 1970 the Ohio National Guard opened fire on Kent State students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine. In simple black and white, this chilling graphic novel follows the lives of many groups, revealing a volatile situation ending in heartbreaking tragedy.
The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed by Ainissa Ramirez ***
A survey of how eight inventions--clocks, steel rails, copper wire, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, labware, and silicon chips--changed the ways humans relate to technology.
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein **
The most powerful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation in many of America’s modern day metropoles.
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover ** MC
A child of survivalists and a deeply paranoid father, Westover traces her childhood experiences, her time in school (which she attends for the first time as a 17-year-old), and the degrees she earns from Harvard and Cambridge.
Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley ** MC
The true story behind the immortal photograph (raising of the flag at Iwo Jima) that has come to symbolize the courage and indomitable will of America. This story covers the lives of the soldiers before and after the raising of the flag.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich ** MC
Can you really survive on minimum wage? To find out, Ehrenreich left her middle-class life for a year to see what life is really like for America’s working poor.
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival by Louise Murphy ** MC
The author transforms the classic fairy tale into a haunting story of two children surviving in WWII Poland.
Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell ** MC
The story of a landmark civil rights case, told in spare and gorgeous verse. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it.
What is an American Muslim? by Abdullah Ahmed An-Na’Im ** MC
Since 2001, there has been a tremendous backlash against the very idea that it is possible to be both American and Muslim. Even within the Muslim community many leaders urge believers to integrate more fully into the mainstream of American life. Is it possible to be both?
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad *** MC
An honest portrayal of the lives of Afghani citizens living under fundamentalist Islam. Seierstad uncovers shocking stories. An international bestseller, it will likely stand as one of the best books of reportage of Afghan life after the fall of the Taliban.
Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet by Oliver Morton *** MC
A quest to understand how plants may have kick-started the complex life cycle on Earth and how photosynthesis might be harnessed to regain balance in the earth’s temperature. Morton includes technical discussions and elegant synthesis of biology, physics and environmental science that can inform our discussions of urgent issues.
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll *** MC
Includes revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. A complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource.
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater * MC
In the news: an agender teen falls asleep on an Oakland city bus. A black teen sets their skirt on fire. Two young lives, forever entwined because of proximity in a moment, eventually spark an entire community’s shift towards restorative justice.
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham ** MC
The true story of a baseball hero from a small town in Oklahoma who winds up a mentally unstable Major League washout railroaded onto death row for a hometown rape and murder he did not commit.
Fire and Forget: Short Stories of the Long War by Ed. Roy Scranton and Matt Gallagher ** MC
Searing and true stories from the war zones of Afghanistan, Iraq, written by those who were there and those waiting at home --a necessary collection to write and to read. Contains graphic language and content.
1776 by David McCullough ** MC
This book focuses on the events leading up the American Revolutionary War. Although the book looks at the leadership of George Washington it also looks at the actions taken by King George III and Henry Knox.
CLASSICS
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson ** MC
Originally written in the late 1800s, this story is a classic “coming of age” tale about buccaneers and buried gold. This book had a significant influence on the depictions of pirates in future books and movies.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *** MC
Set on the moors of England, Bronte writes a foreboding story of obsessive love.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath ** MC
Plath draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes real and rational. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is a haunting American classic.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas ** MC
Thrown into a prison for a crime he did not commit, Edmond Dantes plans an elaborate escape to retrieve the treasures hidden on the island and use it to seek revenge on those who framed him in the first place.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison ** mature content MC
A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison’s virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein ** MC
Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves' goal is to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountains and reclaim a stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens *** MC
Follow along with the adventures of an orphan named Pip as he grows and develops while traveling across the city of London. This book depicts some of Dickens’ most famous scenes and characters that are still mentioned in pop culture today.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne ** MC
This classic novel chronicles the exploits of explorers Captain Nemo and Professor Aronnax aboard the Nautilus as they explore the vast regions below the sea.
Animal Farm by George Orwell ** MC
A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. A subtle play on the Russian Revolution.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ** MC
A young science student named Victor Frankenstein creates a grotesque life form in an unorthodox science experiment. Unfortunately it is not the perfect specimen which is rejected by both Victor and the rest of society.
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