Join the Zine Scene!

Join the summer writing group, and

MAKE a ZINE,

@ Brooks Library!

THURSDAY AFTERNOONS 4-5:30PM from

JUNE 22^ND - August 8^th

In the Library Meeting Room

Group led by Rose Watson andCal Glover-Wessel.

2009 Windham Country Reads Summer Reading List: 9-12th grade

On Wednesday, we posted the Windham County Reads' Summer Reading List for 7th and 8th graders. We are happy to report that Windham County Reads has pit together a similar reading list, this time with 9th through 12 graders in mind. Many of the recommended titles can be found at Brooks. When that's the case, the title has been bolded and a call number has been added to help you locate the book.

Anderson, Laurie Halse Wintergirls. 2009. Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.

Blundell, Judy What I saw and how I lied. 2008. (YA BLU) In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever. 2008 National Book Award winner.

Bradbury, Ray Fahrenheit 451. 1953. (1^st Flr Fiction BRA) The novel presents a future American society in which the masses are hedonistic, and critical thought through reading is outlawed. Vermont’s Big Read book

Cashore, Kristen Graceling. 2008. In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Clare, Cassandra The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. 2007. Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizzare world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster. Popular trilogy.

Doctorow, Cory Little Brother. 2008. (YA DOC) After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

Flanagan, John Ranger’s Apprentice: Sorceror of the North. 2008. Now a full-fledged Ranger responsible for a sleepy fief, Will finds a new adventure seeking the traitors who poisoned the king, investigating rumors of sorcery, and trying to rescue his friend Alyss, who is taken hostage. Book five in the popular Australian series.

Freeman, Castle Go with me:a novel. 2008. (1^st Flr Fiction FRE) In the hills of Vermont, a local man has decided to make life hell for Lillian, a young woman from parts elsewhere. When the local law enforcement proves useless, Lillian decides to fight back on her own, enlisting an unlikely pair of allies in old-timer Lester and naive teenager Nate.

Going, K.L. King of the Screwups. 2009. After getting in trouble yet again, popular high school senior Liam, who never seems to live up to his wealthy father's expectations, is sent to live in a trailer park with his gay "glam-rocker" uncle.

Gould, Peter Write Naked. 2008. (YA GOU) When Victor finds an old Royal typewriter at a yard sale and takes it to his uncle's isolated cabin in the Vermont woods to attempt to write, he meets up with an unusual girl, and together they explore their concerns about the world, themselves, and each other.

Green, John Paper Towns. 2008. One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears. 2009 Edgar Award for YA

Guevara, Ernesto “Che” The Motorcycle Diaries. (918.04 GUE) A freewheeling account of an extended youthful road trip undertaken in the early '50s by the future poster boy of Communist insurrection.

Johnson, Maureen Suite Scarlett. 2008. Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Marvin is stuck in New York City for the summer working at her quirky family's historic hotel, but her out-of-work actor brother's attractive new friend and a seasonal guest who offers her an intriguing and challenging writing project improve her outlook.

Juby, Susan Getting the girl: a guide to private investigation, surveillance, and cookery. 2008. Ninth-grader Sherman Mack investigates the "Defilers," a secret group at his British Columbia high school that marks certain female students as pariahs, at first because he is trying to protect the girl he has a crush on, but later as a matter of principle.

Lockhart, E.L. The disreputable history of Frankie Landau-Banks. 2008. (YA LOC) Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks. 2009 Printz Honor Book.

Lutz, Lisa The Spellman Files. 2007. Cracking the case can get complicated and outrageously wacky when a family of detectives is involved. Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, a San Francisco PI, reluctantly she agrees to take on a cold case with 14-year-old sister Rae and parents who have no qualms about bugging their children's bedrooms. When Rae suddenly disappears, Izzy and her family must learn some serious lessons in order to find her. First in the series.

Moore, Alan Watchmen. 2005. (741.5 MOO) In an alternate history United States. where freelance superheroes are outlawed, a retired group of heroes become involved in a murder investigation. A Time magazine top 100 book of the 20^th century.

Oppel, Kenneth Starclimber. 2009. As members of the first crew of astralnauts, Matt Cruse and Kate De Vries journey into outer space on the Starclimber and face a series of catastrophes that threaten the survival of all on board. Third title in series.

Otsuka, Julie. When the emperor was divine. 2002. (1^st Flr Fiction OTS) A story told from five different points of view; chronicles the experiences of Japanese Americans caught up in the nightmare of the World War II internment camp. Vermont Reads 2009 book.

Pfeffer, Susan Beth The dead & the gone. 2008. After a meteor hits the moon and sets off a series of horrific climate changes, seventeen-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his sisters alone in the chaos of New York City.

Reinhardt, Dana How to build a house. 2008 (YA REI) Seventeen-year-old Harper Evans hopes to escape the effects of her father's divorce on her family and friendships by volunteering her summer to build a house in a small Tennessee town devastated by a tornado.

2009 Windham County Reads Summer Reading List: 7th/8th grade

Looking for something to read? Windham County Reads has put together a summer reading list of great books for 7th and 8th graders (although those of you in other grades might enjoy them as well). Many of the books can be found here at Brooks. When that's the case, the title has been bolded and a call number has been added to help you locate the book.

Asher, Jay Th1rteen r3asons why: a novel. 2007. When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

Balliet, Blue The Calder game. 2008. (J BAL; J CD BAL) When seventh-grader Calder Pillay disappears from a remote English village--along with an Alexander Calder sculpture to which he has felt strangely drawn--his friends Petra and Tommy fly from Chicago to help his father find him. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. The Boy who dared. 2008. (J BAR; J CD BAR) In October, 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hubener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people.

Bradbury, Jennifer. Shift. 2008. When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Colfer, Eoin. Airman. 2008. (YA COL) In the late nineteenth century, when Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king, he is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and forced to mine for diamonds under brutal conditions while he plans a daring escape from Little Saltee prison by way of a flying machine that he must design, build, and, hardest of all, trust to carry him to safety.

Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games. 2008. (YA COL) In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Dowell, Frances O’Roark Shooting the moon. 2008. (YA DOW) When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, twelve-year-old Jamie begins to reconsider the army world that she has grown up in. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Farr, Richard. Emperors of the Ice. 2008. Apsley “Cherry” Cherry-Garrard shares his adventures as the youngest member of Robert Scott’s expedition to Antarctica in 1910, during which he and Edward Wilson try to learn the evolutionary history of emperor penguins, nearly dying in the attempt. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Ferraialo, Jack D. The Big Splash. 2008. Matt Stevens, an average middle schooler with a glib tongue and a knack for solving crimes, uncovers a mystery while working with "the organization," a mafia-like syndicate run by seventh-grader Vincent "Mr. Biggs" Biggio, specializing in forged hall passes, test-copying rings, black market candy selling, and taking out hits with water guns. 2009 Edgar award nominee.

Frost, Helen Diamond Willow. 2008. (J FRO; J CD FRO) In a remote area of Alaska, twelve-year-old Willow helps her father with their sled dogs when she is not at school, wishing she were more popular, all the while unaware that the animals surrounding her carry the spirits of dead ancestors and friends who care for her. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book. 2008. (J GAI; ) After the murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own. 2009 Newbery Medal winner. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Gardner, Sally The Red necklace. 2008. (J CD GAR) In the late eighteenth-century, Sido, the twelve-year-old daughter of a self-indulgent marquis, and Yann, a fourteen-year-old Gypsy orphan raised to perform in a magic show, face a common enemy at the start of the French Revolution.

Goodman, Allegra The other side of the island. 2008. Born in the eighth year of Enclosure, ten-year-old Honor lives in a highly regulated colony with her defiant parents, but when they have an illegal second child and are taken away, it is up to Honor and her friend Helix, another "Unpredictable," to uncover a terrible secret about their Island and the Corporation that runs everything. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson Found. 2008. When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Hale, Shannon and Dean Hale Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2008. (J 741.5 HAL) Rapunzel is raised in a grand villa surrounded by towering walls. Rapunzel dreams of a different mother than Gothel, the woman she calls Mother. She climbs over the wall and finds out the truth. Her real mother, Kate, is a slave in Gothel's gold mine. In this Old West retelling, Rapunzel uses her hair as a lasso and to take on outlaws--including Gothel. Graphic novel. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Herlong, M.H. The Great Wide Sea. 2008. Still mourning the death of their mother, three brothers go with their father on an extended sailing trip off the Florida Keys and have a harrowing adventure at sea. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Hiaasen, Carl Scat. 2009. (J HIA; J CD HIA) Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.

Law, Ingrid Savvy. 2008. (J LAW) Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident. 2009 Newbery Honor Book. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Nicholl, Sally Ways to live forever. 2008. Eleven-year-old Sam McQueen, who has leukemia, writes a book during the last three months of his life, in which he tells about what he would like to accomplish, how he feels, and things that have happened to him.

Patterson, James The final warning. 2008. (YA PAT) While on a mission to Antarctica to save the world from global warming, fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the Flock--a band of genetically modified children who can fly--are pursued by their creator, the Uber-Director, who wants to auction them off to the highest bidder. Fourth in series.

Preller, James Six innings: a game in the life. 2008. Earl Grubb's Pool Supplies plays Northeast Gas & Electric in the Little League championship game, while Sam, who has cancer and is in a wheelchair, has to call the play-by-play instead of participating in the game.

Shusterman, Neal Antsy does time. 2008. Fourteen-year-old Anthony "Antsy" Bonano learns about life, death, and a lot more when he tries to help a friend with a terminal illness feel hopeful about the future. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Spradlin, Michael P. Keeper of the Grail. 2008. (J SPR; J CD SPR) In 1191, fifteen-year-old Tristan, a youth of unknown origin raised in an English abbey, becomes a Templar Knight's squire during the Third Crusade and soon finds himself on a mission to bring the Holy Grail to safety. DCF nominee 2009-2010.

Vail, Rachel Lucky. 2008. (YA VAL) As Phoebe and her clique of privileged girlfriends get ready to graduate from eighth grade, a financial scandal threatens her family's security--as well as Phoebe's social status--but ultimately it teaches her the real meaning of friendship.

Book Review: Pyongyang

Comic book writer Guy Delisle spent several months living and working in North Korea, the most unknowable country of modern times. In Pyongyang : a journey in North Korea, Delisle recounts his experience using spare black and white cartoon drawings to accompany his autobiographical tale.

This poignant and bittersweet tale can be read in one sitting and can be enjoyed by comics fans and current events enthusiasts alike. Unlike many of our other graphic novels, Pyongyang is shelved on the first floor; its call number is 951.9304 DEL.

2009 Summer Reading...

Brooks Memorial Library
Summer Reading Program Sign up:

June 13th through June 27


Check back on the blog or at the library
for event information throughout the summer!