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.