Shs all School Summer Read 2015

Steilacoom High School joins literally thousands of schools across the country who sponsor All-School Reads for a variety of positive reasons, such as reinforcing reading, vocabulary and thinking skills; expanding awareness of other perspectives and situations; and building a shared experience in the school community.

Like many things, we get better when we practice. Reading more leads to reading better, and reading is a fundamental part of college and career success, as well as a valuable lifelong activity. Consider these statistics (from Nagy & Herman, 1987):

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  20 min./day • 5 min/day • 1 min/day
  
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  1,800,000 words/year • 282,000 words/year • 8,000 words/year
  
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  Scores in the 90^th • Scores in the 50^th • Scores in the 10^th
  

standardized tests standardized tests standardized tests

Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and learns a lot about family, community, and quite a bit about how the decisions people make affect the lives of others, intentionally or not.

Gr 9 Up- After being diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia, 18-year-old Ben Wolf elects to forgo treatment and keep his illness secret from his family and friends in an attempt to have a "normal" senior year at his small Idaho high school. Free from long-term consequences, he connects with his crush, frustrates his biased U.S. Government teacher, and tries out for football. However, Ben's illness slowly exacts its toll on him, and he begins to realize the consequences of keeping his condition hidden. Crutcher brings his signature blend of sports action and human emotion to this powerful novel. Emotionally spare but deeply touching, the relationship between Ben and his brother will resonate with many readers, while others may find the several strong father figures comforting. Secondary characters add humor and balance, though the government teacher's voice occasionally veers too far toward that of a right-wing pundit. Rudy McCoy, a former priest and child molester, evokes both compassion and revulsion through his confession of guilt and struggle to avoid hurting another child; reflecting Ben's secret-keeping behavior, McCoy serves as a foil for the destructive impact secrets can have. Some discussion of sexual molestation and child abuse is present in the text, but is not graphic or overwhelming in its depiction. Crutcher uses dark humor and self-deprecation effectively to avoid maudlin situations, and teens will appreciate the respectful tone of the work.-Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Chris Crutcher grew up in Cascade, Idaho, and now lives in Spokane. He is the critically acclaimed author of nine novels and a collection of short stories for teenagers, all chosen as ALA Best Books. In 2000, he received the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring his lifetime contribution in writing for teens. Drawing on his experience as an athlete, teacher, family therapist, and child protections specialist, he unflinchingly writes about real and often-ignored issues that face teenagers today.

We will be building on our 2014 All-School Read experience through Book Talks during a few advisories throughout the school year. Several themes are apparent, but will center on concepts such as considering the effect we have on our worlds (a legacy), respecting the diverse experiences of others, the consequences of avoiding the truth, and tie-ins to our school PRIDE focus.

This book matches several criteria of the Young Adult Literature genre, such as characters and issues that teens relate to, language that may be considered typical of some contemporary teenagers especially in conversations with close friends, and told by a teen narrator in their own voice (based on Herz and Gallo, From Hinton to Hamlet: building bridges between young adult literature and the classics, 2005).

Alternative Titles

As with movies or TV shows that may contain language or scenarios that younger students or family standards may not support, these alternate titles are suggested. They have common themes through different settings or events, and do not include strong language.

A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.