Clara Lane
217 / 403-2070
200 West Green Street
FAX 217 / 403-2073
Champaign, IL 61820-5193
www.champaign.org
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Summer Reading Suggestions
from the Champaign Public Library
FOR INCOMING 9TH GRADERS AT CENTRAL & CENTENNIAL
Theme: Identity, including family, race, gender, class, (dis)ability. The following novels have
strong main characters whose identities are in some way brought into focus through the work.
1. Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston (Nonfiction/796.522/Ral).
An experienced outdoorsman is trapped against a canyon wall in this true survival story.
2. *Caucasia by Danzy Senna (Fiction). Two bi-racial sisters face radically different
lives when they are separated after their parents split.
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
(Fiction). A gifted autistic teen investigates the murder of his neighbor’s dog.
4. *The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
(Teen Fiction) Virginia tries to find a way to co-exist with her thin, brilliant family.
5. *Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (Fiction). A smart
nine-year-old searches for answers after his father is killed in the World Trade Center
attack.
6. *Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers (Teen Fiction). In 1967, a Harlem teen, just
out of high school, enlists in the Army and is sent to Vietnam.
7. The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer (Teen Fiction). An African American teen
who loves to play basketball questions everything after he is viciously attacked.
8. *I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Biography). An
inspiring author shares her life story.
9. *Imani All Mine by Connie Porter (Teen Fiction). A teen mom struggles to establish
a safe life for herself and her baby amidst a world of violence.
10. *Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (Teen Fiction). A girl kidnapped when she was
ten relives the nightmare of her last five years.
11. *The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Mystery) A boy pushed into a life of crime
because of his lock-picking skills tries to break free in this thriller.
12. *The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Fiction). A murdered girl finds it hard to let go
and keeps a watch on the investigation into her death.
13. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Teen Fiction). Thirteen-year-old Conor faces an
ancient monster after his mother becomes seriously ill.
14. *My Enemy’s Cradle by Sara Young (Fiction) A “breeding home” in Munich during
the Nazi regime is the setting for this tale of one half-Jewish teen.
15. *Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (Fiction). A bullied student kills ten people at
his high school and a surviving witness must try to remember exactly what she saw.
16. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (Fiction). An old man goes to sea
and hooks a very big fish in this classic.
17. *One Thousand White Women: The Journals of Mary Dodd by Jim Fergus
(Fiction) In 1875, white women travel west to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians.
18. *The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (Fiction). A Union soldier
struggles with the horrors he witnesses during the Civil War.
19. Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (Teen Fiction). A fifteen-year-old finds his father’s
body on a frozen lake in Finland and meets a dangerous stranger while awaiting help.
20. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Teen Fiction). An accident leaves
sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee but she still dreams of running on the track team.
21. Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Teen Fiction).
Hollywood, New Mexico, is a tough place to be for a Chicano boy in 1969.
22. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Fiction). A girl and the woman who
takes care of her leave their racist town and find an unusual haven.
23. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar (Teen Fiction). Scott navigates the
tricky waters of high school in this comic diary written for his unborn brother.
24. Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox (Nonfiction/797.21/Cox). A young
woman shares how she is able to swim astonishing distances in this true story.
25. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen (Teen Fiction). Things change for
Macy during the summer after her father’s death.
26. *Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (Teen Fiction). A multi-racial adopted teen organizes
a ragtag high school swim team.
27. *Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green (Teen Fiction). Two teens who share
the same name find their paths intertwining when one dates the other’s best friend.
28. *Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (Fiction). This novel of the plague follows
Anna in 1666 as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease.
*These books
may contain more mature content or provide additional challenges for
readers.
Betsy Su | Teen Librarian | 403-2070 | [email protected] | April 2012