Brooklyn Prospect 2013 Summer Reading Guide
Rising 10 Graders
th
Dear Rising 10 Graders,
th
Below is your Summer Reading Guide. These books have been selected
by your librarian and your teachers and include a variety of subjects. We
have a limited number of copies of these titles in our school library (so
you can check them out for the summer), and they are also available at
the Brooklyn Public Library and local bookstores.
 You must read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. After you
have finished reading the book, answer the discussion questions.
You can either print out your answers and bring them to your
advisory interview, or you can email it to your 10th grade advisor.

You must read at least two of the other suggested books below
(your choice). After you have finished reading these books, answer
the discussion questions for each book. You can either print out
your answers and bring them to your advisory interview, or you can
email it to your 10th grade advisor.
Happy Summer & Happy Reading!
Ms. Gallager, Librarian
REQUIRED BOOK:
THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND
By William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
William Kamkwamba was raised in Malawi, a nation in
southern Africa. As a boy, he read about windmills and
dreamed of becoming one of the 2 percent of Malawians
who have electricity and running water. Armed with an old
science textbook, scrap metal, and boundless own
persistence, Kamkwamba tells a remarkable story of
creating windmills to help his nation.
Ted Talk: http://tinyurl.com/muezgr
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6A__TDfiCw
SUGGESTED FICTION BOOKS:
LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS
By Laura Buzo
From the moment Amelia sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner.
Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's
problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university
student, while Amelia is 15. Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's
not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least,
as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local
supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories,
bantering about everything from classic books to B movies,
and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time
goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore.
But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such
different places in life really be together?
Book’s page on Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/kess4cm
TYRELL
By Coe Booth
Tyrell, a teen growing up in a homeless shelter in the South
Bronx, has a challenging life. His father is in jail, his mother
doesn’t have a job, and he is supported by his girlfriend. As
Tyrell pieces together how his family ended up in this
situation, he faces a painful choice about what to do with his
life. Awesome characters- Tyrell is an amazing narrator.
Mature subject matter and language.
Book excerpt: http://coebooth.com/tyrell/
EVERY DAY
By David Levithan
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day
in love with the same girl. There’s never any warning about
where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that,
even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too
attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. It’s all fine until
the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets
Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by
which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has
found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after
day.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErSY_iuL_3Q
BOY 21
By Matthew Quick
Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in
broken-down Belmont, a town ruled by the Irish mob, drugs,
violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, his dad works
nights, and Finley is left to take care of his disabled grandfather
alone. He's always dreamed of getting out someday, but until
he can, putting on that number 21 jersey makes everything
seem okay. Russ has just moved to the neighborhood, and the
life of this teen basketball phenom has been turned upside
down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he won't
pick up a basketball, but answers only to the name Boy21-taken from his former jersey number. As their final year of high
school brings these two boys together, a unique friendship may
turn out to be the answer they both need.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBbbaUgGQZk
I AM THE MESSENGER
By Markus Zusak
Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future.
He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best
friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog,
the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and
incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail. That's when Ed
becomes the messenger. Chosen to care, he makes his way
through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only
one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TpVhLkQ394
BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY
By Ruta Sepetys
Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until
Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart.
Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina,
her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian
work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds
solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking
everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and
secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their
way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be
enough for Lina and her family to survive?
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u630dERY5Sc
THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE
By Alan Bradley
It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of
Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a
passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable
events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp
bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a
man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes
his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and
delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to
Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite
the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had
ever happened to me in my entire life.”
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyyqiSAdWUc
MEXICAN WHITEBOY
By Matt de la Peña
Even though Danny’s not built, his arms are long enough to
give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign
him on the spot. Ninety-five mile per hour fastball, but the boy’s
not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he
loses it. But at his private school they don’t expect much from
him. Danny’s half Mexican. And growing up in San Diego
means everyone else knows exactly who he is before they find
out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom
has blond hair and blue eyes. And that’s why he’s spending the
summer with his dad’s family. To find himself, he might just
have to face the demons he refuses to see right in front of his
face.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IdaTUQXv0k
THE ORANGE HOUSES
By Paul Griffin
Meet Tamika Sykes: Mik to her friends (if she had any). She’s
hearing-impaired and way too smart for her West Bronx high
school. She copes by reading lips and selling homework
answers, and looks forward to the time each day when she
can be alone in her room drawing. She’s a tough girl who
never gets close to anyone, until she meets Fatima, a
teenage refugee who sells newspapers on Mik’s block. Both
Mik and Fatima unite in their efforts to befriend Jimmi, a
homeless vet who is shunned by the rest of the community.
Author’s website: http://paulgriffinstories.com/the-orangehouses/
THE GOOD BRAIDER
By Terry Farish
This a story of Viola's escape from the Sudan, her long and
arduous journey to the U.S., and her struggle with the
emotional effects that still linger. Upon arriving in the U.S.
she struggles with trying to fit it while maintaining the
traditions of her family. This story, told in verse, immerses
the reader in the struggles that immigrants have to face
while trying to build a new life for themselves but still trying
to maintain the ideals of their cultures.
Book website: http://goodbraider.com
CODE NAME VERITY
By Elizabeth Wein
Verity and Maddie are friends working in the war effort. When
the Gestapo captures Verity, she trades information for
freedom. Meanwhile, Maddie tries to free her. This is their
story.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kLMupsGhJk
ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL
By Jesse Andrews
Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social
invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they
spend their time making movies, their own versions of Coppola
and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you
his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make
them for other people. Until Rachel. Rachel has leukemia, and
Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend
her. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl
must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It’s a hilarious,
outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a
prodigiously talented debut author.
Author website: http://jesseandrews.com/meandearl
DARK DUDE
By Oscar Hijuelos
For anyone who loved The Outsiders-- and for anyone who's
ever felt like one -- Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Oscar
Hijuelos brings to life a haunting choice and an unforgettable
journey about identity, misidentity, and all that we take with us
when we run away.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znIcRtTii3Q
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
By John Green
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought
her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal,
her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a
gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears
at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be
completely rewritten.
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4BCKLbRHTM
PIRATE CINEMA
By Cory Doctorow
Trent McCauley is sixteen, brilliant, and obsessed with one thing:
making movies on his computer by re-assembling footage from
popular films he downloads from the net. In the dystopian nearfuture Britain where Trent is growing up, this is more illegal than
ever; the punishment for being caught three times is that your entire
household’s access to the internet is cut off for a year, with no
appeal. Trent's too clever for that to happen. Except it does, and it
nearly destroys his family. Shamed and shattered, Trent runs away
to London, where he slowly he learns the ways of staying alive on
the streets and changing the world...
Book excerpt: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/07/pirate-cinemaexcerpt
ELEANOR & PARK
By Rainbow Rowell
Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.
Book website: http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/book/eleanorpark/
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
By Jonathan Safran Foer
Oskar Schell is not your average nine-year-old. A budding
inventor, he spends his time imagining wonderful creations. He
also collects random photographs for his scrapbook and sends
letters to scientists. When his father dies in the World Trade
Center collapse, Oskar shifts his boundless energy to a quest
for answers. He finds a key hidden in his father's things that
doesn't fit any lock in their New York City apartment; its
container is labeled "Black." Using flawless kid logic, Oskar
sets out to speak to everyone in New York City with the last
name of Black. A retired journalist who keeps a card catalog
with entries for everyone he's ever met is just one of the
colorful characters the boy meets.
Movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlK8Bci9Ofw
WHY WE BROKE UP
By Daniel Handler
Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing
Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they
broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a
box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly
earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item
collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking
relationship.
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMl_Pr51Xgk
FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON
By Daniel Keyes
In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation
increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental
procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it
surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his
metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific
breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins
his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to
Charlie?
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyCwz2EML5Y
UNDER THE MESQUITE
By Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Lupita, a budding actor and poet in a close-knit MexicanAmerican immigrant family, learns Mami has cancer, she is
terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of
her close-knit family. Suddenly, being a high school student,
starring in a play, and dealing with friends who don't always
understand, become less important than doing whatever she
can to save Mami's life. This coming-of-age novel-in-verse
features many Spanish words and is a story of surprising
resilience.
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4D70BoguoA
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
By John Steinbeck
Set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Havana, Hemingway's
magnificent fable is the story of an old man, a young boy and a
giant fish. In a perfectly crafted story, which won for Hemingway
the Nobel Prize for Literature, is a unique and timeless vision of
the beauty and grief of man's challenge to the elements in which
he lives.
SUGGESTED NONFICTION BOOKS:
Black and White:
The Confrontation between
Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth
and Eugene "Bull" Connor
By Larry Dane Brimner
In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, Birmingham, Alabama,
became known as Bombingham. At the center of this
violent time in the fight for civil rights, and standing at
opposite ends, were Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and
Eugene "Bull" Connor. From his pulpit, Shuttlesworth
agitated for racial equality, while Commissioner Connor
fought for the status quo.
Shuttlesworth’s obituary: http://tinyurl.com/cu9yzyk
Bull Connor short documentary:
http://tinyurl.com/k8ycqr2
THE INFLUENCING MACHINE:
Brooke Gladstone on the Media
By Brooke Gladstone
Bursting onto the page in vivid comics by acclaimed artist
Josh Neufeld, NPR’s Brooke Gladstone guides us through
two millennia of media history, debunking the notion that
"The Media" is an external force beyond our control and
equipping us to be savvy consumers and shapers of the
news.
Short from book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4ekpKsKWpk
FREAKONOMICS:
A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of
Everything
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What
do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? How
much do parents really matter? Freakonomics is a
groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J.
Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out
to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about
real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much
more.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImIE9gZZjrw
HOW THEY CROAKED:
The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous
By Georgia Bragg
Over the course of history men and women have lived and
died. In fact, getting sick and dying can be a big, ugly messespecially before the modern medical care that we all enjoy
today. How They Croaked relays all the gory details of how
nineteen world figures gave up the ghost.
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqlPxf91ORw
ZAHRA’S PARADISE
By Amir
Zahra’s Paradise weaves together fiction and real people and
events. As the world witnessed the aftermath of Iran’s
fraudulent elections, through YouTube videos, on Twitter, and
in blogs, this story came into being. The global response to
this gripping tale has been passionate—an echo of the global
outcry during the political upheaval of the summer of 2009.
Book website: http://www.zahrasparadise.com/
BORN TO RUN:
A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race
the World Has Never Seen
By Christopher McDougall
Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful
Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of
miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, awardwinning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher
McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process,
he takes his readers from science labs at Harvard to the sunbaked valleys and freezing peaks across North America,
where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their
bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the
Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against
the tribe.
TED Talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-iGZPtWXzE
NO CRYSTAL STAIR:
A Documentary Novel on the Life and Work of Lewis
Michaux, Harlem Bookseller
By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
When a white banker told Lewis Michaux to sell fried chicken,
not books, because Negroes don't read,' Lewis took five
books and one-hundred dollars and built a bookstore. It soon
became the intellectual center of Harlem, a refuge for
everyone from Muhammad Ali to Malcolm X.
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIDVTlKWavU
TRAPPED:
How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet
Below the Chilean Desert
By Marc Aronson
In early August 2010, the unthinkable happened when a mine
collapsed in Copiano, Chile, trapping 33 miners 2,000 feet
below the surface. For sixty-nine days they lived on meager
resources with increasingly poor air quality. When they were
finally rescued, the world watched with rapt attention and
rejoiced in the amazing spirit and determination of the miners.
What could have been a terrible tragedy became an amazing
story of survival.
Book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIQ6_o36gqg
THE COLOR OF WATER:
A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
By James McBride
The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit
she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos"
with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red
Hook, Brooklyn. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a
source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion—and reached
thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life
and long-buried pain.
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw1uIO52q3Q
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
By Maya Angelou
The classic story of Angelou’s childhood. Sent to live with her
deeply religious grandmother in the South, Maya and her brother
experience racism and prejudice. Later, in St. Louis, Maya is
attacked by a man many times her age. Years later, Maya comes
to terms with what happened, discovers literature and learns to
value herself. The first of five volumes of Angelou’s
autobiography, (and a frequently banned book!)
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UETwD_eTsug
THE HOT ZONE:
A Terrifying True Story
By Richard Preston
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain
forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are
dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is
mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The
Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account
of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their
"crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and
impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is
scarier than fiction.
A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING:
By Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson attempts to understand -- and, if possible, answer -the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the
universe and ourselves. From everything from the Big Bang to
the rise of civilization, he seeks to understand how we got from
there being nothing at all to there being us. To answer these
questions, Bryson has attached himself to a host of the world’s
most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists,
anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices,
laboratories, and field camps. The result is sometimes
profound, sometimes funny, and is always an entertaining
adventure.