8th Grade Summer Reading One-Pager Book Report
Name: ____________________________________________________
LA Block/Day: __________
DUE: First day of School/August 13th
Title of novel: ________________________________________
Author:_______________________
Date started/date completed: __________________________________________
Pages read: _________________
Rating of book (1-10): ____________
Directions: Select one book from the list (you may read as many as you wish). Then choose five starters from
the list below. Write one paragraph for each starter on a separate sheet(s) of paper in an essay format (You
also may type your paper). Please staple your reflections to this one-page sheet.
List of Reflection Starters:
 I noticed…
 I wonder…
 I was reminded…
 I think…
 I’m surprised that…
 I’d like to know…
 I realized…
 If I were…
 The central issue(s) is/are…
 One consequence of _______could be…
 If ________, then…
 I’m not sure…
 Although it seems…
Please include your responses to the following in your book report/essay:
Author’s Purpose: (Besides the basic author’s purpose, consider why the author chose to write and share this
particular story.)
Intended Audience: (Beyond stating just the intended age group, consider interests and experiences.)
ACADEMIC HONESTY—by signing below, I am indicating that I read the book, and the information on this page
is accurate:
Signature: ___________________________________________________
Date:_________________
Summer Reading List
Directions: Select one book from the list (you may read as many as you wish). Then choose five starters from
the list below. Write one paragraph for each starter on a separate sheet(s) of paper in an essay format (You
also may type your paper in Google Docs). Please staple your reflections to this one-page sheet.
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Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys
o Synopsis: Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she
draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home,
tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced
onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their
way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they
are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of
conditions.
The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible...on Schindler's List By Leon
Leyson
o Synopsis: Leon Leyson was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family
was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit,
Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth,
commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the
generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s
life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to
his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List.
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter By Adeline Yen Mah
o Synopsis: A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during
the 1940s. A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella,
Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate
triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her
bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father
remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her
stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not
enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her
family.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
o Synopsis: Danny and Reuven become good friends, even though they are from different
branches of Judaism. Danny, a Hasidic Jew, meets Reuven, a Zionist, while playing stickball.
Although they have differences, their friendship grows strong. When they reach college,
outspoken support by Reuven's professor father for a national Jewish state causes conflicts
with Danny's conservative father, leading to tension for the friends.
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
o Synopsis: Chronicles the brutality of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, from the author's forced
''evacuation'' of Phnom Penh in 1975 to her family's subsequent movements from town to
town and eventual separation.
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Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
o Synopsis: In her first full-length nonfiction title since winning the Robert F. Sibert Award, Susan
Campbell Bartoletti explores the riveting and often chilling story of Germany's powerful Hitler
Youth groups. By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children
belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan
Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of
Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth
members.
The Red Umbrella, by Christina Gonzalez
o The Red Umbrella is the moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part
of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children,
whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution.