2016-2017
8thGradeSummerReading
Allstudentswillread2booksthissummer,andsubmit2bookreports.Thebookreportformatfor
bothbookreportsislistedbelow.
ThebookreportsaredueAugust16,2016.Youmayprintthemoutorwritethembyhand,inink.
AllstudentswillreadTheSeventhMostImportantThingbyShelleyPearsall.
Allstudentsshouldalsoreadabookfromthelistthatisa=ached.
BookReport
Bookreportsmusthaveacoverpagewhichwillincludethefollowing:Gtleofbook,author,yourname,
andthedate.Remember,Gtlesofbooksarealwaysunderlined.
BookreportswillbewriKenina5paragraphformat.Pleasewriteincompletesentences,andusethe
followingoutlinetoorganizeyourthoughts:
I.
Introduc@on(5-7sentences)
a. Introducenovel–@tleandauthor
b. Describethe@meandse#ng(Doesittakeplaceinpresent@me?Isitsetinthefuture?The
past?WhatimagesdoestheseLngcreate?)
c. Thesis–whatwilltheotherparagraphsbeabout?(DONOTwrite,“Inthisbookreport,Iwill
betalkingabout…)
II.
BodyParagraph(11sentences)
a. Iden@fyandexplainthepointofviewfromwhichthestoryiswri=en
b. Describetheprotagonistofthenovel-Whatisthemaincharacterlike?Howwouldyou
describethemaincharacter?
c. Iden@fytheantagonist–howdoesthischaracteropposetheprotagonist?Howwouldyou
describetheantagonist?
III.
BodyParagraph(11sentences)
a. Whatistheconflictofthenovel?Iden@fyandexplaintheexternalconflict(outsideforce)
ANDinternalconflict(charactervs.self).
b. Explaintheclimaxofthestory–Whydoesthisparthavethemostexcitementortension?
Explainindetail.
c. Howisthisconflictresolved?
IV.
BodyParagraph(11sentences)
a. Iden@fyandexplainexamplesofSymbolism(anobjectthatrepresentsalargeridea)
b. Iden@fyandexplainexamplesofIrony(acharactersaysonething,butdoestheopposite,or
youthinkascenewillendonewaybutthecompleteoppositehappens)
c. Howdothesesymbolsandexamplesofironyaffectthenovel?Dotheymakeitmore
interes@ng?Moreexci@ng?Moreconfusing?
V.
Conclusion(3-5sentences)
a. Sumupmainpoints
b. Didyouenjoyreadingthisbook?Wouldyourecommendittoafriendorclassmate?
c. Finalthought/reflec@on
Bookreportswillbegradedusingarubric/checksheetthatwillrateeachindividualelement.Report
presentaGon,analysisofnovel,useofhighlevelvocabulary,grammar,spellingandmechanicswillalsobe
gradedaccordingly.
1. The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson Genre: Realistic Fiction
240
Pages:
Jackson Greene swears he's given up scheming. Then school bully Keith Sinclair announces he's
running for Student Council president, against Jackson's former friend Gaby de la Cruz. Gaby wants
Jackson to stay out of it -- but he knows Keith has "connections" to the principal, which could win him
the presidency no matter the vote count.
So Jackson assembles a crack team: Hashemi Larijani, tech genius. Victor Cho, bankroll. Megan
Feldman, science goddess. Charlie de la Cruz, reporter. Together they devise a plan that will take
down Keith, win Gaby's respect, and make sure the election is done right. If they can pull it off, it will
be remembered as the school's greatest con ever -- one worthy of the name THE GREAT GREENE
HEIST.
2. I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora Genre: Fiction Pages: 192
When Lucy, Elena, and Michael receive their summer reading list, they are excited to see To Kill A
Mockingbird included. But not everyone in their class shares the same enthusiasm. So they hatch a
plot to get the entire town talking about the well-known Harper Lee classic. They plan controversial
ways to get people to read the book, including re-shelving copies of the book in bookstores so that
people think they are missing and starting a website committed to "destroying the mockingbird."
Their efforts are successful when all of the hullabaloo starts to direct more people to the book. But
soon, their exploits start to spin out of control and they unwittingly start a mini revolution in the name
of books.
3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Genre: Horror Pages: 336
Award Winner
Newbery
In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he's
the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other
cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their
ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.
Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the
dead? And then there are being such as ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.
The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal and is a Hugo Award Winner
for Best Novel.
4. Hunt for the Bamboo Rat by Graham Salisbury Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 336
Zenji Watanabe was born in Hawaii. He’s an American, but the Japanese wouldn’t know it by the
look of him. And that’s exactly what the US government is counting on. Because he speaks both English and Japanese perfectly, the army recruits Zenji for a top-secret
mission to spy on the Japanese. If they discover his true identity, he’ll be treated as a traitor and
executed on the spot.
As World War II boils over in the Pacific, Zenji is caught behind enemy lines. But even though his
Japanese heritage is his death warrant, it’s also his key to outwitting the enemy and finding the
strength to face the terrors of battle, the savagery of the jungle, and the unspeakable cruelty of war.
The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 352
5.
When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, her life as she knows
it ends. The car flips, and Roo winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Silent. Everyone thinks she's in
a coma, but Roo has locked-in syndrome -- she can see and hear and understand everything around
her, but no one knows it. She's trapped inside her own body, screaming to be heard.
Mathilda (Tilly) is Roo's sister and best friend. She was the one who texted Roo and inadvertently
caused the accident. Now, Tilly must grapple with her overwhelming guilt and her growing feelings
for Roo's boyfriend, Newton -- the only other person who seems to get what Tilly is going through.
But Tilly might be the only person who can solve the mystery of her sister's condition -- who can see
through Roo's silence to the truth underneath.
6.
The Final Four by Paul Volponi Genre: Fiction/Sports Pages: 272
March Madness is in full swing, and there are only four teams let in the NCAA basketball
championship. The heavily favored Michigan Spartans and the underdog Troy Trojans meet in the
first game in the semi-finals, and it's there that the fates of Malcolm, Roko, Crispin, and M.J.
intertwine. As the last moments tick down on the game clock, you'll learn how each player went from
being a kid who loves to shoot hoops to a powerful force in one of the most important games of the
year. Which team will leave the Superdome victorious? In the end it will come down to who has the
most skill, the most drive, and the most heart.
7.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 592
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will
become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for
herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her
accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors
during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
8. No Summit out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the
Seven Summits by Jordan Romero Genre: Non-Fiction Pages: 368
Jordan Romero climbed Mount Everest at age thirteen—and he didn’t stop there. In this inspiring
young adult memoir that includes color photos, he tells how he achieved such great heights.
On May 22, 2010, at the age of thirteen, American teenager Jordan Romero became the youngest
person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. At fifteen, he became the youngest person to reach
the summits of the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents. In this energizing memoir for
young adults, Jordan, recounts his experience, which started as a spark of an idea at the age of nine
and, many years of training and hard work later, turned into a dream come true.
9. The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible…on
Schindler’s List by Leon Leyson Genre: Non-Fiction Pages: 256
This, the only memoir published by a former Schindler’s list child, perfectly captures the innocence of
a small boy who goes through the unthinkable. Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) 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, 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.
10. The Making of a Navy SEAL: My Story of Surviving the Toughest Challenge
and Training the Best by Brandon Webb Genre: Non-Fiction Pages: 256
Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his
grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and
Afghanistan, The Making of a Navy SEAL provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of
the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist.
Yet it is Webb's distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy "sniper cell" and
Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America's finest and
deadliest warriors-including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle-that makes his story so compelling.
Luttrell credits Webb's training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in
Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military's top marksman, with more than 150
confirmed kills.
From a candid chronicle of his student days, going through the sniper course himself, to his hairraising close calls with Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the northern Afghanistan wilderness, to his
vivid account of designing new sniper standards and training some of the most accomplished snipers
of the twenty-first century, Webb provides a rare look at the making of the Special Operations
warriors who are at the forefront of today's military.