Allison+P.

=Book Summaries:=

Name: Allison P.

1. Book Title: Artichoke's Hearts 2. Author: Suzanne Supplee 3. Date of Publication: 2009 4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words.

This is a story about a high school girl named Rosemary who struggles with her weight. Not only having the normal pressures of high school, she also has her mom and aunt breathing down her neck about losing weight. For Christmas, her mother bought her a tread mill and her aunt bought her tickets to a convention for overweight people. The tread mill was used as a drying rack and the convention was just a ploy to get people to try different dieting products. Eventually, Rosemary tries different ways of loosing weight but is not successful until she is motivated by two people she never thought would help her. She became friends with a cheerleader and a jock. Both of these students help her realize that not everyone looks on the outside of a person.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title?

This story is based in high school. It shows the struggles of a teenage girl and it also shows bullying that goes on behind the scenes. Peer pressure can also be used as an example. I would also talk about the methods of losing weight as desperate attempts to please people as an example. The self esteem issues of our youth today is horrific.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1) Put yourself in Rosemary's shoes, what are some things you would do different to change? 2) Is there a time in your life that may be similar to anything that Rosemary went through? Explain why or why not? 3) What are the differences with Rosemary from the beginning of the story to the end of the story? Why/how did she change?

Name: Allison P.

1. Book Title: Marked 2. Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 3. Date of Publication: 2007 4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words.

Zoey is a 16 year old girl who gets a crescent moon marked on her forehead by a vampire tracker. This means she has to leave her old life behind and move to the House of Night. After struggling with her mom and step dad, Zoey sneaks out of her house and drives to her grandmother's house. After accidentally tripping and hitting her head, she gets a surprise visit from the Goddess Nyx. Zoey soon realizes that her mark is special and that she has a unique connection with the Goddess Nyx and the five elements, air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Now knowing she has these special powers, Zoey has to figure out a way to take hold of her future.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title?

This is a fantasy novel that brings out courage in a young teenage girl. This would be a great tool to use when discussing right verses wrong and standing up for what you believe in. It empowers students to not be afraid of what they are capable of doing.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1) How do you think Kayla, Zoey's best friend, feels when she realized that Zoey has been marked? Why does she feel the way she does? 2) What is Zoey's connection with Aphrodite? Think of a person that is like Aphrodite in your life, how do you react to that person? 3) How does Zoey react to the five elements? Why is she affected by the elements and other vampires are not?

Name: Alli Pontious

1. Book Title: When Irish Guys are Smiling 2. Author: Suzanne Supplee 3. Date of Publication: 2008 4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words.

This is a story about a high school girl named Delk who has family problems and wants to go into a study abroad program. Instead of sticking around her Tennessee home, where she would be forced to watch her new pregnant step mother destroy everything her deceased mother worked towards, she travels abroad to Ireland. During Delk’s visit she makes new friends, sees new things she never thought she would ever see, and even finds a little romance. Read to find out how Delk is able to open herself up and take in her new surroundings.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title?

This is a good book to integrate a number of elements into the classroom. Friendship, family, death, traveling, and love are all elements that could be talked about. It is a great book that relates to teenagers easily. Many families are not perfect and deal with divorce or death. Traveling is something that not everyone knows, but it could easily be integrated into a social studies unit about countries.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1.Why do you think Delk didn't give her e-mail to her friends back in Tennessee? Has there ever been a time where you may not have told your friends all the details? Why or why not? 2. How did Delk feel when she learned that Pather's family was similar to hers? How does Delk change after she realizes that? 3. What is the difference between how Delk acts back in Tennessee verses in Ireland? Why/how does she change?

Name: Alli Pontious

1. Book Title: The Year We Disappeared 2. Author: Cylin Busby & John Busby 3. Date of Publication: 2008

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words. This story is about a family who was targeted by a man named Melvin Reine, who thought he was above the law. The story begins on a hot summer night in August while John, the dad, was working the night shift as a police officer. While driving, another car pulled up beside him and preceded to shoot him through the car. John;s bottom jaw was shot off. After the incident, John was able to communicate with police officers by writing down notes on a pad of paper he always kept with him. He was able to get protection for his family almost immediately. Unfortunately, the man who John accused of shooting him was a hard target to catch. Police were too afraid to do anything including questioning him. At first the family had 24 hour police protection but after a few weeks their protection dwindled down to an 8 foot fence, a security alarm, and a mean guard dog. The family stopped doing things they normally did, like go out to placed including Old Silver Beach. After a while the family decided to relocate. Polly, their mom, got a job as a nurse in Tennessee. When they lived there, the family had to blend in a good as they could. They lived there for many years. Twenty-four years after John was shot, the Reine family confessed to the shooting. Unfortunately, it was too late to prosecute Melvin Reine for the crime he had committed. Melvin is now suffering from dementia and the family feels that that is more torture than they went through. They are living their lives and have overcome this horrible past.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title?

This is a very good book that talks about courage, determination, fitting into a new school, living through a family tragedy and being ostracized in your community. It is a very powerful true story that can be used with teenagers. Many teens have experienced at least one of these things, so they will be able to relate to this story very easily. I would use this book to talk about the basic needs of the family not being met. They were always scared when they were at home, constantly in fear because of their dad being shot. Some students might be able to connect to feeling isolated like the family did in this novel.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1. What do you think would have happened to the Busby family if their dad would have died? 2. How do you think the Busby children felt going to a new school and having to blend in with the local scenery to make sure they were safe? 3. Why do you think John Busby didn't go back and try to kill Melvin Reine?

Name: Alli Pontious

1. Book Title: The Hunger Games 2. Author: Suzanne Collins 3. Date of Publication: 2008

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words.

This is a science fiction novel that is about a 16 year old girl named Katniss who lives in a small district that is controlled by the Capitol. Katniss has been chosen to participate in "The Hunger Games" which is hosted by the Capitol. Each year they choose a boy and a girl from each district, 12 districts in all, and have them compete against each other until only one person remains. That person is then treated like a god and their district gets lots of food and money for the rest of the year. Katniss lives in district 12, which is a coal mining district and has only had one winner in the last 30 years. Needless to say, their district is very poor. Throughout the book, Katniss has to make a lot of hard decisions and soon realizes that if she wants to stay in the game she needs to play along with the audience and the gamekeepers who control the game. This is a nail-biting book that keeps you turning the pages. Read to find out what happens to Katniss in The Hunger Games.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title?

This novel creates an alternate world, one in which we do not live in. The characters in the book go through a lot of things, hardship, starvation, having to protect yourself and your family, and falling in love just to name a few. Although the book is not real, it does present some real scenarios that could happen in our lives today. Those scenarios can be related to the teenage population in many ways. I could use this novel to talk about trust issues and insecurity, like Katniss has during the games. She is always protecting herself and worrying about why people are doing the things they do. This novel also goes back to meeting the basic needs of the characters. Many of my students understand the hardships of having to take care of themselves and not knowing where their next meal would be. I could channel those connections with my students also when talking about this novel.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1) If you were chosen to participate in The Hunger Games, would you survive? Why or why not? 2) How could the hunger games end differently? Write an alternative ending to the story. 3) How do you think the folks from District 12 are thinking/feeling each time they tune in to watch The Hunger Games? What do you think their reaction is at the end of games?