Book Club — High School
Suggested Audiences: Grade 9 and older
Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and The Tenth Circle, pens her most riveting book yet, with a startling and poignant story about the devastating aftermath of a small-town tragedy.
Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens–until the day its complacency is shattered by a school shooting. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened before her very own eyes–or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show–destroying the closest of friendships and families. Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether anyone is ever really who they seem to be.
Out of My Mind
Suggested Audience: Grade 5 and older
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.
The Survival Guide to Bullying
Suggested Audiences: Middle and High School Students
The Survival Guide to Bullying covers everything from cyberbullying to how to deal with fear and how to create the life you dream of having. From inspiring "roems" (rap poems), survival tips, personal stories, and quick quizzes, this book will light the way to a brighter future. This updated edition also features new, never-before-seen content including a chapter about how to talk to parents, an epilogue, and an exclusive Q&A with the author.
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Words Wound
Suggested Audiences: 9th – 12th grade
Vicious words and damaging photos exchanged through texts, email, or social media can result in humiliation, broken friendships, punishment at school, and even legal prosecution. In some cases, online harassment has contributed to suicide.
Written by experts in cyberbullying prevention, Words Wound provides strategies for teens dealing with cyberbullying as well as for those who have taken part in bullying others. The book gives teens the tools they need to keep themselves safe online, protect their digital reputations, and make their schools and their communities kinder places. Includes true stories by teens who have been cyberbullied and are working to eliminate online bullying in their schools.
Seven Chances
Suggested Audiences: 9th – 12th grade
After a horribly embarrassing incident at school was photographed for the world to see, Abby just wants to get her life back to the way it was. With the help of mysterious magic stones, Abby gets the chance to redo parts of her life. This seems like the perfect solution to her problems…but Abby soon learns that all choices have consequences, and soon hers will catch up to her.
Suspenseful, engaging, and heartwarming, Abby’s story offers great lessons on resiliency, empathy, and empowerment. Abby discovers that she never needed the magic stones to take control of her own life. Teens will relate to Abby’s anguished experience with bullying and rejoice with her when she discovers the power she has to affect change.
