A couple of books to kick off the new season!

Hello Aim High Book Club Bloggers~
I have been searching for a couple of book titles that will kick off the new book club season and word on the street is that the following two books are must reads. Check them out and let me know what you think. :) Michelle @ Aim High

Book: Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
Until he was thirty-two, Charlie Gordon --gentle, amiable, oddly engaging-- had lived in a kind of mental twilight. He knew knowledge was important and had learned to read and write after a fashion, but he also knew he wasn't nearly as bright as most of the people around him. There was even a white mouse named Algernon who outpaced Charlie in some ways. But a remarkable operation had been performed on Algernon, and now he was a genius among mice. Suppose Charlie underwent a similar operation...

Book: Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
When Stargirl enrolls at Mica High, all of the students are in awe, but she especially captures the attention of Leo Borlock, a junior at Mica. With her long flowing brown hair, plain face, and rather eccentric outfits, her classmates don't know whether to love her for having the guts to be different, or hate her for breaking the rules of high school. In fact they react by doing a little bit of both. First they embrace her uniqueness by imitating her, and then, just as quickly, they turn on her for being unusual. Despite her status as outcast, Leo and Stargirl become a couple, and he experiences what it's like to be shunned. In hopes of gaining acceptance Leo encourages her to become normal. Together both Leo and Stargirl learn a lesson about conforming to the will of the group versus being yourself.

A Call for Aim High Student Suggestions!!!

Hello Aim High~

It's that time of year again when the Aim High summer program is wrapping up and we have a few weeks before the new school year begins. This is a great time to check in with us at Aim High to let us know what some of your favorite book authors are. Over the next couple of weeks I will be putting together a new book list for the Aim High Teen Book Club. I have some thoughts of my own and would love to include your thoughts and ideas.
You can post your suggestions on this blog or email Michelle, studentcenter@aimhigh.org.
I am looking forward to hearing from you!!!!!!!
:) Michelle @ Aim High

AIM HIGH TEEN BOOK CLUB GUIDELINES

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1. PICK A BOOK TO READ FROM THE BOOKS LISTED IN THE BLOG POSTINGS BELOW.
2. WHEN YOU COMPLETE THE BOOK LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK BY POSTING A BOOK REVIEW. IN YOUR REVIEW PLEASE DESCRIBE THE BOOK AND SHARE YOUR REACTION TO IT. WHAT DID YOU ENJOY, OR NOT ENJOY AND WHY. THEN GIVE THE BOOK A RATING FROM THE BOOK REVIEW RATING KEY.
3. EMAIL ME, MICHELLE, AT studentcenter@aimhigh.org. LET ME KNOW WHO YOU ARE SO THAT I CAN SEND YOU A PRIZE!
4. HAVE FUN!

THIS IS A NEW ADVENTURE FOR AIM HIGH SO KINDLY LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
ALSO, PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT BOOK TITLES AND AUTHORS THAT YOU ENJOY FOR FUTURE BOOK LISTS.
:) I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BLOGING WITH YOU!

AIM HIGH BOOK LIST & BOOK REVIEW RATING

HELLO AIM HIGH!

BELOW IS THE CURRENT AIM HIGH TEEN BOOK CLUB BOOK LIST. EACH POSTING BELOW IS A BOOK AND A DESCRIPTION. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A LIST OF BOOKS THAT WE HAVE A FEW COPIES OF IN THE OFFICE THAT YOU CAN BORROW IF YOU WOULD LIKE. JUST CONTACT ME, MICHELLE, AT studentcenter@aimhigh.org. I KNOW THAT THE LIST IS LONG, BUT I AM NEW AT THIS AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WILL APPEAL TO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. SO LETS GET STARTED!

~BOOK REVIEW RATING KEY~

One Shout Out - A tree died to make it and I had to read it. Everybody loses!
Two Shout Outs - Not worth a paper cut.
Three Shout Outs - Worth a look, bu check the return policy before buying it.
Four Shout Outs - Check it out!
Five Shout Outs - Put one in every hotel drawer in America!

When I was a soldier: A memoir (Isreal), by Valerie Zenatti

The true story of one girl’s experience in the Israeli national army where strict routines, grueling marches, poor food, and lack of sleep are the norm, but service has it’s rewards as well.

Little Green: Growing Up During Chinese Cultural Revolution (China)

By Chun Yu

In this autobiography, Chun Yu describes her experiences during the reign of Chairman Mao.

Boy Kills Man (Columbia), by Matt Whyman

Two thirteen-year-old boys, blood brothers and best friends, get drawn into a dangerous, violent world on the streets of a troubled Columbian city.

The Boy in the Burning House, by Tim Wynne-Jonew

Fourteen-year-old Jim tries to solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance from their rural Canadian community.

Homeless Bird (India), by Gloria Whelan

When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India’s tradition or find the courage to oppose it.

The Kidnapping of Suzie Q (Ireland), by Martin Waddell

When Susie Quinn is kidnapped by robbers from a supermarket in Northern Ireland, she mush use all her cunning and courage to escape.

Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti (Haiti), by Frances Temple

In the hospital after surviving a beating and fire-bombing, seventeen-year-old Djo tells the story of his life to a young woman who has been working to fight repression in Haiti.

Chanda’s Secret (Fictional Southern Africa), by Allan Stratton

Poverty and AIDS epidemic around her, Chanda survives molestation and struggles to an education while caring for siblings and friends.

Shiva’s Fire (Inida), by Suzanne Fisher Staples

In India, a talented dancer sacrifices friends and family for her art.

The Dirty War (Argentina), by Charles H. Slaughter

Fourteen-year-old Atre witnesses a terrifying government takeover in 1976.

The Ink-Keeper’s Appentice (Japan), by Allen Say

A fourteen-year-old boy lives on his own in Tokyo and becomes apprenticed to a famous Japanese cartoonist.

Persopolis (Iran), by Mariane Satrapi

This graphic novel tells the true story of how Marjane came of age during the Iranian Revolution.

Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (England)

By Louise Rennison

Fourteen-year-old Georgia tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of a hunk named Robbie.

The Crossing (Mexico), by Gary Paulsen

Fourteen-year-old Manny, a street kid fighting for survival in Ciudad Juarez, develops a friendship with an emotionally disturbed American soldier who decides to help him get across the border.

Habibi (Palestine), by Naomi Shihab Nye

When fourteen-year-old Liyanne Abbovd and her family move from St. Louis to Jerusalem, they are swept into the fierce tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

No Turning Back (South Africa), by Beverly Naidoo

Sipho runs away from an abusive home to the streets of post-apartheid Johannesburg.

Zazoo (France), by Richard Mosher

Why do the villagers seem leery of Zazoo’s gentle grandfather, a supposed war hero who brought her from Vietnam to his French village when she was just 2 years old?

Shizuko’s Daughter (Japan), by Kyoko Mori

After her mother’s suicide, twelve-year-old Yuki goes to live with her distant father and his resentful new wife and relies on her own inner strength to cope with the tragedy.

Sparrow Howk Red (Mexico), by Ben Mikaelsen

Mikaelsen, Ben
Thirteen-year-old Ricky tries to avenge his mother’s murder by crossing over into Mexico to steal a high-tech radar plane from drug smugglers.

Tree Girl (Guatemala), by Ben Mikaelsen

Traumatized by brutality against her Mayan village, Gabriela realizes that only by facing her fears can she and her sister hope for a better future.

Looking for Alibrandi (Australia), by Melina Marchetta

During senior year at a Catholic school in Sydney, Australia, seventeen-year-old Josephine deals with two possible romances and a long-lost father.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (China)

By Adeline Yen Mah

Wu Mei’s family considers her bad luck because her mother died shortly after giving birth to her; can she prove them wrong?

Asphalt Angels (Brazil)

By Ineke Holwijk. Translated by Wanda Boeke

Abandoned on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, thirteen-year-old Alex joins a group of children like him and tries to adapt to his new life.

Stone Goddess (Cambodia), by Minfong Ho

Torn from their family after a military coup, twelve-year-old Nakri and her older sister rely on each other to make life bearable in a prison camp.

A Girl Named Disaster (Mozambique), by Nancy Farmer

On a dangerous journey from Mozambique to Zimbabwe, Nhamo struggles to escape drowning and starvation and encounters a world of African spirits.

Under the Sun (former Yugoslavia), by Arthur Dorros

Ehmet, a thirteen-year-old boy from Sarajevo, gets caught up in the ethnic conflicts of the former Yugoslavia.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (China)

By Sijie Da, Translated from the French by Ina Rilke

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the lives of two city boys take an unexpected turn when they meet the beautiful daughter of a local tailor and happen upon a forbidden stash of Western books.

The Meaning of Consuelo (Puerto Rico), by Judith Ortiz Cofer

In the suburbs of San Juan during the 1950’s, Consuelo struggles to find a place in her family and the outside world.

Colibri (Guatemala), by Ann Cameron

A fortune teller gives Rosa the courage to try to escape the abusive man who kidnapped her at the age of four.

Colibri (Guatemala), by Ann Cameron

A fortune teller gives Rosa the courage to try to escape the abusive man who kidnapped her at the age of four.

Candy (England), by Kevin Brooks

On the streets of London, fifteen-year-old Joe falls for Candy, a troubled, addicted teen, and risks everything to help her.

When the Rainbow Goddess Wept (Philippines), by cecilia Manguerra Brainard

In 1941, Ynonne flees with her family into the jungle to join a political resistance movement.

Jumping Off to Freedon (Cuba), by Anilu Bernardo

Courage and desperation lead fifteen-year-old David and his father to flee repression by taking to the sea on a raft headed for Miami, Florida.

Crazy (Germany), by Benjamin Lebert

Written by a 16-year-old, this coming-of-age story tells of a teen trying to fit in at a remedial boarding school.

Thura's Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq (Iraq), by Thura Al-Windawi

Experience the true struggles of nineteen-year-old Thura in a war-torn Baghdad.

Before We Were Free (Dominican Republic), by Julia Alvarez

In the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita discovers that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of a dictator.

Purple Hibiscus (Nigeria), by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nigeria begins to fall under a military coup just as Kambili gets a taste of love and freedom at her aunt’s home.

Go and Come Back (Peru), by Joan Abelove

An Amazonian tribeswoman, Alicia wonders at the strange habits and customs of two American women anthropologists who arrive in her village.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou describes her coming of age as a precocious but insecure black girl in the American South during the 1930s and subsequently in California during the 1940s. Maya’s parents divorce when she is only three years old and ship Maya and her older brother, Bailey, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, whom they call Momma, runs the only store in the black section of Stamps and becomes the central moral figure in Maya’s childhood.

Anne Frank; The Diary of a Young Girl

Her diary tells of the life of a group of Jews waiting in fear of discover by the Nazis. Yet within it, a tender love story slowly unfolds.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe’s outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold-the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

Daughters of Copper Woman by Laurence Yep

Weaving together the lives of mythic and imaginary characters, Daughters of Copper Woman offers a shining vision of womanhood, of how the spiritual and social power of women – through relentlessly challenged – can Endure and Survie.

Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

Moon Shadow is eight years old when he sails from China to join his father, Windrider, in America. Windrider lives in San Francisco and works in a laurndry. Moon Shadow has never met him. But he soon grows to love and repect his father, a man of genius with a fabulous dream. With Moon Shadow’s help, Windrider is willing to endure and overcome his challenges.

Against the Storm by Gaye Hicyilmaz

For eleven-year-old Mehmet, spring in his tiny Turkish village with the fruit trees in bloom is the most beautiful time of the year. How could anybody possibly be thinking of leaving? But leave his family he does, to try for a better living in the bustling city of Ankara. With help and friendship of Muhlis, a streetwise young orphan, and the strength of his own will, Mahemt is determined to find a better life.

Cry, The Beloved Country By Alan Paton

A deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice.

Children Of The River by Linda Crew

Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunt’s family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother and sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child. Now, four years later, she struggles to fit in at her Oregon high school and to be “a good Cambodian girl” at home. Are her hopes for happiness and a new life in America disloyal to her past and her people?