Welcome to the MHS Bookmarks Blog

Looking for something good to read? Do you like to recommend great books to your friends? This is the place for you!

One of the best things about being a high school media specialist is the fact that reading is part of my job and I love to recommend outstanding literature to the students and staff here at MHS.

I’ve maintained a Reading page on my web site for the past several years. It features titles we’ve read in Book Discussion Group as well as links to other reading recommendation sites.

This year, I’m excited to say that I’ve started blogging about books. I promise to post a quick entry about each new book I read along with other similar titles that I think people will enjoy as well. 

Students and Staff: Please feel free to comment about my posts. If you’d like to contribute your own book recommendations, speak to me directly or email me at bakerm@marlboroschools.org. Happy reading!

Mrs. Baker

Currently reading: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

 “The girl was the first to hear the loud pounding on the door. At first, dazed with sleep, she thought it was her father coming up from his hiding place in the cellar. But then came the voices, strong and brutal in the silence of the night. “Police.” “Open up.” “Now.’” 

Honesty may be the best policy, but parents often believe that they are justified in keeping secrets from their children, especially if the truth is extremely frightening. So Sarah’s mother and father protected their children from the fears they felt as Jews living in Paris in 1942. When the roundup began that morning, Sarah, in turn, tried to protect her baby brother by hiding him away in a cupboard, intending to return shortly to release him. Placing the key carefully in her pocket, it never occurred to Sarah that she would not be allowed to come back at all … 

Many years later, the French people are still reluctant to acknowledge their role in the annihilation of nearly 10,000 Jewish men, women and children that began that day in 1942.

Many Holocaust stories have been told. This one will stay with you for a long, long time. 

If you like this book, you may also like: 

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
• Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
• Night by Elie Weisel
• Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
• Malka by Mirjam Pressler
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Have YOU read any good books lately?

When I started this blog, I hoped it would become a forum for an ongoing conversation about great books.  So far, though, it’s just me writing about what I like. I know people have been reading the blog because the counter at the bottom of the page tells me so. Won’t some of you please join the conversation and share your thoughts about literature? It’s so easy to do …  just click “Leave a Comment” or if you’d like to contribute your own book recommendations, speak to me directly or email me at bakerm@marlboroschools.org.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

“Born mute,  speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog known for companionship and communication skills far surpassing those of normal animals. Edgar’s best friend is Almondine, the pride of their kennel. Now a teenager, Edgar has finally been given permission to oversee the training of his first litter of Sawtelle dogs and he throws himself into the task with enthusiasm and talent. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar’s paternal uncle, turmoil and disaster strike the Sawtelle’s once peaceful lives. ” (from the book jacket)

Did you love books like Old Yeller, Big Red and Where the Red Fern Grows when you were a kid? Edgar Sawtelle is definitely a book for animal lovers, but there’s much more to it than that.  Like the best literature, this book creates a world inhabited by realistic characters embroiled in a suspenseful mystery that rushes headlong toward the most dangerous of conclusions. If you like to read and you’re looking for something that you won’t be able to put down, Edgar Sawtelle is the book for you!

If you like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, you might also like:

• Sounder by William H. Armstrong
• James Herriot’s Dog Stories
• The Complete AKC Dog Book
• Your Dog’s Life by Deborah Loven Gray
• The World According to Dog by Joyce Sidman
• New Complete Dog Training Manual by Bruce Fogle
• White Fang by Jack London
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

“Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun …  “

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twleve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are required to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.” (from the book jacket)

Do you love reality TV? Do you structure your week around Big Brother and The Real World? Here’s a book that makes Fear Factor and Survivor look like child’s play.  Katniss and Peeta are the two main characters representing their district. Friends at first, they receive glamorous makeovers then meet with personal coaches who fine tune their individual strengths and survival styles. Once the “game” begins, however, it’s every man (or woman) for himself, because to win this competition you have to be the only one to survive, and that will require you to kill everyone who stands in your way. (Sequel Catching Fire came out in early September!)

If you like this book, you might also like:

• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

“Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.  Irresistible boys with sly smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.  This is Manhattan, 1899 …  ” (from the bookj acket)

Things haven’t really changed very much in the last 100 years or so, at least in the love lives of the rich and famous. Back in the day, there were still cliques, catty “best” friends, rivalries between sisters, handsome young men that everyone wanted and handsome young men that “proper” young ladies shouldn’t want. And there have always been well-intentioned parents pulling strings behind the scenes.

If you’re a fan of popular culture who loves to read the latest about the Paris Hiltons of the world, you’ll love The Luxe, historical fiction with decidedly modern characters: there’s “perfect” Elizabeth, just back from a year in Paris, forced into planning an arranged marriage but hopelessly in love with someone far beneath her social stature, best friend, Penelope, another socialite, unafraid to use any means at her disposal to get the man she wants, and lovely Diana, Elizabeth’s precocious younger sister, destined to be the true winner in the game they’re all playing. A notch above The Gossip Girls, but not exactly Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence either, this novel is a fun, fast read for today’s young woman.

If you like this book, you might also enjoy

• Rumors and Envy by Anna Godbersen (sequels to The Luxe)
• The Gossip Girls series by Cecily Van Ziegesar
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and sequels Rebel Angels  and The Sweet Far Thing
• The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
• A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
• The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks

What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles

Cass McBride is a “resume packer”, a spoiled rich kid who pursues class offices, honors and accolades not for the satisfaction of a job well done or to help others but solely to get into the best college. She uses people along the way and thinks nothing of crushing the fragile egos of guys she thinks of as beneath her. David Kirby was one of those guys. Who knew that the way she treated him would hurt him so badly? Who knew that her thoughtlessly public rejection of him would result in his suicide? The note he left behind made it all too clear, “Words are teeth. And they eat me alive. Feed on my corpse instead.”

Kyle Kirby, David’s older brother finds the note, puts two and two together, and decides to assuage his own guilt by punishing Cass. He digs a hole. Kidnaps her. Puts her in a box — underground. And then …  the battle between them begins.

Warning: Don’t even think of reading this book if you are at all claustrophobic!!

 

If you like this book, you might also enjoy:

• After the First Death by Robert Cormier
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher

“When we were in grade school, most kids thought Eddie Proffit was stupid because he would ask questions no one else would think of.  I was Billy Bartholomew, smartest kid in the class …  I was supposed to grow up and rattle the world, and Eddie was supposed to grow up and run his father’s gas station. Everyone thought our friendship was odd; what was a smart kid like me doing hanging out with a kid with an IQ short of triple digits? Truth is, Eddie’s IQ turned out to be off the charts.  His mind bounces from one thing to another pretty much however it wants, though, and long before he should be finishing up one thought , he’s on to something else. Eddie doesn’t come to very many conclusions. [With some help from my Dad] Eddie did great, but he continued to ask strange questions and challenge teachers when they said something he thought couldn’t be true, and he was pretty much considered a pain in the neck.”

Within a span of three weeks, both Eddie’s Dad and his best friend Billy died in violent accidents. Eddie found them both …  and from that time on, he lost the power (or desire) to speak. Life lost all meaning for him and he gave up on his future completely …  until Billy came back.

If you like this book, you might also like:

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
• The Shack by William P. Young
• Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

“There’s bad news and good news about the Cutter High School swim team. The bad news is that they don’t have a pool. The good news is that only one of them can swim anyway.” (from the book jacket)

Most kids are lucky to be really good at one sport. T.J. Jones is gifted at all sports, but certain circumstances in his life make him very unwilling to be a team player. He detests jocks of all kinds and goes out of his way to let them know how he feels. He has no trouble, however,  relating to the fringe kids, the misfits, the losers  …  the people like himself who are mostly invisible. He’s not crazy about his teachers either, but when one of them asks him for a favor, he does agree to help out — even if though it means joining a team.

If you like this book, you may also enjoy:

• Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
• Bleachers by John Grisham
• Danger Zone by David Klass
• Slot Machine by Chris Lynch
• Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
• Necessary Roughness by Marie G. Lee
• Ultimate Sports edited by Donald Gallo
• Night Hoops by Carl Deuker
• All That Remains by Bruce Brooks
• The Necessary Hunger by Nina Revoyr
• Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
• Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
• Beanball by Gene Fehler
• Hoops by Walter Dean Myers

America by E.R. Frank

“What would it be like? Dr. B goes. “Huh?” “Being dead.” “Huh?” “You’re interested in being dead. I’m interested in what you think being dead would be like.” “You’re the doctor, man, you tell me.” “I don’t know. Different people imagine different things. I’m wondering what you imagine.” “Empty. Quiet. Nobody’s bad. Nobody’s good. Nobody’s nobody. You don’t think. You don’t remember. You don’t be. Nothing hurts.”

America, a biracial teenage boy, has tried to commit suicide and is now a patient at the Applegate Treatment Center north of New York City. He’s required to attend group therapy and individual counseling sessions, but he refuses to talk to anyone. He’s totally blocking his past and therapy only causes him to disassociate. In time and in spite of his desire to be uncooperative, details begin to emerge. “When they evaluate you, they find out stuff you never told them.” There’s lots of “stuff” in America’s background. He’s an unwanted kid who slipped through social service’s cracks. He’s been told he was bad so often, he’s begun to believe it. There are very few people in his world who care whether he lives or dies. Can they make a difference?

If you like this book, you may also enjoy:

• The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
• Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
• A Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
• Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

“freaks and clowns …  wonder and pain …  anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.” (from the book jacket)

Jacob was 23 during the Great Depression, ready to graduate from Cornell Veterinary School. All his life he’d anticipated going home and working with his father in their small vet practice. Suddenly, disaster struck and Jacob became a homeless, penniless orphan. Unable to complete his final exams, he ran from reality and hopped a train. Anywhere else had to be better than this. It turned out that it was a circus train and they just happened to need someone to care for their animals. It didn’t matter to them that he had no degree and it didn’t matter to him that it wasn’t a very high class operation. Thus began Jacob’s career with the circus.

This novel will transport you to another time and introduce you to characters so real you’ll worry about them long after you turn the last page of the book.  If you love animals or you simply love good writing, this is a title not to be missed.

If you enjoy this book, you might also like:

• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
• The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
• books by James Herriot
• Careers for Animal Lovers and Other Zoological Types by Louise Miller