Made Possible Through Generous Grants From

WTHS BIG SUMMER READ 2015

Made possible through generous grants from The Centennial Education Foundation

The Centennial Education Foundation (CEF) is a 501c3 tax-exempt, non-profit organization committed to providing enriching educational opportunities, programs and projects for students in the Centennial School District. CEF is independent of the School District. The Centennial Education Association

The CEA represents the professional staff of the Centennial School District, serving the municipalities of Warminster Township, Upper Southampton Township, and Ivyland Borough.

Contents Rationale for Summer Reading WTHS Big Summer Read 2015 Book Descriptions and Reviews Rationale Many studies lament the “Summer Brain Drain” for students. Students lose, on average, 2.5 months of learning over the summer. A 2014 study also warned of a dramatic drop in reading among teens. William Tennent High School does not currently have a formal summer reading requirement, other than the required readings for AP classes. Past attempts to create a program or even a summer reading list have met with mixed success. The basic drawback has always been how to hold students accountable for reading over the summer. The WTHS Big Summer Read offers a different approach. Instead of making reading over the summer an onerous task—a burden to students, parents, and teachers--we proposed making summer reading an “incentivized” activity. Open to volunteer participants, with the emphasis on reading and enjoying a good book (as opposed to studying one of the “Great Books”), our program is inspired by Penn Literacy Network and our own experiences of connecting kids with good books. A 2015 article in School Library Journal advised just such a “flipped” approach to summer reading. We have piloted a variation of a One Book-One School program, choosing one (or a few) titles for the WTHS community to share. Many universities now begin freshman orientation with a common reading experience. The idea builds community and helps establish a foundation for the academic year. Our plan is to have multiple copies of our selected title(s) available for students, including e- book versions available for students to access remotely over the summer. We also recruit additional staff members to participate. We use all available school media to promote the books at the end of the school year. At the end of the summer, we host a book club-like gathering, with staff members facilitating small group discussions. We offer some kind of incentive for students who read the books and participate in the discussions. The incentives could be some form of extra credit points, movie passes (perhaps arranged through a community partnership), or book-related giveaways. For our pilot in 2014, we chose two novels which had generated a lot of “buzz” at the time: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. We had 150 students choose to sign up to participate as well as 30 staff members. We hosted lunch in September for our participants; students and staff gathered in the Library to enjoy good food and a good discussion.

Janemarie Cloutier Nancy Linville Molly Leahy WTHS Librarian WTHS Reading Specialist WTHS English Teacher Program Coordinator Secondary Libraries Literacy Coach Lead Teacher Reading & Language Arts WTHS BIG SUMMER READ 2015 The Books:

OR The Challenge: Choose one of these books to read over the summer.

Join in a casual discussion with faculty and friends when summer ends.

The Rewards: Obviously, the experience of reading a great book… but we will have some other surprises to offer.

The requirements: Stop by the Library to sign up Extra copies of each book will be available to borrow from the WTHS Library for the summer. READ, READ, READ!

WTHS BIG SUMMER READ 2015 THE BOOKS OF SUMMER 2015

Boy 21 Matthew Quick Basketball has always been an escape for Finley and his equally basketball driven girlfriend, Erin. Finley lives in broken-down Bellmont, New Jersey, a town ruled by the mob, drugs, violence, and racially- charged rivalries. At home, his dad works nights and Finley is left alone to take care of his disabled grandfather. He’s always dreamed of somehow getting out, but until he can, putting on that number 21 jersey makes everything seem okay. Russ has just moved to the neighborhood. The life of this teen basketball phenom has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he won’t even pick up a basketball, and yet answers only to the name Boy21—taken from his former jersey number.

More information & book trailer

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Childrren Ransom Riggs A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. Soon to be a film directed by Tim Burton. More information & book trailer Reviews for Boy 21 The New York Time Book Review …beautiful…Boy21…manages to avoid classic sports-novel devices. The story doesn't lead to each team member setting aside ego or culminate in the championship game. In fact, the basketball season fades as dangerous neighborhood elements converge on the people Finley cares about…It is this depth that makes Boy21 more than a first-rate novel fueled by basketball; it's a first-rate work of art.

The Horn Book "Every aspect of this multilayered novel harmonizes...excellently set-up twists display Quick's mastery of pacing; authentic dialogue and deft character development ensure both our emotional investment in these richly complex boys and also our empathizing with their main commonality--feeling like "you're not the person on the outside that you are on the inside.""

Publishers Weekly High school senior Finley has always hoped that his basketball skills will help him escape the dead-end streets of Bellmont, a racially divided town outside Philadelphia, where his future seems bleak. As the only white guy on his school’s basketball team, Finley is acutely aware of the uneasy relationship between Bellmont’s substantial Irish- and African-American populations. Then Finley’s coach introduces him to Russ, a black teenager who, ever since his parents were murdered, has retreated into a strange internal world, claiming to be an extraterrestrial known as Boy21. As Finley and Boy21’s friendship slowly strengthens, they help each other change and grow; both boys attempt to understand past tragedies in their lives, as well as a new one involving Finley’s girlfriend, Erin, which further disrupts Finley’s understanding of the world. As in Sorta Like a Rock Star, Quick comes perilously close to overstuffing his story with offbeat characters and brutal twists of fate. Yet his emotionally raw tale retains a delicate sense of hope and optimism, making it a real gut punch of a read. Ages 12–up. VOYA Philadelphia is where Finley calls home, even though it is laden with Irish mob crime, some of which is family history, though most of it is skillfully hidden just below the surface, silently mixing with Finley's performance on the basketball court, his obligations to his father and handicapped grandfather, and a dubious accident involving his girlfriend during basketball season. Quick has created a formidable character in Finley, someone readers can peel back the layers of to discover a benevolent and loyal high school senior whose moniker, White Rabbit, singles him out as the only white kid on the basketball team. Finley's coach has asked him to befriend a new recruit, Russ, who is painstakingly recovering from the death of his parents, where Russ's unusual coping mechanism has unsettled other players though Finley, while not ready to confess his mother's death, questions their friendship when both play the same position. Yet, the altruistic tendencies Finley has for his family also play out as Russ takes center stage on the court pushing Finley to the sidelines. Necessary of course is a distraction that becomes a life-altering choice to leave the team when his girlfriend, Erin, mysteriously disappears after a career-ending injury that artfully brings Finley and his family full circle to their Irish mob beginnings. The quality of the story is reliant on Finley's appeal which is quietly sentimental and compelling from his relentless basketball regimen to his mental game. Boys will identify with his sportsmanship and team and family commitments, but will need some encouragement to pick up the book with a quirky outer-space theme, while girls will sympathize with each character's struggle to move beyond the past and create their future. Children's Literature Finley is basically a good kid, despite the gang riddled neighborhood that he lives in and his tragic past that is only alluded to because he refuses to talk about it. In fact, he doesn't talk about much at all. All he does is play basketball and hang out with Erin, his understanding and patient girlfriend. Finley's coach asks him for a personal favor of befriending a promising and talented high school basketball player who has suffered the devastating murder of both of his parents and now wears a cape and refers to himself as "Boy 21." Finley complies, even though it may jeopardize his own spot on the team. This seems to be the main plot of this captivating and well-written novel until Erin is suddenly hit by a car. To make matters worse, it seems she was intentionally hit and now she refuses to see or speak to Finley ever again. Finley stops playing basketball and instead spends his time searching for answers. In his gang infested town he slowly learns that there are some things you're better off not knowing. Readers will root for Finley who is an unspoken hero who puts others ahead of himself, and deserves so much more than what he has.

School Library Journal Gr 8 Up—High school senior Finley lives with his widowed father and disabled grandfather and dreams of escaping the violence, Irish mob, and racial conflicts of Bellmont, near Philadelphia. His passions are basketball and his girlfriend, Erin. The only white player on his team, Finley trains intensively for his final season as point guard. When Coach Wilkins tells him that Russell Allen, a sensational but troubled basketball player, is enrolling in his school, Finley is puzzled by the coach's insistence that he befriend Russ. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, the two boys gradually connect. As Russ begins to emerge from the emotional trauma of his parents' murder, Coach Wilkins is determined to have him play, costing Finley his starting position and #21 jersey. Then, Erin is the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Finley's world is upended, and this time Russ offers comfort. Mysteriously denied access to hospitalized Erin, Finley learns that she was a target of gang violence and has been safely "relocated." Throughout this page-turner, Finley's stoic, pensive, compassionate demeanor; Russ's intriguing obsession with outer space; the conflict between friends over basketball; and Erin and Finley's commitment to each other ring true. Coach Wilkins's manipulation of Finley and the team sports dilemma of merit vs. talent will spark discussion. Although Irish mob connections with Finley's family and Erin's brother are briefly mentioned, Erin's accident and the abrupt conclusion that sends her and Finley into hiding, under mob protection, are not well explained. Nonetheless, characters are memorable and well developed; dialogue is crisp and authentic; and issues of responsibility, fairness, and loyalty will engage readers. Kirkus Reviews In a town partially controlled by the Irish mob, a quiet friendship develops between two basketball players. Finley doesn't say much, and his basketball teammates fondly call him White Rabbit, both for his quiet demeanor and for being the only white player on his high school team. He is surprised but willing when his coach introduces him to Russ Washington and asks Finley to look after him. Russ, a nationally recognized athlete, is experiencing post-traumatic stress after the murder of his parents. While there are hints that something in Finley's own past makes this assignment particularly relevant, Finley quietly but firmly refuses to discuss his own history with other characters or with readers. Instead, they see the friendship among the two boys and Finley's girlfriend, Erin, gently unfold and the mysteries surrounding Russ deepen. Does Russ want to play basketball or not? Does he really believe he is an alien called Boy21? The answers here are satisfying but never simple, and the setting, a working-class town where asking too many questions can have deadly consequences, is a bleak, haunting foil to the boys' comfortable silence. Family relationships are well-drawn, and foreshadowing is effective without being predictable. A story that, like Finley, expresses a lot in relatively few words. (Fiction. 12 & up) Reviews for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children “A tense, moving, and wondrously strange first novel. The photographs and text work together brilliantly to create an unforgettable story.”—John Green, New York Times best-selling author of Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns “With its X-Men: First Class-meets-time-travel story line, David Lynchian imagery, and rich, eerie detail, it’s no wonder Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has been snapped up by Twentieth Century Fox. B+”—Entertainment Weekly

“‘Peculiar’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Riggs’ chilling, wondrous novel is already headed to the movies.”—People

“[A] thrilling, Tim Burton-esque tale with haunting photographs.”—USA Today

“Readers searching for the next Harry Potter may want to visit Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”—CNN “You'll love it if you want a good thriller for the summer. It's a mystery, and you'll race to solve it before Jacob figures it out for himself.”—Seventeen “Riggs deftly moves between fantasy and reality, prose and photography to create an enchanting and at times positively terrifying story.”—Associated Press

“His premise is clever, and Jacob and the children are intriguing characters.”—Booklist

“Somewhat reminiscent of Jack Finney’s Time and Again, Rigg’s first novel is enchanting…highly recommended.”—Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine “Brace yourself for the last 70 pages of relentless, squirm-in-your-chair action. I loved every minute of it.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer “Though technically a children's book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is more Grimm's than Disney, and Riggs images, dropped like bread crumbs, could lead audiences of any age happily down the path of its spellbinding tale.”—Florida Times-Union Publishers Weekly Riggs's atmospheric first novel concerns 16-year-old Jacob, a tightly wound but otherwise ordinary teenager who is "unusually susceptible to nightmares, night terrors, the Creeps, the Willies, and Seeing Things That Aren't Really There." When Jacob's grandfather, Abe, a WWII veteran, is savagely murdered, Jacob has a nervous breakdown, in part because he believes that his grandfather was killed by a monster that only they could see. On his psychiatrist's advice, Jacob and his father travel from their home in Florida to Cairnholm Island off the coast of Wales, which, during the war, housed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Abe, a Jewish refugee from the Nazis, lived there before enlisting, and the mysteries of his life and death lead Jacob back to that institution. Nearly 50 unsettling vintage photographs appear throughout, forming the framework of this dark but empowering tale, as Riggs creates supernatural backstories and identities for those pictured in them (a boy crawling with bees, a girl with untamed hair carrying a chicken). It's an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters. Ages 12–up. Library Journal Sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman no longer believes the stories his grandfather told him when he was a little boy. These are obviously fairy tales about children with mysterious abilities, such as a girl who could levitate and a boy with bees inside him, and not real memories from his grandfather's childhood. Grandpa's sepia-toned photographs of his strange friends also seem fake to Jacob. However, when he gets a chance to visit the island where the stories took place, he can't resist delving into his grandfather's past. Could these odd children really have existed? VERDICT An original work that defies categorization, this first novel should appeal to readers who like quirky fantasies. Suitable for both adults and a YA audience. Riggs includes many vintage photographs that add a critical touch of the peculiar to his unusual tale. School Library Journal Gr 8 Up—Sixteen-year-old Jacob, traumatized by his grandfather's sudden, violent death, travels with his father to a remote island off the coast of Wales to find the orphanage where his grandfather was sent to live to escape Nazi persecution in Poland. When he arrives, he finds much more than he bargained for: the children from his grandfather's stories are still at the orphanage, living in a time loop in 1940. The monsters that killed Jacob's grandfather are hunting for "peculiar" children, those with special talents, and the group at the orphanage is in danger. Jacob must face the possibility that he, too, has certain traits that the monsters are after and that he is being stalked by adults he trusted. This complex and suspenseful story incorporates eerie photographs of children with seemingly impossible attributes and abilities, many of whom appear as characters in the story. The mysterious photographs add to the bizarre and slightly creepy tone of the book. Jacob is a strong and believable character, though only a few of the secondary characters are fully realized. The pacing of the story is good, alternating action sequences with Jacob's discoveries of his grandfather's long-hidden secrets. Readers will find this book unique and intriguing. Kirkus Reviews

Riggs spins a gothic tale of strangely gifted children and the monsters that pursue them from a set of eerie, old trick photographs. The brutal murder of his grandfather and a glimpse of a man with a mouth full of tentacles prompts months of nightmares and psychotherapy for 15-year-old Jacob, followed by a visit to a remote Welsh island where, his grandfather had always claimed, there lived children who could fly, lift boulders and display like weird abilities. The stories turn out to be true—but Jacob discovers that he has unwittingly exposed the sheltered "peculiar spirits" (of which he turns out to be one) and their werefalcon protector to a murderous hollowgast and its shape-changing servant wight. The interspersed photographs—gathered at flea markets and from collectors—nearly all seem to have been created in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and generally feature stone-faced figures, mostly children, in inscrutable costumes and situations. They are seen floating in the air, posing with a disreputable-looking Santa, covered in bees, dressed in rags and kneeling on a bomb, among other surreal images. A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end. (Horror/fantasy. 12-14)