Literature Circles
The following books are included in literature circles. Keep in mind that some classes have books available for literature circles that others do not.
Adrift The Bean Trees Breathing Underwater Escape from Camp 14 A Dog's Purpose A Hole In My Life Into the Wild The House On Mango Street Runner Tuesdays With Morrie The following are the links that you can copy and paste into your browser to access QUIZLET site that will help students study for weeks One/Two vocabulary tests: A Dog's Purpose: https://quizlet.com/_1a1596 Into the Wild: https://quizlet.com/_1a0uj4 Tuesdays with Morrie: https://quizlet.com/_19yakw Hole In My Life: https://quizlet.com/_19y90w Adrift: https://quizlet.com/_19y47z Runner: https://quizlet.com/_19y3cp Bean Trees: https://quizlet.com/_19xvtz See below for the weekly vocabulary for each book (books are listed alphabetically by title) |
Below are copies of the weekly jobs for literary circles. Students should normally have one job a week plus vocabulary.
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Adrift
by Steven Callahan
Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan’s Adrift chronicled one of the most astounding voyages of the century and one of the great sea adventures of all time. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is now an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived for more than a month alone at sea, fighting for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days from port.
Racked by hunger, buffeted by storms, scorched by the tropical sun, Callahan drifted for 1,800 miles, fighting off sharks with a makeshift spear and watching as nine ships passed him by. “A real human drama that delves deeply into man’s survival instincts” (Library Journal), Adrift is a story of anguish and horror, of undying heroism, hope, and survival, and a must-read for any adventure lover.
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The Bean Trees
by Barbara Kingsolver
Feisty Marietta Greer changes her name to "Taylor" when her car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Ill. By the time she reaches Oklahoma, this strong-willed young Kentucky native with a quick tongue and an open mind is catapulted into a surprising new life. Taylor leaves home in a beat-up '55 Volkswagen bug, on her way to nowhere in particular, savoring her freedom. But when a forlorn Cherokee woman drops a baby in Taylor's passenger seat and asks her to take it, she does.
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Breathing Underwater
by Alex Flinn
Summary: Nick is one of the chosen few at his high school: intelligent, popular, wealthy. People think his life is pretty easy. Except for one thing. Nick has never told anyone about his father's violent temper.
When Nick meets Caitlin, he thinks that she is the answer to all his problems. Caitlin is everything Nick has ever wanted - beautiful, talented, and in love with him. But then it all changes. And Nick must face the fact that he's gotten more from his father than green eyes and money. In a harrowing journey of self-discovery, Nick learns the truth about himself - and that the phrase "like father, like son" can carry terrifying possibilities. Look for Diva, the sequel to Breathing Underwater.
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A Dog's Purpose
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Summary: This novel, told from a dog’s perspective, has the highest reader-ranking of any recent New York Times Bestseller. Probably what makes this story so beloved and unique is that it is told from the perspective of a real dog — that is, not a dog who understands English or talks to other dogs or animals. Often, this results in hilarious misunderstandings — just as in real life.
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A Hole In My Life
by Jack Gantos
In the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a dead-end job. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixty-foot yacht loaded with a ton of hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York City, where he and his partners sold the drug until federal agents caught up with them. For his part in the conspiracy, Gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison. In Hole in My Life, this prizewinning author of over thirty books for young people confronts the period of struggle and confinement that marked the end of his own youth.
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Into The Wild
by Jon Krakauer
Summary: In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild
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The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero.
Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers |
Runner
by Carl Deuker
Summary: Chance Taylor could have been a great high school runner, but with a mother who has deserted the family and a father battling alcoholism, the kind of running he does is much more dangerous than anything a runner on the track team does. It's only going to be for a short time, he tells himself over and over. Nothing can happen in a short time, can it? Drug smuggling, terroristm, and the struggle to survive on the edge of poverty, Runner will get you thinking.
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Tuesdays With Morrie
by Mitch Albom
Summary: Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
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