Novel Study

Novel Study Choice

by Tessa Christiansen

​Rules

​Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public" --in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors.

​But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of fried, and Kristi, the potential next-door friend she's always wished for; it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?

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​Hatchet

​Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present-and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parents' divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self-pity, or despair-it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.

​Ban this Book

​It all started the day Amy Anne Ollinger tried to check out her favorite book in the whole world, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, from the school library. That's when Mrs. Jones, the librarian, told her the bad news: her favorite book was banned! All because a classmate's mom thought the book wasn't appropriate for kids to read.

​Amy Anee decides to fight back by starting a secret banned-books library out of her locker. As word spreads, Amy Anne's locker stash quickly grows into a school-wide sensation. Soon, she and her friends find themselves on the front line of an unexpected battle over book banning, censorship, and who has the right to decide what kids can read.

​ Class Dismissed

​Class 507 is the worst class Ms. Bryce has ever taught. And she would know-she's been teaching forever. They are so terrible that when a science experiment goes disastrously wrong (again), Ms. Bryce has had it and quits in the middle of the lesson. But through a mix-up, the school office never finds out.

Which means...Class 507 is teacher-free!

​The class figures if they don't tell anyone, it'll be one big holiday. Kyle and his friends can play games all day. Samantha decides she'll read magazines and give everyone (much needed) fashion advice. Adam is free to doodle everywhere without getting in trouble. Eric will be able to sit quietly and write stories with no one bothering him. And Maggie... well, as the smartest kid in the class she has an ambitious plan for this epic opportunity.

​But Class 507 quickly learns that school without a teacher isn't easy, working together is nearly impossible, and keeping a secret is harder than they ever imagined. Maybe even harder than fractions.

​Can they keep the principal, the rest of the students, and their parents from finding out? Or will the greatest school year ever turn into the worst disaster in school history.

​Ground Zero

​September 11, 2001. New York City

​Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive-and escape?

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September 11, 2019. Afganistan

Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Rishmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz--- and put herself and her family in mortal danger?

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