SHORT MONTH SHORT BOOKS 8 TH GRADE FEBRUARY

SHORT MONTH, SHORT BOOKS! 8 TH GRADE FEBRUARY BOOKTALKS

ORCHARDS BY HOLLY THOMPSON • Powerfully heavy story told in verse (poetry) centered on teenage Kana Goldberg, a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American • She and her friends engage in some thoughtless behavior towards a classmate, Ruth, never understanding the true impact their words can truly have • When Ruth takes her own life, details surface about reasons why, but who is to blame? • Kana is sent to Japan for the summer to reflect on her behavior and finds connection in the place her mother left behind • But when news of another tragedy reaches her across the world she must come home and find a way to make things right

I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME SCHROEDER LISA • Another novel told in verse • Tells the story of Ava and Jackson, high school sweethearts • The novel begins at a funeral…Jackson’s. He has died tragically and his girlfriend carries the weight of guilt over his untimely death • Though he is physically gone, Jackson starts haunting Ava whenever she is home • At first she is happy with the connection, but how can she live life in love with a ghost?

WORLDS AFIRE PAUL JANECZKO • This short novel, told in verse, shares haunting poems of dreams and disaster, heroism and heartbreak from a true event • The Hartford Circus Fire occurred July 6, 1944. • 167 people were killed (mostly women and children) • More than 500 were injured • News account

INVENTING ELLIOT BY GRAHAM GARDNER • main character is Elliot Sutton, a fourteen-year-old high school freshman, new student at Holminster High • He was the victim of brutal bullying in his last school and all he cares about is not being noticed for the wrong reasons • Things are going okay until he is forced to witness someone else being bullied---someone that isn’t him • He is introduced to the Guardians, upperclassmen obsessed with George Orwell’s 1984 and power. • They don’t want to terrorize Elliot though, they want him to join them…and eventually replace them. • What happens when the bullied becomes the bully? • Can you ever truly reinvent yourself?

EMAKO BLUE BY BRENDA WOODS • Fan-made trailer • Emako is a young girl growing up in a tough neighborhood • She decides to switch high schools to get a better education • Her talent is music and recording studios want to sign her, even at 15 -but she has to finish high school first • Told by multiple perspectives, this book packs many emotions into a small package • Does contain mature themes