When my district switched our classroom websites to Blackboard, I lost years of student book recommendations.
So as one of the last assignments, I asked my ninth graders to pick their favorite independent novel from this year and write one sentence why they liked it. So you can stock your classroom libraries for next year, the top vote-getters with unedited rationales follow.
The Wake series by Lisa McMann–“It was a good book with a good plot.”
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak– “I liked it because it made you think about who it could be.”
Denton Little’s Death Date by Lance Rubin — “It made you think, and it was hilarious.”
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher– “It had a lot of suspense and I liked how the girl had recorder everything before she died.”
Paper Towns by John Green– “The concept was different and the plot never gets boring. And it’s very popular.”
Ones that I couldn’t believe didn’t make the list but were continuously checked out of my classroom library–
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo– Magic, adventure, a heist, romantic undercurrents, mystery. Fans of Eragon, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, etc. will devour this.
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby–Mystery, fantasy, kidnapping, identity, and a cool twist. After the students left, the teachers took my copies and are passing them around for the summer.
Snitch, Street Pharm, and Takedown by Allison Van Diepen–Three different books about drugs, gangs, and things like that. My reluctant readers especially eat these up and then pass them to their friends. By far, my most stolen books. And in my world, that’s the highest form of praise.
There you go. Read a couple this summer. Stock your library. I think I’ll try this again next year but require two sentences for the rationale, since these turned out so vague. I’m adding new books to my September book talk but keeping these popular ones, so I’m interested to see what makes the list next year.
Ciao. Happy reading.
Tony Varrato's Rambling Blog 