FictionThePoetX,byElizabethAcevedoXiomara Batista feels unheard in herHarlemneighborhood.Shehaslearnedtoletherfistsandherfiercenessdothetalking.Xiomarahasplentyshewantstosay, and she pours all her frustrationand passion into writing, reciting thewords to herself like prayers—especiallyaftershecatchesfeelingsforaboyinherbioclassnamedAman,whoherfamilycanneverknowabout.Whensheisinvitedtojoinherschool’sslampoetryclub,shedoesn’tknowhowshecouldeverattendwithouthermami findingout.But shestill can’tstopthinkingaboutperformingherpoems.Becauseinthefaceofaworldthatmaynotwanttohearher,Xiomararefusestobesilent.[RealisticFiction/Verse]ChildrenofBlood&Bone,byTomiAdeyemi

They killed my mother. They took ourmagic.Theytriedtoburyus.Nowwerise.Zélie rememberswhen thesoilofOrïshahummedwithmagic.WhenZélie’sReapermotherwouldsummonsouls.Everythingchanged the night magic disappeared.Under the orders of a ruthless king,

anyonewithpowerswastargetedandkilled,leavingZéliewithoutamotherandherpeoplewithouthope.Nowshehasachancetobringbackmagictoherpeopleandstrikeagainstthemonarchy.Withthehelpofarogueprincess,Zéliemust learn toharnessherpowersandoutrun thecrownprince,whoishell-bentoneradicatingmagicforgood.TomiAdeyemiconjuresa stunningworldofdarkmagicanddanger in herWestAfrican-inspired fantasydebut.[Fantasy]Spin,byLamarGilesSixteen-year-oldParisSecord's(akaDJParSec)career—andlifehascometoanuntimely end. No one feels the painmore thanher shunnedpre-famebestfriend, Kya, and Paris's chief groupie,Fuse.EachsuspectstheotherofParis'smurder, and soon they're locked in ahigh-stakesgameofpublicaccusationsandsabotage—untilKyaandFusediscoverasecret:Pariswasonthevergeofmajordealthatwould'vecatapultedhertosuperstarstatusonanationallevel,leavingheroldlife (and old friends) behind.With the new info comesnewmotives.Newsuspects.Andafandomthatshowsitsdeadlyside.AsKyaandFusecomeclosertothetwistedtruth, thekiller isno longeramused.ButmurderingDJParSecwassimpleenough,sogettingridofhernobody-friendsshouldn'tbeanissue...[RealisticFiction/Mystery]

TheSummerPrince,byAlayaDawnJohnsonAheart-stoppingstoryoflove,death,technology,andart

setamidthetropicsofafuturisticBrazil.ThelushcityofPalmaresTresshimmerswith tech and tradition, with screaminggossip casters and practiced politicians.JuneCostacreatesartthat'ssuretomakeher legendary. But her dreams of famebecomesomethingmorewhenshemeetsEnki, the bold new Summer King. Thewholecityfallsinlovewithhim,butJune

seesmore toEnki thanambereyesanda lethal samba.Sheseesafellowartist.Together,JuneandEnkiwillstageexplosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Tres willnever forget. Theywill add fuel to a growing rebellionagainst thegovernment's strict limitsonnewtech.AndJune will fall deeply—and unfortunately—in love withEnki.BecauselikeallSummerKingsbeforehim,Enkiisdestinedtodie.[Speculative/DystopianFiction/SciFi]

OppositeofAlways,byJustinA.ReynoldsWhenJackandKatemeetataparty,Jack knowshe's falling—hard.Soonshe'smeetinghisbestfriends,JillianandFranny,andKatewinsthemoveraseasilyas shedid Jack.…But thenKatedies.Andtheirstoryshouldendthere. Yet Kate's death sends Jackback to the beginning, the momentthey first meet, and Kate's thereagain—happy,andcharmingasever.Jackisn'tsureifhe'slosinghismind.Still,ifhehasachancetopreventKate'sdeath,he'lltakeit—evenifthatmeansbelievingintimetravel. Jack will learn that his actions are not withoutconsequences. When one choice turns deadly forsomeoneelseclosetohim,hehastofigureoutwhathe'swillingtodotosavethepeopleheloves.ForfansofNicolaYoon&JohnGreen.[Realistic/SpeculativeFiction]GraphicNovel

DrownedCity,byDonBrownOn August 29, 2005, HurricaneKatrina's monstrous winds andsurging water overwhelmed theprotectiveleveesaroundlow-lyingNew Orleans, Louisiana. Eightypercentofthecityflooded,insomeplacesunder twenty feetofwater.Property damages across the GulfCoast topped $100 billion. 1,833people lost their lives. The tale ofthishistoricstormandthedrowningofanAmericancityisoneofselflessness,heroism,andcourage—andalsoofincompetence,racism,andcriminality.

WACHUSETT REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING 2020

Nonfiction&Memoir✪ BetweentheWorldandMe,byTa-NehisiCoates“Inaseriesofessays,writtenasalettertohisson,CoatesconfrontsthenotionofraceinAmericaandhowithasshapedAmericanhistory.Thoughtfullyexploringpersonalandhistoricalevents,theauthorpoignantlyasksandattemptstoanswerdifficultquestions.FromhispassionateanddeliberatebreakdownoftheconceptofraceitselftotheimportanceoftheBlackLivesMattermovement,CoatespowerfullysumsuptheterriblehistoryofthesubjugationofblackpeopleintheUnitedStates.Thisstunning,NationalBookAward-winningmemoirshouldberequiredreadingforhighschoolstudentsandadultsalike.”(SummaryandreviewfromSchoolLibraryJournal)✪WRHSStaffBookClubpickDiscoveringWesMoore,byWesMoore

Twomen.Oneovercameadversity.Theothersufferedtheindignitiesofpoverty.The story of “the otherWesMoore” isone that the author couldn’t get out ofhis mind, not since he learned thatanother boy with his name—just twoyearshis senior—grewup in thesameBaltimoreneighborhood.Hewrotethat

boy—now a man—a letter, not expecting to receive areply.Butareplycame,andafriendshipgrew,aslettersturnedintovisitsandthetwomengottoknoweachother.Eventually,thatfriendshipbecametheinspirationforthisbook,amovingandcautionarytaleexaminingthefactorsthat contribute to success and failure—and thechoicesthatmakeallthedifference.The57Bus,byDashkaSlater

One teenager in a skirt. One teenagerwithalighter.Onemomentthatchangesbothoftheirlivesforever.Ifitweren’tforthe 57 bus, Sasha and Richard neverwouldhavemet.BothwerehighschoolstudentsfromOakland,California,oneofthemostdiversecitiesinthecountry,buttheyinhabiteddifferentworlds.Sasha,awhite teen, lived in the middle-class

foothillsandattendedasmallprivateschool.Richard,ablack teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands andattended a large public one. Each day, their pathsoverlappedforamereeightminutes.Butoneafternoononthebusridehomefromschool,asinglerecklessactleftSasha severely burned, and Richard charged with twohate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The casegarnered international attention, thrusting bothteenagersintothespotlight.

BrownGirlDreaming,byJacquelineWoodson

“RaisedinSouthCarolinaandNewYork,Woodsonalwaysfelthalfwayhome ineachplace. Invividpoems,sheshareswhatitwasliketogrowup as an African American in the 1960sand1970s,livingwiththeremnantsofJimCrowandher growingawareness of theCivil Rights movement. Touching andpowerful, each poem is emotionallycharged,eachlineaglimpseintoayoungperson’ssoulasshesearchesforherplaceintheworld”(Goodreads).ThisbookwontheNationalBookAwardforYoung People’s Literature, a Newbery Honor, and theCoretta Scott King Award for the author (among otherprestigiousrecognitions).Don’tletthatscareyou!BrownGirlDreaming is tremendously readableandbeautifullywritten.

SeenOnScreen

Checkouttheexcellentbooksthatinspiredthefilms!

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda,

by Becky Albertalli [Filmed as Love, Simon]

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,

by Jenny Han

Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon

LearnmoreaboutWRHS’sSummerReadingListat

https://wrhs.wrsd.net/

A. Stern for Wachusett Regional High School Holden, MA

wrhslibrary.weebly.com/summer-reading

• Summer 2020•