Book Clubs

Students will choose a book from the list below, then read it independently at school. In order to ensure that everyone is reading at approximately the same pace, students will divide the total number of pages by three, and plan to read that quotient each week, for three weeks. In class, students will participate in discussions and complete partner activities with their book clubs, then work on a final book project AT HOME. Clubs must be between 4-6 students each to ensure depth of discussions. 5 Weeks of intense reading! 

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world... ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America... MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe... All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

REFUGEE 352 Pages, 800L. -- three protagonists

Infiltrate. Befriend. Sabotage. World War II is raging. Michael O'Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth. But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies. Michael despises everything the Nazis stand for. But he joins in the Hitler Youth's horrific games and book burnings, playing the part so he can gain insider knowledge. When Michael learns about Projekt 1065, a secret Nazi war mission, things get even more complicated. He must prove his loyalty to the Hitler Youth at all costs -- even if it means risking everything he cares about. Including... his own life.

PROJEKT 1065 320 Pages 780L -- one protagonist

GROUND ZERO, 336 Pages 690L. -- two protagonists

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. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive -- and escape? September 11, 2019, Afghanistan: RESHMINA has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz -- and put herself and her family in mortal danger? Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same.

ALLIES 336 Pages 780L -- YOU CAN ONLY READ ALLIES IF YOU ALSO READ RESIST -- three protagonists

June 6, 1944: The Nazis are terrorizing Europe, on their evil quest to conquer the world. The only way to stop them? The biggest, most top-secret operation ever, with the Allied nations coming together to storm German-occupied France. Welcome to D-Day. DEE, a young U.S. soldier, is on a boat racing toward the French coast. He feels the weight of World War II on his shoulders. Behind enemy lines in France, a girl named SAMIRA works as a spy, trying to sabotage the German army. Meanwhile, paratrooper JAMES leaps from his plane to join a daring midnight raid. And in the thick of battle, Henry, a medic, searches for lives to save. In a breathtaking race against time, they all must fight to complete their high-stakes missions. But with betrayals and deadly risks at every turn, can the Allies do what it takes to win?

RESIST 80 Pages 810L -- YOU CAN ONLY READ RESIST IF YOU ALSO READ ALLIES -- one protagonist

SAMIRA ZIDANE lives in Nazi-occupied France during World War II...and she has a secret. She and her mother are spies for the underground resistance. They crack codes and trade messages that will help sabotage the Nazis' plans. When her mother is captured by enemy soldiers, Samira must travel through the war-torn countryside on a desperate and daring rescue mission. And today just happens to be D-Day: the pivotal moment when Allied soldiers are landing in France. Battles rage all around her, and Samira only has a small dog named Cyrano for company. Can she find a way to save her mother before time runs out?

PRISONER B-3087 272 Pages 760L -- one protagonist

10 concentration camps. 10 different places where you are starved, tortured, and worked mercilessly. It's something no one could imagine surviving. But it is what YANEK GRUENER has to face. As a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the Nazis who have taken over. Everything he has, and everyone he loves, have been snatched brutally from him. And then Yanek himself is taken prisoner -- his arm tattooed with the words PRISONER B-3087. He is forced from one nightmarish concentration camp to another, as World War II rages all around him. He encounters evil he could have never imagined, but also sees surprising glimpses of hope amid the horror. He just barely escapes death, only to confront it again seconds later. Can Yanek make it through the terror without losing his hope, his will -- and, most of all, his sense of who he really is inside?

December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes. FRANK and STANLEY are touring a battleship when Japanese planes zoom overhead, dropping bomb after bomb. As explosions roar and sailors scream, Frank and Stanley realize the unthinkable is happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them. Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere--from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach... to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neighbors show Stanley. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanley is suddenly seen as the "enemy." And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing. If the boys make it through this infamous day, can their friendship--and their dreams--survive? Or has everything they know been destroyed?

It's 1945, and the world is in the grip of war. HIDEKI lives on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. When WWII crashes onto his shores, Hideki is drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed a grenade and a set of instructions: Don't come back until you've killed an American soldier. RAY, a young American Marine, has just landed on Okinawa. He doesn't know what to expect -- or if he'll make it out alive. He just knows that the enemy is everywhere.Hideki and Ray each fight their way across the island, surviving heart-pounding ambushes and dangerous traps. But when the two of them collide in the middle of the battle, the choices they make in that instant will change everything.From the acclaimed author of Refugee comes this high-octane story of how fear can tear us apart, and how hope can tie us back together.

Fire. Ice. Flood. Three climate disasters. Four kids fighting for their lives. AKIRA is riding her horse in the California woods when a wildfire sparks--and grows scarily fast. How can she make it to safety when there are flames everywhere? OWEN and his best friend, GEORGE, are used to seeing polar bears on the snowy Canadian tundra. But when one bear gets way too close for comfort, do the boys have any chance of surviving? NATALIE hunkers down at home as a massive hurricane barrels toward Miami. When the floodwaters crash into her house, Natalie is dragged out into the storm--with nowhere to hide. Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie are all swept up in the devastating effects of climate change. They are also connected in ways that will shock them--and could alter their destinies forever.

In 1936 Berlin, nothing is what it seems... EVIE HARRIS can't believe her luck: She's competing in the Olympics, along with fellow American athletes like Jesse Owens. True, there's something creepy about Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, who watches over the games with his Nazi henchmen. But Evie's just here to win a gold medal in gymnastics. Until she discovers a horrible secret. Behind all the Olympic fanfare, the Nazis have Berlin in an iron grip of terror and violence--and war is brewing. When Evie becomes embroiled in a mysterious plot to help steal Nazi gold, she must navigate the city's darkest corners and hidden passageways, never knowing who she can trust. With lives on the line and her family's future at stake, Evie has to choose between following her Olympic dreams and standing up to evil... before it's too late.

WAR GAMES 368 Pages 900L -- one protagonist

TWO DEGREES 384 Pages 770L -- four protagonists

GRENADE 288 Pages 760L -- two protagonists

HEROES 272 Pages 730L -- two protagonists

CAPTAIN AMERICA THE GHOST ARMY 176 Pages 480L

In this thrilling historical adventure set during World War II, Steve Rogers (AKA Captain America) and his young sidekick, Bucky Barnes, encounter threat like none they've ever seen -- a Ghost Army. The dead of this war and wars past are coming back to life, impervious to bullets, flames, or anything else the Allies can throw at them. The armies rise from the ground in the night and seem to disappear without a trace. How can Cap and Buck fight something that's already dead? And just what does the mysterious Baron Mordo―sitting in his castle atop nearby Wundagore Mountain―have to do with this?

CODE OF HONOR 288 Pages 660L -- one protagonist

KAMRAN SMITH has it all. He's the star of the football team, dates the most popular girl in school, and can't wait to join the Army like his big brother, Darius. Although Kamran's family hails from Iran, Kamran has always felt 100% American. Accepted. And then everything implodes.Darius is accused of being a terrorist. Kamran refuses to believe it, but the evidence is there -- Darius has been filmed making threats against his country, hinting at an upcoming deadly attack. Kamran's friends turn on him -- suddenly, in their eyes, he's a terrorist, too. Kamran knows it's up to him to clear his brother's name. In a race against time, Kamran must piece together a series of clues and codes that will lead him to Darius -- and the truth.But is it a truth Kamran is ready to face? And is he putting his own life at risk?

REFUGEE THE GRAPHIC NOVEL 176 PAGES 800L

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world... ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America... MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe... All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.