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Reading Circle Program

GATEWAY READERS AWARD NOMINEES (Grades 9-12)

Born to Rock, by Gordon Korman. Hyperion, ©2006. Leo Caraway — young Republican and future Harvard student — had his future planned perfectly. That is, until the X factor got in the way. X as in Marion X. McMurphy, aka King Maggot, the leader of the most destructive punk band ever.

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life, by Dana Reinhardt. Random House, ©2006. Sixteen-year-old atheist Simone Turner-Bloom's life changes in unexpected ways when her parents convince her to make contact with her biological mother, an agnostic from a Jewish family who is losing her battle with cancer.

The Christopher Killer, by Alane Ferguson. Penguin, ©2006. On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, 17-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch a friend's killer. Meanwhile, she puts herself in terrible danger. Book one of the Forensic Mystery series.

Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper. Simon and Schuster, ©2006. Two 15-year-old girls — one a slave and the other an indentured servant — escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Mose, Fla., a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.

Dead Connection, by Charlie Price. Holtzbrinck, ©2006. A loner who communes with the dead in the town cemetery hears the voice of a murdered cheerleader and tries to convince the adults that he knows what happened to her.

Diva, by Alex Flinn. HarperCollins, ©2006. The road to stardom is paved with diva wannabes. Caitlin is not a diva — she has serious ex-boyfriend issues and a permanent yo-yo diet — until she gets into a performing-arts high school, where her angelic voice might get her somewhere.

Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson. Random House, ©2006. After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, a 16-year-old orphan travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself. She encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.

Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen. Penguin, ©2006. Isolated from friends who believe the worst because she has not been truthful with them, 16-year-old Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen. His honesty and passion for music help her to face and share what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.

Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Harcourt, ©2006. Through journal entries, 16-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Notes From the Midnight Driver, by Jordan Sonnenblick. Scholastic, ©2006. After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, 16-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz-guitar playing, love and forgiveness.

Rooftop, by Paul Volponi. Penguin, ©2006. Clay and his cousin Addison connect in a daytime drug-treatment program for teens after being separated by a family feud. Their rekindled bond is cut short when Addison is shot by a police officer on a neighborhood rooftop. The story covers the challenges facing the urban poor, racial issues and the pressure on Clay to lie about Addison's role in the shooting.

Rules of Survival, by Nancy Werlin. Penguin, ©2006. A thought-provoking exploration of self-reliance and the nature of evil and a heart-wrenching portrait of a family in crisis. Matt and his two younger sisters are stuck with their abusive mother until Murdoch arrives and they begin to truly look toward a new life.

Sold, by Patricia McCormick. Hyperion, ©2006. Written in spare and evocative vignettes, this powerful novel brings 13-year-old Lakshmi to life. The young Nepalese girl whose family sold her into prostitution somehow finds the strength not only to endure, but to triumph.

Terrier: The Legend of Beka Cooper, by Tamora Pierce. Random House, ©2006. When 16-year-old Beka becomes "Puppy" to a pair of "Dogs," as the Provost's Guards are called, she uses her police training, natural abilities and a touch of magic to help them solve the case of a murdered baby in Tortall's Lower City. Book one of the Beka Cooper series.

What Happened to Cass McBride, by Gail Giles. Little, Brown and Co., ©2006. After his younger brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby decides to exact revenge on the person he holds responsible.