Members Only

Reading Circle Program

2009-10 TRUMAN READERS AWARD NOMINEES (Grades 9-12)

Atherton: The House of Power, by Patrick Carman. Little, Brown and Co., ©2007. Edgar, an 11-year-old orphan, finds a book that reveals significant secrets about Atherton, the strictly divided world in which he lives. Book one in the Atherton series.

Carpe Diem, by Autumn Cornwell. Macmillan, ©2007. Sixteen-year-old Vassar Spore's detailed plans for her life are derailed when her bohemian grandmother insists that she join her in Southeast Asia for the summer.

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam, by Cynthia Kadohata. Penguin, ©2007. A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog.

Diamonds in the Shadow, by Caroline Cooney. Random House, ©2007. The Finches, a Connecticut family, sponsor an African refugee family, all of whom have been scarred by the horrors of civil war, and who inadvertently put their benefactors in harm's way.

Eighth Grade Bites: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, by Heather Brewer. Penguin, ©2007. For 13 years, Vlad, aided by his aunt and best friend, has kept secret that he is half-vampire. When his missing teacher is replaced by a sinister substitute, he learns that there is more to being a vampire, and to his parents' deaths, than he could have guessed. Book one in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series.

First Light, by Rebecca Stead. Random House, ©2007. When 12-year-old Peter and his family arrive in Greenland for his father's research, he stumbles upon a secret his mother has been hiding from him all his life, and begins an adventure he never imagined possible.

Games, by Carol Gorman. HarperCollins, ©2007. When two 14-year-old rivals fight too often, the new principal has them play games in his office, so they can learn which battles are worth fighting.

Into the Wild, by Sarah Beth Durst. Penguin, ©2007. Having escaped from the Wild and the preordained fairy tale plots it imposes, Rapunzel, along with her daughter Julie Marchen, tries to live a fairly normal life. When the Wild breaks free and takes over their town, Julie has to prevent everyone from being trapped in the events of a story.

The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California, by Mary Hershey. Penguin, ©2007. Alastair, a 13-year-old who calls himself "Stump" because of his amputated leg, must face a summer at his wealthy but estranged father's beach house in Los Angeles. There he meets his stepmother, falls in love with a teenage soap opera star, and decides to train for a race with a former Olympic swim coach.

Shark Girl, by Kelly Bingham. Candlewick Press, ©2007. After a shark attack causes the amputation of her right arm, 15-year-old Jane, an aspiring artist, struggles to come to terms with her loss.

Tapestry: Hound of Rowan, by Henry Neff. Random House, ©2007. After glimpsing a hint of his destiny in a mysterious tapestry, 12-year-old Max McDaniels becomes a student at Rowan Academy. There he trains in "mystics and combat" to prepare for war with an ancient enemy that has been kidnapping children like himself. Book one of the Tapestry series.

Zen and the Art of Faking It, by Jordan Sonneblick. Scholastic, ©2007. Thirteen-year-old San Lee looks for a way to stand out when he moves to a new town and school for the umpteenth time.