The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy by T. A. Barron

Long ago, Merlin planted a magical seed that beat like a heart-a seed that grew into the Great Tree of Avalon. For centuries,  this world has  flourished as a land of wonder, and mystery, a link between Heaven and Earth, a place where all creatures could live in harmony.

Now, though, Avalon reels from brutal attacks, mysterious droughts, and stranger evils yet. Then one night, just as the elusive Lady of the Lake predicted, all the stars in the sky suddenly go dark.

The fate of Avalon now rests with three young people: Tamwyn, a homeless wilderness guide: Elli, an escaped slave turned priestess; and  Scree, an eagleman with a startling secret. One of them is the true heir of Merlin, the only person who can save Avalon . . . and one of them is the dreaded child of the Dark Prophecy, and the person fated to destroy it.

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo-alone and unaided-who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside!

Dune by Frank Herbert

Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

Conquistador By Buddy Levy

It was a moment unique in human history, the face-to-face meeting between two men from civilizations a world apart. In 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived on the shores of Mexico, determined not only to expand the Spanish empire but to convert the natives to Catholicism and carry off a fortune in gold. That he saw nothing paradoxical in carrying out his intentions by virtually annihilating a proud and accomplished native people is one of the most remarkable and tragic aspects of this unforgettable story. In Tenochtitlán Cortés met his Aztec counterpart, Montezuma: king, divinity, commander of the most powerful military machine in the Americas and ruler of a city whose splendor equaled anything in Europe. Yet in less than two years, Cortés defeated the entire Aztec nation in one of the most astounding battles ever waged. The story of a lost kingdom, a relentless conqueror, and a doomed warrior, Conquistador is history at its most riveting.

Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card

Earth and its society has been changed irrevocably in the aftermath of Ender Wiggin's victory over the formics - the unity enforced upon the warring nations by an alien enemy has shattered.  Nations are rising again, seeking territory and influence, and most of all, seeking to control the skills and loyalty of the children from the battle school.

But one person has a better idea.  Peter Wiggin, Ender's older, more ruthless brother, sees that any hope for the future of earth lies in restoring a sense of unity and purpose.  And he has an irresistible call on the loyalty of Earth's young warriors.  With Bean at his side, the two will reshape our future.

Here is the continuing story of Bean and Petra, and the rest of Ender's Dragon Army, as they take their places in the new government of Earth.

The Things They Carried by Tim O' Brien

They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated Bibles, each other. And if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. Sience its first publication, The Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of American literature, and a profound study of men at war that illuminates the capacity, and the limits, of human heart and soul.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

For centuries mystical creatures were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary is one of the last strongholds of true magic. Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother must face the greatest challenge of their lives to save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world.

Word War Z by Max Brooks

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

This childhood classic relates a small-town boy's pranks and escapades with timeless humor and wisdom. In addition to his everyday stunts (searching for buried treasure, trying to impress the adored Becky Thatcher), Tom experiences a dramatic turn of events when he witnesses a murder, runs away, and returns to attend his own funeral and testify in court. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

Op-center:State of Siege by Tom Clancy

Driven by greed, a group of U.N. peacekeeping soldiers becomes involved in activities on the wrong side of the law. When their tour of duty ends, the mayhem begins. Calling themselves the "Keepers," the rogue soldiers -- outfitted with stolen U.N. arms and ammunition -- devise a shocking scheme to get the world's attention... Meanwhile, Op-Center head Paul Hood has cleared out his desk. But his retirement is short-lived. Demanding one hundred million dollars in ransom, the Keepers have taken over the U.N. -- where ambassadors from ten nations have gathered for a gala function at which Hood's daughter will perform. This time the Keepers have made it personal. And the Op-Center forces will strike with deadly vengeance...

Love Me Forever

Love Me Forever, by Johanna Lindsay, is a fairy tail set in the days of earls, heiresses, and kings in England. A young heiress in mourning for her mother's death, Lady Kimberly has been abandoned by her lifelong fiance. But Kimberly's father, the recently widowed Earl of Amburough, is intent upon marrying her off as quickly as possible- to please the jealous lover he longs to wed.

So the rather indelicate business of matchmaking begins. And Lachlan MacGregor, the dashing and newly impoverished Laird of Clan MacGregor, is deemed the worthy suitor. Kimberly, however, harbors a deep-seated dislike of gold-diggers, and the whole woeful state of affairs in general.

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

This gripping, action-packed novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin—a fierce, hotheaded young man bent on revenging his father’s death by forcing the Romans from his land of Israel. Daniel’s palpable hatred for Romans wanes only when he starts to hear the gentle lessons of the traveling carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth. A fast-paced, suspenseful, vividly wrought tale of friendship, loyalty, the idea of home, community . . . and ultimately, as Jesus says to Daniel on page 224: “Can’t you see, Daniel, it is hate that is the enemy.

Hercule Poirot (50 Stories) By: Agatha Christie

The Affair at the Victory Ball:

When there's a murder at a masquerade ball Poirot solves the murder. Lord Cronshaw, died i think.

Question about your records as a reader

Dear Once (and Future?) Students,

I’m curious about your use of the reading record.  Are you using it?  Did you ever use it (I know some of you were supposed to)?  If you can answer yes to either question, I want to know how it worked for you as a reader (I’m not interested in how much it satisfied your teachers).  Is it useful or interesting to keep track of the books you read?  Do you use all the columns?  Any information you want to add or delete?

I’m asking this because, recently, my local library asked for submissions of favorite books from 2013.  I couldn’t remember all the books I enjoyed from last year, much less all the books I read.  Recently, I’ve been consuming books for distraction, and I don’t remember them much later.  Wanting to change that, I pulled out the reading record and have tried to keep track.

While I’m using it, I find I want to tweak it a bit (Tweak!  Not twerk.)  Maybe add a few words to help me recall the plot or a few words about why I abandoned a book.  Maybe cut the genre column, especially since most fiction not aimed at teens doesn’t really have a distinct genre (ANOTHER naturalistic, depressing coming-of-age/critique of post-modern social values).  Have any of you taken steps to make it work for you?  Ever wanted to?  Let me know what it does for you to keep track of your books.

Cheers,

Josiah

The Plague by Albert Camus

The Nobel prize-winning Albert Camus, who died in 1960, could not have known how grimly current his existentialist novel of epidemic and death would remain. Set in Algeria, in northern Africa, The Plague is a powerful study of human life and its meaning in the face of a deadly virus that sweeps dispassionately through the city, taking a vas.t percentage of the population with it

Stronghold by Melanie Rawn

With her widely acclaimed, best-selling fantasy trilogy, DRAGON PRINCE, Melanie Rawn opened an enchanted gateway to a spellbinding universe of Sunrunner's magic and sorcerous evil, of a ruler fighting to bring peace to a world of warring kingdoms, and of the dragons- deadly dangerous yet holding the secret to wealth beyond imagining.

Now, in STRONGHOLD, the first novel of Melanie's new DRAGON STAR trilogy, there is a devastating new challenge to the power of both the High Prince Rohan and Andry, Lord of the Sunrunners at Goddess Keep, as a mysterious and seemingly unstoppable invasion force swarms across their lands.  For Andry it signals the start of a nightmare made real, the horrifying fulfillment of his of his long ago visions of his homeland in flames, and he will draw upon even the forbidden sorcerer's magic in an attempt to the enemy which is bent on the extermination of all Sunrunners.

Rohan and his son Pol will also fight the enemy with every weapon at their command- from their valiant warriors, to conjurations with sun, moons, and stars, to the terrifying presence of the dragons, to the unforgiving wrath of the desert itself.  Yet soon they begin to fear that this invasion may prove not only the end of their dream of an unbreakable peace but the beginning of the end of their entire world....

Divergent

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself..   During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Op Center Acts of War by Tom Clancy

Kurdish terrorists have attacked a dam inside the borders of Turkey, threatening the water supply of their very homeland. It is not insanity, but the fist step in a deceptively simple plan: force all-out war in the Middle East, drawing in the major players in the new world order.

What the terrorist don’t know is that a new Regional Op-Center is now on-line in Turkey. A mobile version of the permanent crisis management facility, the ROC is a cutting-edge surveillance and information mecca. And its team can see exactly what the Kurdish rebels are trying to do.

But the terrorist are more resourceful than anyone thinks. They also have ways of obtaining classified information. And the Regional Op-Center—the United States’ newest toy—is a prize not to be passed up…

The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien

The Fellowship was scattered. Some were bracing hopelessly for war against the ancient evil of Sauron. Some were contending with the treachery of the wizard Saruman. Only Frodo and Sam were left to take the accursed Ring of Power to be destroyed in Mordor–the dark Kingdom where Sauron was supreme. Their guide was Gollum, deceitful and lust-filled, slave to the corruption of the Ring. Thus continues the magnificent, bestselling tale of adventure begun in The Fellowship of the Ring, which reaches its soul-stirring climax in The Return of the King.

Digitial Fortress by Dan Brown

When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage--not by guns or bombs -- but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.