Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Leaving Paradise is told from the varying points of view of the two main characters, Caleb and Maggie. Both live in a town called Paradise and both have a shared past that keeps them a part but that is also what brings them close together. Caleb is returning to Paradise from prison where he went after being charged for being behind the wheel of the car that struck Maggie and damaged both her legs. The story starts with him finding out he is to be released. The closing line is, "Tomorow I'm going home" (Elkeles 8). Maggie used to be an athlete and the top of her school. She had one secret: that she was in love with her neighbor and best friend's brother, Caleb. After the accident she became an outcast. She could no longer play tennis because she had a horrible limp. She went to physical therapy but would never be able to move as she used to. When Caleb returns, he comes back to a dysfunctional family. His mother is a drug addict, his father is in denial and his sister now dresses completely in black and tries to avoid everyone. He goes back to school and is automatically accepted back into his old group. Appearance wise, everything seemed perfect, but Caleb did not want everything to go back to normal. It takes an old neighbor who receives help from both Maggie and Caleb, an entire school who cannot see either of them as who they truly are, and a life of secrets, for Maggie to finally get what she used to want. She thought she hated Caleb, but when she realized he was the only person as damaged as her, they began to secretly see each other. In the end, both are faced with major decisions. Caleb could no longer watch his family falling apart. The truth about the accident came to life. Also, they discovered that teenage love could not in fact conquer all. In the end they had to choose between each other and their families. One of them faces the prospect of running away. 1.) If you were injured in an accident like Maggie, would you ever be able to forgive the person who took away your ability to walk normally? 2.) Caleb's life is all about appearances. If you were in his situation, would you be able to handle all the pressure, or would you be tempted to rebel as he tries to do?

Tuesdays with Morrie-By: Mitch Albom

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."-Henry Adams

When Mitch Albom graduated from Brandies University, he promised his favorite professor, Morrie Schwartz, that he would keep in touch. However, as the years progressed Mitch continued developing his career as a journalist and lost touch with Morrie.

One night when Mitch is watching television he sees Morrie giving a lecture and decides to try to get in touch. When he finally reaches Morrie he discovers that he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease, or ALS, and does not have too much time to live. After that Tuesday, they decide to continue visiting together every Tuesday, so that Morrie can share his life lessons. They will call their meetings their last thesis, so that Mitch can write a book sharing the lessons on the meaning of life.

Despite Morrie's condition he remains content in his situation and with his entire life. He teaches Mitch the value of loving people fully, living in the moment, and not becoming caught up in the modern world, only to forget what is important. In addition, Morrie feels that learning to accept death, the inevitable, only helps to teach one how to live. He believes in creating this legacy not only to help Mitch, but also to help others learn to live with his philosophy of life.

Questions

1. If you knew that you only had a short time to live, would you live any differently, or regret anything that you have done?

2. What do you think are life's most important lessons?

3. Morrie believes in loving people wholeheartedly. Do you think it is wise to love so many people, or would that set you up for heartbreak?

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The novel My Sister's Keeper consists of flashbacks told in the point of view from several different characters depending on the chapter. The protagonist, Anna, is not the sick child of the family but because she has been hospitalized so many times herself she could be. From the minute Anna was born, she has undergone surgeries for her sister Kate who has Leukemia. Kate called herself a "designer baby" because she was specifically created to be a match for her sister.

She has not challenged her role in the family to help Kate until now. The novel begins with Anna gathering her money to go see a lawyer, Campbell Alexander. One of the top in the country. She wants to sue her parents for the rights to her own body. Her mother, Sara, used to be a lawyer before Kate got sick and was totally taken by surprise. She would do anything to keep Kate alive. The lawsuit created a wedge and tension between the family. It was enough that Anna went to stay with her father at the fire station for a time. In the novel, some different effects of Kate being sick are shown through their brother Jesse. He sometimes feels forgotten about and has turned to other means to release his emotions.

As the book progresses, the characters begin to develop and the reader sees their true selves through the struggle to maintain peace in the household. Kate becomes even more sick because her kidneys are failing. If she is to survive she will need a kidney transplant. Anna refuses to give hers up. She wants to be able to live her own life and play sports like hockey. She doesn't want to worry about being healthy for surgeries. As the lawsuit approaches the tension continues to climb. Until the true story is revealed there. I can not tell you anything more, so I do not ruin the ending for you.

1. If you were in Anna's position how would you feel?

2. At what point for you does everything just become too much for you to handle that you take drastic measures just like Anna did?

The Book Of Dreams by O.R. Melling

The Book Of Dreams is mainly the story of Dana. She is part faerie and has recently moved to a new town from Ireland. She is depressed about the lack of magic there and whenever she can she goes to visits her mother in the Faerie lands that she can access through her mind.

She eventually meets Jean and the two become fast friends. She slowly starts to find out that there is some terrible force after her. It has severed the gateways to the Faerie World successfully blocking Dana out from her only refuge from earth.

She travels to her grandmothers house for a bit of a vacation. However she is kidnapped by the evil Crowley. He is trying to destroy the world. "While Dana's dream held her spellbound in Crowley's car, her real self was sleep walking through her grandmother's house." (Melling 79)Jean rescues her though and you learn that he can turn into a wolf at night.

The two go on a adventure through the book and they meet many of the creatures and people of Irish legend. Toward the end of the book Jean is cursed to stay a wolf forever after saving Dana. Dana blames herself for this and eventually joins him as a wolf later in the story. Before that however she confronts the deformed Crowley and all the bad entities that have joined him. During the battle she is almost over come by Crowley. "Weighed down by hopelessness, Dana searched in her heart for something bright to offset the dark." (Melling 637)However eventually she turns the tides and restores the portals between the Faeries and Earth.

1)Why do people often try to escape reality and go to ideal or fantasy world? Are they afraid to try new things? Or is it because they don't know anything other then their habits and ideals and have no wish to change?

The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan

The Longest Day, by Cornelius Ryan, is a detailed account of the invasion of Normandy during World War II. Ryan, a war correspondent who also flew bombing missions in the Air Force, recreates the hours that preceded the invasion as well as the invasion itself. Through interviews of thousands of D-Day survivors, both Allied and German, maps, diaries, reports, message pads, casualty reports, letters and photographs. Ryan retells the personal stories, battles and losses of these men fighting for their beliefs. Many different accounts have been published about D-Day, however, Ryan's version was heavily researched and documented to not only include the important accurate battle facts but also the personal stories of survival.

Many personal acts are believed to have a direct impact on the outcome of the battle of Normandy. While waiting to attack, soldiers did not want to tempt fate. Soldiers intentionally lost money at cards, they became religious and they talked of their families. Despite being told that probably eighty-four percent of the soldiers would become casualties, commanders walked miles on broken ankles, soldiers raised flags in the middle of battles, men continued to fight as their friends lay dying around them. One soldier killed his enemy and then rummaged through his pockets to find personal information on the soldier. It was ironic that when asked, this soldier was going to mail personal belongings to the dead soldier's family. These acts reinforce that this was was personal and difficult on both sides.

1. Why do you think it was important for Ryan to tell of the personal stories of these soldiers?

2. Would you be able to kill someone in battle and send their belongings to the dead man's family as the soldier did in the story?

Private by Kate Brian

Reed Brennan, from the small town of Croton, Pennsylvania, grew up with poor parents and a could never see getting out of this very small town. Until she got a scholarship to the elite boarding school Easton Academy. This opened many doors for her to ivy league schools. When she meets the Billings Girls, who get top recommendations and have gone onto to be very powerful women, she knows that she must get into the house to receive all of the opportunities that she wants. She goes through a series of extensive tests to get in, some of them including theft, and it seems that there is not anything she will not do. On the side, she is seeing one of the most sought after guys on campus, a senior named Thomas Pearson. At the end of the book he goes missing and that leads into the other books. I can not really say any more without giving away the rest of the books.

1) If you were Reed and new that being in Billings would open all of the opportunities you needed to succeed would you go so far as to steal the answers to a test to get in?
2) Would you try to get into Billings if you went to Easton even if you knew what went on?

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

The book Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose follows Easy Company, 506^th Regiment, 101^st Airborne division of the US army from their brutal training to taking Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest and the German town of Berchtesgaden, the SS’s last haven, during World War II. The book starts out in Camp Toccoa, Georgia, a training camp for the US military, in the summer of 1942. Here the members of Easy were trained by the dreaded Captain Sobel, Easy’s Commanding Officer. This conditioning, which included training as a parachutist, was considered the hardest a military group had ever been put through at the time. The men in Easy felt, if they were being sent to war, it would be better to be with the best of the best rather than doing the bare minimum. After months of training, Easy was sent to Uppottery, England where they prepared for D-Day. When the day came to invade Normandy, Easy jumped behind enemy lines, secured the area and fought their way back to their allies on the beaches. Almost immediately after D-Day, Easy was sent into Holland and then into Bastogne, entering a battle known as the Battle of the Bulge. During this battle, Easy was surrounded by German forces for days without sufficient food, ammo or clothing in the coldest part of a northern European winter. After being liberated, Easy fought its way into Germany and became one of the first companies to find a German concentration camp. Then they were tasked with taking Berchtsgaden and Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. The book ends with the men that are still alive in Easy slowly being shipped back to the States, ready to finally resume their lives and with thoughts of their lost brothers still floating in their minds.

1) The men in Easy chose harder training to be with the best of the best in the war, but had the hardest missions as a result. Would you rather have harder training and more dangerous missions, but have the peace of mind that knowing you're with the best of the best and that they have your back, or would you choose easier training and more safe missions but have to rely on allies that might not have your back?

2) How would you feel about being taken out of your normal life to fight in WWII? Would you see it as your duty as an American and serve without question, or would you feel that you were unjustly ripped out of your previous life to fight a meaningless war?

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire, is a book based on the Wicked Witch of the West. This witch is commonly known from a story called The Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of Oz portrays the witch as evil and cruel, but is she? Maguire takes a new point of view on this witch and takes the reader through the life of Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba was born an outsider. Different in the fact that her skin was green. She was not accepted by her peers and lived a hard childhood that pushed her over the edge and drove her to this evil state. She was a smart and misunderstood girl that was constantly picked on. This story shows how the good could be the bad and the bad could actually be good. The author is trying to show that everything is not how it appears and no one should judge a book by its cover. Elphaba tried to fit in but kept being pushed away. Eventually she could not take it anymore and sought out for revenge on everyone that judged her. Elphaba has been neglected as a child and has to take care of her disabled sister when they go off to school. Glinda, Elphaba's roommate, is popular beautiful and is considered a social butterfly. Quick to judge, Glinda does not want to be friends with Elphaba and makes fun of her constantly. At one point, they do become friends, but after a murder they witness, they go their separate ways. The nature of good and evil is tested in this book. Can you decide who is good and who is not?

1. If you were treated poorly, would you seek revenge on those who ridiculed you? Why?

2.Would you destroy someone else to become superior and well liked? Why?

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Dear John is about a guy named John who is in the army and he comes home to his father's house for 2 weeks from Germany. He meets a girl named Savannah after he gets her purse back when it is knocked off the pier. They start spending a lot of time together before they bpth have to leave and go back to college and the army. When John has to go back, they promise to write each other for the whole 12 months he is gone. Then he coes back home but tells her he has to go back because of 911. After a few years, Savannah writes him and tells him she got married and John is very upset. John comes back home after his father dies and meets with Savannah for dinner and he finds out that her husband is Tim who he met before and he has cancer and is dying. John sells his coin collection and gives the money to Savannah so they can buy a drug that will help Tim live a little while longer so he can say goodbye to everyone. Tim tells John to marry Savannah after he dies because he knows she still loves John. 1. Do you think John and Savannah's love story was believable since they "fell in love" in 2 weeks? 2.John goes back to Germany after his 2 week break and they promise each other they will get married when he comes back. Do you think it is possible to stay in love with someone you haven't seen in a few years?

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green is a novel featured around three teenagers in a boarding school. Miles Halter is fascinated by people’s last words and goes to this boarding school in Alabama to search for his “Great Perhaps”. His roommate is Chip Martin who is nicknamed the Colonel due to his genius. Miles is called “Pudge” by the Colonel which is ironic due to his skinny and scrawny figure. Alaska is introduced to Miles by Colonel. Pudge instantly falls in love with her. She is beautiful and is rebellious. The Colonel and Alaska introduce Pudge to their mischievous behavior of drinking, partying, smoking, and playing pranks on campus. They pull a prank one day of war against the privileged kids in school, and after this they all hide out in a barn to play a drinking game. When they were playing this game, Alaska reveals a deep hidden secret that has been haunting her. When Alaska was 8, she watched her mother die of an aneurysm and to scared of what to do, she didn’t call for help. Right then, Pudge understood the real reason "And when she said she failed everyone, I knew whom she meant. It was the everything and the everyone of her life" (120). Alaska certainly blames herself for her mom’s death. While they are all drunk from playing this truth and dare game, Alaska falls asleep and is woken up by a phone call. She is severely distraught over this phone call and must go somewhere. Without thinking, Colonel and Pudge distract the dean so Alaska can leave. However, Alaska is very intoxicated when she leaves.

The next day, the dean announces Alaska has been killed in a car accident. Colonel and Pudge are deeply shocked and sad about their friend’s death. They are also angry they let it happen. Pudge admits to himself, "That night I let her go because she told me to. It was that simple for me and that stupid" (149). Pudge and the Colonel look to find the true cause of Alaska’s mystery death. Pudge and Colonel pull a last prank in her honor, and when they do, Pudge discovers something about his “ Great Perhaps” and the answer to end suffering in life.

1.Pudge and Alska have different meanings of escaping. Alaska symbolizes her view of ending suffering is going through death in a straight and fast way with the last words of Simón Bolívar: "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" While Pudge thinks you must forgive to live and forget about regrets. Which one do you agree with and why?

2. Pudge is deeply fascinated by people's last words and what they say in their final moments reveals their true character. Do you agree? Explain.

To Save A Life

To Save A Life, The extremely touching story about the pressures in real life and high school. Meet Jake Taylor, the typical popular high school jock. The star player on the basketball team. The guy with the prettiest girlfriend in the school, and the one that never misses an invite to a party.

Yes, Jake had what seemed to be the perfect life. He always had his friend by his side. This friend, Roger saved his life. One day in middle school Roger ducked in front of a car to block Jake from being hit. This left Roger with a permanent limp. Roger was always made fun of , but Jake was always thankful.

When Jake got invited to a big party he left Roger in the dust.

When Jake and Roger got into highschool, Roger was completely ignored and made fun of. One day when he couldn't take any more abuse, he took his own life. In front of everyone, at the highschool. Jake took this personally. Roger saved his life, and Jake couldn't even be a good enough friend to give Roger a reason to keep his. Jake wanted to change his life. He was not sure how to do so. He started at church and at the local youth group. Trying to make his peers get along and see eachother equally. Jake learned from his friend Roger how important life is. He really wants to change and potentially save lives. Even if it makes him lose a college scholarship, his beautiful girlfriend, or his future child. How much will he give up to save a life?

1. Why do you think that Jake and Roger stopped communicating?

2. What would you give up to help a friend in need?

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

John Tyree is 23 and is a Special Forces Army Sergeant. He is returning home to Wilmington, North Carolina for a two week leave. John is on the beach when he comes across a young lady, Savannah Curtis. She has dropped her bag into the ocean and John dives in and gets it for her. For John, it is practically love at first sight. Savannah is a college student and during her summer is helping build houses with Habitat for Humanity in North Carolina. That night, Savannah takes John to a bonfire where he meets Tim Wheddon. He is an older man, his son is close with Savannah. His son is very young and has a mental problem. Soon enough, John and Savannah become really good friends and after that, they fall in love. It only takes two weeks for them to fall in love with eachother. Unfortunately, John's leave is up and Savannah has to return to UNC, her college. Before John leaves, Savannah suggests that John's father might be autistic. They get into a fight but make up before leaving eachother. As John is gone, Savannah and him right to eachother as much as they can. Savannah promises her love to John while he is away. Unfortunately September 11, 2001 happens. John feels that it is his duty to reenlist in the army and fight for his country. Savannah is upset because she feels like she can no longer wait for John. She sends him a note while he is away. She ends things with him and says she has met someone. John does not know what to do, he is so upset and burns all of her letters. John gets shot while fighting and has to return home. His father falls ill and sadly dies. John really has nobody anymore. He decides to go and see Savannah. She is married to Tim Wheddon, he has cancer and really needed Savannah to help take care of his son. Tim is dying and tells John that she still loves him and she has never looked at Tim the way shes looked at John. You'll have to read the rest to find out what else happens.

1. If your loved one was going away to the army, would you end the relationship or hope for the best?
2. Do you think it was shallow of Savannah to break up with John, even after she promised her devotion and love to him?
3. If you were John, would you have reenlisted in the army. Remember he made a promise to marry Savannah, so would you leave and be with your loved one or fight for your country?

The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks

The notebook by Nicholas Sparks is an outstanding love story. The story begins in a nursing home, where an elderly man reads to a women with Alzheimer's every morning. The man reading these stories is Noah Callohan. He is telling these stories in hope to trigger the women's memory of their love and life together, Allie Hamilton. The novel is then told in flashbacks starting in 1946. This part of the novel focuses on Noah buying a real fixer- upper of a dream house. This home is a symbol of where Noah and Allie's love blossomed. Noah came from a family of very little money and never had a prestigious job. He was able to get the money to buy this home from serving in the Vietnam War. The story now flashes back even further to the summer that Allie and Noah first met. It was the summer of 1935 and these two teenagers became inseparable, they were truly in love. Unfortunately, when the summer ended so did their relationship. It was hard for them to keep in touch when Allie moved back home and her family was not fond of Noah's class. The story now goes forward to 1946 and Allie is engaged to an extremely successful man. While planning her wedding she sees an article in a newspaper of Noah standing next to the house they spent time in as teenagers. Allie decides that she has to to go and see Noah. During her visit she realizes how madly in love they still are. The rest of the story focuses on Allies struggle whether to follow her heart or follow the path her family has made for her.
Questions:
1) If you were Noah would you spend most of your day trying to trigger Allie's memory or just go on living your life?
2) If you were Allie would you listen to your family and marry a man they approve of or would you end the engagement and be with Noah?

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

This book is about a girl name Pattyn von Stratten who is raised in a devout mormon family. Her father is abusive and, at one time, had more than one wife. She has several brothers and sisters and because she is the oldest she usually ends up taking care of them while her mother is in bed all day. When she starts acting out by hanging out with guys and starting to do bad in school her dad sends her out to her aunts house. While she is there she meets Ethan. She falls in love with him and when it is time to go he drives her back. When she gets home she realizes that she is pregnant with Ethan's child. She tells him and tells her family about what happened and runs away. When Ethan picks her up she tells him to drive and they decide to go to California. Because the police are following them Ethan starts to speed up and looses control around a curve and they get in an accident. Both Ethan and Pattyn's baby die, her father disowns her, and she is faced with the decision to move on or shoot everyone who ever caused her pain. When she goes back home she tells her father that if he would just say that he loved her that she would spare him but he will not say it.

If you were Pattyn and you knew that your father was abusing your mother and yourself, would you tell someone or keep it to yourself like Pattyn's father tells her too?
What would you do after you found out that your father disowned you and both the love of your life and your child died? Would you do the same thing as Pattyn?

! Ranger's Apprentice : The Ruins of Gorlan !

The Ruins of Gorlan is the first book in John Flanagan's series of the Ranger's Apprentice. The novel follows a group of orphans and the paths they have taken during the middle ages. The protagonist, Will, always had his heart set on being a brave warrior, as he believed his father to be, but to his surprise and initial discontent, is chosen to be the apprentice of the ranger Halt. Not much is known about the rangers, but it is speculated that they practice dark magic because of their always elusive behavior.
Will's training as a ranger begins with tedious tasks such as housework, but eventually escalates to stealth and weapons training. Will's training was first put to the test when he and his hunting party were confronted by two large boar. He shot an arrow at the larger of the two, effectively distracted it and saving his friend, Horace, whom at the time he was feuding with.
The climax of the novel is when Lord Morgarath, an evil man bent on conquering the kingdom, attempts to advance with his dreaded Kalkaras, massive beasts immune to most weapons. Will plays a vital role in killing one of the beasts by shooting an arrow through its eye. Later, at a celebration the Baron announces that Will would be allowed to become a warrior's apprentice as he had originally wanted to do. But because of all he had learned under Halt, he declines and decides to stay a ranger. Halt then tells the story about how Will's father bravely saved Halt in a battle, sacrificing his life.

1. If you had the chance to do something that had always been your dream, but in return you had to give up something you loved now, would you do it?
2. Will found out that his father was not actually a traditional warrior, but he was still proud. Would you be proud if you found out your father was not some one who you thought he was?

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Identical by Ellen Hopkins describes the lives of identical twin sisters named Kaeleigh and Raeanne. Kaeleigh is the misplaced focus of her father's inappropriate affections starting from when she is a child, intended for her politician mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. Raeanne sees this is as her father ignoring and mistreating her, and that he loves Kaeleigh more than her. She tries to get his attention in other ways, like sex, drugs, anorexia, bulimia, and self-mutilization. Although Kaeleigh has the entire focus of her father, she is not perfect. She binge eats, has intense problems coming close to people, and like Raeanne, cuts. She is very similar to her mother, unlike Raeanne, who is definitely the more aggressive of the two. The two could not be more opposite inside. Kaeleigh has a best friend named Ian who is in love with her and really wants to be with her. Raeanne is in a relationship with a high school drop out named Mick, who she smokes and has sex with frequently.
At the climax of the novel, Raeanne is at Ty's house, a boy she met at a party she went to with her boyfriend, Mick. Raeanne and Ty smoke some meth, and start to have sex. In this scene, Ian busts in the door and screams, "Kaeleigh, what the hell are you doing?"
Kaeleigh/Raeanne replies that she isnt Kaeleigh shes Raeanne in a dream-like state.
The next chapter is Kaeleigh waking up in a hospital room with Ian there. She asks what happened. Ian explains. Kaeleigh slightly remembers. Ian then tells her Raeanne died in a car accident when they where both very little. Kaeleigh then enters the psychiatric ward of the hospital to discover she has a multiple personality disorder, and the whole book was just her, then entire time. With the help of doctors, she has the strength to bring her father's abuse to light, and to seek help in suppressing the Raeanne side of her personality. She does really well for a long time.
The last chapter is Raeanne speaking, giving a heads up: shes not gone, and she will take over when she needs to.

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe Raeanne's way of trying to get her father's attention was acceptable or okay?

2. Do you believe Kaeleigh will ever be able to get over the abuse from her father or her multiple personality disorder in order to develop a relationship with Ian?

A Child Called "It"

A Child Called "It" is an inspirational story of a little boy who suffered through severe chid abuse. Dave Pelzer lives in a nightmare every second of his life and there is no way out of it. His achoholic mother beat him and played unthinkable "games" with him that almost killed him. David slept on a army cot in the basement of their house and ate from the scraps of the garbage can. The outside world had no idea, and he could do nothing about that. His mother threatened his life if he opened his mouth to the public. David's mother made him do extreme things such as put his hand on a burning stove, drink ammonia, eat unedible foods and re-eat them if his body refused to hold it down. She even stabbed him. He was beaten almost everyday. His family did nothing to stop this even though they were well aware of what went on behind the walls of their home. His father tried to help but the mother refused to let this happen. His own brother did not seem to care to watch everything happen because their mother made him think that David was simply an "it". He did not matter.

1) At one point in the story, David almost lost his will to live. If you went through what he did, would you give up on life?

2) Child abuse is a common and serious problem even today. What do you think should be done to the adults abusing these children like David's mother abused him? Should they be sentenced to death?

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Kira-Kira is a novel told in the point-of-view of it's narrator, a young Japanese-American girl, Katie. At first, Katie and her family (her mother, father, and older sister, Lynn) live in a small town in Iowa and own a small Asian store. Upon the store going out of business, Katie and her family abruptly move to Georgia where they begin to struggle even deeper with fiances and discrimination because of their race. Soon, Lynn developes severe anemia. And Katie, who shares a close bond with her sister, begins to spend almost all of her time with her. Katie's family move into a small house (to accommodate their now-larger family, with the addition of Sammy, Katie and Lynn's baby brother). This makes Lynn feel a lot better, despite her illness. After an incident involving Sammy getting caught in a bear trap on the property on Mr. Lyndon (the owner of the hatchery that Katie's parents work at), things turn worse for Lynn and she now becomes fatally ill. Katie stuggles to keep her sister happy and healthy, and deal with family and issues in society.

1.) What are the possible the reasons for the discrimination against Japanese-Americans?

2.) Do you think its capable for a young girl like Katie to be able to handle the responsibilites that she faces within the novel?

Rebound

In Ray’s high school, the Polish kids to go out for wrestling and the black kids to play basketball. Ray has tried out for the basketball team but gets cut all the time. Pruze, Ray's friend, wants Ray to play in a summer league to practice for the upcoming tryouts. During the summer Ray meets some good players such as Robert. Ray’s mom expresses concern that he’s hanging out with black people from the basketball team. Ray’s best friend, Walter, doesn't like Ray’s teammates either. But Ray wants to play varsity basketball his final year in high school. This time Ray has a chance. The new coach seems to pick guys who can get the job done instead of picking favorites. Ray makes the team! However, Rudy a star black player was cut. People thought that Ray took Rudy's spot. After the cuts, Rudy and friends make fun of Ray during the games which Walter answers with racial chants. Throughout the book Robert and Ray have trouble with each other due to the fact they are equally good ball players but they are of different races. Also Robert is mad that Ray took Rudy's spot on the basketball team. Throughout the struggle Coach Thomas tries to maintain peace between the two races, punishing whoever steps out of line. Racial tension fills the school school between the Poles and the blacks, and Ray is even accused of being prejudice when his former coach tells him,"'You think because you play some basketball with a few African American students you aren't prejudice'"(245). In the end, Ray is forced to choose between his black friends on the basketball team and his ethnic friends in his neighborhood.

1. The book is filled with racial tension and focuses on the fact that it is prevalent in high school. In your opinion, do kids at Mentor High School actually racist and have prejudice views, or do they mostly joke around with the matter?

2. In the story a huge racial tension builds up. Ray must choose between the people he has more in common with but are racially different and the people who share his race but have different characteristics. Who would you side with and Why?

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Down is divided into three individual books. Part one is about Bella’s wedding and marriage to Edward. They spend their honeymoon on an island near the coast of Brazil. Shortly after, Bella becomes aware of her pregnancy. She contacts Carlisle who confirms her suspicions; the couple makes plans to return soon after. Part two is written from Jacob Black’s perspective, it documents the pregnancy of Bella right through to the birth of her child. The werewolves in the novel are unsure of the child and fear of the danger it poses prompts them to make plans to kill Bella to prevent its birth. Naturally, Jacob is strongly opposed to this and revolts. He cuts all ties to the pack and forms his own, with Leah Clearwater and Seth. Four weeks after conception, Bella has the child. In the process she loses a great deal of blood and suffers multiple broken bones. To save her life Edward is forced to embrace and turn her into a vampire. Immediately after the birth, Jacob imprints the newborn baby girl, Renesmee. The final part of Breaking Dawn reverts back to Bella’s view point, continuing her story as an excited Vampire who enjoys all the abilities it brings. Irina, another Vampire mistakenly identifies the baby; she believes Renesmee is an immortal child, one that has been changed to a Vampire. An act the Volturi outlawed previously. Irina informs the Volturi of the act, they then decide to destroy the Cullens and baby Renesmee based on Irina’s story. To prove their innocence and save the life of their baby daughter, the Cullens gather vampires to stand up as witnesses and help prove to the Volturi the child isn’t an immortal child. The plan works, and the Volturi realize they have been lied to by Irina and immediately sentence her to death for the mistake. Soon after, the arrival of Jasper and Alice, who too had a human-vampire child return. They prove the child presents no threat with Nahuel, their 150 year old crossbreed son. The Volturi see the truth in these words and promptly leave, safe in the knowledge that vampire-human crossbreeds can co-exist without bringing any undue attention on the vampire’s existence. Bella, Edward and their new daughter, Renesmee, return to their home.

1. Why do you think Jacob decides to leave his pack?

2. Do you think Jacob will ever forgive Bella for becoming immortal?