Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter was orphaned at a young age when both of his parents died in a tragic car accident. He was forced to live with his atrocious aunt and uncle, leading a miserable life, outshined by his cousin Dudley. One day after mysterious letters begin coming, a giant comes to tell Harry that he is a wizard, just like his parents. To begin his wizard education, Harry goes to a magical school called Hogwarts where he meets his two best friends. Harry soon learns that he is famous in the wizard world for his scar that was left after his parents sacrificed their lives for him. Harry soon has to stop evil at Hogwarts when he discovers a powerful artifact called the sorcerers stone is about to be stolen by the man who killed his parents, Lord Voldemort. In the end Harry defeats Voldemort thwarting his plans.....for now.
1.If you discovered that you had been lied to your entire life, how would you feel and what would you do?
2. If you found out that you could be a wizard, would you? Keep in mind you would have to leave the normal world behind.

Dear John, Nicholas Sparks

Dear John is a love story by Nicholas Sparks. The main character is John Tyree, a twenty-three year old male, who is in the special forces. When John comes home to Wilmington, North Carolina he unexpectedly falls in love with a beautiful young lady named Savannah. Unfortunately, at the end of the two weeks they are forced to part and John needs to return to the service and it is time for Savannah to attend college. John's father helped her choose her field of study; she noticed that he suffers a mental disability and wanted to be able to help people like him. John and Savannah promised each other that they would write as often as they can and never stop. They stay together for John's entire term and Savannah is very excited for them to start their lives together. Little does she know that John has reenlisted due to the attack of September 11. Savannah sends John one final letter, this is one that he is not excited to receive. She tells him plainly that she has found another man and is engaged. She gives no reason or explanation to who the man may be. When John returns home for his fathers funeral he finds out who Savannah is married to and finally gets an explanation to why. The man is a shock for John; he is an older man named Tim. He has always seemed as more of an older brother to Savannah then a possible romance. When John meets with Savannah she informs him that Tim has cancer and he needed someone to raise his son. Savannah says how she never wanted to leave John and it was the hardest thing she has ever done. John and Savannah both end up living fulfilling lives but whether it is together or not you will have to read to find out.

1) If you were Savannah would you leave John to help Tim?
2) Would you wait for a loved one who is in the military knowing that you may never see them again or try to find a more stable relationship?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In this instillation of the Harry Potter series Harry finds him self back at his Aunt's home stuck with his Uncle's fat and rude sister. Harry leaves after causing her to inflate and takes a night bus to Diagon alley only after escaping a large black dog. At Hogwarts Harry learns that a notorious man named Sirius Black who turns out to be Harry's dad's friend. Black and Proffesor Lupin discover that Ron's pet rat is really Peter Pettigrew the man that killed Harry's Parents. After defeating Pettigrew Lupin sees the full moon and turns into a werewolf, and Black turns into a dog to defend Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. The book ends with Harry time traveling backwards to save himself and Black. On his way back to his Uncle's house for the summer he receives a letter from Black explaining that he gave Harry a quiditch broom and Ron's Owl.

Would you trust Black?

What do you think of Harry's parent's murderers living with them as a rat?

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

The Tillerman children; Dicey, James, Maybeth, Sammy, are forced on a trek to find there Great-aunt Cilla. The Tillerman's mother took the children on a car ride to visit their great-aunt but half way through the journey there mother put the oldest Dicey in charge while she went to go run an errand. The Tillermans mother never returned. Dicey takes charge and the next day she leads the other children to find there Great-aunt Cilla on foot. The children have to live on there own, finding the cheapiest food they could get, looking for money and empty houses or anywhere to sleep. After walking through a park, meeting a runaway couple, Sammy decides to steal money and food so they must run from cops now. The kids reach the Conneticut River but they continue to run out of money so dicey has to do odd jobs to earn enough money to feed them all. On there journey they befriend two college students Stewart and Windy. They spend the night with them and Stewart takes them to there Great-aunt's the next day. There Great-aunt Cilla they find is dead and there cousin Eunice takes them in. She takes care of them and sends them to a catholic school but the kids seem to be growing apart and when Sammy is believed to be mental retarded it is the last straw for Dicey and while Eunice is considering adaopting them but sending Sammy away they leave on the hunt for there Grandma Tillerman. All the while they find out there mpother was put in a mental hospital in Boston. The kids have many adventures finding there grandma. They take buses and boats, they befriend many new characters too who protect them and they stay with a circus. They meet a man names Will who looks over them and takes them to their grandmas but he leaves them there for Dicey says they must face it alone. They find there old, mean grandma in a run down farm with a boat in the barn and she refuses to let them stay for good just for the night.Later while grandma is writing a letter to Eurnice she explains to Dicey that she really does want to keep them but she has no money, she likes the freedom she has and she doesnt want to mess them up like the mistakes she made on her own kids that drove them to run away. THe nest couple days though their grandmother seems to have forgotten and takes thme in letting them stay.

1. If your mother left you alone with your three younger siblings in a car in the middle of no where, would you do what Dicey does, would you stay in the car or would you go looking for your mother?

2. If one of your siblings were going to be sent away for mental redardation, which you dont belive she has, owuld you let it happen and seperate your family or would you run away like Dicey?

Being by Kevin Brooks

"Being" by Kevin Brooks is a story about a young boy named Robert Smith. Robert does not know his birth parents, and has been jumping from foster home to foster home his whole life. However, when he goes to the doctor for a routine examination for a stomach ulcer, things get crazy. During the procedure, he wakes up from the anesthesia. He is unable to move or speak, but he can feel pain, see, and hear everything around him. There were numerous doctors in the room and large men with pistols. They were looking into Robert's stomach with disbelief. They talked about how they have never seen such a thing before, and wondered what he was.

Once Robert finally has control of his body, he freaks out. Unaware of what they saw or who they are, he takes a gun and flees. He is not sure what is wrong with him. Throughout the book, there are stolen cars, kidnaps, and even murders as Robert flees from doctors and members of a "secret society."


1. If you were in Robert's position, would you run away from the doctors, or would you trust them to figure out who and what you were?

2. Robert never had anyone in his life who really cared for him or listened to him. How would you cope with having no one?

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code begins with the death of the Louvre curator, murdered by a man in search of key to the location of the Holy Grail. When the curator's body is found in the pose of the Vitruvian Man, the police call for a professor named Robert Langdon. In describing Langdon, the narrator states, "As someone who had spent his life exploring the hidden interconnectivity of disparate emblems and ideologies, Langdon viewed the world as a web of profoundly intertwined histories and events" (15). However, Langdon is not present to analyze the codes, but because the curator wrote on the museum floor to "find Robert Langdon" in his dying moments.
Sophie Neveu, a cryptographer, appears at the murder scene as well, and she secretly tells Langdon that he is a suspect. She explains that she is the granddaughter of the curator, and she knows that her grandfather meant for Langdon to decipher the code, not that he was the murderer. The two escape the police with the discovery that the keystone is in a safety deposit box. There they find a hand-held vault, locked by a combination and equipped with a vial of vinegar which will dissolve the message if the container is forced open.
Langdon and Neveu visit Langdon's friend, Sir Leigh Teabing, an expert in the Holy Grail. Teabing tells them the legend of the Holy Grail, and his belief that it is the tomb of Jesus Christ's wife rather than a cup. The three of them flee the country in Teabing's plane, in which they discover the combination to open the vault. Inside is another, along with a riddle which leads the group to Westminster Abbey. There, the identity of the man for which the curator's murderer works, the Teacher, is revealed. At gunpoint, Langdon destroys the contents of the vault in front of the Teacher, after secretly removing the message. The police arrive and the Teacher is arrested, and Sophie and Langdon are free to follow the final clues to the guardians of the Holy Grail.

At his home, Teabing tells Sophie and Langdon what he believes the Holy Grail to be, a twist to the common belief. Teabing explains the possibility in saying, "History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books- books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe" (256).
Do you agree with this statement?
How does that change what we should believe?

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Landon Carter is very popular at his school. He and some of his friends decide to pull a prank on a kid at school which puts the kid in the hospital and paralyzed him. He was punished by having to do community service and perform in the school play. He met Jamie Sullivan and asked her to help him with learning his lines for the play. They spent a lot of time together and eventually started to have feelings for each other. Jamie had a secret that she knew she had to tell Landon. She told him that she had cancer and the medicine didn't work anymore. Landon was crushed and didn't know what to do but he started spending all his time with Jamie. Eventually he asked her to marry him so they could spend the rest of their time together and that was what she really wanted. Later on she died and Landon went to medical school because Jamie wanted him to be successful in life. He still went to see Jamie's father to talk and stay in contact.

1. If you were in love and you knew the person you were in love with was dying, would you marry them even though you know they don't have much time left and know that's what they wanted?

2. Do you think it is possible for someone to change so quickly like Landon did? He went from being someone that didn't care what they did to other people to someone that loved one person and would do anything for them.

The Ghosts of Ashbury High

Amelia and Riley are two new students attending Ashbury High School. They are seniors. Their fellow charcters and notoriously rich kids emily, lydia, toby and others are in their close circle of friends. Emily and Lydia are absolutely head over heals obsessed with the new couple attending their school. Riley and Amelia are super smart and super fast swimmers. Emily becomes very spooked by the Art Rooms(which used to be dorm rooms bakc when the school was a boarding school). She is absolutely certain a ghost is living there and it is picking on her. Signs of this include : orange peels left behind by the ghost, only emily getting goose bumps, etc.
1. Do you believe in ghosts?
2. What draws the line for you between ghosts and paranormal activity? whats the difference?

Ender’s Game by Orsen Scott Card

Ender’s Game is, on the surface, the story of how one six year old boy named Ender came to win the greatest war ever fought by humankind. Ender is born into a world that is shaped by the First and Second Invasions, the times when an alien race (called “buggers” by the characters) attacked the Earth, with superior weapons and far greater numbers. Earth was only saved from destruction when a commander named Mazer Rackham used a brilliant strategy to kill a pivotal leader of theirs, and ended the war. Now humanity is preparing to end the threat posed by the buggers once and for all, by finding a commander capable of the kind of strategic thinking that allowed Rackham’s victory. They turn to the Wiggins family, where first Peter is born. Peter, they quickly learn, is mostly devoid of compassion and desires control more than anything else. Valentine, the second, is incredibly empathetic and seen as too soft. Then Ender, the third child is born. He combines the better traits of his siblings and goes to Battle School, where children are taught to fight in space and lead armies. Ender is isolated and treated differently from the first day, by the officers that purposefully make his peers dislike him. Whenever Ender finally becomes accustomed to his situations, they advance him in the army so that he must start again. Although he makes friends along the way, he is never able to depend upon the trust of others. Life in the Battle School is centered on the “games” played by the armies of children, when they face each other in mock combat. Ender, by far the youngest commander of an army, has the odds increasingly stacked against him by General Graff and Admiral Anderson, the leaders of the school. Although Ender is aware that they are purposefully pushing him to his limits, he perseveres and becomes the brilliant soldier that they were hoping for. He is then sent to Commander School, where he is worked day and night in running a “simulation game” where he controls an army of ships facing programmed buggers. His mind begins to break from the stress and work he is put through, but he still makes it through to what the adults around him call his Final Exam. He faces impossible odds- he is outnumbered a thousand to one in this simulation. Ender does manage to end the game though, by destroying the planet the enemy ships were protecting- he does this out of defiance for all of the “games” he has been forced to play in his life, as he believes that destroying a planet will not be an acceptable strategy, and he will finally fail, to be sent home. However, Graff reveals to him shortly afterwards that the “games” he has been playing through the simulation were all real- Ender himself led the Third Invasion, and obliterated the buggers and their home.

1) The novel deals heavily with the morality behind “the ends justify the means.” The leaders of the military push children to their breaking points in hopes of finding one capable of Rackham’s brilliance, and then manipulate him into killing an entire race, which rests heavily on his conscience. General Graff says, "Human beings are free except when humanity needs them. Maybe humanity needs you. To do something. Maybe humanity needs me—to find out what you're good for. We might both do despicable things, Ender, but if humankind survives, then we were good tools” (131), as a way of justifying his actions. It was later shown that we were at war simply because humans and buggers could not communicate, and both thought the other was hostile. Do you think that the military had the right to use children as they did?
2) Ender, throughout the novel, commits some horrible crimes. While only six and still on Earth, he was confronted by a pack of bullies who wanted to hurt him for being smarter than them. He managed to break the leader’s nose, and saw that he could have walked away then as the others tended to his nose. However, he continued attacking the boy because he knew that unless he won decisively, his torment at their hands would never end. Much the same thing happened years later, except with much older children who intended to kill Ender. It is later revealed that although Ender did not know at the time, he killed the two boys. Ender says “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves” (204). Ender sees himself as a killer, and hates himself for it- he worries that he is like his sadistic older brother. Do you think that these actions make Ender a bad person, or do you see it as justified because he was defending himself?

Conrad's Fate ~Diana Wynne Jones

Conrad's Fate is about a young boy named Conrad, who is told by his miserly that he has bad karma. Conrad's Uncle Alfred tells him that someone at the nearby mansion, Stallery, is the reason for Conrad's bad karma. Uncle Alfred tells Conrad that he was supposed to kill this person in a previous life, so in order to have good karma again, Conrad must kill this person, thus reversing the karma. Therefore, Conrad leaves school, instead of going to upper school, to get a job at Stallery. He is told by the mayor, who has magical abilities, that once he is there, "The person he needs will say or do something...and he'll know" (38). Conrad and another boy his age, Christopher, are both given the job of Improvers. They are being trained to be butlers at Stallery, so for the time they are both staying at Stallery.
As time progresses, Conrad cannot seem to find the person he was sent to look for. Conrad confides in Christopher that he has bad karma, in hopes that Christopher will help him look for the person. Christopher dismisses Conrad's karma, saying that Conrad does not have any bad karma. He claims that he can sense no bad karma on Conrad. Although Christopher admits that there is something bad going on at Stallery, but he will not say what. Then Conrad notices Christopher sneaking out at night and catches him in the act. Conrad sneaks after Christopher to confront him, but when he catches up, something shakes the entire building. When the shaking stops, they are no longer in Stallery, they are on the roof of another decrepit building. Christopher and Conrad then devise that the shift was caused by the quaking from moments before and that the shaking was not natural. While they are trying to find their way back, Christopher explains that his friend Millie had gotten lost somewhere near Stallery and that the shift must be why he could not find her.
After the two get back, there are more shifts, but they do not get transported each time. They find that only one place in Stallery is where the shifts are the strongest, which was why they ended up somewhere else. After searching all of Stallery, they find the machine causing the shifts in the wine cellar. The shifts are being caused by Mr. Amos to shift the "probabilities" into more profitable chances.
The shifts are getting more frequent every day and Millie is nowhere to be found. At this point, Christopher is tired of waiting and wants to fake sick in order to get out of work, so he can look for Millie during the daytime. He tells Conrad, "Cover up for me...by saying I'm ill. Pretend I'm up here covered in green and yellow spots" (227). This leaves Conrad with double the work and he often gets blamed for the results of the shifts, which often move chairs or change foods. After days, Christopher has not returned at all, which leaves Conrad to wonder if Christopher got stuck in one of the other probabilities. He has to decide if he should go off to bring Christopher back, or stay at Stallery and not get into trouble.

1. If you had a friend that was lost in another world, would you go after them, even if it was very risky to yourself? Or would you leave them to find their own way back?
2. If you had the ability to change the "probabilities" of the world to your favor, would you do it?

Small Steps

The novel "Small Steps" written by Louis Sachar is the sequel to his previous novel "Holes". It tells of the life that a camp member at Camp Green Lake detention center mentioned in "Holes" named Armpit or Theodore. He lives in Texas next door to a little girl named Ginny. She has cerebral palsy. Armpit is trying to make an honest living being a landscaper when X-Ray, his friend from Camp Green Lake, shows up with a money making idea: ticket scalping of a Kaira DeLeon concert. At first he is skeptical of taking part in illegal behavior after his visit at Camp Green Lake, but he is eventually persuaded by X-Ray. Before the day of selling the tickets, Armpit decides to take Ginny to the concert because she is a big fan of Kaira. X-Ray gives them two tickets, but it turns out that they were fake copies. Armpit is arrested at the concert but he is saved by the mayor whom he did landscaping for. Kaira DeLeon invites them for a backstage experience because of the incident. From the beginning there is an immediate spark between Armpit and Kaira. His opinion of her changes from being,"Kind of sassy and playful...," to respect for her daily concerns and difficulties (15). Between them they will go through their ups and downs and even a life threatening situation. Sachar takes us on an amazing journey with the two people from two different worlds and their love for each other.

1. Do you think that one should take some small steps to reach his or her goal and take big steps when they readily become available or always take small steps or always big steps? Why?

The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is the last bit of wisdom that the engineer Pausch wants to leave for the world to see. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and sometimes professors would give "last lectures" and talk about what kind of wisdom they would impart upon the world if it was their last day. When Randy, father of three and faithful husband, learned he had terminal cancer, he decided he would do a real last lecture. He actually knows that his days are numbered and it makes the Last Lecture all the more intruiging. He starts with talking about childhood dreams. As a kid he said he always had very specific things he wanted to accomplish before he died. He accomplished all of the things on his list and he wanted to tell the world that people should really try to achieve their childhood dreams, because they make life all the more wonderful. He then talks a little about his life, and how living as a staunch optimist really helped him through the years. A good piece of advice he gives is that obstacles are only put in our way so we can show how much we want it. the book goes into a section about how it is as important to help others achieve their childhood dreams as is it to achieve your own, and little will feel as good. He later discusses all these tactics for living your life to the fullest and getting what you want from it. At the end he reveals that the reason he gave this lecture and went so in detail about his life was to give his kids a decent understanding of him after he passes away.
1. If you knew you only had a few months to live, what would you do?
2.What do you feel is more important, achieve your own dreams or helping others do the same?

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

John Tyree is a staff sergeant in the Army Special Forces. While he is on leave during spring break, he meets a girl at the beach named Savannah Lynn Curtis. He is walking along the beach when he sees that Savannah dropped her bag over the edge of the dock and John ran in the water to get it for her. They meet and over the two week period while he is home, they fall in love. Savannah takes John back to her house for a barbeque where he meets her family and friends. He meets Tim Wheddon and his son Alan, who has autism. Savannah meets John's father where she finds out that they do not have a close relationship because his father is only interested in his coin collection. Savannah mentions to John that Tim may have autism like Alan. John gets upset over her assumption and they get into a fight. In the process of their fight, John accidentally punches Tim. John feels bad and apologizes. Savannah and John make up. John's leave is up so he must go back to enlist in the army. They begin to have a long-disance relationship through letters. John was planning on leaving the army but when 9-11 occured, he re-enlisted. Over the next two years, they correspond through letters. One letter John recieves informed him that Savannah has been engaged to someone else. John is deeply depressed by her news. John soon after is informed that his father has had a stroke. He returns home and goes to the hospital where he found that his father has died. He goes to visit Savannah where he finds that Savannah has married Tim and that Tim has cancer. He is informed that Tim is confined in a hospital where he is in need of an experimental drug but they can not afford it. John goes to visit Tim in the hospital where Tim tells him that Savannah is still in love him John but Tim is happy that there is someone to take care of his son, Alan. John sells his father's coin collection and puts the money toward financing Tim's drug. The generous donati0n saved Tim. John and Savannah meet again when she goes out on her farm to look at the moon to remember all the moments she has spent with John.
1. Do you think two people could fall in love in two weeks?
2. If John would have been home, do you think he could have saved his father from dying?

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir about a family who made life an adventure without any money. Jeannette's father was famous for checking out "Rex Wall's style" - not paying the bill. As a child, it seemed like Jeannete was grown up. She knew there was no Santa Claus-those other kids were dumb to be fooled by their parents. It did not faze her to wait unil a couple days after Christmas to use other people's wrapping paper to wrap their gifts or to use their thrown away Christmas tree. There were times when they slept on cardboard, played with rocks and fought over the only food in the house - a stick of butter. They travelled all over and lived off what they could - it seemed natural to her. Her father was always looking for the big deal so he could build the Glass Castle. What is interesting is that Jeannette gets the "glass castle" but it is not the greatest thing in her life. She has everything money can buy, but at a cost that she had not anticipated when fulfilling her dreams.

A. Would you rather be poor and happy or rich but unfulfilled?

B. How would you overcome not having any money, terrible living conditions and parents who were mentally unstable?

Melinda Doolittle

This autobiography is about of one the most unforgettable, selfless contestants to ever grace the stage of American Idol. Melinda Doolittle, from season 6 had an insprational journey to get herself where she is today. Although she only made it to top ten, she sang her songs with all her heart and touched many souls with her sweet sounds. Her life was not always easy, she was poor growing up, and says that God has gotten her through every obstical life brings. Praying is her answer to everything. When Melinda was a young teenager, she auditioned for the grammer-school chior. They let her in because of her charisma, but said she was not good enough to sing; they asked her to lip-synch so that her voice would not be heard. Melinda was not offended by this, she was just happy to be apart of the music. One day, when she was in a shoe store, Melinda heard Whitney Houston on the music system and she has been her inspiration ever since. Melinda wanted to sing in a talent show but no one believed in her except her mother. She prayed and prayed and when she got on stage a beatiful voice rang out shocking everyone in the audience. After that, she was asked by Roz Thompson to be a back-up singer. Her phone started ringing off the hook and she soon became a professional backgroud singer. Then, she tried out for American Idol season six, and made it into the top ten. "without God...I'm tone deaf," Melinda said.

1) Would you have been insulted to be asked to lip-synch in a chior? Would you quit the chior if they asked you to do that?

2)Would you have the nerve to sing alone in a talent show knowing you've been shut down many times before then?

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green tells the story of Miles, a teenager who is unsatisfied with his daily life and his "school friends." Thus, he decides to leave his dull life and go to a boarding school, Culver Creek. Once there, he meets his roommate, Chip, better known by his nickname: "The Colonel." The Colonel takes Miles to Alaska's room to buy some cigarettes. Now Alaska is pretty darn sexy, and Miles develops strong feelings for her throughout the entire story even with her moodiness and impulsiveness. A faster pace of life is provided for Miles as he Alaska, the Colonel, Takumi (another student), and Lara (another other student) play pranks, drink, and smoke themselves into oblivion. This continues at least until one faithful night. The Colonel, Alaska, and Miles are hanging out in a barn drinking and Miles begins to find out that Alaska may have feelings for him as well when she dares him to hook up with her. Unfortunately, Miles' romantic encounter with Alaska is cut short when she becomes very distressed and runs out of the barn and drives away in her car, completely wasted. The next day, news breaks to the school that Alaska died that night when she hit a police car. Miles and his friends are absolutely distraught. They search for evidence as to whether the death of Alaska was suicide or was indeed accidental. Her death forces Miles and his friends to face issues about life and death that they had never thought much about before. The book ends with a prank by Miles and his friends that is thought up by and dedicated to Alaska when a male stripper performs at a school assembly.

1) Miles leaves a stale life in his hometown behind in search of the "Great Perhaps" or the search for a better life full of risks. Would you remain in the safety and boredom, or would you take the risks of a better life?

2) Should it really matter to Miles whether Alaska's death was suicide or not, or should he accept it as death and nothing more?

The Ghost Writer By Robert Harris

The Ghostwriter by Robert Harris tracks the journey of an author in the writing of ex prime minister Adam Lang's memoirs. The author who goes unnamed and is the narrator is a ghostwriter for Lang and writes his book for him by taking his memories and experiences and making a book out of them. He gets no credit for writing the book and no one will know who he is. One day he his called up by his publisher to work on this book and accepts with out realizing what he is getting into. He is offered $250,000 to get the book rewritten in a month. He must rewrite it in a month because the original ghostwriter drowned but his cause of death is disputed throughout the book. The first few days of interviewing go well. Soon after he joins Lang reports come out that he authorized torture of four suspected terrorists. This sends him across the East Coast to defend himself while on a lecture tour in the U.S. While Lang is gone the author goes into researching Lang more deeply. This detracts from his ability to write his book and get it in on time. What he finds will change the lives of him and everyone associated with Lang. The end of the book is very suspenceful and I can not say anmore without revealing to much of the book

Discussion Questions

1. Would you accept a job just for money without knowing what the job entails?

2. If news came out that the person you were working had commited a serious crime what like what Lang supposedly did would you still work for that person?

"Palace of Mirrors" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Cecilia is a 14 year-old girl living in a small village with Nanny Gratine. However, she has a secret: she is the real princess of Suala. She is in hiding because her parents were murdered the day she was born. Every since she could remember, her teacher, Sir Stephen (who is also a knight), has been teaching her about the rules and responsibilities of ruling the throne. Soon, when her parents' murderers are imprisoned and it is safe for her to take over, she will relieve the decoy, Princess Desmia, of her mission. Until then, however, Cecilia is stuck in this small village with her friend Harper, who does not know of the secret. One day, as she and Harper are walking down to the pond to go fishing, she senses that someone is following them. She thinks that these people are trying to kidnap her and that they know that she is the real princess. That night, she realizes that she needs to tell Harper the truth, just in case something does happen to her. When Harper finds out, he is outraged over the situation. He cannot believe that Cecilia could be so selfish as to put someone else's (Desmia's) life in danger just so that she can be safe. Cecilia feels guilty, so she and Harper decided to sneak out of the village and go to Suala. Harper takes his harp so that they have a reason to be going there in the first place. On their way out, they hear Nanny calling for Cecilia. They rush to her and see that the house is wrecked. Although Nanny is fine, she is nervous about Cecilia's safety in the village and tells her to go to Sir Stephen's house, not knowing that the teens were planning to go to Suala. The teens disobey and go to Suala instead. There, they enter a music competition to get inside the castle and meet Desmia, who is one of the judges. After their performance, Cecilia approaches Desmia and tells her that she is the real princess. Desmia nods in understanding and follows the teens out of the room. She leads them up a secret flight of stairs where the teens are blinded into entering a small trap. A couple of days later Desmia returns with Ella Brown, who is part of the delegation to create peace between the countries of Suala and Fridesia. These two countries are at war and Ella is on a mission with the delegation to end the war. However, Ella is also Desmia's friend and is trying to help her with this princess mystery because Desmia believes that she is the true princess. Upon hearing Cecilia's side of the story, the teens are released and are escorted down to a dungeon to find eleven others girls claiming that they are the true princesses. They tell the same story as Cecilia, except that they lived in different villages and had different teachers. Here, Cecilia begins questioning her identity, feeling betrayed by Sir Stephen. The group begins sneaking around the palace to try to find out some details. Cecilia gets lost and stumbles upon a secret dungeon where there are eleven men barred against the wall.Cecilia realizes that these men were the girls' teachers. Next to these men Cecilia finds a twelfth set of bars. They are empty. She realizes that they must be for Sir Stephen. Unfortunately, I do not want to give away the ending, so if you would like to know what happens next you will need to read the book to find out what happens. Questions:
1. The knights that Cecilia finds are in terrible condition. Cecilia says, " They are old men, shrunken down to bone and beards...They look like they've been crucified" (Haddix 207). If you were Cecilia, would you rather free them and risk being caught, or would you rather leave them there because you know you are the real princess and they are all imposters? If you free them, what would you do afterwards? If you don't free them, would you tell the rest of the group about them or would you keep it a secret? Why or why not? (Sorry this is long but they are yes or no questions so I had to expand a little.)
2. When Harper found out that Cecilia was a princess, he called her selfish for letting Desmia risk her life for her. Do you think Cecilia was being selfish? Explain.

Taking Woodstock by Elliot Tiber with Tom Monte

Taking Woodstock is a nonfiction book that follows the life of Elliot Tiber, the man that took over Woodstock. Woodstock is a 3 day concert, full of music, peace, and love. In 1969, they needed a new place to put it. Elliot Tiber lived in Bethel by White Lake, New York with his parents. It was a run down town on the side of the highway that did not get very many visitors. Tiber's parents owned a run down hotel that rarely had any occupants. Elliot moved to New York to try to make money for his parents so they could keep living. When he heard that Woodstock needed a new home, he knew just the place. He was head of the town's board, so he had the ability to hold the music fest in Bethel. The town grew very upset with Elliot for causing all of the chaos that came with the festival. Millions of people flooded the tiny town to take part in the music festival. The book follows Elliot through the planning and problems of Woodstock. It also follows his life as he comes out and becomes who he truly is.
1. While saving up money to move away from Bethel, Elliot Tiber's parents almost had to declare bankruptcy. His sister told him to get as far away as he could. But Elliot gave all of his money to his crazy parents, and he was therefore stuck in Bethel. Would you give up all of your hard earned money to your parents knowing it is the only way you can get to a better life and that your parents were just going to lose it all again?
2. The people that lived in Bethel were outraged that Elliot let such a concert happen in their home, even though it brought them enough business to stay open forever. Elliot risked everything he had ever done when he agreed to have Woodstock in Bethel. Would you risk everything you had to try to make a better life?

For The Win by Cory Doctorow

For The Win is a confusing book to summarize. Basically it's a fictional book about web users from all around the world joining together to fight for workers rights. The way they fight is peaceful protesting, and fighting in virtual games on the computer. Actually, that's kind of what it's all about. Online games. There are people called gold farmers on the internet. They play games to get the virtual currency for the specific game and then sell it online for real money. However, those people usually work for other people, and they're scammed off a lot of money. Anyway, those people are fighting for their rights and hacking game companies and whatnot that try to shut them down (ironically shutting them down would actually be worse for the game's economy, which is what they're trying to fix in the first place). The book has a lot of economic theories and switches between characters every chapter. One chapter might be about "General Robotwalla" (an Indian girl that plays a game with giant robots fighting zombies/other robots for money) and the next about Lu (A member of a guild on some other game that eventually becomes a regular on an illegal underground talk show for workers rights). Eventually, the Webblies (nickname for the workers union) convinces a big game corporation to join their cause. The end.

1. Would you risk your life for a cause like workers rights? Most would probably say yes without even thinking about police brutality or the amount of people that really do die from this sort of thing, so really think about it before answering, and give your reason behind your answer.

2. On a scale of one to ten, how pathetic do you think gold farming is and why?