Personal Reading Quarter IV English I: Mrs. Chenoweth Spring 2012 Once again, you have three choices for personal reading this quarter. Read over the following descriptions and choose which book you will commit to read. Deadlines: March 19/20: Book brought to class. May 10/11: Test over entire book. 1. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Synopsis: Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decadespenning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness-- featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. 2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Synopsis: It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. 3.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura
Hillenbrand Synopsis: On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the
Pacific Ocean and disappeared. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseysof the Second World War. The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, and beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
* * * You may not choose a book you have previously read** * * * *You must choose one of these books; you may read whatever you like on your own time, but these are your only choices for this qua rter * * * * * * Please let me know if you would like a recommendation. All of these books are excellent reads*** * * *You may use a Kindle or Nook. You may NOT use your computer or I pad* * *