International School Of Denver MYP Summer Reading List

International School of Denver MYPSummer Reading ListWhy summer reading? Because there is something so glorious about reading a book ina hammock or reading a book whose pages are stiff from the salt water spray of anearby ocean. Students, I hope you find your glorious summer reading spot under ashady tree or in a sunny nook. I chose a wide variety of books to put on the list, sothere should be something for everyone. HAPPY READING!Questions? E-mail Ms. Leah at leah.Bassoff@isdenver.orgSupport our local bookstores. Bookies, located at 4315 E Mississippi Ave, Denver, willcarry most or all of the books on the summer reading list.Instructions: Please choose two books off of the summer reading list.When we come back to school in September, you will have the opportunity to write tothe authors of one of the books you have read. If you choose one of the books listed inblue, you will actually receive a letter back from the author.The following authors (whose books are in blue) are authors who have agreed towrite back to our students.The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman (Grade 5 and up)Part mystery, part literary puzzle, part life-and-death quest, and chillingly magical, thisnovel has plenty of suspense for adventure fans and is a treat for readers who lovebooks, words, and clues. Best friends Rosie and Adam find an old book with blankpages that fill with handwriting before their eyes. Something about this magical bookhas the power to make people vanish, even from memory. The power lies in a poem—aspell. When Adam's older sister, Shelby, disappears, they struggle to retain theirmemories of her as they race against time to bring her back from the void, risking theirown lives in the process.

International School of Denver MYPSecret Keeper by Mitali Perkins (Grades 7 and up)In an intimate and absorbing drama about a displaced Indian family in the 1970s,Perkins (Monsoon Summer) vividly highlights the conflict between traditional Indianvalues and feminist ideals. After Ashas father goes to America in search of a new job,the rest of the family moves from Delhi to Calcutta to live in the more restrictivehousehold headed by her grandmother. As often as she can, Asha escapes to therooftop to confide her woes to her secret keeper, a diary; breaking the rules of thehouse, she also befriends the son of the family next door, who gazes at her through awindow. But their relationship changes irrevocably when tragedy prompts Asha to makea painful sacrifice for the sake of her mother and sister.Here’s to You, Zeb Pike by Johanna ParkhurstWhen Zebulon Pike attempted to climb what is now known as Pikes Peak, he got stuckin waist-deep snow and had to turn back.That's the last thing Dusty Porter learns in his Colorado history class before appendicitisruins his life. It isn't long before social services figures out that Dusty's parents are moremyth than reality, and he and his siblings are shipped off to live in Vermont with an uncleand aunt they've never met.Dusty's new life is a struggle. At school, one hockey player develops a personalvendetta against him, while Emmitt, another hockey player, is making it hard for Dustyto keep pretending he's straight. Problem is, he's pretty sure Emmitt's not gay. Then,just when Dusty thinks things can't get any worse, his mother reappears, looking for asecond chance to be a part of his life.Somehow Zebulon Pike still got the mountain named after him, so Dusty's determinedto persevere-but at what point in life do you keep climbing, and when do you give upand turn back?Every Inferno by Johanna ParkhurstDepressed. Defiant. Possible alcoholic. These are just a few of the terms used todescribe fifteen-year-old Jacob Jasper Jones. Lately, though, JJ has a new one to addto the list: detective. He’s been having strange dreams about the fire that killed hisparents ten years ago, and he thinks he finally has the clue to catching the arsonist whodestroyed his family.A fascinating whodunnit about murder, family, and finding out who you are. Yet anothergreat LGBTQ book about a gay kid living his life, instead of an issues book with acapital I.Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco by Judith Robbins Rose (Grade 4 and up)When Jacinta Juarez is paired with a rich, famous mentor, she is swept away from thediapers and dishes of her own boring life into a world of new experiences. But crossingla linea into Miss's world is scary. Half of Jacinta aches for the comfort of Mamá and thefamiliar safety of the barrio, while the other half longs to embrace a future that offersmore than cleaning stuff for white people.When her family is torn apart, Jacinta needs to bring the two halves of herself togetherto win back everything she holds dear. Can she channel the power she's gained fromMiss and the strength she's inherited from Mamá to save her shattered home life?

International School of Denver MYPLost Girl Found by Leah Bassoff and Laura Deluca (you might know one of theseauthors) Winner of the Colorado Book Award, 2015(For ages 12 and up)For Poni, life in her village in southern Sudan is simple and complicated at the sametime. Stay in school. Beat up any boy who tries to show attention. Watch out for thedangers in the river. But then the war comes. Soldiers arrive in her village, bombsbegin to rain from the sky, and there is only one thing for Poni to do. Run. Lost GirlFound is a story of hope, survival and a girl who is willing to do anything in order to getan education.Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan (for more mature readers)Nothing is beyond Kristi Carmichael’s disdain—her hippie high school, her friend Jacob,her workaholic mom. Yet for all her attitude and her mind-reading abilities, Kristi has avulnerable side. She can hear the thoughts of her fellow students, calling her fat andgross. She’s hot for Gusty Peterson, one of the most popular guys in school, but ofcourse, she’s sure he thinks she is disgusting. And she’s still mad at her father, whowalked out on them two years ago. Soon, a school project brings her together withGusty, her father comes home and drops a bombshell, and a friend comes out of thecloset, and suddenly she is left doubting that she can read people at all.Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (the first in the Sky Chasers series) (Grades 6 and up)If a violent battle destroyed the only world you've ever known, would you bebrave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight?Either way, there's no turning back The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Asmembers of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she andher boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marryyoung in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, thehandsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. But there's apart of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage and she is secretly intriguedby the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.Suddenly, Waverly's dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violentbetrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon. In one pivotal moment,Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerousmissions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisionsof the heart may lead to disaster.A Year Without Mom by Dasha Tolstikova (Grade 5 and up)(A graphic novel)It is the early 1990’s in Moscow, and political change is in the air. But Dasha is moreworried about her own challenges as she negotiates family, friendships and schoolwithout her mother. Just as she begins to find her own feet, she gets word that she is tojoin her mother in America—a place that seems impossibly far from everything andeveryone she loves.

International School of Denver MYPFig by Sarah Schantz (recommended for more mature readers)Love and sacrifice intertwine in this brilliant debut of rare beauty about a girl dealing withher mother’s schizophrenia and her own mental illness.Spanning the course of Fig’s childhood from age six to nineteen, this deeply provocativenovel is more than a portrait of a mother, a daughter, and the struggle that comes withall-consuming love. It is an acutely honest and often painful portrayal of life with mentalillness and the lengths to which a young woman must go to handle the ordeals—real orimaginary—thrown her way.Other Fabulous Books:Black Flame by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane (Grades 5 and up)Set in Tibet, Mongolia and China, a novel about the adventures of a fiercely powerful yetlovable Tibetan mastiff that is sure to join the ranks of other much-read classic dogstories.Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Grades 5 and up)In the mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. Inthe evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the OldMan on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by thesestories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon toask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast ofcharacters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompaniesher on her quest for the ultimate answer.Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (Grades 5 and up)Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camerathat is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid inher whole school—but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctorsincluded—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school daysconsisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again andagain. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks andknows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until shediscovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever.Firegirl by Tony Abbott (Grades 5 and up)From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-gradeclassmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and willbe attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments. Despite her horrifyingappearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly developsa tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life.