High School Reads!

by Sarah Miller Lexile:  1110 Genre:  Biography On May 28, 1934, 5 identical girls were born and their combined birth weight was 13 pounds, 6 ounces.  They were born in a farm house in Ontario, Canada where only primitive medical care was available.  Yet somehow, against all odds, the 5 girls survived and became known all around the world as The Quints.  Unfortunately, the worldwide attention wasn't always positive and forced their parents to make difficult decisions regarding their upbringing.  The Dionnes had limited money and resources and were convinced to surrender their parental rights to the government so that they could get the care they needed.  That was a decision that would ultimately tear their family apart.

by Dashka Slater Lexile:  930 Genre:  Informational, Biography The 57 Bus is a true story of two high school students from Oakland, California. Sasha was a teenager in a skirt riding a city bus who fell asleep.  Richard was a teenager with a lighter riding a city bus who thought it would be a funny joke to set something on fire.  The two strangers meet on the 57 bus and their short, chance encounter will change both of their lives forever.

by Melissa Fleming Genre:  Biography Doaa Al Zamel is living an ordinary life with her family in Syria until the army comes to take control of protesting that is happening in her formerly quiet little town.  Her father is a barber, and when his business is destroyed and life no longer seems safe for his wife and daughters, the family decides to leave for Egypt.  At first they are welcomed there and are able to find housing and jobs, but as more and more refugees flee Syria, conditions in Egypt deteriorate.  Doaa and her fiance, decide that there best chance at a prosperous life would be to escape to Europe.  But getting there will not be easy as it is illegal for them to leave the country.  Doaa and Bassem set out on a journey that will leave Doaa adrift at sea fighting for her life and the loves of others that she just met.  The only thing Doaa has left is hope.

by Jeannette Walls Genre:  Biography In Half Broke Horses , Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle , tells the story of her grandmother, the formidable Lily Casey Smith.  Lily lived the rough and tough life of a rancher's daughter.  She was helping her father break in horses at the age of 6.  She survived floods, droughts, tornadoes, and the Great Depression.  She and her husband, Jim, didn't have a lot of money, but they weren't afraid of hard work.  Lily set goals for herself that she nearly always achieved.  With only an 8th grade education, she passed the state teaching exam and rode her pony 500 miles to get her first teaching job.  The first time she saw an airplane she knew that one day she would take flying lessons.   Half Broke Horses is the story of an amazing woman who lived a long and full life.

by Ronda Rousey and Maria Burns Ortiz Lexile:  ??? Genre:  Biography/Memoir Ronda Rousey always wanted to fight.  First, she fought her way through opponents in judo and made it all the way to the Olympics.  Then her dream was to become a fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  Along the way, there was struggle, pain, and heartbreak, but Ronda never gave up. By keeping her dream in sight, she was able to push through the hard times to become a champion.

by Laura Hillenbrand Lexile:  850 Genre:  Biography As a boy, Louis Zamperini was known as a troublemaker, but as a teenager he was able to channel his energy into running which gave him the chance to compete in the Berlin Olympics.  But then the war came and in May of 1943, Louis Zamperini’s plan crashed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  He is left stranded in the ocean in enemy territory with only a life raft and his desire to survive.  This is the incredible true story of how Louis was pushed to the brink of death and yet somehow managed to remain unbroken.

by James McBride Lexile:  1240 Genre:  Biography The author, James McBride, once asked his mother if he was black or white.  His mother responded, “You’re a human being.  Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody.”  James had to wait until he was an adult before his mother would tell him the story of his heritage.  This story revealed more to him then he could ever have imagined.  It is the story of how a Polish born rabbi’s daughter, who was raised in the South, left her home and married at black Baptist man and was able to send all twelve of her children to college.  It is the story of James McBride’s family.