Cherry Creek High School Kathleen D. Smith Library’s Reading for Enjoyment Summer Reading List

This is a recommended list. Topics vary and may have mature elements to the plot & content. We hope you

take time to feed your brain by reading for fun over the summer!

All books are available for checkout over the summer from our library. Many are available from Overdrive

to download to your own reading device. [http://cherrycreekschools.lib.overdrive.com]

KEY: C = Contemporary, Sp= Sports, R= Romance, F= Fantasy, NF= NonFiction, S= Suspense, SF= SciFi,

HF=Historical Fiction, A= Adventure, H= Humorous

Rucker Park Setup by Paul Volponi. Best friends Mackey and J.R. have waited their whole lives to win the basketball tournament at Rucker Park, where their favorite pro ballers squared off against street legends. But the day of their big game, J.R. is fatally stabbed—and it’s Mackey’s fault, even though he didn’t wield the knife. Now Mackey has a score to settle, but the killer is watching his every move. (Sp, S)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Hazel is a 16 year old girl with stage IV thyroid cancer, and has been living with an oxygen tank since she was first diagnosed at 12. She realizes she is going to die, but she is on a drug that is keeping the tumors at bay. At a support group meeting she meets hottie Augustus Waters, who is in remission. They immediately hit it off and change each other’s lives drastically. (C, R)

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. Will Henry is an assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was eating her, Will's world is about to change forever. Will and the doctor must face the horror threatening to overtake and consume our world before it is too late. The Monstrumologist is the first in the gothic adventure trilogy: The Curse of the Wendigo and The Isle of Blood. (F)

The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens. Nonfiction story of man’s story of extraordinary leadership and service as both a humanitarian and a warrior. In a life lived at the raw edges of the human experience, Greitens has seen what can be accomplished when compassion and courage come together in meaningful service. Greitens offers each of us a new way of thinking about living a meaningful life. We learn that to win any war, even those we wage against ourselves; to create and obtain lasting peace; to save a life; and even, simply to live with purpose requires us—every one of us—to be both good and strong (NF)

What Can’t Wait by Ashley Hope Pérez. Marisa’s parents came to Houston from Mexico. They work hard, and they expect Marisa to help her familia. At school, Marisa's calc teacher expects her to ace the AP test and to get into an engineering program in Austin. When her home life becomes unbearable, Marisa seeks comfort elsewhere—and suddenly neither her best friend nor boyfriend can get through to her. Caught between the expectations of two different worlds, Marisa isn't sure what she wants. This is the story of one girl's survival in a world in which family needs trump individual success, and self-reliance the only key that can unlock the door to the future. (C)

Shine by Lauren Myracle. When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. (C,S)

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve. The story is set into an alternate post-apocalyptic era, where the Earth as we know it was destroyed by the Sixty-minute war. Survivors built cities with claws on wheels to travel the grounds and eat each other. Municipal Darwinism is a version of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest”, but applied to entire moving cities, their resources, and their people. This story weaves idea of imperialism (which city is the most fearsome and powerful), civilization, terrorism, freedom fighting, and environmentalism (with ideals of turning the world green again) and blends them into the plot. First in The Hungry City Chronicles followed by: Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices, and A Darkling Plain). (SF)

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She wants nothing more than to leave behind the whispers that follow her every waking step and start fresh. Josie is a strong heroine figure and there is a rich cast of characters.(HF)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. But one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along. First in the Summer Series followed by: It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer (R)

Unwind by Neal Shusterman. The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Three children join together so they may have a chance to escape and to survive. Followed by UnWholly and UnSouled. (SF)

Discovering Wes Moore by Wes Moore. Like the adult version (The Other Wes Moore) the author explores the issues that separate success and failure. Moore compares his story with another man, someone who shared the same name, was almost the same age, grew up fatherless in a similar Baltimore neighborhood, but is serving a life sentence for murder. Compelled to write to the other Wes, the author was surprised to receive a reply. And so began a friendship, as letters turned into visits and the two men got to know one another. This compelling story about the challenges of growing up and the responsibility for the choices we make, is sure to inspire. (NF)

In Darkness by Nick Lake. The book is set in Haiti and toggles back and forth in time between the 2010 devastating earthquake and the beginning of Haiti's struggle to free itself from its oppressors. Shorty, a 15 year old gang member who lives in the slums of Port au Prince, is taken to the hospital shortly before the earthquake and is now trapped beneath the collapsed building. As he waits for rescue, Shorty revisits his past and also begins to experience another life--that of Toussaint Overture, the hero of Haiti who fought the colonial oppressors and won. The novel links these two characters in fascinating ways, as it explores the spiritual connection between the two. This book is the 2013 Michael Printz winner and available via CCSD Overdrive. (HF)

Wonder by R.J. Palacio. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? This book is making waves across the nation. Worth reading for all ages. Available via CCSD Overdrive (C)

Huntress by Malindo Lo Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance. To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. The plot overflows with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching. Prequel (but could stand-alone) to Ash. (A, R)

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush sho committed suicide months earlier. This book has been wildly popular by boys and girls and inspired the 13RW Project, the online scrapbook where readers can share their thoughts and stories related to the book. (C)

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it’s barely begun. Verity, a secret agent captured in enemy territory, is living a spy’s worst nightmare. The Nazis give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. (HF, A)

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, the creator hid a series of puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.( A, SF, R)

Muchacho by LouAnn Johnson. Eddie Corazon is angry. He's also very smart. But he's working pretty hard at being a juvenile delinquent. Then along comes Lupe, who makes his blood race. She sees something in Eddie he doesn't even see in himself. A heart, and a mind, and something more: a poet. But in Eddie's world, it's a thin line between tragedy and glory. And what goes down is entirely in Eddie's hands. Muchacho is a rare and inspiring story about one teen's determination to fight his circumstances and shape his own destiny. Available via CCSD Overdrive (C, R)

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far. (C, F)

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper. After a car accident kills Robert, Andy's best friend and teammate on the Hazelwood High Tigers, Andy doesn't know if he can go on. He's consumed with guilt for driving the night of the accident after a long evening of drinking and partying. This is the first book in the Hazelwood High trilogy (Forged by Fire and Darkness Before Dawn) and has been a favorite read for many of readers. The unique format of the book, told in newspaper articles, letters, conversations, makes it a compelling, heart-felt read. (C)

*Reviews & summaries taken from Amazon and GoodReads*

The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles Into Everyday Greatness by Paul G. Stoltz and Erik Weihenmayer. Erik Weihenmayer became blind at 13, yet he is an accomplished mountain, ice and rock climber, and an expert skier, skydiver, long-distance biker and marathon competitor. This book is built upon a simple but powerful promise: anyone can use the ingredients of adversity to elevate one's life. This book is a “first hand account of how adversity strengthens character” (Amazon review) (NF, Sp)

Rebel Fire or Red Leech (two different titles, same book) by Andy Lane. Fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes knows that Amyus Crowe, his mysterious American tutor, has some dark secrets. But he didn’t expect to find John Wilkes Booth, the notorious assassin, apparently alive and well in England—and Crowe somehow mixed up in it. When no one will tell you the truth, sometimes you have to risk all to discover it for yourself. And so begins an adventure that will take Sherlock across the Atlantic, to the center of a deadly web—where a friend is in peril and a defeated army threatens to rise again. Second in The Young Sherlock Holmes series: Death Cloud, Black Ice, Fire Storm, Snake Bite. (S)

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick. Based on the true story of Arn Chorn-Pond, this is an achingly raw and powerful novel about a child of war who becomes a man of peace. When soldiers arrive at his hometown in Cambodia, Arn is just a kid, dancing to rock 'n' roll, hustling for spare change, and selling ice cream with his brother. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever. (HF)

Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team That Changed a Town by Warren St. John. A complex and inspirational story about the Fugees, a youth soccer team made up of diverse refugees from around the world, and their formidable female coach, Luma Mufleh. Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical southern town until it became a refugee resettlement center. The author explores how the community changed with the influx of refugees and how the dedication of Lumah and the entire Fugees soccer team inspired an entire community. This is the young people's version of the adult bestseller of the same name. (NF)

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford. Will Carter is a freshman with ADD, a stutter when he talks to girls, and a desperate desire to make his first year of high school as successful as possible. Unfortunately for Carter (but fortunately for the reader), things don’t go exactly as planned. Carter narrates the ups and downs of his freshman year, from his first date to his first (and second) disastrous encounter with shaving, his first college party to his first (and second) run from the cops, and everything in between. This is the first of Carter’s adventures, followed by Carter’s Big Break and Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind . Available via CCSD Overdrive (H)