Literature Circles

The GiverThe Giver is the story of a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas. In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories.

Tuck EverlastingImagine coming upon a fountain of youth in a forest. To live forever--isn't that everyone's ideal?

For the Tuck family, eternal life is a reality, but their reaction to their fate is surprising. Kidnapping, murderers, and adventure.

The Hobbit"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

The HobbitBilbo Baggins is a Hobbit. Like most of his kind, he is well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to.

Soon 13 dwarves have arrived on the hobbit's doorstep in search of a burglar, and before he can even grab his hat or an umbrella, Bilbo Baggins is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure.

Chocolate River RescueShawn leaped back onto the ice. He took a breath and jumped over the widening crack, grabbing his little brother by the coat as he flew through the air. Both boys fell heavily to the ice on the other side. The boys stared in horror as the crack widened to reveal an eddy of churning, foaming brown water.

Tony, Craig, and Shawn are trapped on an ice floe on the Petitcodiac River in the dead of winter, and the rapid current is pulling them toward the ocean. Twelve-year-old Petra arrives and the boys think they’re saved, but their dangerous journey is only just beginning.

Bridge to TerabithiaJess Aarons is eager to start fifth grade. He's been practicing his sprints all summer, determined to become the fastest runner at school. All seems to be on track, until the new girl in class (who also happens to be Jess's new next-door neighbor), Leslie Burke, leaves all the boys in the dust, including Jess. After this rather frustrating introduction, Jess and Leslie soon become inseparable. Together, they create an imaginary, secret kingdom in the woods called Terabithia that can be reached only by swinging across a creek bed on a rope. But one morning a tragic accident befalls Leslie as she ventures alone to Terabithia, and Jess's life is changed forever.

The PigmanTo John and Lorraine, the world feels meaningless; nothing is important. They certainly can never please their parents, and school is a chore. To pass the time, they play pranks on unsuspecting people. It's during one of these pranks that they meet the "Pigman"--a fat, balding old man with a zany smile plastered on his face. In spite of themselves, John and Lorraine soon find that they're caught up in Mr. Pignati's zest for life. In fact, they become so involved that they begin to destroy the only corner of the world that's ever mattered to them.

The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy

An alcoholic mother, a distracted father, a best friend who spends all his time with his new “girlfriend,” and three relentless schoolyard bullies: Prinny Murphy's past, present, and future certainly are “tense.” Adding to her misery, she still can't read well enough to escape from remedial lessons with the dour Mrs. Dooks. But when a kindly substitute teacher introduces her to LaVaughn's inner-city world in the free verse novel, Make Lemonade, Prinny discovers that life can be full of possibilities – and poetry.

The Nine Lives of Travis KeatingAfter his mother's death, Travis Keating and his father move to Ratchet, Newfoundland, to start a new life. Some life. Travis soon discovers that only a few oddballs show any interest in him: Cole, a talker who soon makes himself scarce; Hector, a strange kid whose ears stick out; and Prinny, a girl as scraggly as her skinny ponytail. Nobody you can really call a friend. And then there's Hud, the toughest, nastiest bully in school, who hates "townies" and promises to make Travis's life an utter misery. But Travis doesn't care. He's got his "funeral face," a tight mask that gives away nothing and allows him to hide his feelings. The face also makes him reckless…

Cowboys Don’t CryShane Morgan's world is shattered when his mother is killed in a car accident. His father and hero, a famous rodeo star, drowns his sorrow in booze and soon is just a rodeo clown with a drinking problem. Then the two inherit a small ranch, and Shane looks forward to having a real home, making friends, and getting through a whole school year in the same place. But things don't go well at school or at home. In fact, Shane and his father seem to be growing further and further apart.

Will his father ever change? Will things ever be different?

Gathering BlueHaving suffered numerous unnamed disasters (aka, the Ruin), civilization has regressed to a primitive, technology-free state; disorder, savagery, and self-interest rule. Kira, a crippled young weaver, has been raised and taught her craft by her mother, after her father was allegedly killed by "beasts." When her mother dies, Kira fears that she will be cast out of the village. Instead, the society's Council of Guardians installs her as caretaker of the Singer's robe, a precious ceremonial garment depicting the history of the world and used at the annual Gathering.

No EscapeChloe teams up with her kid sister Phoebe to clear the name of a falsely accused young man. When Caleb Darke is released from prison, nobody in town wants him back. Nobody will even give him a chance - except Chloe. She's sure he didn't commit the crime he was convicted of. The trouble is, how is she going to prove it? And if Caleb didn't do it, who did? Because that person is going to do everything possible to keep Chloe from finding out...

The Subtle Knife

‘What is he? A friend, or an enemy’? ‘He is a murderer’. Will has just killed a man. He’s on the run. His escape will take him far beyond his own world, to the eerie disquiet of a deserted city and to a girl, Lyra. Her fate is strangely linked to his own, and together they must find the most powerful weapon in all the word.

Trials of DeathCrepsley has brought Darren to Vampire Mountain to undergo the Trials of Death, an elective ritual periodically undergone by vampires in order to bond with the clan and prove their worth. As a half-vampire, Darren is in more danger of failing the trials than the others who usually participate, but he is determined to go ahead. The penalty for failing without dying is execution.

The GravesaversIn the wake of a family tragedy, twelve-year-old Minn Hotchkiss is sent to spend the summer with her sour grandmother in the tiny seaside town of Boulder Basin, Nova Scotia. Almost as soon as she arrives, Minn discovers the skull of a human child on the beach. She is swiftly caught up in a mystery that reaches back more than a century, to the aftermath of the most tragic shipwreck in Maritime history before the Titanic.

By summer’s end, Minn will solve a ghostly mystery and, most importantly, finally be able to give up the terrible secret she has kept locked in her heart.

The Bar Code TattooIt's 2025, and the thing to do on your 17th birthday is to get a bar code tattoo, which is used for everything from driver's licenses to shopping. Kayla, almost 17, resists because she hates the idea of being labelled. Then the tattoos begin to drive people to commit suicide, Kayla's father among them, and she soon finds out that the markings contain detailed information about their bearers, including their genetic code.

School’s Out Forever

Peak