High School Book LIst - Federal Way Public Schools

Title Author
High School Supplementary Reading List
Content
Song of Solomon Morrison, Toni Song of Solomon begins with one of the most arresting scenes in our century's literature: a
dreamlike tableau depicting a man poised on a roof, about to fly into the air, while cloth rose
petals swirl above the snow-covered ground and, in the astonished crowd below, one woman
sings as another enters premature labor. The child born of that labor, Macon (Milkman) Dead,
will eventually come to discover, through his complicated progress to maturity, the meaning of
the drama that marked his birth. Toni Morrison's novel is at once a romance of self-discovery,
a retelling of the black experience in America that uncovers the inalienable poetry of that
experience, and a family saga luminous in its depth, imaginative generosity, and universality. It
is also a tribute to the ways in which, in the hands of a master, the ancient art of storytelling
can be used to make the mysterious and invisible aspects of human life apparent, real, and
firm to the touch. Note: This book may contain offensive material.
Sophie‘s World Gaardner, Jostein One day Sophie comes home from school to find two questions in her mail--who are you? And
where does the world come from? Before she knows it, Sophie is enrolled in a
correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher. But Sophie is receiving a separate
batch of equally unusual letters. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up in
Sophie's world?
Sound of Waves, The Mishima, Yukio Set in a remote fishing village in Japan, The Sound of Waves is a timeless story of first love. A
young fisherman is entranced at the sight of the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the
village. They fall in love, but must then endure the calumny and gossip of the villagers. This
book contains sexual references.
Sounder Armstrong A landmark in children's literature, winner of the 1970 Newbery Medal, and the basis of an
acclaimed film, Sounder traces the keen sorrow and the abiding faith of a poor African-
American boy in the 19th-century South. The boy's father is a sharecropper, struggling to feed
his family in hard times. Night after night, he and his great coon dog, Sounder, return to the
cabin empty-handed. Then, one morning, almost like a miracle, a sweet-smelling ham is
cooking in the family's kitchen. At last the family will have a good meal. But that night, an
angry sheriff and his deputies come, and the boy's life will never be the same.
Speak Anderson, Laurie
Halse
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been
getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw....
Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some
kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it
be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and
got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her
parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their
nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the
real reason why she's been struck mute.
Spirits of the Ordinary Alaclá, Kathleen In 1870s Mexico Zacarias Caraval abandons his family and the religion of his fathers--Judaism-
-to search for gold in the desert. His wife, Estela, responds by declaring herself independent
and taking a lover--an action frowned upon in the small village of Saltillo. Zacarias's
wanderings take him into the mountains of Northern Mexico and to the cliff dwellings of Casas
Grandes. This book is remarkable in its facile intertwining of Native religion, Magic Realism,
Judaism, and Christianity. Sexual scenes are portrayed.
Stranger, The Camus, Albert Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an
Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the
absurd." Note: This book may contain offensive material.
Stuck in Neutral Trueman, Terry Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel loves the taste of smoked oysters and his mother's gentle
hugs. Unfortunately, it's impossible for Shawn to feed himself or to hug his mom back. Shawn
has cerebral palsy, a condition he has had since birth that has robbed him of all muscle
control. He can't walk, talk, or even focus his eyes on his own. But despite all these
handicaps, despite the frustration of not being able to communicate, Shawn is still happy to be
alive: That is why he panics when he begins to suspect that his father is thinking of killing him.
Shawn knows that his father is trying to be kind; he imagines that his son's life is an endless
torment. His dad has no idea of the rich life that Shawn lives inside his head. And Shawn,
helpless and mute, has no way of telling him.
Sula Morrison, Toni In clear, dark, resonant language, Toni Morrison brilliantly evokes not only a bond between two
lives, but the harsh, loveless, ultimately mad world in which that bond is destroyed, the world
of the Bottom and its people, through forty years, up to the time of their bewildered realization
that even more than they feared Sula, their pariah, they needed her. Note: This book may
contain offensive material.
High School 2011-12