Grade 10—What is this Book About?Book Summaries

DeadlineChris CrutcherGiven the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos.

Little Brother Cory DoctorowInterrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus is released into what is now a police state, and decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

The Carnival at BrayJessie Ann FoleyWhen sixteen-year-old Maggie Lynch must relocate to a tiny seaside town in Ireland, she relies on care packages from her rocker uncle Kevin, but when she experiences first love and a death, Maggie heads off to explore the seedy side of Dublin, and then Rome.

The Warrior’s HeartEric GreitensEric Greitens shares his life journey from being an average kid to working to make a difference in the world's trouble spots and joining the Navy SEALS to protect the weak, and encourages readers to reflect on the power of choice and acts of courage.

Ready Player OneErnest ClineIn the year 2044, Wade Watts, like the rest of humanity, chooses to escape reality and spends his waking hours in the limitless, utopian virtual world of the OASIS, but when Wade stumbles upon the first of the fiendish puzzles set up by OASIS creator James Halliday he finds he

must compete with thousands of others--including those willing to commit murder--in order to claim a prize of massive fortune.

Orphan TrainChristine Baker ClineWhen seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer is sent to perform community service at elderly Vivian Daly's home in order to avoid juvenile hall, she discovers that the two are very much alike, despite the vast age difference.

The Other We Moore: One Name, Two FatesWes Moore

The author, a Rhodes scholar and combat veteran, analyzes the various sociocultural factors that influenced him as well as another man of the same name and from the same neighborhood who was drawn into a life of drugs and crime and ended up serving life in

prison, focusing on the influence of relatives, mentors, and social expectations that could have led either of them on different paths.

House RulesJodi PicoultEmma Hunt's son Jacob, who has Asperger's syndrome and occasionally tries helping the police with his unique forensic analysis abilities, falls under suspicion when a murder occurs in town, reminding Emma of society's--and the legal system's--misunderstanding with regard to the behavioral cues associated with Asperger's.

When I Was the GreatestJason Reynoldsli lives in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, but he and his sister, Jazz, and their neighbors, Needles and Noodles, stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back.

The Kite Runner Khaled HosseiniAmir, haunted by his betrayal of Hassan, the son of his father's servant and a childhood friend, returns to Kabul as an adult after he learns Hassan has been killed, in an attempt to redeem himself by rescuing Hassan's son from a life of slavery to a Taliban official.

A Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty SmithYoung Francie Nolan, having inherited both her father's romantic and her mother's practical nature, struggles to survive and thrive growing up in the slums of Brooklyn in the early twentieth century.

The House of MirthEdith WhartonThe beautiful, much-desired Lily Bart has been raised to be one of the perfect wives of the wealthy upper class, but her spark of character and independent drive prevents her from becoming one of the many women who will succeed in those circles. Though her desire for a comfortable life means that she cannot marry for love

without money, her resistance to the rules of the social elite endangers her many marriage proposals. As Lily spirals down into debt and dishonor, her story takes on the resonance of classic tragedy. 

White FangJack LondonWhite Fang was part dog, part wolf, and the lone survivor of his family. Struggling for his life in his lonely world, he soon learned to follow the harsh law of the North -- kill or be killed. But nothing prepared him for the challenges to come. After being turned into a

vicious killer forced to fight for money, White Fang must find a way to return to humanity. Will White Fang ever know the kindness of a gentle master, or will he die a fierce and deadly killer?

The Last of the MohicansJames Fenimore CooperChingachgook and Uncas are the last living members of the great Mohican tribe. Hawkeye, a colonial scout, is their companion and loyal friend. In the midst of the French and Indian War, these three will risk everything to lead the two daughters of a British colonel to safety through the battle-torn northern wilderness. When the girls are captured by the vicious Huron tribe, Chingachgook,

Uncas, and Hawkeye determine to do whatever they can to save them--no matter the cost.

Moby DickHerman MelvilleA young seaman joins the crew of the whaling ship Pequod, led by the fanatical Captain Ahab in pursuit of the white whale, Moby Dick.