Brandy Danner is a librarian specializing in young adult services.
Summer Reading
As a quick wrap-up, the teen summer reading program had 141 people signed up and 160 folders given out. Everyone's pretty happy with my numbers, me especially. Yay!
A week or so ago, I got a call from the newly-appointed head of the English department for the local public schools. She's looking to revamp the entire summer reading list, and wants my suggestions of what books should be on there. I already have a pretty sizable list (I'm always very excited to push books on people, and freak that I am, I like making annotated booklists), but I'm having trouble adding to it. I need to find books appropriate for grades 6-11 (12th grade gets to pick something off the NYT or Boston Globe Bestseller lists), ideally that isn't already on the list for the school year.
That said: Hive mind! What books do you wish you'd encountered in high school? What books are you happy you did? What should be avoided at all costs? (I promise not to get into my rant on Why Assigned Summer Reading is a Bad Idea.)
