9^th Grade Reading List

Abadzis, Nick. Laika. Roaring Brook, 2007. An abandoned puppy, Laika, was destined to become Earth’s first space traveler in the Soviet Union’s Sputnik program. This non-fiction graphic novel portrays the preparation for her fatal journey and the agony of her special handler, who knows that there are no plans for her to come back.

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Little,Brown,2007. Talented Arnold Spirit leaves the reservation school to go to an academically superior one located many miles away. How he copes with this change, both at school and on the reservation, is realistic, thought provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. National Book of the year 2008.

Breashears, David and Audrey Salkeld. Last climb: the legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory. National Geographic, 1999. In 1924 the explorer, George Mallory, disappeared on Mount Everest only to be found 75 years later on the icy slopes. Breashears, himself a renown mountaineer, reveals the astounding facts of eearly climbing on Mt. Everest, describes the events of Mallory’s adventurous life, and suggests scenarios that may have led to his death on this most dangerous climb.

Cavanagh, Thomas B. Head Games. St. Martin’s, 2007. The lead singer of a popular boy band disappears. A lucrative reward is offered by the band’s manager, a retired police detective, with two ex-wives, a teenage daughter, and a brain tumor he’s named “Bob.”