District 99 South Campus

Alexie, Sherman
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Arnold Spirit (aka Junior) does the unthinkable - he leaves his Spokane Indian reservation to get a better education at a neighboring all-white school. Now his friends (and sometimes his family) think he's a traitor. And the kids at the all-white school think he's weird. Additionally through humor and cartoon, Junior has to cope with girls, zits, and basketball.

Cowan, David and Kuenster, John
To Sleep with the Angels
Local Chicago history is the setting for this gripping story of events surrounding the tragic 1958 fire that swept through Our Lady of Angels Elementary School. The author’s piece together a moving narrative based on the eyewitness accounts of survivors, doctors, nurses, and arson investigators.

Foer, Jonathon Safron
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Because his father died in the World Trade Center bombings, Oskar (who seems much older than nine) sets out to find the lock that fits a key that belonged to his father. His search leads him to a wide variety of fascinating people and a man with his father's name. The story is told from multipleviewpoints and includes photographs, art and variations in typography; it is a unique work.

Gavriel Kay, Guy
Ysabel
When Ned Marriner's father, a famous photographer, goes to France to complete a photo shoot, Ned thinks this will be a great opportunity to miss school and have some fun. After a promising start to the trip, including meeting and befriending a girl named Kate, everything seems to be on track. But what happens next has Ned questioning everything he believes about life, love and death as he and Kate are dragged into a centuries old love triangle that puts everyone in Ned's life in danger.

Grisham, John
Bleachers
For decades in Messina, Mississippi, the only game in town on Friday nights is Spartan High School football. After a fifteen-year absence and in anticipation of the death of the legendary but often brutal Coach Eddie Rake, Neely Crenshaw, the star quarterback of the 1987 championship team, returns to keep a vigil in the bleachers of the first class Messina stadium with other so called "Rake boys." In an extended play-by-play recall, the reader, the team, and other former players relive an excruciatingly close and challenging 1987 game. Grisham builds suspense not only in the game itself, but also through the mysterious circumstances of the game, the Coach's techniques, and the long-lasting effects of football stardom on Neely.

Hoffman, Alice
Local Girls
Alice Hoffman has written a very compelling collection of short stories centering around the two "local girls," Gretel Samuelson and her best friend Jill, during the turbulent years of their adolescence. The stories chronicle, in particular, Gretel's family falling apart due to the unhappy marriage of her parents; her brilliant brother's descent into drug addiction; her mother's serious illness and Gretel's own poor romantic relationship. What saves these stories from being quite depressing is Gretel's wry and humorous way of viewing these events, keeping the reader very intrigued. Gretel and Jill's adventures in their neighborhood when they seek revenge on nasty neighbors will especially keep you laughing and rooting for them to succeed. Hoffman creates a very real world with people you will care for.

Picoult, Jodi
My Sister's Keeper
Anna leads a life like no other teenager her age; at thirteen, she has undergone numerous surgeries, shots, and transfusions so that Kate, her sister, can fight the leukemia she has had since she was young. Finally fed up with the countless medical procedures, Anna seeks a lawyer and fights for the right to make decisions about her own body. This controversial novel raises questions about being a good sister, good parent, as well as a moral person.

Quinn, Daniel
Ishmael
Does Earth belong to humans or do humans belong to the Earth? Unlike most gorillas, Ishmael talks, telepathically that is. He tells an intriguing story about the world and humanity’s place in it. If you’re interested in the environment, you will like this imaginative novel.

Roach, Mary
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
"This is a book about notable achievements made while dead," says author Mary Roach. Mary looks at how scientists have used cadavers throughout history, and through her research, she demonstrates the many advances of forensic science that have helped the living. A thoughtful, respectful and funny look at what happens to our bodies after we die.

Vizzini, Ned
It's Kind of a Funny Story
"The Tootsie Roll question" is: Why is Craig Gilner so depressed? After dedicating all his free time, a lot of his sleep time, and basically his whole life to passing the entrance exam for Manhattan's most prestigious high school, Craig finds himself in the adult ward of a mental hospital. Here, in addition to meeting and surviving the other patients on the ward, Craig begins to sort through his priorities and tackle big decisions