Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro

Your life has been designed for you to give to others. You will most likely not survive past 30 years old. What is your life like?
Ishiguro creates a disturbing narrative that explores the life of clones destined for organ donation.
Set in futuristic England, Kathy H. reflects on her schooling and friends from Hailsham. She reveals the personal and emotional struggles that she endured upon leaving her protected sanctum of Hailsham.
Ishiguro brings to light the morality of child rearing, education, and cloning through the eyes of adolescence. Never Let Me Go is a powerful read that will have you reflecting on the purpose of your own life. The Vintage Canada edition that we have comes with a reader's guide and discussion questions regarding the movie version. These are GREAT resources for your English book talks. I would recommend Never Let Me Go to students in grades 10 - 12.

DEAR

SDSS celebrated Drop Everything and Read on October 19, 2010. Special thanks to Ms. Crump's English 9 class who allowed me to join them in their silent reading time.

The Possibility of Fireflies

Ellie spends a lot of time alone. Her mother is becoming increasing unhinged since her father left them. Gwen, Ellie's sister, is someone Ellie no longer knows or wants to know. She is waiting for someone to come and rescue her from school and her family. As Ellie grapples the dangers of smoking, arson, drugs, alcohol, risky sex, and an abusive mother, Paul creates an intensive narrative and gripping plot. How will Ellie choose to escape her troubled life? The Possibility of Fireflies will appeal to students in grades 8 and 9.

The Boy from the Basement

Charlie has been confined to the basement since his family moved to town from the lake. One night the back door slams shut and Charlie is locked outside. Charlie is fearful of the outside; he longs for the damp walls of his only home, the basement.
He is taken into care at the local hospital and then into a foster home. As he struggles to adjust to his new life of being 'outside', he learns about Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving and Christmas. His ultimate goal is to one day play soccer outside. But, how can he achieve this; what if father is watching him, what if father finds him? Surely, he will be punished for leaving the basement.
Shaw draws us in to the psychological journey of an abused child as he overcomes nightmares and hallucinations.
While the writing is average and the plot structure somewhat repetitive, there is a thriller aspect to the novel as we wait to see if and when Charlie's father will come back for him.

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali

Hotel Rwanda, a critically acclaimed film, is loosely based on Courtemanche's Canadian bestseller novel, A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, as well as the true life experiences of people during the Rwandan genocide.

The Power of One

PUSH