Savannah Herron is a senior at LaRue County High School. She enjoys photography, books, writing, and small furry animals. “Her curiosity was too much for her. She felt almost as if she could hear the books whispering on the other side of the half-open door. They were promising her a thousand unknown stories, a thousand doors into worlds she had never seen before.” ― Cornelia Funke, Inkheart

Books are a wonderful present for all!
Books are a wonderful present for all!

There is an unlimited number of exciting activities one can participate in over the long break; play games (video or otherwise), watch movies (who doesn’t love a good Christmas movie?) sled (snow required), or (for some) dive into a good book. For those who prefer a good book, it raises the question of What book should I read? Well never to fear, I have complied a list of teacher and student book suggestions to read over the break.

 

 

 

 

  1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (Fantasy)- “I would say with the new Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them, [having just came out], Harry Potter would be a good choice to get ready for it.” (Amy Loyall, LCHS librarian)

Ø  “Orphan Harry learns he is a wizard on 11th birthday when Hagrid escorts him to magic-teaching Hogwarts School. As a baby, his mother’s love protected him and vanquished villain Voldemort, leaving child famous as “The Boy who Lived”. With friends Hermione and Ron, he has to win over the returned “One Who Must Not Be Named”.” (Goodreads INC.)

  1. Insanity by Cameron Jace (Fantasy)- suggested by Kailyn Young, 12th grader at LCHS

Ø  “After accidentally killing everyone in her class, Alice Wonder is now a patient in the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum. No one doubts her insanity. Only a hookah-smoking professor believes otherwise; that he can prove her sanity by decoding Lewis Carroll’s paintings, photographs, and find Wonderland’s real whereabouts.” (Goodreads INC.)

  1. The Skeleton Creek series by Patrick Carman- suggested by Halle Arnold, 12th grader at LCHS

    Halle Arnold, a senior at LCHS, curls up in the corner with a good book.
    Halle Arnold, a senior at LCHS, curls up in the corner with a good book.

Ø  “Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see.” (Barnes&Noble Bookseller INC.)

 

 

 

 

  1. Looking for Alaska by John Green (Realistic Fiction)- “John Green books are the best” (Candyce Magill, 12th grader at LCHS)

Ø

Candyce Magill and Jennifer Butler, seniors at LCHS, intently read their books in the library.
Candyce Magill and Jennifer Butler, seniors at LCHS, intently read their books in the library.

“Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .

 

After. Nothing is ever the same.” (Barnes&Noble Bookseller INC.)

 

  1. Dragonfly by Julia Golding (Fantasy)- “One of my favorite books” (Kailyn Young, 12th grader at LCHS)

Ø  “Princess Taoshira is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil ac Burinholt in order to unite their lands. And Ramil’s not too pleased either. They hate each other on sight.

So when she and Ramil are kidnapped, they fear there’s no escape – either from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing and imprisonment?

And will the people they meet on their extraordinary adventure – including a circus strongman, a daring rebel leader, a sinister master of spies and the best female fighter they have ever seen – help them or betray them to the enemy…?” (Golding)

 

  1. Rot & Ruin by Johnathon Maberry (Science Fiction)- suggested by Hannah Merritt, 12th grader at LCHS

    Hannah Merritt, senior at LCHS, concentrates on her book.
    Hannah Merritt, senior at LCHS, concentrates on her book.

Ø  “In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn’t want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.” (Goodreads INC.)

 

 

 

 

  1. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (Classic)- “I am going to read Cat’s Cradle…” (Heather Blackwell, English teacher at LCHS)

Ø  “Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny” (Barnes&Noble Bookseller INC.)

 

  1. The Christmas list by Richard Paul Evans- “I read Christmas books [by] Richard Paul Evans.” (Robin Cruse)

Ø  “Saturday, three weeks before Christmas. James Kier looked back and forth between the newspaper headline and the photograph of himself, not sure if he should laugh or call his attorney. It was the same photograph the “Tribune” had used a couple of years earlier when they featured him on the front page of the business section. While the photograph was the same, the headlines could not have been more different. Not many people get to read their own obituary.

“LOCAL REAL ESTATE MOGUL DIES IN AUTOMOBILE CRASH ”

“Utah real estate developer James Kier was pronounced dead after his car collided with a concrete pylon on southbound I-80. Authorities believe Kier may have had a heart attack prior to swerving off the road. ” “”

“Kier was the president of the Kier Company, one of the West s largest real estate development firms. He was known as a fierce, oftentimes ruthless businessman. He once said If you want to make friends, join a book club. It you want to make money, go into business. Only a fool confuses the two. ” “”

“Kier is survived by his son, James Kier II, and his wife, Sara.

“Kier put the paper down. He had no idea what the article was about to set in motion.” (Fiction DB)

 

  1. Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs (Science Fiction)- “If you like typical teenage focus book[s]; Powerless” (Joseph Devore, 12th grader at LCHS)

Ø

Joseph Devore, senior at LCHS, laughs as he enjoys his book.
Joseph Devore, senior at LCHS, laughs as he enjoys his book.

“Kenna is tired of being “normal”. The only thing special about her is that she isn’t special at all. Which is frustrating in a world of absolutes. Villains, like the one who killed her father, are bad. Heroes, like her mother and best friend, are good. And Kenna, unlike everyone else around her, is completely ordinary— which she hates.

 

She’s secretly working on an experiment that will land her a place among the Heroes, but when a Villain saves her life during a break-in at her lab, Kenna discovers there’s a whole lot of gray area when it comes to good and evil and who she can trust…

After all…not all strength comes from superpowers.” (Goodreads INC.)

 

  1. The inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini (Fantasy)- “Read it in four days; they are amazing” (John Uthoff, 11th grader at LCHS)

Ø

John Uthoff, junior at LCHS, rereads part of a good book.
John Uthoff, junior at LCHS, rereads part of a good book.

“Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.” (Paolini International LLC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card (Fantasy)- “I recommend the novel Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. It brings you to a world that is futuristic yet has historic quality, also it has amazing time and space twists.” (Zachary Masters, 11th grader at LCHS)

Ø

Zachary Masters, junior at LCHS, poses seriously for the camera.
Zachary Masters, junior at LCHS, poses seriously for the camera.

“Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him–secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.” (Goodreads INC.)

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Beastly by Alex Flinn (Fantasy)- “[The] book is way better than the movie” (Jennifer Butler, 12th grader at LCHS)

Ø

Jennifer Butler, senior at LCHS, enjoys sitting in the library window, to read a good book.
Jennifer Butler, senior at LCHS, enjoys sitting in the library window, to read a good book.

“A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

 

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell. Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me.

Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.” (Goodreads INC.)

I hope that you have found a book (or several) that sound like a good way to spend your holiday. I certainly have! So now it is time to snuggle up and prepare for a grand adventure.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Barnes&Noble Bookseller INC. Barnes& Noble. N.d N.d 1997-2016. Web. 24 November 2016.

Fiction DB. Fiction DB. N.d N.d 2016. Web. 24 November 2016.

Golding, Julia. Julia Golding. N.d N.d 2013. Web. 24 November 2016.

Goodreads INC. Goodreads. N.d N.d 2016. Web. 24 November 2016.

Paolini International LLC. The Inheritence Cycle. N.d N.d 2014-2016. Web. 24 November 2016.

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