Senior+High+Reserved+Fiction+List

__Sr. High Reserved Fiction List__
==**The HMS media review committee has decided to create an 8th Grade Reserved section. The books in this section were considered to be valuable additions to our library, but not appropriate for the grades 5-8 audience of the junior high fiction section. Due to content concerns of each of these books, students will need parental permission to read from this section. ** **Unless otherwise noted, the book summaries below are taken from Amazon.com. Content concerns are a compilation of the media review committee’s observations. Christian Publishers are also noted. **== **//Watership Down//, by Richard Adams** __Summary__: A worldwide bestseller for almost forty years, Richard Adams’s Watership Down is considered a classic. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society. __Content Concerns:__ length of book (494 pgs), difficult vocabulary (including a rabbit language explained by a glossary in the back of the book), language **//The Green Bicycle//, by Haifaa Al-Mansour** __Summary:__ Spunky eleven-year-old Wadjda lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with her parents. She desperately wants a bicycle so that she can race her friend Abdullah, even though it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes. Wadjda earns money for her dream bike by selling homemade bracelets and mixtapes of banned music to her classmates. But after she's caught, she’s forced to turn over a new leaf (sort of), or risk expulsion from school. Still, Wadjda keeps scheming, and with the bicycle so closely in her sights, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Set against the shifting social attitudes of the Middle East, //The Green Bicycle //explores gender roles, conformity, and the importance of family, all with wit and irresistible heart. __Content Concerns__: Islamic cultural beliefs/practices, complex family relationships

 **I//sle of Swords//, by Wayne Thomas Batson** (Published by Thomas Nelson)  __Summary:__ Captain Declan Ross searched for riches that will free him and his headstrong daughter, Anne, from the piracy business forever. . . Bartholomew Thorne, an infamously ruthless pirate, seeks to destroy Ross and any who stand in his way of the legendary treasure hidden by a mysterious order of monks. With these intriguing characters and many more, Wayne Thomas Batson weaves a spell-binding adventure filled with high-seas drama where battles rage, storms brew, a long-dormant volcano awakens, and a sea creature slithers in the deep as pirates race for a cliff-top fortress. The book has received “The Mom’s Choice Award.”  __Content Concerns:__ Pirate violence

**//Isle of Fire,// by Wayne Thomas Batson** (Published by Thomas Nelson) __Summary__: The story continues from Isle of Swords. As Cat's memory returns, he realizes that he has lived two very different lives. Now he must choose whether to return to the ways of his notorious father and join the evil Merchant, or defy the Merchant and risk his life to save his friends.The adventure continues in Isle of Fire as ancient mariners rise from legend and cut an all-too-real swath of destruction across the Atlantic. The newly formed Wolf Fleet scours the Caribbean, hunting the pirates they once called comrades. And in the pitiless winds of a monstrous hurricane, whole fleets will be blasted apart and devoured. __Content Concerns__: Pirate violence

**//Three Black Swans,// by Caroline B. Cooney **  __Summary: __Missy and her cousin Claire are best friends who finish each other’s sentences and practically read each other’s minds. It’s an eerie connection—so eerie that Missy has questions she wants to put to her parents. But she’s afraid to ask. So when Missy hears an expert discussing newborn babies on the radio, it makes her wonder about her family. Missy just can’t let go of those nagging questions, and decides to use a school project about scientific hoaxes to try to uncover the answers. She enlists Claire to help. As part of the project the girls perform a dramatic scene that is captured on video at school. After the video is posted on YouTube, Missy and Claire realize that they’ve opened Pandora’s box and much more than they ever imagined has come out. Not only are their identities called into question, but so is the future of everyone involved. In this riveting, heartrending story by thriller author Caroline B. Cooney, the truth changes the lives of three families—as the bonds of blood must withstand the strains of long-hidden secrets that are at last revealed. __Content Concerns:__ Family Drama, Adoption **//Safe At Home: A Novel//, by Richard Doster (**published by David Cook) __Summary__: The spring of ’53 started out like any other for sports columnist Jack Hall, as he and the rest of his small southern town, Whitney, eagerly awaited the magical first pitch that would open the Bobcat’s season. But when ticket sales wane with the new distractions of air conditioning and I Love Lucy, the Bobcats face an early end not only to the season but to their careers as well. The team needs a white knight to save them and ironically, that white knight seems to be a 17 year old "colored kid", Percy Jackson, who’s got a .364 batting average and has never seen a grounder he couldn’t chase down. Not everyone—not even most people—though can wrap their heads around an integrated baseball field, even if they have seen them on TV. This is Whitney. Things don’t change and they don’t need to change. Do they? Hearts, minds, faith and tradition will be tested as will friendships and marriages when this sleepy southern town comes to grips with itself amid the early years of the Civil Rights Movement. C__ontent Concerns__: language (racial slurs)

**//Copper Sun,// by Sharon Draper** __Summary:__ Draper's novel is a searing work of historical fiction that imagines a 15-year-old African girl's journey through American slavery. The story begins in Amari's Ashanti village, but the idyllic scene explodes in bloodshed when slavers arrive and murder her family. Amari and her beloved, Besa, are shackled, and so begins the account of impossible horrors from the slave fort, the Middle Passage, and auction on American shores, where a rice plantation owner buys Amari for his 16-year-old son's sexual enjoyment. In brutal specifics, Draper shows the inhumanity: Amari is systematically raped on the slave ship and on the plantation and a slave child is used as alligator bait by white teenagers. And she adds to the complex history in alternating chapters that flip between Amari and Polly, an indentured white servant on Amari's plantation. A few plot elements, such as Amari's chance meeting with Besa, are contrived. But Draper builds the explosive tension to the last chapter, and the sheer power of the story, balanced between the overwhelmingly brutal facts of slavery and Amari's ferocious survivor's spirit, will leave readers breathless, even as they consider the story's larger questions about the infinite costs of slavery and how to reconcile history. A moving author's note discusses the real places and events on which the story is based. (summary by: Gillian Engberg, Copyright © American Library Association.) __Content Concerns__: graphic slave violence, rape, murder

//Africa is My Home//, by Monica Edinger
__Summary:__. When a drought hits her homeland in Sierra Leone, nine-year-old Magulu is sold as a pawn by her father in exchange for rice. But before she can work off her debt, an unthinkable chain of events unfolds: a capture by slave traders; weeks in a dark and airless hold; a landing in Cuba, where she and three other children are sold and taken aboard the //Amistad //; a mutiny aboard ship; a trial in New Haven that eventually goes all the way to the Supreme Court and is argued in the Africans’ favor by John Quincy Adams. Narrated in a remarkable first-person voice, this fictionalized book of memories of a real-life figure retells history through the eyes of a child — from seeing mirrors for the first time and struggling with laughably complicated clothing to longing for family and a home she never forgets. Lush, full-color illustrations by Robert Byrd, plus archival photographs and documents, bring an extraordinary journey to life. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Content Concerns__: slave violence, African cultural beliefs <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**//A Troubled Peace//, by L. M. Elliott** __Summary:__ It is March 1945. World War II may be ending, but for nineteen-year-old pilot Henry Forester the conflict still rages. Shot down behind enemy lines in France, Henry endured a dangerous trek to freedom, relying on the heroism of civilians and Resistance fighters to stay alive. But back home in Virginia, Henry is still reliving air battles with Hitler's Luftwaffe and his torture by the Gestapo. Mostly, Henry can't stop worrying about the safety of those who helped him escape—especially one French boy, Pierre, who, because of Henry, may have lost everything. When Henry returns to France to find Pierre, he is stunned by the brutal after-math of combat: starvation, cities shattered by Allied bombing, and the shocking return of concentration camp survivors. Amid the rubble of war, Henry must begin a daring search for a lost boy—plus a fight to regain his own internal peace and the trust of the girl he loves. L. M. Elliott's sequel to Under a War-Torn Sky is an astonishing account of surviving the fallout from war. __Content Concerns:__ War violence

//**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark **//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> **//Life//, by Kat Falls** __Summary__: In this futuristic science fiction novel, the oceans of the world rose, swallowing the lowlands. Earthquakes shattered the continents, toppling entire regions into the rising water. Now, humans live packed into stack cities. The only ones with any space of their own are those who live on the ocean floor: the Dark Life. Ty has spent his whole life living deep undersea. When outlaws attack his homestead, he finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from Topside, Ty ventures into the frontier's rough underworld and discovers some dark secrets to Dark Life. Secrets that threaten to destroy everything. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Content Concerns__: first kiss, some science fiction violence

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//The Clay Marble//, by Minfong Ho ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">__Summary:__ For years war has touched the Cambodian village where 12-year-old Dara lives. Bombs have gradually destroyed the huts and temple. Recently, soldiers marched into town and burned all the rice seed. Now with nothing to eat, Dara and her family are walking to the border. They have heard of a refugee camp near Thailand, far away from danger. The camp is even better than Dara expected. She has all the food she wants and makes wonderful new friends. Most of all, she finally feels safe. But when fighting breaks out near the settlement, she becomes separated from her family. Suddenly Dara must find new strength from within to go on. Children's novelist Minfong Ho's experience working in a refugee camp enables her to create life-like characters in authentic settings. Her tale of a young girl's bravery in the face of overwhelming odds is an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. __Content concerns:__ war violence, cultural references to nursing children and female anatomy, and references to Buddhism **//An Emerald Ballad Series//, by B.J. Hoff** __Summary:__ //Song of the Silent Harp// Book One of BJ Hoff’s acclaimed and bestselling Emerald Ballad series begins the five-book saga of three friends raised in a tiny Irish village devastated by the Potato Famine of the mid-1800s, as they struggle to survive and hold onto their faith during Ireland’s darkest days.

**Heart of the Lonely Exile**
==== __Summary:__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Book Two of BJ Hoff’s acclaimed and bestselling Emerald Ballad series, readers will find heroine Nora Kavanagh struggling to build a new life for herself and her son Daniel in America. With help from a wealthy American family and friendship and support from a British gentleman, Nora nevertheless finds herself caught in a conflict of the heart. ==== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> //**Land of a Thousand Dreams**// This is <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">a drama set in the mid 19th century that spans an ocean from Ireland to America, taking them on a journey of faith and love that encompasses the dreams of an entire people seeking not only survival, but a land of hope where they can live in freedom and peace. __Content concerns for the series__: romance, reference to domestic violence and Irish patriot violence

**//Penny From Heaven//, by Jennifer L. Holm** __Summary:__ Jennifer Holm's //New York Times// bestselling, Newbery Honor Winner is the story of a summer of adventures and secrets that will change everything, at a time in America’s history, just after World War II, when being Italian-American meant confronting prejudice because you'd been the enemy not that long ago. It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s family. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her dog, Scarlett O'Hara, is sick. Her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her best friend is turning into a criminal. And no one will tell Penny the truth about how her father died. Inspired by the author's own Italian American family, //Penny from Heaven// is a story about families—about the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together. Includes an Author's Note with photographs and additional background on World War II, Internment camps and 1950s America, as well as additional resources and websites. __Content Concerns:__ Complex family relationships

__Summary__: Holden Harris is an eighteen-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal---on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different. Ella Reynolds is part of the 'in' crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him ... the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery---she and Holden were best friends as children. Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school. Including her boyfriend, Jake. Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden's praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden? This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs. __Content Concerns__: suicide, the controversial idea of “fixing” someone with autism
 * //Unlocked//, by Karen Kingsbury** (Published by Zondervan)

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> **//My Name is Not Angelica,// by Scott O’Dell** __Summary__: In this historical novel set in the Virgin Islands of 1733, Raisha is captured as a slave and works for Dutch "owners." This is a compelling account of the great slave rebellion of 1733, and one woman’s suffering and ultimate triumph of will. __Content Concerns:__ graphic slave violence and suicide

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 True Stories of Survival//, by Marcel Prins & Peter H. Steenhuis ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">__Summary__: This book is a collection of eye-opening first-person accounts that share what it was like to go into hiding during World War II. Some children were only three or four years old when they were hidden; some were teenagers. Some hid with neighbors or family, while many were with complete strangers. But all know the pain of losing their homes, their families, even their own names. They describe the secret network of brave people who kept them safe. And they share the coincidences and close escapes that made all the difference. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Content Concerns__: References to abuse (physical, emotional and sexual) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Summary:__ Main character, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Wilhelmina Silver’s world is golden. Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. Lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of vicious schoolgirls. Where can a girl run to in London? And will she have the courage to survive? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Content Concerns__: language
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms By Katherine Rundell **

//**Endangered**// **by Eliot Schrefer** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Summary:__ From National Book Award Finalist Eliot Schrefer comes the compelling tale of a girl who must save a group of bonobos -- and herself -- from a violent coup. Congo is a dangerous place, even for people who are trying to do good. When Sophie has to visit her mother at her sanctuary for bonobos, she’s not thrilled to be there. Then Otto, an infant bonobo, comes into her life, and for the first time she feels responsible for another creature. But peace does not last long for Sophie and Otto. When an armed revolution breaks out in the country, the sanctuary is attacked, and the two of them must escape unprepared into the jungle. Caught in the crosshairs of a lethal conflict, they must struggle to keep safe, to eat, and to live. In ENDANGERED, Eliot Schrefer plunges us into a heart-stopping exploration of the things we do to survive, the sacrifices we make to help others, and the tangled geography that ties us all, human and animal, together. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Content Concerns:__ War violence, intense survival situations, language

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Fireflies in December**, by Jennifer Erin Valent <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Summary__: Jessilyn Lassiter never knew that hatred could lurk in the human heart until the summer of 1932 when she turned 13. When her best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire, Jessilyn's father vows to care for her as one of his own, despite the fact that Gemma is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town. Violence springs up as a ragtag band of Ku Klux Klan members unite and decide to take matters into their own hands. As tensions mount in the small community, loyalties are tested and Jessilyn is forced to say good-bye to the carefree days of her youth. Fireflies in December is the 2007 winner of the Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and a 2010 Christy Award winner. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Content Concerns__: racial violence, language

//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Please note that book 2 (To Darkness Fled) is unavailable in print, but we will order it from another library when needed. // <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Summary__: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Darkness divides the land. Half of Er'Rets is locked beneath an impenetrable shroud. On the side that still sees the sun, two young people struggle to understand the mind-communication abilities thrust upon them. It's called bloodvoicing. Some say it's a gift. One of the newly "gifted" wish it had never come. Achan had been a slave all his life. Worse than a slave—a stray. He is consigned to the kitchens of a lord and forced to swallow a foul potion every day. When an enigmatic knight offers to train Achan for the Kingsguard, he readily accepts. But his new skills with the sword do not prepare him for the battle raging between the voices in his head. Vrell Sparrow is not who she seems. She masquerades as a boy to avoid capture by the powerful forces that seek to exploit her. But Vrell feels called to help a young squire who recently discovered his bloodvoicing gift, even if doing so requires her to work with those who could destroy her. While Achan learns to use his new ability, Vrell struggles to shut hers down. All the voices strive to learn Achan and Vrell's true identities—and a different kind of voice is calling them both. Toward a destination that is by darkness hid. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">__Content Concerns:__ telepathy, romance, intense medieval style action
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By Darkness Hid (book 1) and From Darkness Won (book **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 3) by Jill Williamson