RECOMMENDED SUMMER 2010 READING LIST

·        Magyk – Angie Sage

Summary: After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety by the Extraordinary Wizard, those she always believed were her father and brother, and a young guard known only as Boy 412.

·        Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney

The first book begins with an introduction to Gregory "Greg" Heffley and his middle school life. It takes place during his first year of middle school. The book also explains the "Cheese Touch" early on. It is like cooties. In the book, a kid named Darren Walsh touches the cheese with his finger. It is passed around the school, and later gets to Abe Hall, who moved to California.

·        Ranger’s Apprentice -  John Flanagan

Ranger's Apprentice is the title of a series of fantasy novels written by Australian author John Flanagan. The first book in the series, titled The Ruins of Gorlan, was released in Australia on 1 November 2004 and in the United States on 16 June 2005. So far, nine books have been released in Australia and New Zealand, with other countries including the United States and United Kingdom following behind. The series follows the adventures of Will, an orphan who is taken as an apprentice Ranger, as he strives to keep the Kingdom of Araluen safe from invaders, traitors and threats. He is joined on his adventures by his mentor Halt and his best friend Horace among others.

·        Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snickett

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of children's novels (or novellas) by Lemony Snicket (the nom de plume of American author Daniel Handler) which follows the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents' death in an arsonist house fire. The children are placed in the custody of their distant cousin Count Olaf, who begins to abuse them and openly plots to embezzle their inheritance. After the Baudelaire’s are removed from his care by their parents' estate executor, Arthur Poe, Olaf begins to doggedly hunt the children down, bringing about the serial slaughter and holocaust of a multitude of characters. The entire series is actively narrated by Snicket, who makes numerous references to his mysterious, deceased love interest, Beatrice. Both Snicket and Beatrice play roles in the story along with Snicket's family members, all of whom are part of an overarching conspiracy known to the children only as "V.F.D."

·        Leven Thumps – Obert Sky

Leven Thumps is a popular children's fantasy series by writer Obert Skye. The series, projected to have five books, deals with an orphaned 14-year old boy, Leven Thumps, who becomes involved in a battle between good and evil.^[1][2] The five books in the series are titled Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (2005),^[3] Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret (2006),^[3] Leven Thumps and the Eyes of The Want (2007), Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra (2008), and Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder (2009).

·        Warriors – Erin Hunter

The series follows the adventures of four Clans of wild cats in their forest homes. The four clans are ThunderClan, WindClan, ShadowClan and RiverClan. There are currently four series, each containing six books. The first, Warriors (often called "Original Series" to differentiate it from the later series), was published from 2003 to 2004. It follows a house cat named Rusty (later known as Firestar). Warriors: The New Prophecy, published from 2005 to 2006, followed the first series, chronicling the Clans as they move to a new home. The story focuses on Firestar's kits, Squirrelflight and Leafpool, and Squirrelflight's mate, Brambleclaw. The third story arc, Warriors: Power of Three was published from 2007 to 2009 and focuses on the Clans in their new lake home and ThunderClan kits Jaykit, Lionkit and Hollykit. The current series, Warriors: Omen of the Stars, began with The Fourth Apprentice, which was released on November 24, 2009. This series directly continues the third series.

·        The 39 Clues – Gordon Korman

The 39 Clues is a series of adventure books, combining reading, online gaming, and card collecting. Published by Scholastic, the main part of the series consists of ten books about the adventures of siblings Amy and Dan Cahill. They agree to the challenge in their grandmother Grace Cahill's will and search for 39 clues scattered around the world. Rick Riordan wrote the first book and the main story arc, however, other authors wrote the remainder of the books in the series. As of May 25, 2010, nine have been written by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Jude Watson (again), Peter Lerangis (again), Gordon Korman (again), and Linda Sue Park. The final book will be written by Margaret Peterson Haddix.^[1] Card packs are being sold also which contain 16 different cards that can be used in searching for clues. Each book contains 6 cards.

·        Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Irish author Eoin Colfer. It is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series, being followed by Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. Described by its author as "Die Hard with fairies",^[1] it follows the adventures of its 12-year-old title character, a criminal mastermind, as he kidnaps a fairy for a large ransom of gold. Throughout the book, the third-person narration switches repeatedly from following the human characters to following the fairy characters, and presented underlying themes of greed and conflict.

·        The Spiderwick Chronicles – Tony diTerlizzi

Once upon a time, upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of fairies and other creatures. Unable to explain the strange disappearances and accidents that seem to be happening on a daily basis, the family blames it all on Jared. When he, Simon and Mallory investigate what's really going on, they uncover the fantastic truth of the Spiderwick estate and of the creatures that inhabit it.

·        Beacon Street Girls – Annie Bryant

Meet the Beacon Street Girls... They're real, they’re fun- They're just like you!
Yikes! As if being the new girl isn’t bad enough, Charlotte just made the biggest cafeteria blunder in the history of Abigail Adams Junior High. There’s no way that Katani, Avery, and Maeve will want anything to do with her now. Can a mysterious landlady, a romantic evening gone wrong, and a cryptic key to nowhere help four very different girls become the best of friends? Or will they remain worst enemies forever?

·        Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Rick Riordan

The protagonist is Percy Jackson, who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still exist and have always existed, including monsters, Cyclopes, empousae, Titans, and the Greek Gods (Olympians) themselves who dwell in Olympus, which is now situated at the mythical 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Percy is frequently attacked by monsters because he is a child of one of the "Big Three": god of the gods and the god of the sky, Zeus, the king of the sea, Poseidon, and the leader of the Underworld, Hades, who made a pact after World War II to not have any more children because they were too powerful and unpredictable. Percy meets many other young demigods, both friendly and hostile, who are also in the process of discovering their ancestry and powers. The only other known demigod children of these "Big Three" in the series are Thalia Grace (daughter of Zeus), Nico di Angelo (son of Hades), and Bianca di Angelo (daughter of Hades).

·        Inkheart – Cornelia Funke

Inkheart (original title: Tintenherz) is a young adult-child fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke, and the first book of the Inkworld trilogy. The book is about a 12-year-old girl named Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that her father, a bookbinder named Mortimer (Mo), has an unusual ability: when he reads aloud, he can bring characters from books into the real world. Meggie and Mo's adventure takes them throughout Europe, particularly Italy, and brings them into contact with many unusual characters. The sequel, Inkspell, was released on October 1, 2005, and the third book in the trilogy, Inkdeath was released on September 28, 2007 in Germany.

·        Eragon – Chris Paolini

The book tells the story of a young farm boy named Eragon, who finds a mysterious stone in the mountains. A dragon he later names Saphira hatches from the stone, which was really an egg. When the evil King Galbatorix finds out about Eragon and his dragon, he sends his servants after them in an effort to capture them. Eragon and Saphira are forced to flee from their hometown, and decide to search for the Varden, a group of rebels who want to see the downfall of Galbatorix.

·        Pendragon – D.J.McHale

Robert "Bobby" Pendragon, an athletic, everyday student from Stony Brook, Connecticut, discovers that he is a Traveler: someone who is able to use mystical flumes to move between different universes (called "territories"). His uncle Press, the lead Traveler, tells him that they must carry out a crucial mission: to stop the efforts of a shapeshifting demon called Saint Dane. Saint Dane believes in the darker side of human nature and that everything in existence, collectively called Halla, must be destroyed so that he may rebuild it, according to his own designs. Bobby's best friends from school, Mark and Courtney, act as his Traveler's assistants and journal-keepers (called "acolytes"). Bobby experiences various bizarre circumstances ranging from the literal disappearance of his entire family to heated battles in exotic lands and from watching entire societies sway on the verge of annihilation to learning how to understand diverse cultures. He discovers that there are ten territories in all and that Saint Dane arrives on each territory at a very specific turning point, hoping at the appropriate moment to persuade the people of the territory to make the wrong decisions, guiding their civilizations toward self-destruction. At each territory, Bobby, the Traveler from that territory and others must time after time undo or oppose Saint Dane's actions and thwart his plans (each territory has its own Traveler, and though Bobby gradually takes the role of lead Traveler, he is specifically the Traveler from the territory of Second Earth). As the saga progresses, Bobby begins to learn the nature of what it really means to be a Traveler, that Saint Dane's ultimate goal includes a mysterious event called "the Convergence", and how different he actually is from a "normal teenager."