Don’t get caught “clueless” when it comes to summer reading this year!  The Library is here to help you solve the mystery of how to complete your summer reading assignments!   

Here’s how it works—one book from the suggested Summer Reading List for students entering grades 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12 (all listed below) will be available at the Library.  All you need to do is register, pick up a copy of the book, read it and then come back to the Library ready to report your findings.  The discussion will help you prepare the proper evidence to bring back to school with you in the fall based on the criteria from the Summer Reading List.  

It’s that simple…and did we mention that pizza and soda will be served to the aspiring detectives?

Below are the titles and descriptions of the mystery books:

Entering into grades 7 and 8:
Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman
Discussion on Wednesday, July 25^th from 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Register and pick up a copy of the book on or after July 1^st!  

Sixteen-year-old Blake, a straight-arrow, Ivy-league, college-bound kid, is at a carnival with Quinn, his thrill-seeking brother, and two friends when a beautiful girl invites Blake to another carnival in a remote part of town that only admits invited guests. Later that evening, Quinn is found at home in a comatose state with Blake's invitation by his side. Did he go to the other carnival in Blake's place? When Blake and his friends go in search of the mysterious carnival to find out what happened to Quinn, they discover that the price of admission to this bizarre, phantom place is one's soul. To save Quinn, Blake must survive seven different carnival rides before dawn, each one a terrifying reflection of one of Blake's deepest fears. In the final ride, Blake confronts the memory of a horrible childhood accident that he has buried deep in his psyche--a school bus wreck in which he was the only survivor. 

Entering into grades 9 and 10:
Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
Discussion on Wednesday, August 15^th from 4:00p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Register and pick up a copy of the book on or after August 1^st! 

A 7-year-old girl has been battered to death, and there are no suspects, no leads. The police, under political pressure to make an arrest, bring in Trent, a cold, ambitious professional interrogator who prides himself on his ability to extract confessions. His victim is 12-year-old Jason--the last person to see the girl. We know that Jason is innocent, and halfway through the interrogation Trent realizes it, too, in "a blazing moment." But like a medieval torturer, his goal is confession, not truth, and so he stifles his impulses for good and proceeds with the job, with deeply ironic consequences.

The interrogation itself, which forms the centerpiece of the novel, is dazzling in its elegant thrust-and-parry, its subtle twists and turns, as Jason frantically tries to escape, like a mouse caged with a python.

 Entering into grades 11 and 12:
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Discussion on Wednesday, August 22^nd from 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Register and pick up a copy of the book on or after August 1^st!

Is your head still spinning from reading the DaVinci Code? Do you secretly wish that symbology was an actual field of study? If the answer is yes, Angels and Demons is a necessary read.  Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon embarks on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.

Each program is limited to 12 students and is facilitated by Jessica Hodorski, Program Coordinator.

The Writer’s Studio:
A Workshop for Aspiring Writers
Every Thursday beginning July 26^th - August 30^th from 6:00-7:45 p.m.
Registration begins July 1^st! 

A relaxed format workshop for writers at all levels of accomplishment, from the novice wishing to try his orher hand at writing, to the seasoned writer who needs to nudge the muse for a new project, to those wishing to challenge themselves in a different art form or genre.  The focus of the workshop will be on jump-starting the imagination to generate new work. Recommended for ages 15 years and older.