DID YOU KNOW?
A WEEKLY LIBRARY NEWSLETTER FOR TEACHERS
Vol. 1, Issue 4: April 26, 2021
DYK.... Sora has classroom copies of eBooks?
Sora offers multiple or unlimited "Classroom Copies" of nearly 300 classic and contemporary titles, including
- 1984
- Animal Farm
- Brave New World
- Dracula
- Frankenstein
- Hamlet
- Jane Eyre
- Macbeth
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
- Pride and Prejudice
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Scarlet Letter ... and many more!
Also included in the "Classroom Copies" are contemporary novels and nonfiction books with multiple or unlimited copies of select titles. Scroll down to see them!
Classroom Classics
Visit Sora to see how many copies are available at any given moment.
1984
Sora Copies: 100 total
In 1984, London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind.
Genre: Fiction, Dystopia
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: 1090L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)
Sora achievement: Fiction
Animal Farm
George Orwell's famous political satire of the Soviet Union in which "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."
Genre: Fiction, Satire
Reading level: 4-6
Lexile text measure: 940L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)
Sora achievement: Fiction
Sherlock Holmes
Unlimited Copies
A collection of the first twelve short stories about the famous London detective. It begins with the first meeting of Holmes and his sidekick Watson, who narrates the stories.
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Reading level: 6-8
Lexile text measure: 1020L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)
Sora achievement: Fiction
The Age of Innocence
Unlimited Copies
An intimate portrayal of East Coast American society in the 19th century and the human lives that came into conflict with it. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize; Wharton was the first woman to win it.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 8-9
Lexile text measure: 1170L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)
Sora achievement: Fiction
Anna Karenina
Unlimited Copies
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," writes Leo Tolstoy in his literary masterpiece.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1080L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Awakening
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Kate Chopin's story follows the personal discovery of a married woman of the things she did not even realize she was missing.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 5-6
Lexile text measure: 960L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Beowulf
Always Available
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Beowulf is the earliest surviving poem in Old English. The epic tells the tale of the Scandinavian hero Beowulf as he struggles against three adversaries; the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother, and an unnamed dragon.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Brave New World
A profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order - all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls.
Genre: Science Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 780L
Sora achievements: Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
The Call of the Wild
Unlimited Copies
Jack London's most popular book is considered by many to be his best. Telling the story of Buck, a domesticated dog whose wild instincts begin to kick-in while serving as a sled dog in the treacherous Yukon.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: 1120L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Crime and Punishment
Unlimited Copies
One of the world's first psychological thrillers, Crime and Punishment is a mesmerizing detective story with an intriguing and multifarious central character. The novel hinges on the ethical dilemmas and angst of the student Raskolnikov who plans and implements the murder of a ruthless powerbroker.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: 900L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
A Doll's House
Always Available
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The play follows the ordinary life of a housewife. Gradually the tensions within her marriage become clear and build to a final, stunning action. The play is widely studied because of its sharp critique of 19th century marriage norms, and its feminist tendencies.
Genre: Drama, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Dracula
Always Available
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Dracula may not be the the first vampire novel, but it certainly is the most famous. The story is told through a series of letters recounting a young Jonathan Harker, a lawyer who visits Count Dracula to arrange a real estate transaction and realizes before long that he has been taken hostage by a terrible entity.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: 610L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Frankenstein
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a large and powerful creature in the likeness of man, but is disgusted by his own creation and he abandons the being to fend for itself. Spawning generations of horror stories in the genre, Frankenstein is a gruesome warning against playing God and attempting to engineer life.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 6-8
Lexile text measure: 1040L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Hamlet
Always Available
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Set in Denmark, Hamlet recounts the events that transpire after the King is murdered by his brother Claudius, who then marries his brother's widow. Prince Hamlet uncovers the true nature of his father's death and feigns madness to create a trap for Claudius.
Genre: Drama, Classic
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: 610L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Heart of Darkness
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Joseph Conrad's disturbing novella is recounted by the itinerant captain Marlow sent to find and bring home the shadowy and inscrutable Captain Kurtz. Marlow and his men follow a river deep into the jungle of Africa looking for Kurtz, an unhinged leader of an isolated trading station.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 950L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Importance of Being Earnest
Always Available
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Two seemingly unrelated parties are thrown into ridiculous entanglement when their fake identities, maintained in order to escape social responsibilities, grow ever more complicated to uphold.
Genre: Drama, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Invisible Man
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
This classic science fiction novella tells the story of a scientist named Griffin whose theory is this: if the refractive index of a person's body is adjusted to exactly that of air, then his body will not absorb or reflect light and his will become invisible. Griffin subjects himself to a procedure to do this, becoming an invisible man. But he cannot manage to reverse it and become visible once more, resulting in his mental unhinging.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 920L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Jane Eyre
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of its title character, including her growth to adulthood, and her love for Mr. Rochester, the Byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 810L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Leaves of Grass
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Leaves of Grass is a collection of poems by Walt Whitman originally published in1855 at the poet's own expense that celebrates the human form, the material world, and nature.
Genre: Poetry, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Macbeth
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Often referred to as an archetypal tale, the tragedy of Macbeth warns against lust for power and the betrayal of friends. The play is traditionally considered "cursed" and thus many actors refer to it as "The Scottish Play" to avoid naming it.
Genre: Drama, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 310L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Frederick Douglass was an ex-slave and a great orator in early 19th-century USA. His autobiography details his experiences as a slave and is considered the most famous such works. His work influenced the abolitionist movement, in which Douglass was an important figure.
Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography
Reading level: 6-8
Lexile text measure: 1030L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction
The Odyssey
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Homer's Odyssey is masterpiece of classical epic poetry. The tale follows the travels of the Greek hero Odysseus as he strives to return to his homeland after waging battle in the Trojan War.
Genre: Poetry, Classic
Reading level: 6-9
Lexile text measure: 1050L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Always Available
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A beautiful young man, Dorian Gray, sits for a portrait. Gray wishes that his portrait, and not himself, might age and slow the effects of time. His wish comes true, and wild, hedonistic pursuits horribly disfigure the portrait.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 970L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
A Portrait of a the Artist as a Young Man
Always Available
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A semi-autobiographical account of Joyce's fictional alter-ego as he embarks on his artistic awakening. The young artist Steven Dedelus begins to rebel against the Irish Catholic dogma of his childhood and discovers great philosophers and artists.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1060L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Pride and Prejudice
Always Available
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Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters. When the amiable Mr. Bingly moves into the neighborhood, Mrs. Bennet feels entirely sure that he is meant for one of her girls. With an indolent father on one side and a nervous, ignorant mother on the other, the girls soon find themselves in the middle of a disaster which throws them back in the gentleman and his friend, Mr. Darcy.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1010L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Red Badge of Courage
Always Available
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Set during the American Civil War, Private Henry Fleming flees from battle and his battalion, considering all lost. Stumbling upon injured soldiers, he feels the shame of deserting and of not possessing the "red badge of courage", the wounds of war.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 900L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Romeo and Juliet
Always Available
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The two young title characters fall madly in love, but are the children of feuding houses whose hatred for each other works to a devastating end.
Genre: Drama, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 560L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Scarlett Letter
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
This powerful American story of secret love and sin, of spiritual hypocrisy and moral courage, and of female bravery during a time when women were rarely respected, resonated with readers then and continues to do so now.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 940L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
The Sonnets compiles 154 sonnets written by Shakespeare on all manner of themes from love and fidelity to politics and lineage.
Genre: Poetry, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SDCL)
Sora achievement: Fiction
Siddhartha
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Herman Hesse wrote Siddhartha after traveling to India in the 1910s. It tells the story of a young boy who travels the country in a quest for spiritual enlightenment in the time of Guatama Buddha. It is a compact, lyrical work, which reads like an allegory about the finding of wisdom.
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1010L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Souls of Black Folk
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
The seminal work by W.E.B. Du Bois on race in late 19th-century North America. The way we think about and examine race today stems from his ideas. He spoke of the "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others", and the progress and obstacles to progress of the Black American.
Genre: Nonfiction
Reading level: 10-12
Lexile text measure: 1280L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
This Robert Louis Stevenson's thriller allegory of a medical experiment gone wrong and dual personalities, one the essence of good, the other the essence of evil, fighting for supremacy in one man.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 500L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
A Tale of Two Cities
Always Available
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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." On the eve of the French Revolution of 1789, the story follows Charles Darney, a French aristocrat-turned-revolutionary, and Sydney Carton, a purposeless British lawyer in love with Darney's wife, Lucie. Sydney's love for Lucie inspires him to join the Revolution alongside his friend Darney, at a time when both France and England were experiencing tensions between the upper and lower classes.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 710L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Time Machine
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
The Time Traveler of this classic novella tests his time machine with a leap forward to the year 802,701 A.D., to find that evolution has produced two very different post-human races - the peaceful and childlike fruit-eating Eloi and the Morlocks - pale, darkness-dwelling troglodytes who operate the underground machinery that makes this seeming paradise possible.
Genre: Science Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1010L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Treasure Island
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
Treasure Island is a seafaring adventure story filled with treasure, treachery, pirates, ships, and islands. Stevenson's novel greatly influenced popular pirate imagery: the treasure map marked with "X", the tropical island, the schooner and finally the one-legged pirate complete with parrot.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 610L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The War of the Worlds
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
The War of the Worlds is the first-person narrative of an unnamed protagonist in Surrey and that of his younger brother in London as Earth is invaded by Martians. Written between 1895 and 1897, it is one of the earliest stories that detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race.
Genre: Science Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 8-9
Lexile text measure: 1170L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
White Fang
Always Available
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The story of a wolf-dog's journey from wildness into becoming civilized by humanity. Set in Canada's Yukon, most of the novel is told from the animal's point of view, exploring how animals might view humans and the world around them.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 5-7
Lexile text measure: 970L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Always Available
Unlimited Copies
It is virtually impossible to overstate Poe's importance in the field of American literature. He is credited not only with inventing or significantly advancing the short story, detective fiction, and science fiction, but also with being one of the first Americans to purse a career in writing as a vocation. This comprehensive volume is a career-spanning collection of Poe's stories and poems.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Wuthering Heights
Always Available
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A country gentleman returns one night to his isolated and unforgiving home with gypsy child tucked under his cloak. Treated as an animal, the child Heathcliff grows up twisted and wild. But he and the daughter of the house, Catherine, are inseparable and love each other like they were one being.
When they grow up and Catherine wishes to enter the society which Heathcliff cannot, the lives of everyone around them are destroyed in the rending.
Genre: Fiction, Classic
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 880L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Contemporary Classroom Reads
90 Days of Different
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On the last day of high school, Sophie's boyfriend breaks up with her. It turns out he thinks she is too predictable, too responsible, too mature...too boring.
Then Ella comes up with a plan to help Sophie find her wilder side. In the ninety days between the end of high school and the start of university, she is going to arrange for Sophie to do amazing, new, different and sometimes scary things. The deal is Sophie has to agree to everything, no matter what. And she has to share her adventures through social media.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL690L
Length: 312 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
American Gods
Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident. Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible. He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever he the
same...
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 840L
Length: 674 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
August and Everything After
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One last summer to escape, to find herself, to figure out what comes next. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han will love this contemporary, coming-of-age romance.
Graduation was supposed to be a relief. Except Quinn can't avoid the rumors that plagued her throughout high school or the barrage of well-intentioned questions about her college plans. How is she supposed to know what she wants to do for the next four years, let alone the rest of her life?
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL690L
Length: 320 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Big Water
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Seventeen-year-old Christina McBurney has led a sheltered life. But when her twin brother, Jonathan, dies of consumption, Christina, unwilling to be farmed out as a nursemaid or teacher, runs away from home and her destiny. In Owen Sound she boards the Asia, a steamship that transports passengers and freight throughout the Great Lakes. She doesn't really have a plan other than to get to Sault Ste. Marie. She'll figure things out once she's settled.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: 720L
Length: 192 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Bunker Diary
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People are really quite simple, and they have simple needs. Food, water, light, space, privacy. Maybe a small measure of dignity. A bit of freedom. What happens when someone simply takes all that away?
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: HL540L
Length: 264 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Catching Jordan
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Miranda Kenneally's first book in the beloved sports romance Hundred Oaks series! Love is the toughest game to play...
Athletic superstar Jordan Woods is the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. Her teammates, including her best friend Sam, all see her as their leader and one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 7-12
Lexile text measure: 710L
Length: 288 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Dirt Diary
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Eighth grade never smelled so bad. Rachel Lee didn't think anything could be worse than her parents splitting up. She was wrong. Working for her mom's new house-cleaning business puts Rachel in the dirty bathrooms of the most popular kids in the eighth grade. Which does not help her already loser-ish reputation. But her new job has surprising perks: enough dirt on the in-crowd to fill up her (until recently) boring diary. She never intended to reveal her secrets, but when the hottest guy in school pays her to spy on his girlfriend Rachel decides to get her hands dirty.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 5-9
Lexile text measure: 750L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary
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Macy's school officially classifies her as "disturbed," but Macy isn't interested in how others define her. She's got more pressing problems: her mom can't move off the couch, her dad's in prison, her brother's been kidnapped by Child Protective Services, and now her best friend isn't speaking to her. Writing in a dictionary format, Macy explains the world in her own terms―complete with gritty characters and outrageous endeavors.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 6-9
Lexile text measure: 500L
Length: 344 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Divergent
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Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series, Divergent and its sequels, Insurgent and Allegiant, are the gripping story of a dystopian world transformed by courage, self-sacrifice, and love. Fans of the Divergent movie will find the book packed with just as much emotional depth and exhilarating action as the film, all told in beautiful, rich language.
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: HL700L
Length: 576 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Dreadnought
Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero. Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 7-9
Length: 280 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Feed
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Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet vis feeds implanted in their brains.
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 770L
Length: 299 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Firewall
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Josh is a gamer. After his parents' divorce and his move from Chicago to a small town where he doesn't know anybody, he copes by staying up way too late playing Killswitch online. Then he discovers a "mod" version of the game that is an exact reproduction of his new town. Strange things start to happen in the game, and they are somehow connected with events in the real world.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL580L
Length: 144 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Sora Copies: 5 total
A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age written by This Monstrous Thing author Mackenzi Lee—Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the 1700s.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-9
Lexile text measure: 900L
Length: 544 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Girl Out of Water
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Ocean breeze in her hair and sand between her toes, Anise can't wait to spend the summer before her senior year surfing and hanging out on the beach with friends. Santa Cruz is more than her home―it's her heart. But when her aunt, a single mother, is in a serious car accident, Anise must say goodbye to California to help care for her three young cousins.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 790L
Length: 368 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Girls on the Line
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A powerful, dual-narrative coming-of-age story set in 2009 China. Luli has just turned sixteen and finally aged out of the orphanage where she's spent the last eight years. Her friend Yun has promised to help her get work. Yun loves the independence that her factory job brings her. For the first time in her life she has her own money and can get the things she wants: nice clothes, a cell phone…and Yong, her new boyfriend.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL720L
Length: 232 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
History is All You Left Me
When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 820L
Length: 304 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Acclaimed writer Julia Alvarez’s beloved first novel gives voice to four sisters as they grow up in two cultures. The García sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofía—and their family must flee their home in the Dominican Republic after their father’s role in an attempt to overthrow brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo is discovered. They arrive in New York City in 1960 to a life far removed from their existence in the Caribbean.
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 950L
Length: 336 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
How You Ruined My Life
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Rod's life doesn't suck. If you ask him, it's pretty awesome. He may not be popular, but he and his best friends play in a band that has a standing gig. Yeah, it's Monday night and they don't get paid, but they can turn the volume up as loud as they want. And Rod's girlfriend is hot, smart, and believes in their band―believes in Rod. Aside from a winning lottery ticket, what more could he ask for?
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: HL660L
Length: 320 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
I Am Number Four
John Smith seems like an ordinary teenager, living a normal life with his guardian Henri in Paradise, Ohio. But for John, keeping a low profile is essential, because he is not an ordinary teenager. He’s an alien from the planet Lorien, and he’s on the run. A group of evil aliens from the planet Mogadore, who destroyed his world, are hunting anyone who escaped.
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: HL800L
Length: 496 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction
The Leavers
One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon—and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents’ desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 870L
Length: 368 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Life of Pi
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 830L
Length: 326 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
A Matter of Souls
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From the shores of Africa to the bowels of a transatlantic ship to a voting booth in Mississippi to the jungles of Vietnam, all human connection is a matter of souls. In this stirring collection of short stories, Denise Lewis Patrick considers the souls of black men and women across centuries and continents. In each, she takes the measure of their dignity, describes their dreams, and catalogs their fears.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 6-12
Lexile text measure: 810L
Length: 192 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl
This is the funniest book you’ll ever read about death. It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he’s figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep an insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl. This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg’s mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg’s entire life.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 820L
Length: 320 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Michel Vaillant: In the Name of the Son
Michel Vaillant is the star of the biggest international auto racing circuits, and he's revving up for a whole lot more than just a spin around the block. The Vaillant team finds itself up against new technological innovations, as well as some disconcerting changes in the world of auto racing.
Genre: YA Graphic Novel
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 890L
Length: 358 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction
Out of Darkness
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"This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, TX. 1937. Naomi Vargas is Mexican American. Wash Fuller is Black. These teens know the town's divisive racism better than anyone. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 660L
Length: 400 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Out of Tune
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When Alicia, a talented violinist at Riley Donovan's high school, is found bludgeoned to death in a field on the outskirts of town, suspicion immediately falls on Carrie, the teen's musical rival. But Riley isn't convinced of Carrie's guilt, and even though her police-officer aunt tells her to stay out of it, Riley goes searching for the truth. Did Carrie really kill Alicia in a fit of jealous rage, or is there another explanation for Alicia's death?
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL650L
Length: 320 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Paper Butterflies
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June's life at home with her stepmother and stepsister is a dark one―and a secret one. Not even her dad knows the truth, and she can't find the words to tell anyone else. She's trapped like a butterfly in a net. Then June meets Blister, a boy from a large, loving, chaotic family. In him, she finds a glimmer of hope that perhaps she can find a way to fly far, far away. Because she deserves her freedom. Doesn't she?
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: HL520L
Length: 272 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Plague of Doves
Though generations have passed, the town of Pluto continues to be haunted by the murder of a farm family. Evelina Harp—part Ojibwe, part white—is an ambitious young girl whose grandfather, a repository of family and tribal history, harbors knowledge of the violent past. And Judge Antone Bazil Coutts, who bears witness, understands the weight of historical injustice better than anyone. Through the distinct and winning voices of three unforgettable narrators, the collective stories of two interwoven communities ultimately come together to reveal a final wrenching truth.
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 960L
Length: 324 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Plank's Law
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Trevor has known since he was ten years old that he has Huntington's disease, but at sixteen he is informed that he has one year to live. One day while he's trying to figure stuff out, an old man named Plank finds him standing at a cliff by the ocean. It's the beginning of an odd but intriguing relationship. Both Trevor and Plank decide to live by Plank's Law, which is "just live." This means Trevor has to act on the things on his bucket list, like hanging out with real penguins, star in a science fiction movie and actually talk to Sara―the girl at the hospital who smiles at him.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL640L
Length: 192 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
See No Color
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Being a transracial adoptee doesn't bother sixteen-year-old Alex Kirtridge-at least, not in a way she can explain to her white family. It doesn't matter that she's biracial when she's the star of the baseball team. But when Alex is off the field, she's teased for "acting" too white and judged for looking black. And while she loves her parents, her hot-headed brother, and her free-speaking sister, they don't seem to understand what it means that Reggie, a fellow ball player, is the first black guy who's wanted to get to know her.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: 780L
Length: 192 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Set You Free
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The mayor’s six-year-old son, Ben Carter, is missing—and Lauren’s brother, Tom, is the main suspect. Lauren knows her brother would never harm anyone, but the police don’t agree. Ben’s stepbrother doesn’t agree. The mayor certainly doesn’t agree. To some people in Resurrection Falls, Tom is the freak who, rumor has it, once tried to lure a kid into the woods.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: 550L
Length: 254 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Silver Sparrow
With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist," author Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man's deception, a family's complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle.
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 770L
Length: 368 pages
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A Spy in the House
Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners -- and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 7-9
Lexile text measure: HL680L
Length: 241 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
A Step Toward Falling
Cammie McGovern follows up her breakout young adult debut, Say What You Will, with this powerful and unforgettable novel about learning from your mistakes and learning to forgive. Emily has always been the kind of girl who tries to do the right thing—until one night when she does the worst thing possible. She sees Belinda, a classmate with developmental disabilities, being attacked. Inexplicably, she does nothing at all.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: HL730L
Length: 384 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
The Thief
New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics. This first book in series introduces one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. The Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Reading level: 5-8
Lexile text measure: 920L
Length: 280 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Timekeeper
“I was in an accident. I got out. I'm safe now.” An alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, where a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely. The first book in a dazzling new steampunk-fantasy trilogy, Timekeeper introduces a magical world of mythology and innovation that readers will never want to leave.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 690L
Length: 448 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction
Trial by Fire
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Riley Donovan is the new kid in a small town where her aunt (and guardian) has just started a job as a detective on the town’s police force. Riley is home alone when a neighbor’s barn catches on fire; when she realizes that he is trapped in the barn, she calls 9-1-1 and then tries to save him . But instead of being hailed as a hero, Riley finds herself the target of vandalism and violence.
Genre: YA Fiction, Mystery
Reading level: 8-12
Lexile text measure: HL590L
Length: 240 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Mystery, Fiction
The Truth Is
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A powerful exploration of love, identity, and self-worth through the eyes of a fierce, questioning Puerto Rican teen. Fifteen-year-old Verdad doesn't think she has time for love. She's still struggling to process the recent death of her best friend, Blanca; dealing with the high expectations of her hardworking Puerto Rican mother and the absence of her remarried father; and keeping everyone at a distance. But when she meets Danny, a new guy at school―who happens to be trans―all bets are off.
Genre: YA Fiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 610L
Length: 272 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Nonfiction Classroom Reads
Can Your Smartphone Change the World?
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A twenty-first century guide for anyone who has access to a smartphone. This how-to manual looks at specific ways you can create social change through the tap of a screen. Filled with examples of successful hashtag campaigns, viral videos and new socially conscious apps, the book provides practical advice for using your smartphone as a tool for social justice.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Technology, Activism
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1100L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Careers in Computer Forensics
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Steeped in digital literacy and career preparedness, this power-packed resource lends itself perfectly to the relevant Common Core curriculum standards for the reading of instructional texts. In an age of growing cyber-crime, cyber-terrorism, hacker activism, and with the ever more central role of digital technology, it is evitable that the computer will increasingly find itself at the heart of criminal investigation.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Technology, Careers
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Cracking Codes
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While cracking a code might seem like something few of us would encounter in our daily lives, it is actually far more prevalent than we may realize. This detailed volume examines the logic and science behind various ciphers, their real world uses, how codes can be broken, and the use of technology in this oft-overlooked field.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Technology
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Cybercitizenship
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This volume offers students tips about safeguarding online privacy and their identity, enhancing their digital footprints, understanding plagiarism and piracy, and using etiquette and courtesy in the online world.
Genre: YA Nonfiction
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 310L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
Exposing Hate
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What is a hate group and how does it operate? How do we legally define hate speech and hate crimes? What is the history of organizing around hate and how do we recognize and confront it? These are the salient issues readers will investigate in this overview.
Genre: YA Nonfiction
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Npnfiction
Farewell to Manzanar
Sora Copies: 50 total
During World War II a community called Manzanar was created in the high mountain desert country of California. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese Americans. Among them was the Wakatsuki family, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, who was seven years old when she arrived at Manzanar in 1942, recalls life in the camp through the eyes of the child she was. First published in 1973, this new edition of the classic memoir of a devastating Japanese American experience includes an inspiring afterword by the authors.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Autobiography
Reading level: 6-8
Lexile text measure: 1040L
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction
Feminism: Reinventing the F-word
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While most people say they believe in equal rights, the word feminism - America's new f-word - makes people uncomfortable. Explore the history of US feminism through pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, and Gloria Steinem. Meet modern leaders such as Rebecca Walker and Julie Zeilinger, who are striving to empower women at work, in government, at home - and in cultural and personal arenas. Learn from interviews with movement leaders, scholars, pop stars, and average women, what is means to be a feminist - or to reject it altogether. After reading this book, readers will be able to respond to "Am I a feminist?" with a confident, informed voice.
Genre: YA Nonfiction
Reading level: 8-9
Lexile text measure: 1170L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Financial Aid Smarts
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One of the most difficult times in a high school student's life is trying to decide about the future. A big part of that is money concerns, including how students pay for college when tuition is constantly on the rise. The basics, like the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans, to the more complicated, like seeking out those hard-to-find scholarship options, readers will find all the information they need for a good balance.
Genre: YA Nonfiction
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Genetic Testing and Gene Therapy
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Modern science has made remarkable advances in genetics. This volume covers the foundations of genes and heredity to give readers a solid understanding of what modern genetics has been built on, before examining the ways in which genetic testing is used to assess genetic risk. Also featured are the many ways researchers and medical professionals are using gene therapy to improve lives, as well as bioethical considerations and social ramifications inherent in going even further with genetics.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction, Science
Getting Paid to Manage Social Media
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As businesses are realizing just how important social media is as a marketing tool, the need for young, innovative social media managers increases. This insightful and authoritative text shows young people how to develop a career in the nascent world of social media. Covering topics such as social media 101, how to build your resume, and how to act in an interview.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Technology, Careers
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
The Global Refugee Crisis
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According to a UN tally, more than 1 millions people fled violence and persecution in 2015. Of these, more than half were children. Thousands died along the way. The Syrian civil war as well as armed conflicts in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and the Central African Republic contributed to the continuing exodus of people into Europe and North America. Learn more about these modern mass exoduses, what is fueling them in the 21st century, how nations are addressing the crises, how refugees contribute to and strain communities, and what kinds of solutions could help. Along the way, you'll meet actual refugees and the people who are trying to help.
Genre: YA Nonfiction
Reading level: 6-9
Lexile text measure: 1070L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Fiction
How to Create Digital Portfolios
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In today's world, creating a digital portfolio that showcases academic and personal achievements is one of the best ways for students to present their accomplishments to organizations, college administrators, and potential employers. A digital portfolio can creatively demonstrate how a student's interests and academic abilities have developed over time through the use of various media, including photos, blogs, sounds files, and videos. This title will help readers learn how to select the best digital portfolio for their needs and know what to include so their accomplishments will truly stand out.
Genre: YA Nonfiction
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
March: Book One
GRAPHIC NOVEL
Sora copies: 54 total
March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.
Genre: Graphic novel, Nonfiction, History
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: History, Nonfiction
Me and White Supremacy
Based on the viral Instagram challenge that captivated participants worldwide, Me and White Supremacy takes readers on a 28-day journey, complete with journal prompts, to do the necessary and vital work that can ultimately lead to improving race relations.
Updated and expanded from the original workbook (downloaded by nearly 100,000 people), this critical text helps you take the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources, giving you the language to understand racism, and to dismantle your own biases, whether you are using the book on your own, with a book club, or looking to start family activism in your own home.
Genre: Nonfiction
Reading level: 9-12
Length: 256 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
New Thinking About Pollution
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The 21st century, like the 20th century before it, promises to be a time of extraordinary scientific growth and innovation. However, the hope for new cures and explanations about the world is often accompanied by new ethical concerns. This series examines the science behind three current fields of research and explores the implications for future scientific developments.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Science, Nonfiction
Ninja Plants
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What can communicate, but has no mouth, and can attack, but has no hands? A plant! You might love the beauty and fragrance of flowers, but plants are far more complex than meets the eye. Some plants have ways of luring insects for pollination. The Venus flytrap eats insects and other small animals for extra nourishment. You might see some of these ninja plants - with their sneaky and deceitful ways - in your own backyard.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science
Reading level: 6-9
Lexile text measure: 1100L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Science, Nonfiction
No More Excuses
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Soon after the sexual misconduct allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein became public in late 2017, the #MeToo movement went viral, opening up an explosive conversation about rape culture around the globe. In the US, someone is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. More than 320,000 Americans over the age of twelve are sexually assaulted each year. Men are victims too. One in thirty-three American men will be sexually assaulted or raped in his lifetime. Yet only 3 percent of rapists ever serve time in jail. Learn about the patriarchal constructs that support rape culture and how to dismantle them: redefining healthy manhood and sexuality, believing victims, improving social and legal systems and workplace environments, evaluating media with a critical eye, and standing up to speak out. Case studies provide a well-rounded view of real people on all sides of the issues.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Social Issues
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1090L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Physical Science
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This comprehensive volume provides an authoritative treatment of three major areas of study in physical science: astronomy, physics, and chemistry. Students learn about astronomy's origins in Egypt, the physical theories that emerges in ancient Greece, the influence of Ptolemy and Aristotle, and the discoveries of the scientific revolution, including Galileo's telescopic explorations and finding in mechanics and optics.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Science, Nonfiction
Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens
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Teen life is hard enough, but for teens who are LGBTQ, it can be even harder. When do you decide to come out? Will your friends accept you? And how do you meet people to date? Queer is a humorous, engaging, and honest guide that helps LGBTQ teens come out to friends and family, navigate their social life, figure out if a crush is also queer, and challenge bigotry and homophobia. Personal stories from the authors and sidebars on queer history provide relatable context. This completely revised and updated edition is a must-read for any teen who thinks they might be queer or knows someone who is.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, LGBTQ
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1030L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Racial Profiling: Everyday Inequality
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In the US, racial profiling affects thousands of Americans every day. Both individuals and institutions - such as law enforcement agencies, government bodies, and schools - routinely use race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of an offense. The high-profile deaths of unarmed people of color at the hands of police officers have brought renewed national attention to racial profiling and have inspired grassroots activism from groups such as Black Lives Matter. Combining rigorous research with powerful personal stories, this title explores the history, the many manifestations, and the consequences of this form of social injustice.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Social Issue
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 1310L
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
The Radium Girls
The Curies’ newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.
Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.
Genre: Nonfiction, Science, History, Biography
Reading level: 9-12
Lexile text measure: 980L
Length: 504 pages
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Biography & Autobiography, History, Nonfiction
Rocket Science
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None of humanity's great achievements in space exploration would be possible without the work of the scientists who built those amazing rockets that blasted us into the heavens. This captivating resource covers the history of rocketry since the advent of rocket-powered missiles, as well as today's triumphs and our hopes for the future.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction, Science
The Dozier School for Boys
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Some true crimes reveal themselves in bits and pieces over time. One such case is the Florida School for Boys, a.k.a. the Dozier School, a place where - rather than reforming the children in their care - school officials tortured, rapes, and killed them. Follow this story of institutional abuse, the brave survivors who spoke their truth, and the scientists and others who brought it all to light.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, True Crime
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Reinventing Robots
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Do you take things apart and put them back together just for fun? Do you dream of drone fleets and robot warriors? Does the idea of designing and building robots sound intriguing? If the answer is yes, read this title to start plotting a career in robotics! Aligned with state standards, this title features complex and rigorous content appropriate for students preparing for college and career readiness.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science, Technology, Careers
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Technology of the Industrial Revolution
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This title examines technological developments during the Industrial Revolution. Students of the digital age will be fascinated to read about the technological achievements during this earlier similarly pivotal, transformative, and revolutionary period in history.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Technology, History
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds
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While the medieval period is often written off as a backward and benighted era, it was, in fact, marked by advances in wind and water power, agriculture, navigation, timekeeping, and military technology. The achievements of this era laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Technology, History
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Soccer
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Although it assumes different monikers in various parts of the world and has appeared in various incarnations over time, the game of soccer has retained a great deal of its original character. The history of soccer and the biographies of game-changing players who have kept fans riveted game after game are chronicles in this lively volume.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Sports
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
The Sun, Stars, and Galaxies
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The sun is an ordinary start, a ball of hot gas much like millions of others in the universe, but as the center of our solar system, it is critical to the survival of all life forms on Earth. This comprehensive volume examines the nature of the sun and details the properties and types of various stars, as well as the greater galaxies of which they are a part.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Science, Astronomy
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Science, Nonfiction
Timelines: World War II
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In Timelines: World War II, the crises leading up to the war and the battles at sea, on land, and in the air are explored. The text focuses on key events, such as: the German invasion of Poland; the Battle of Britain; the attack on Pearl Harbor; and the destruction of Hiroshima.
Genre: Nonfiction, History, WWII
Reading level: 9-12
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: History, Nonfiction
You Can Do a Graphic Novel
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A guide to creating graphic novels- presented in the form of a graphic novel- from a veteran in the field! In You Can Do a Graphic Novel, Barbara Slate guides aspiring graphic novelists through the same process she learned in her early days working for Marvel and DC Comics-a process she has simplified for the classes she teaches.
Genre: YA Nonfiction, Art
Reading level: 9-12
Length: 198 pages
Availability: Sora (SMUSD & SDCL)Sora achievement: Nonfiction
Contact the MHHS Library
Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:45 AM - 4:00 PM
Instagram @librarymhhs
Email: mhhs.library@smusd.org
Website: https://missionhillshigh.smusd.org/resources/library
Location: 1 Mission Hills Court, San Marcos, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 290-2730