Grade Seven:

All incoming seventh graders are required to read The Circuit.  It is available in many bookstores and is easily ordered.  In the unusual event that it is not obtainable, students are asked to read either the Santiago or Bencastro book.

Jiminez, Francisco. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child.  1997. Paperback. The son of migrant workers shares the uncertainty of the future in his life across la frontera in southern California.

Bencastro, Mario. A Promise to Keep.  2005. Paperback.  In order to honor his grandfather’s wish to be buried at home, sixteen year old Sergio, now living in Los Angeles, must undergo a harrowing return to El Salvador.

Santiago, Esmeralda.  When I Was Puerto Rican.  1993.  Paperback.  A girl leaves Puerto Rico at thirteen to live in New York.

Grade Eight:

Students must read one of the following books.

Crowe, Chris. Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case. 2003.

Crowe describes how the Mississippi murder of 14 year-old Emmett Till contributed to the Civil Rights Movement.

Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain.  1997. Paperback.

Young man struggles to escape the war and reach the young woman he left behind.

Giblin, James Cross.  Good Brother, Bad Brother.  2005.  Hardcover.  The true story of two brothers – one a world famous actor and the other Lincoln’s assassin – who changed each other’s lives.

Jacobs, Harriet.  Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.  1988.  Paperback. A woman's recollections about her childhood and adolescence as a slave.

Lester, Julius.  Day of Tears. 2005.  Paperback.  A gripping, award-winning novel in dialogue about a slave auction.

McMullan, Margaret. How I Crossed the Strong. This is the Civil War story that is told from the perspective of a 10 or 12 year old boy whose father and older brother fight with the Confederates. His brother is killed but his dad returns a pacifist, more or less. Then the family helps their young slave escape to avoid certain death.

Shaara, Michael.  Killer Angels.  1993.  Paperback. A fascinating look at the people and events in one Civil War battle.

Woodward, Bob and Bernstein, Carl.  All the President's Men.  1987.  Paperback.  Story of the 1974 Watergate break-in and the people who surrounded President Nixon.

Also permissible are Ann Rinaldi’s books about the Civil War and/or slavery.  (Not Finishing Becca or Break with Charity)