Skip to Main Content

Summer Reading 2018

Home Page for Summer Reading 2018, including book selection guide, topic support materials, and more!

Why Choose This Book?

Piecing Me Together, by Renee WatsonPiecing Me Together, by Renee Watson (2017)

"I am learning to speak. / To give myself a way out. A way in."

"High school junior Jade is an 'at-risk' student from a rough neighborhood in Portland, OR. She is also a talented collage artist, and she attends an elite private school on scholarship. More than anything, she wants to go on a study abroad [service trip] offered at her school to use her Spanish skills. Instead, she is given an invitation to join Woman to Woman, a mentorship program for young women like her: poor and black."  -School Library Journal

 

Read this Book If...

  • You like stories where Art, Spanish Language, and History have prominent roles.
  • You want a book set in Portland, by an author with local ties
  • You want a story about someone learning to use their Own Voice to find justice for themselves and others.
  • You want a story mostly free from physical violence (there is an 'off-camera' incident that motivates characters to action).

 

SEE BELOW for more background, relevance, etc.

More About the Book

The Book

Renee Watson reads from Piecing Me together, and discusses poetry with Jason Reynolds (co-author, All American Boys).

The Author

Book Talk by Renee Watson

Very Short Review...

John Green talks about Piecing Me Together for a few seconds as he reviews several books.

York

Things to Think About While You Read

Theme-based Questions for Any Book on the Reading List

Theme-based Guided Questions for All Books

Consider these questions as you are reading your book. Having answers to them, with quotations from the book (cite the  page number) as supporting evidence will be very helpful when it is time to discuss and assess your reading.

Before you start reading ... How do you (the reader) define "justice"?

While you read the book
  • How did your book define "justice", and what evidence could you provide to support that definition?
  • Did your own perception of justice or injustice change as you read your book, and if so, how?"

What injustices are present in your book?

In each book one or more issues of social injustice is present (ex. Racism, Sexism, Poverty,  etc.).  Be prepared to list specific examples and events from your book. These injustices often lead to conflicts between people (person vs person) and society or cultures (person vs society).

Consider also:
  • How are the characters or people in the book affected by injustice?
  • What conflicts arise between people and the society or culture surrounding them?
  • How are the injustices connected? (if you see more than one injustice in the book)
  • How are the injustices addressed? How are the conflicts resolved?
    • How did you feel about the way the injustices were addressed and/or the conflicts resolved?
    • Would you suggest another way to address the injustices or resolve the conflicts?

Who takes action for Social Justice in this book?

Consider also:
  • are they the main characters of the story, other people, both?
  • are they those who have suffered injustice? Direct witnesses of injustice? Well-meaning outsiders?
  • What finally inspires them to action?  What obstacles stand in their way?
  • What conflicts do those who take action face?

What actions are taken to address injustice? How successful are those actions?

Consider also:
  • Are they large actions, small actions? Local? National? International?
  • How do they attempt to address or make changes to the injustice?
  • How are those actions received? Do they generate any conflicts?
  • What is their impact on culture or society?
  • What challenges are faced in taking action?

Similar Books in our Library

So You Want to Talk about Race

Half the Sky

Tells the stories of women in Africa and Asia who have been victims of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality, and shows how girls' education and micro-finance can change their lives while providing a boost to the economies of developing countries.

Ain't I a Woman

Examining the impact of sexism on Black women during slavery, the devaluation of Back womanhood, Black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the Black woman's involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions.

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

Laurel Ulrich examines the meaning behind the slogan she inadvertently created, "Well-behaved women seldom make history," exploring what it means to make history and how women have achieved power and influence throughout history.

The Radical Element

"An anthology of historical short stories features a diverse array of girls standing up for themselves and their beliefs, forging their own paths while resisting society's expectations"--OCLC.

After the Shot Drops

"Told from alternating perspectives, Bunny takes a basketball scholarship to an elite private school to help his family, leaving behind Nasir, his best friend, in their tough Philadelphia neighborhood"

Girl rising : changing the world one girl at a time

Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls' education, created a film that chronicled the stories of nine girls in the developing world, allowing viewers the opportunity to witness how education can break the cycle of poverty. Now, award-winning author Tanya Lee Stone deftly uses new research to illuminate the dramatic facts behind the film, focusing both on the girls captured on camera and many others.

The Hate U Give

All American Boys

"Rashad is Absent Again Today"

The Big Book of Restorative Justice

Gale - Opposing Viewpoints

Topic Pages from GALE Opposing Viewpoints in Context & Global Issues in Context

The following issues are among those that are evident in the books on the Summer Reading List.  Each term below links to a topic page on GALE Opposing Viewpoints in Context or Global Issues in Context, which are databases that contain: viewpoint essays; newspaper, magazine, and academic journal articles; reference sources;  primary source documents; and more.

Passwords for Off-Campus GALE Database use are available on Canvas.