Stand Tall

Author: Joan Bauer
Year Published: 2002
Publisher: Putnam's Sons
ISBN#: 014240148X
Pages: 182
Media Type: Book
Classification: Fiction
Subject: Grandfathers, Families, Identity

Reader's Annotation:
Tree, a six-foot-three-inch twelve-year-old, copes with his parents' recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl at school.

Plot Summary:
Tree is the tallest seventh grader in his school. Because he is 6 feet three and a half inches tall people expect him to be good at basketball and to act older than he really is. But he doesn’t even like basketball and he feels terrible about his parents’ recent divorce. Tree supports his grandfather, a Vietnam veteran who has just had to have part of his leg amputated and befriends a new girl at school. His grandfather has taught him that working on things helps, so Tree spends time seeing how lamps get rewired and laser pens work. Gradually Tree begins to heal from the divorce and learn to “stand tall.”

Reading Level: 4
Interest Level: 5-9
Author's website: http://www.joanbauer.com/

Twilight

Author:Stephanie Meyer
Year Published:2005
ISBN#: 9780316160179
Pages: 498
Media Type: Book
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Adventure
Subject: Vampires, Werevolf, High School Life

Reader's Annotation:
When 17-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets a boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who is not wholly human.

Plot Summary:
When seventeen-year-old Bella Swan moves in with her dad in the small town of Forks, Washington, she’s immediately fascinated by one of her new classmates, the distant but exquisitely handsome Edward Cullen. Though Edward is obviously drawn towards Bella as well, he is clearly conflicted, warning her away from him, and she eventually guesses why: he’s a vampire. Like the rest of his unusual enclave, he has forsworn feeding on humans, but Bella tempts his appetite as well as completely capturing his heart.

A trusting Bella has confidence in Edward’s increasing self-control, but it’s not Edward she has to worry about when a group of visiting vampires encounters her among Edward’s family and fixes on her as their prey. There is a definite romantic connection between Bella and Edward. It is this romatic connection that readers will find very compelling. Bella and Edward attend their school prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, which Edward refuses.

Reading Level: 4

Interest Level: 9-12
Awards Won:
• A New York Times Editor's Choice
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• An American Library Association "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers
• A New York Times Best Seller

Author Website (if any): stepheniemeyer.com

Trailer from the Movie Adaptation: