The Caw Caw Book Club:

It’s a new year and a new book club! Mrs. Falkowski and Mrs. Haneski, the leaders of the MSD book club, have started off this year with a whole new set of books and plans for increasing the excitement.

“The goals of the book club are to complete the teen reading book list, compete in the book club competition in the spring, bring reading further into the community and also have a fun year bonding over books,” member Annika Mursten said.

The 2015-2016 book club is under the student direction of Haley Shaneen, club president, Melanie Becker, vice president, Brianna Kernan, secretary, and Ryan Marks, treasurer. These students are all very dedicated to the Caw Caw book club and are very excited for its future.

The members for this year seem to be taking it far more seriously than previous years and have big plans for the club.

“This year’s book club is a lot more legitimate than it has ever been,” Shaneen said. “Since my freshmen year, book club would pick a book every month and meet again just to discuss how nobody read it. Now, book club has kids who love to read and a really cool sponsor, Mrs. Falkowski.”

“I wasn’t really involved in book club last year so, from what I’ve heard, there weren’t many members in the club and it wasn’t taken all that seriously. However, this year the other officers and I really want more members in the club who actually are interested in dedicating time to reading and enjoying a novel,” Kernan said. “Also, since we have The Battle of The Books, there should be a team that should start preparing for this competition and getting serious about reading.”

In order to have a successful book club, there must be lively and interesting discussions about the books being read. Shaneen, as president, takes it upon herself to motivate the clubs literary discussions, as well as ensuring that everyone is well fed.

“I [also] bake for the meetings because I love cake,” Shaneen jokes.

When they meet:

The club members meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month right after school in either Mrs. Falkowski’s room or the back of the media center to discuss the books they read.  With only four meetings under their belt, the kids have still managed to complete two books.

The Battle of The Books:

This is the first year that the Caw Caw Book Club is participating in the competition, The Battle of the Books. This district-wide reading competition, which is being held in April, is a way of encouraging students to enjoy reading. The student’s knowledge of the books they read throughout the year will be put to the test with a series of questions.

“We have The Battle of The Books this year, which is a competition where we have to recall quotes from novels that Douglas’ team has already read from a prescribed list and attempt to be the team with the most correct quote-book pairings.” Kernan said.

The members of the club have shown great excitement over the battle and can not wait to participate in it.

“When I first heard about it [Battle of The Books], I said it was the nerdiest thing I have ever heard and that I had to be a part of it,” Shaneen said. “As a team we will compete against book clubs from other schools to test our knowledge of the books we read throughout the year.”

For more information on The Battle of The Books visit: http://pbspaces.com/sites/pbspaces.com.botb/files/SDPBC%20Battle%20of%20the%20Book%20Guidelines.pdf

What they’re reading:

The students are planning to read all of the books from the 2015-2016 Florida Teen Read Book List by the end of the school year. The club has already read NIL by Lynne Matson and Jackaby by Ritter William and the students have seemed to really enjoy them.

“I was really hyped to read Noggin by John Corey Whaley, which is our current book. It’s about a kid with cancer whose head is frozen and attached to someone else’s body five years into the future. I recommend this book to anyone who can read,” Shaneen said. (more information on Noggin can be found below)

“We’ve only read two books so far and I just started the third one, Noggin, but my favorite is by far NIL because it met all my expectations and I really enjoyed the structure of the novel. My favorite genre is fantasy and I thought that the idea of an island that doesn’t exist was pretty bizarre and interesting. This book definitely did not disappoint me.” Kernan said. (more information on NIL can be found below)

“My favorite book that we read so far has to be NIL. The entire book club enjoyed it as well during our discussion .” Mursten said.

The Florida Teen Read 2015-2016 Book List:

Anderson, Laurie Halse.The Impossible Knife of Memory. Viking Books for Young Readers, 2014.

Seventeen-year-old disillusioned Haley Kincaid and her father, Andy, move back to their hometown to try a “normal” life after living on the road for the past five years. Even then, the horrors Andy saw during the Iraq war threaten to destroy their lives. Alcohol and drugs are Andy’s way of dealing with PTSD. When the hot boy in school, Finn, shows an interest in Haley she is not sure if she can be a part of a normal relationship. She has secrets, Finn has secrets. Will Haley ever get to be a teenager or will she always struggle with her past and her father’s destructive behavior?

Arnett, Mindee. Avalon. Harper Collins Balzar + Bray, 2014.

Jeth Seagrave will do anything to get his ship, Avalon, back from the crime boss who has enslaved him and his crew and forced them to work as mercenaries and thieves. So when a new mission arises – extremely dangerous, but with a payoff big enough to buy back his ship – he takes it. Soon, Jeth, his little sister Lizzie, and their crew find themselves trapped between the government and galaxy’s worst crime bosses in a fight for information that could alter the fate of the entire galaxy. Fans of Star Wars and Firely will enjoy this fast-paced Sci Fi adventure.

Castle, Jennifer. You Look Different in Real Life. HarperTeen, 2013.

When Justine was just six, she and four other kids in her Kindergarten class became the focus of a documentary.The TV crew came back every five years to do a new show on the same kids. Now Justine and the others are sixteen with complex personal lives and little to do with each other. Do they have to share their secrets for the sake of good TV or should they pretend to be people they aren’t?

Feinstein, John. Foul Trouble. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013.

Everybody wants a piece of Terrell Jamerson in this high-stakes sports novel. He’s a high school basketball player who’s destined for NBA stardom. Shoe companies and back-door college recruiters desperately vie for the prize player. Terrell’s friend and teammate, Danny, and his father, their high school coach, want to keep Terrell from making a mistake that could ruin his future forever. Ultimately, though, Terrell will have to decide for himself which path to take.

Giles, Lamar. Fake ID. Harper Collins Amistad, 2014.

Nick Pearson (or is that really his name?) has moved yet again with his parents in the US Federal Witness Protection Program, and already he’s in trouble. Will his crush on the sister of his best friend, Eli, detract him from finding Eli’s murderer? Is his father wrapped up in the town’s mysterious plot to hide all criminal activity? How can he stay “low key” in the Witness Security Program if he might be the next target? Fans of Grisham and Patterson will enjoy this fast-paced mystery thriller.

Han, Jenny. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014.

Laura Jean Song puts all her attention into keeping her sisters close ever since their mother died. She knows that the best way to get over her crush on her older sister’s boyfriend is to pour out her heart and soul in a love letter, and then bury it deep in the hat box given to her by her deceased mother. This works for all the crushes she has ever had, until a little sibling rivalry goes amok. What would you do if all the boys you’ve loved before found out your inner-most feelings?

Lockhart, E. We Were Liars. Delacorte Press, 2014.

In this suspenseful novel, Cadence Sinclair Eastman, 17 and heiress to a fortune, returns to the island of her childhood summers. She hasn’t been to the island since she was fifteen and suffered a brain injury in a horrific accident. As Cadence regains snippets of her memory, readers will be taken on an incredible ride full of unexpected twists. Few will see this ending coming!

Mathieu, Jennifer. The Truth About Alice. Roaring Brook Press, 2014.

Alice Franklin of Healy High was popular enough. That’s why she was invited to Elaine’s party. However, rumors can change reputations quickly in a small town, especially if the rumors include sleeping with two guys in one night and causing the death of the most popular jock in the school. Alice’s truth is revealed as one student after another tells what they “know.”

Matson, Lynne. NIL. Henry Holt and Co., 2014. 365 days.

365 days to escape from the island of NIL- or you die. It’s a race against time for seventeen-year-old Charley when she wakes up naked on a mysterious island. Each day brings new obstacles, but fortunately she has the help of Thad and other teen refugees on the island. Can they beat the clock and make it off the island in time? Full of action, adventure, mystery, sci-fi, and romance, NIL has it all.

Ritter, William. Jackaby. Algonquin Young Readers, 2014.

Abigail Rook signs on as assistant to eccentric supernatural investigator R.F. Jackaby, and soon finds herself in the middle of a thrilling race to catch a serial killer before he (it?) strikes again. Jackaby shows her a world of extraordinary beings she never imagined could exist, and Abigail helps the investigator pick up on the ordinary details that he has a tendency to overlook. Together, they form the perfect supernatural crime-fighting duo. Their adventures are sure to please any reader, but especially those in the SuperWhoLock fandom (or fans of any one of the mashup’s component shows: Supernatural, Doctor Who, or Sherlock).

Rutkoski, Marie. The Winner’s Curse. Farrar, 2014.

When you’re the general’s daughter, like Kestrel, your future doesn’t hold a lot of surprises. You have two paths: the military or marriage. But what if your true passion is actually music? Kestrel’s life becomes even more complicated when she lays eyes on Arin. Will her passions for music and this mysterious man put her, her family, and her people at risk? Or will she sacrifice her own desires to remain loyal to her father? Join Kestrel and Arin on a beautifully written and suspenseful fantasy read that has everyone talking.

Sanderson, Brandon. Steelheart. Delacorte, 2013.

Ever since David’s father was killed by Steelheart, David has studied and plotted how to kill the most powerful Epic in the land. But Epics have super powers and David knows unless he joins the Reckoners, a rebel group dedicated to assassinating Epics, he doesn’t have a chance against this indestructible tyrant.

Sitomer, Alan L. Caged Warrior. Disney Hyperion, 2014.

In this gritty novel, McCutcheon has been involved in mixed martial arts since he was nine. He is seventeen now and one of the best underground cage fighters in Detroit. But his teacher and his new girlfriend know he is smart and could get into a good college and do well. Can he defy his father and the bosses of Detroit’s organized crime? (mature: language/content)

Whaley, John Corey. Noggin. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014.

Sixteen-year-old Travis Coates is dying of leukemia, but gets to live on through cryogenics- or as he puts it, having his head “chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado.” When he awakes five years later, his head is on a bigger, better body, but time has moved on. Humor abounds in this poignant story of relationships and medical marvels.

Young, Suzanne. The Program. S & S Simon Pulse, 2013.

Teen suicide is an international epidemic, and the adults are bound to stop it through participation in the Program, a treatment facility where memories are erased. Sloan and James are two teens confident that their passion will overcome depression, yet the handlers from the Program seem to have their eyes on the teens’ every move. Will their love survive the Program?

Fun facts:

• Along with the teen readers and their sponsor [Falkowski] the principle, Mr. Thompson, is also reading the books from the Florida Teen Read 2015-2016 Book List
• The name “Caw Caw” Book Club was just seen as a fun joke among club members but it stuck and is now their official name
• The club’s motto is “we get LITeracy”

How to find the Caw Caw Book Club:

For more information about the MSD book club:

•  twitter: @cawcawbookclub
• see Mrs. Falkowski, room (insert room number) or email her at [email protected]
• see Mrs. Haneski in the media center