Welcome to the
RHS Library!
Hours of Operation:
M-F 7:30a.m. to 3:10p.m.
Our Librarian: J. Havins
Telephone: 281- 237-1528 Fax: 281-644-1780
Library Rules: Patrons must follow the district’s AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) for computer usage. The AUP can be viewed on the KISD website.
Copyright: Laws and regulations governing the reproduction of copyrighted materials will be observed. Students are responsible for the compliance of copyright rules.
Book Check Out: Books may be checked out for 3 weeks. Reference books may be checked out overnight.
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RECOMMENDED READS
Booklist starred (September 1, 2008 (Vol. 105, No. 1)) The Hunger Games by S. Collins
Grades 9-12. This is a grad-opening salvo in a new series by the author of the Undeand Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister fromthe forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation’s annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panem’s districts. District 12’s second “tribute” is Peeta, the baker’s son, who has been in love with Katniss since he was five. Each new plot twist ratchets up the tension, moving the story forward and keeping the reader on edge. Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents’ next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own. Populated by three-dimensional characters, this is a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance.
Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) (Hardcover)
by Suzanne Collins
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Gr 7 Up--Every year in Panem, the dystopic nation that exists where the U.S. used to be, the Capitol holds a televised tournament in which two teen "tributes" from each of the surrounding districts fight a gruesome battle to the death. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from impoverished District Twelve, thwarted the Gamemakers, forcing them to let both teens survive. In this rabidly anticipated sequel, Katniss, again the narrator, returns home to find herself more the center of attention than ever. The sinister President Snow surprises her with a visit, and Katniss’s fear when Snow meets with her alone is both palpable and justified. Catching Fire is divided into three parts: Katniss and Peeta’s mandatory Victory Tour through the districts, preparations for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, and a truncated version of the Games themselves. Slower paced than its predecessor, this sequel explores the nation of Panem: its power structure, rumors of a secret district, and a spreading rebellion, ignited by Katniss and Peeta’s subversive victory. Katniss also deepens as a character. Though initially bewildered by the attention paid to her, she comes almost to embrace her status as the rebels’ symbolic leader. Though more of the story takes place outside the arena than within, this sequel has enough action to please Hunger Games fans and leaves enough questions tantalizingly unanswered for readers to be desperate for the next installment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Lovely Bones.
Sebold, Alice (author).
July 2002. 328p. Little, Brown, hardcover, $21.95
(0-316-66634-3).
REVIEW. First published May 1, 2002 (
Booklist).
Few novels, debut or otherwise, are as masterful or as compelling as Sebold’s. Her heroine, 14-year-old Suzy Salmon, is murdered in the first chapter, on her way home from school. Suzy narrates the story from heaven, viewing the devastating effects of her murder on her family. Each member reacts differently: her gentle father grieves quietly, intent on finding her killer; her aloof mother retreats from the family; her tough younger sister, Lindsey, keeps everything inside, except for the occasional moment when she tentatively opens up to her boyfriend; and her four-year-old brother, Bucky, longs for his older sister and can’t comprehend her absence. Suzy also watches Ray Singh, the boy who kissed her for the first time, who represents all of her lost hopes, and Ruth Connors, who became obsessed with death and murder after Suzy’s passing. Under Suzy’s watchful eye, the members of her family individually grow away from her murder, each shaped by it in their own way. In heaven, Suzy herself continues to grapple with her death as well, still longing for her family and for Earth, until she is finally granted a wish that allows her to fulfill one of her dreams. Sebold’s beautiful novel shows how a tragedy can tear a family apart, and bring them back together again. She challenges us to re-imagine happy endings, as she brings the novel to a conclusion that is unfalteringly magnificent. And she paints, with an artist’s precision, a portrait of a world where the terrible and the miraculous can and do coexist. — Kristine Huntley
Before I Die.
Downham, Jenny (author).
Sept. 2007. 336p. Random/David Fickling, hardcover, $15.99 (0-385-75155-9); library edition, $18.99 (0-385-75158-3). Grades 9-12. REVIEW. First published November 15, 2007 (Booklist).
Four years after being diagnosed with leukemia, British teenager Tessa, 16, knows she has almost no time left. “...