Favorite Quotes from Summer Reading

As we have for almost 30 years, we asked the students to read over the summer. This year, we had them select from a diverse selection of novels, featuring heroes (one of the focuses of English 9) of different ages, genders, time periods, and even species (Stein's book features a canine narrator):

• Briar Rose (Jane Yolen)

• The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian (Sherman Alexie)

• Big Fish: A Novel of Mythical Proportions (Daniel Wallace)

• The Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

• Whale Rider (Witi Ihimaera)

• Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman)

• The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)

• First Test (Protector of the Small #1) (Tamora Pierce)

• Blood Red Road (Dustlands, Book 1) (Moira Young)

We asked our students to create a poster featuring a quotation from their book choice that represents their own belief system or guides them through life.

Ms. Costello offered this favorite from Life of Pi:

“I know a woman here in Toronto who is very dear to my heart. [...]. Though she has lived in Toronto for over thirty years, her French-speaking mind still slips on occasion on the understanding of English sounds. And so, when she first heard of Hare Krishnas, she didn't hear right. She heard "Hairless Christians", and that is what they were to her for many years. When I corrected her, I told her that in fact sh e was not so wrong; that Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims.”

Mr. Inouye offered this one from The Absolutely True Diary:

“If you're good at it, and you love it, and it helps you navigate the river of the world, then it can't be wrong.”

Students chose their quotations thoughtfully -- we found a wide variety of wisdom in all of our different books this summer!