Dunbar Teachers’ Reading Recommendations

In between setting up their Canvas pages and preparing assignments, Dunbar’s teachers read dozens of books this summer. Here are some of their favorites!

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  • Eragon is one of math teacher Ms. Chelsea Mullins’ favorite novels. Author Christopher Paolini “does a phenomenal job at world-building in his novels, like on the same level as Tolkien,” she wrote.

  • Orchestra teacher Ms. Anna Watts read Magic’s Pawn, a fantasy novel by Mercedes Lackey. “I love reading the adventures that Vanyel goes on and being immersed into a fantastical world,” Ms. Watts wrote.

  • “I read All the Bright Places for book club, and MAN did I binge it,” English teacher Ms. Amanda Holt wrote. She added that the book, which addresses suicide, is “heavy,” but that it has “a little of everything–romance, humor, serious.”

  • Family Consumer Science teacher Ms. Katherine Blackard “loved” The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. She said it “told a story of an area my family is from in such a way that made me feel like I was right there.” The book discusses the fight against racial injustice and for equal access to education in Appalachia.

  • English teacher Brooke Jackson’s favorite summer reads included many titles by Taylor Jenkins Reid, including The Seven Husbands of Eleanor Hugo, which Ms. Jackson described as “old Hollywood Glam meets scandal meets LGBTQ meets love story.” But she also enjoyed The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas because of her love of mystery, which was satisfied by this story about “a town where teenagers start mysteriously dying.”

  • “This summer I read and enjoyed The Balllad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins,” Librarian Summer Perry wrote. This prequel to The Hunger Games series is told from the perspective of Coriolanus Snow. Ms. Perry said the novel “is both an interesting account of the early Hunger Games and an eerie peek into the psyche of Snow.”

  • Technology teacher Ms. Kim Overstreet read many books this summer, but she wrote that she loved The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates, which talks about the author’s philanthropic work. “The main idea is that when we lift up women, in any community, in any part of the world, then everyone benefits, including men and boys,” Ms. Overstreet wrote.

  • Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series is one of English teacher Mrs. Tara Wilkinson’s “absolute favorites!” She added that The Toll, the final book in the series, “wraps up this dystopian trilogy by blending suspense, action, and philosophical insight.”

  • The Cheerleaders was a popular book this summer. English Teacher Ms. Kari Long also enjoyed what she described as “a light, fun YA Lit mystery.” She said that “with all that’s going on in the world, sometimes it’s nice to find an easy escape.”

  • Fans of Game of Thrones will enjoy MSTC Director Ms. Karen Young’s current read, Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin. “This book tells the story of the House Targaryen before we met Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones,” Ms. Young wrote. “The historical account fills in the back story of the creation of the Iron Throne, the creation of the Red Keep and King’s Landing, and the history of the dragons that helped the Targaryens gain and hold their power.”

  • Dunbar’s College and Career Coach, Ms. Pamela Bates, is on the last book of the Dublin Murder series by Tana French, but she is “really hoping the author continues” with the series. The books focus on the police department’s murder squad in Dublin, Ireland, perfect for Ms. Bates, who said she “always love[s] a good Who Done It book.”