Each year the incoming sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders and staff at Watertown Middle School have to read the same book for the summer.

This year many books were recommended by students and teachers for One Book/One School. A group of sixth- and seventh-graders have met on Thursdays during extended homeroom to narrow down the book to four options: “Out of My Mind” by Sharon Draper, “One Came Home” by Amy Timberlake, “Wake Up Missing” by Kate Messner, and “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

“One of the reasons why we chose these books was because they have a really a strong female protagonist,” said seventh-grade humanities teacher Lauren Haggerty. “Because most of the books in the past have had a strong male protagonist, it should have a good female lead.”  

“Out of My Mind” is about a disabled 11-year-old who can’t walk, talk, or write, but she does have a photographic memory. She doesn’t forget anything but no one knows because she can’t communicate.

“One Came Home” takes place in 1871 Wisconsin. Georgie Burkhardt is a 13-year-old who speaks her mind plainly and says whatever she wants. One day, she blurts out something she wasn’t supposed to, causing her sister to run off and Georgie has to find her, and she ends up running into a pack of pigeoners trailing the migration.

In “Esperanza Rising,” Esperanza lives with her mother in Mexico. Her life is full of fancy dresses and beautiful homes. But it’s the Great Depression and her mother has to move to California. Esperanza then faces hard labor, financial struggles, and lack of acceptance, which she isn’t expecting.

“Wake Up Missing” takes place in the Florida Everglades, where four kids undergo a top-secret scientific experiment involving concussions for two weeks.

Like every year, each WMS student will have to complete a packet and will have two options: Option A is short answer, but has a lot of questions throughout each chapter; and Option B needs longer paragraphs, so the student should read the book first, then answer them.

During the first few weeks of school in September, all three grades will participate in projects that connect with the book in some way.

On Monday, June 15, it was announced that the summer reading book will be “Wake Up Missing.”

Along with the One Book/One School reading, each grade will be recommended to read two other books of the readers choice this summer.

–June 17, 2015–