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Grades 9-12

Family Book Club – Family Bonds: High School

November 7, 2021 | Family Bonds

“In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Each family bond contains the invisible threads of emotional connection, common values, common goals, and shared responsibilities that make a family, a family. The books in this collection describe family bonds in many forms. Each story illustrates how individual family members influence the wellbeing of the others in many ways. Welcome to the family!

Below you’ll find books, conversation launchers and activities that are appropriate for High Schoolers around the concept of “Family Bonds”.

GREAT BOOKS & CONVOS

The How & the Why

By Cynthia Hand


Why We LOVE This Book

S is a 16 year old girl, living in a group home for teenage pregnant girls. We learn how and why she is there from the letters she writes to her unborn child, whom she refers to as X.

Cassandra McMurtrey, known by her family and friends as Cass, just turned 18. Although she has an incredibly strong bond with her parents who raised her, she still wonders about her birth mother, especially on her birthdays. On this particular birthday, maybe because she is now an “adult” or maybe because the mother who raised her is possibly dying, she decides she wants to discover more about who her birth mother was and is. Cass goes online and requests her official birth certificate. This is the first step in her journey to find her birth mother; perhaps this quest will lead to some self-discovery as well.

CLICK TO TRY THIS BOOK

Conversation Launchers


Once Upon a Quinceañera

By Monica Gomez-Hira


Why We LOVE This Book

Carmen is not looking forward to her summer job as a party princess for little kids, but quitting is not an option. She needs the internship to graduate high school and wants to make sure she sees it through. Carmen’s estranged younger cousin, Ariana, has a quinceañera rapidly approaching, so some family member have to interact more often than they have in years past. Carmen stumbles upon various obstacles with her family, but realizes the beauty and importance of family in the end.

CLICK TO TRY THIS BOOK

Conversation Launchers


Fade into the Bright

By Jessica Koosed Etting & Alyssa Embree Schwartz


Why We LOVE This Book

Abby planned her future and was ready to embark on her next chapter in life, until she had to make a decision that would change her life. She and her sister received a letter from their father, who abandoned the family three years prior, that informed them of a hereditary disease that they have a 50-50 shot at escaping. After finding the truth, Abby needs to flee and decompress, leaving her mother and sister to with other family. As she spends the summer on Catalina Island, she lets go and forgives, while learning how to navigate her life.

CLICK TO TRY THIS BOOK

Conversation Launchers


Keep the Conversation Going!

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES


MORE GREAT READS

Barely Missing Everything

Matt Mendez

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

Zoraida Cordova

Educated

Tara Westover


NEW BOOK JOY is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Every order you place through NBJ supports our site and their pool of independent bookstores!

Resources for OTHER AGE GROUPS

Below you’ll find books and activities that are appropriate for various ages around the concept of “Family Bonds.”

SEARCH BY GRADE LEVEL…

PRE-K – KINDERGARTEN

PRE-K – KINDERGARTEN

1ST – 2ND GRADE

3RD – 5TH GRADE

MIDDLE SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL


FOR FULL ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL READINGS, RESOURCES & ACTIVITIES, CHECK OUT OUR FAMILY BOOK CLUB subscription BOXES…


Mandy G, NEW BOOK JOY Founder






Don’t miss out on NEW BOOK JOY!

 




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