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Episode 48 – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Teen girl magically transported to a surreal land.  Killing the first person she meets she teams up with three strangers to kill again. – Rick Polito

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a book you think you know, but only slightly.  Dorothy a teen girl in turn of the century America is transported to the Land of Oz where she must find a way home.  Joining on the adventure is the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion all of which want their own blessings from the all-powerful Wizard of Oz.  But know that the movie stops halfway through this classic tale.  There is so much more you have never heard.

Recommended Age:

All ages

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Looking for more books like The Wonderful Wizard of OZ check out or other Shows:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Giver by Lois Lowry 

Episode 47 – Legend of Sleepy Hollow

In a sentence: Skinny dude with a funny name gets chased by a headless horseman and dies. Or runs away—unclear. The end. S

—Shmoop.com

Recommended Age: 15 for readability.  The content is clean but the archaic language would be difficult for younger readers.

 

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Next Month we are reading the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, so pick it up now!

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Dracula by Bram Stoker – Episode 40

Episode 46 – Percy Jackson

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction — Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.

From The Author

Recommended Age:

10+ – Death discussed some middle grade violence

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City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau – Episode 13

The Giver by Lois Lowry – Episode 17

Keeper of the Lost Cities – Episode 32

Episode 45 – Dodger By Terry Pratchett

Summary from the Guardian:

Dodger is a tosher who scavenges in the sewers and earns a living selling what he finds. All the poverty stricken people on the streets know him as a friend in times of need. But when he rescues a girl from a beating his life changes dramatically forever… Soon he becomes accidentally famous, discovers a dark plot against him, enters the world of the rich and learns the truth about the girl he rescued.

Recommended Age: 13

 

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Looking for more books like Dodger check out our other Shows:

The School for Good and Evil



Artemis Fowl

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 tells of a future where books have been banned and entertainment is designed to dull the senses of the masses.  A fireman named Montag goes from burning books to discover what has been lost by his society.  He must make a choice of what he will do with his discovery and it could cost him everything.

What can I say, we love dystopian sci-fi books.  At almost 70 years old this book holds up almost too well as we see a vision of our own future.  Disconnected by their earbuds and their reality TV, this book serves as a warning of things possibly to come.

Listen to our discussion on Farhenheit 451 here on Reading Radio.

For the record Jason was not making up words:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/prescient

Recommended Age:

13+ based on the complexity of language and darkness of some topics covered.

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Looking for more books like Fahrenheit  451  check out or other Shows:

Animal Farm – George Orwell – Episode 22

City of Ember – Jeanne DuPraul – Episode 13

The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness –  Episode 36

Episode 43 – The Inheritance Games

In the Inheritance Games we learn that Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.

To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into a sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con artist, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

Recommended Age for The Inheritance Games: 13+



* Mild romantic content

* Inference and results of domestic violence

* Murder is always a possibility



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Looking for more books like The Inheritance Games?  Check out our other Shows:

Running Out Of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix – Episode 14

The Similars by Rebecca Hanover – Episode 41