Belleville West Welcomes the Class of 2023

Yesterday, Belleville West freshmen attended their first day of class.  The English department wishes these new students four years of great classes, great friends, and great books!

English Department Celebrates Reading Program with Tenth-Anniversary Shirts

2019-2020 marks the tenth year of the BW Community of Readers program.  To celebrate, the English department will host special reading events throughout the year.  To kick off this anniversary, students and parents may purchase commemorative t-shirts in maroon, gray, and black.  Shirts will be available for purchase on campus during Open House on Thursday, August 15.  Students may also place orders by returning the form below to any English teacher.

The shirt features a design by Belleville West senior Delaney Holliday.  Sale price is $10, with an additional charge for extended sizes.  Proceeds will help to fund an author visit at the end of this year.  Shirt orders are due by Friday, September 6.

Finish Your Summer with One (or More!) of these Favorite Books

With one week until the start of the new school year, you still have time for a little more pleasure reading this summer. Why not pick up one of these student favorites?

Students Visit BW Library for More Summer Reading Selections

Last Wednesday, Belleville West students and English teachers dropped by the BW Library for the second summer book exchange.  Students were able to drop off the books they received from their English teachers at the end of the school year and select some new books for summer reading.  Throughout the remainder of the summer, Belleville West students can stop at the West branch of the Belleville Public Library at any time to exchange books.

BW Library Hosts Summer Book Exchange

Belleville West students may participate in a book exchange in the BW Library this Wednesday, July 17, from 10-11 a.m.  In order to participate, students must be enrolled at Belleville West and must have one of the English department’s summer reading books to exchange.  Students can also share their summer reading recommendations on Flip Grid.

Keep Summer Reading Alive with New Abe Lincoln and RFL Books

Looking for some good books this summer? Check out the 2019-2020 Abraham Lincoln and the 2019-2020 Read for a Lifetime books. Then sign up to participate in the Abe Lincoln and RFL programs in the BW Library when school starts in August.

2019-2020 ABRAHAM LINCOLN BOOKS

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Hooper by Geoff Herbach

How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

Only Child by Rhiannon Navin

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Sadie by Courtney Summers

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

2019-2020 READ FOR A LIFETIME BOOKS

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Boots on the Ground by Elizabeth Partridge

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

Dry by Neal Shusterman

Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

We Regret to Inform You by Ariel Kaplan

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Belleville West Students Make Summer Reading Recommendations

Throughout the 2018-2019 school year, Belleville West students recommended some of their favorite books.  Below is a list of all the student suggestions.  If you’re looking for some summer reading, this list includes something for everyone!

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Bang by Sharon Flake

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Born to Rock by Gordon Korman

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

The Cabin by Natasha Preston

Caged Warrior by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

The Cellar by Natasha Preston

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Cujo by Stephen King

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Curveball: The Year I Lost my Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Did I Mention I Love You by Estelle Maskame

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Expelled by James Patterson

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Fade by Lisa McMann

Fairy Tale by Hiro Mashima

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Far from You by Tess Sharpe

For Everyone by Jason Reynolds

Foul Trouble by John Feinstein

The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell

Girl in Pieces by Katherine Glasgow

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Gone by Michael Grant

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Grand and Humble by Bert Hartinger

Grenade by Alan Gratz

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Looking for Alaska by John Green

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

The Lost Boy by David Pelzer

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Martian by Andy Weir

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

Misery by Stephen King

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Morte by Robert Repino

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Native Son by Richard Wright

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

New Boy by Julian Houston

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

One Day by David Nicholls

One More Thing by B.J. Novak

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

The Outsider by Stephen King

Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Roar by Cora Carmack

Romanov Ransom by Clive Cussler

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Search for Safety by John Langan

Secrets in the Shadows by Anne Schraff

The Shack by William P. Young

The Siren by Kiera Cass

Slacker by Gordon Korman

Speed Queen by Stewart O’Nan

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Surface Tension by Mike Mullins

Swing by Kwame Alexander

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Flake

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Third Victim by Robert Margolin

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This is Not the End by Chandler Baker

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Tradition by Brendan Kiely

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

V is for Villain by Peter Moore

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

What it Takes by Mark Herzlich

When We Wake by Karen Healey

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

You Will be Mine by Natasha Preston

Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge