Year 9 Wide Reading : Parable

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it's time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. The Alchemist is the story of Santiago, an Audalusian shepherd boy who travels in search of a worldly treasure. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches readers, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and above all, following their dreams.

The little prince: An aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life. Letter to a hostage: A letter written while waiting in Portugal for a passage to the U.S., having just escaped the terrors of war-torn France. The author observes the aimless existence of his fellow exiles in Lisbon filled with parties, gambling, and spies and this leads him to examine the nature of existence itself.