GRADE 9

Summer Reading List for Summer 2011

BLOOD RED HORSE

By K.M.Grant

BLOOD RED HORSE is based on the Third Crusade with England's King Richard I and the Muslim leader Saladin.  This novel will take you from the de Granvilles' Hartslove Castle to the bloody battlefields of the Middle East

THE BRONZE BOW

By Elisabeth George Speare

Daniel Bar Jamin is fired by only one passion:  to avenge his father's death by crucifixtion by driving the Roman legions from his land of Isreal.  He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying, plotting while impatiently waiting to seek revenge.  Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and forgiveness, heading down a destructive path towards disaster until he hears the lessons taught by Jesus of Nazareth.

Study Guide

Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant
You need three things to become a brave and noble knight:
A warhorse.
A fair maiden.
A just cause.

Main Characters: Will and Gavin: two brothers who quarrel a lot; Gavin often belittles Will in
front of others
Ellie: lost her parents at a young age and comes to live with Will and Gavin

Setting: the story begins in England in the year 1185; the boys travel to the Middle East to fight
in the Crusades

Questions to ponder as you read:
1. As you read, Blood Red Horse, take notice of how the characters evolve. Many times in life,
things do not turn out as we believed they would. Has this ever happen to you?
2. The war is also told from the side of the Muslims. Why is it important to see both sides of a
story?

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

Main Characters: Daniel bar Jamin, Leah, Daniel’s sister, Joel, and Malthace

Setting: takes place 2000 years ago in Palestine

Things to think about as you read:
1. Why does Daniel not know from the start that Rosh is devious?
2. Were any of Daniel's crimes justifiable? Why might freeing Samson be justifiable while
robbing the old man is not?
3. Discuss the character strengths of Simon, who gives up his business in order to follow Jesus;
Joel, a good student who knows much of Holy Scripture by heart; Malthace, who seems to
know what is in the hearts of others; and Rosh, who is charismatic but cynical. Which of these
characters is the wisest?
4. Who is more courageous, bold Daniel or bookish Joel?
5. Do people today still rationalize their bad deeds the same way that Daniel and Rosh do?
6. What do you think of the novel's ending? Does Daniel get off too easily for all the hurt he has
caused? Is his change of heart too quick a shift from bitterness to openness to be convincing?

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