From Amazon.com:

They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years.

In January 1988, Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First, he lost his voice and stopped eating. Then, he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin's parents were told an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby and less than two years to live.

Martin was moved to care centers for severely disabled children. The stress and heartache shook his parents’ marriage and their family to the core. Their boy was gone. Or so they thought.

Ghost Boy is the heart-wrenching story of one boy’s return to life through the power of love and faith. In these pages, readers see a parent’s resilience, the consequences of misdiagnosis, abuse at the hands of cruel caretakers, and the unthinkable duration of Martin’s mental alertness betrayed by his lifeless body.

We also see a life reclaimed—a business created, a new love kindled—all from a wheelchair. Martin's emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for others.

Welcome to (HS)2 STEM Academy.  We are so excited to be working with you next year!
ALL incoming 9th grade (HS)2 students are to read from the prologue through chapter 26 of Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius. Students are to answer the questions for the even numbered chapters in complete sentences remembering to restate the question. Work is to be turned in on the first day of school. Feel free to share it with me electronically before the first day of school at jdruggan@reyn.org. Summer reading is important, not only because it keeps your mind active during the summer months, but it also provides us with information about you as a learner.
Please Note: We are asking that students only read these chapters as a few later chapters require a more mature audience. Please decide as a family as to whether or not you would like for your student to read the entire book. Some teachers may finish the book with students, but the questionable chapters will be not be read or discussed.

The questions and enriched assignments are on the back of this page.

Chapter	Short Answer Questions	
Prologue	What do you think the narrator is talking about?	
2	Identify the descriptions that are included to help the reader visualize what the narrator looks like.	
4	What do you think is the worst part of the narrator regaining consciousness?	
6	If you were in the narrator’s situation, what would bother you most about the testing?	
8	How would you describe Martin’s attitude?	
10	What is the most difficult part of Martin’s routine?	
12	What excites Martin about the software?	
14	What is the purpose of this chapter?	
16	What are some reasons that Virna rejects Martin’s feelings?	
18	Explain the various emotions that Martin experiences.	
20	What does the speaker discuss that baffles Martin? Why does it rattle him?	
22	What does Martin learn/realize in this chapter?	
24	Why do you think Martin’s mom reacts the way she does following the meeting with Professor Alant?	
26	Tell about a time when you had a nightmare. Explain it in detail.	

Students taking enriched English 9 need to complete the following tasks in addition to the questions. This will be due the first day of school. Feel free to share it with me electronically before the first day of school at jdruggan@reyn.org. This work is important because it serves as a diagnostic tool which will guide instruction.
Find one article that explores an issue or issues related to the medical topics discussed in the novel.
Read and annotate the article. When annotating, you should identify important information contained within the article and write notes about what you have read. Feel free to write directly on the article, but be prepared to turn in your notes on the first day.
Complete a summary for the article using MLA format. Be sure to include the citation for the article above the summary.
Finally, write a five paragraph essay explaining why this book is important for all people to read.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Druggan through email at jdruggan@reyn.org.  Enjoy your summer!