Looking for a good summer read?
Why not try one of the two books selected for this year's Concord Reads program around the theme, “How one person can make a difference.” The Concord Public Library has lots of copies available for 28-day loan.
This fall Concord Reads and our community partners will host numerous programs related to themes presented in each of these books. Check out onconcord.com/library at the end of the summer for more details.
Pay it Forward
Catherine Ryan Hyde
1999, 288 pages
Setting: California and Washington, D.C.
Twelve-year-old Trevor takes on an extra-credit assignment from his social studies teacher to come up with a plan to do something to make the world a better place and institute it. His idea is to do something good for three people, but rather than ask them to pay him back, he asks them to “pay it forward” to three people. The book follows his three people and shows how, even though Trevor thought none of his people were able to pay it forward, there were unexpected results.
The Soloist
Steve Lopez
2008, 273 pages
Setting: Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times columnist Lopez happened upon the homeless Nathaniel Ayers playing a two-stringed violin on a street corner. He wondered who this person was, why he was playing on that corner, and what life events resulted in his being homeless. The book tells the story of Lopez and Ayers slowly getting to know one another, the discovery that Ayers was once a student at the acclaimed Julliard School of Music and his being stricken with schizophrenia while a student there. Lopez decides to try to help Ayers in ways he thinks will make Ayers's life better. Along the way he learns a lot about himself and undergoes some personal changes of his own. Their friendship results in growth for both.
