Favorite Books from each Genre:

Shine
Outsiders
The Arrival
I Am The Messenger
Eagle Blue
Ender's Game

A.)  The best overall book for me was Shine because I had so many little (significant) connections with my own life that do not necessarily fit into the themes of the book.  This book was so captivating that I could not put it down.  The mystery about who beat-up Patrick was too much for me and I couldn't stop until I had an answer.  I really enjoyed the protagonist Cat, as she seemed to be the most open-minded of all the characters, yet she still had significant growth and development throughout the text.

D.)  I believe that The Arrival should be made into a screenplay.  Yes, I know this is strange but I believe a wordless movie, simply following the characters in The Arrival could be amazingly powerful as a motion picture...the added element would be the music that accompanies the motion picture.   I picture the movie, Fantasia when writing this.

G.)  The most vivid descriptions of setting was Eagle Blue because I loved the description of how the family used live off the land and in peace.  The description of the family that is true to their heritage and culture and how that eventually changed over time.  I also really enjoyed the description of Alaska and life in Alaska through the eyes of the characters in Fort Yukon.

H.)  The best book to stimulate research questions would be The Outsiders.  I believe that understanding why this book is and has been so popular for so  long is worth researching. My ideas stem from the very real fact of varying socio-economic backgrounds but the most important idea worth investigating would be one's innate and natural desire to belong...fit-in...be part of a community...family etc.  There is something so powerful about having a group of people that you can identify with or at least feel a belonging to, no matter how dysfunctional.