|
GRADES 9 & 10 SUMMER READING LIST |
|
|
|
Watership Down by Richard Adams * |
|
A powerful tale
about the destructive impact of our society on nature — written in
the same vein as Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
and Tolkien's The Hobbit. |
|
Monster by Frank E. Perretti |
|
Monster tells
the story of a young woman who disappears in the Idaho wilderness
and the ensuing search for her. |
|
My Sister’s Keeper By Jodi Picoult |
|
Picoult presents
the story of a child whose sole reason for existence is to assure a
genetic match for her terminally ill sibling. |
|
The Great Train Robbery by Michael Chrichton |
|
In 1855 London,
a group of thieves plan a daring robbery of gold bullion cargo
aboard a mighty steam locomotive as it speeds along the English
countryside. |
|
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson |
|
A laugh-out-loud
account of an outrageously rugged hike -- by the beloved comic
author of Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island. |
|
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd |
|
Lily Owens has
shaped her entire life around one devastating, blurred memory - the
afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her
only real companion has been the fierce-hearted, and sometimes just
fierce, black woman Rosaleen, who acts as her "stand-in mother." |
|
Stay Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher |
|
Eric’s
friendship with Sarah is in jeopardy when he makes the swim team. |
|
Once and Future King by T. H. White |
|
The world's
greatest fantasy classic is the magical epic of King Arthur and his
shining Camelot, |
|
Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen |
|
Marcy is looking
forward to a boring summer, but everything changes when she meets
the chaotic Wish Catering crew and starts really living life |
|
And Then There Were None by Agatha
Christie |
|
Ten strangers,
each with a dark secret, are gathered together on an isolated island
by a mysterious host. One by one, they die--and before the weekend
is out, there will be none. |
|
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette
Greene * |
|
When German
prisoners of war are brought to her Arkansas town during World War
II, twelve-year-old Patty, a Jewish girl, befriends one of them and
must deal with the consequences of that friendship. |
|
A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer |
|
This book
chronicles the unforgettable account of the victim of one of the
most severe child abuse cases in California history, but his dreams
kept him alive -- dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him
and calling him their son. |
|
That Was Then This Is Now by S. E. Hitton |
|
Set in the same
working-class landscape as "The Outsiders, That Was Then, This Is
Now" paints a deeply felt portrait of best friends Byron and Mark,
as they grow up and grow apart. |
|
Sula by Toni
Morrison |
|
Sula tells the
story of Nel Wright and Sula Peace, who meet as children in the
small town of Medallion, Ohio. |
|
|
|
|
|
* Denotes that
copies of the book are available at the high school. |
|
|
|
Source for
annotations: Barnes and Noble, and Borders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grades 11 & 12 Summer Reading List |
|
|
|
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John
Irving |
|
Owen Meany, the
only child of a New Hampshire granite quarrier, believes he is God's
instrument. He is. This is John Irving's most comic novel; yet Owen
Meany is Mr. Irving's most heartbreaking character. |
|
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by
Douglas Adams |
|
The story of a
British earthling plucked from his planet, and his subsequent
adventures elsewhere in the universe. |
|
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini |
|
Amir and Hassan
grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and
wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a
Hazara -- a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and
their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. |
|
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara
Kingsolver |
|
The Poisonwood Bible
is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a
fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the
Belgian Congo in 1959. |
|
Cut by Patricia McCormick |
|
This riveting,
thrilling and heartbreaking debut novel deals boldly with mental
illness. |
|
A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest
Gaines |
|
A young man who
returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach visits a black youth on
death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to
understand the heroism of resisting. |
|
An American Childhood by Annie
Dillard |
|
An American
Childhood is Pulitzer
Prize-winning author Annie Dillard's poignant, vivid memoir of
growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s. |
|
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer
Bradley |
|
Mists of
Avalon
is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes
and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. |
|
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka |
|
Gregor Samsa
wakes up one morning to find that he has become a giant insect. |
|
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse * |
|
This
20th-century classic chronicles the spiritual evolution of a man
living in India at the time of the Buddha--a journey that has
inspired generations of readers. |
|
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells |
|
Hailed as a
masterpiece of its genre, H. G. Wells's famous novella about the
perils of history and the hubris of modernity. |
|
Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain * |
|
Twain's darkly
comic masterpiece is a provocative exploration of slavery and
miscegenation. |
|
Ordinary People by Judith Guest |
|
The
accidental death of one of 2 sons brings a family to crisis and
disintegration. |
|
|
|
Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn |
|
Sent
to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to
keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with
Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes
living with his abusive father. |
|
|
|
* Denotes that
copies of the book are available at the high school. |
|
|
|
Source for
annotations: Barnes and Noble, and Borders |
