Carver Vocational-Technical High School
Class of 2013
Summer Reading List
2012-2013
Dear Carver SeniorWelcome to Senior Year and English IV! In order to maintain and improve the strong reading
and writing skills that will help you succeed in your final year of high school, it is critical that you
take time this summer to complete the summer reading and writing assignments to the best of
your ability.
You should choose three books that:
 Have topics which interest you
 You have not read before
 Challenge you, but are not too far beyond your reading level
You are welcome to read academic, high-school level books that are not found on the list. If
you have any questions, please contact Ms. Mendoza at [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you this fall and talking about excellent books!
A Note to Parents:
In order to prepare for the rigor and challenges of English IV, it is critical that your child read
this summer. According to the National Summer Learning Association, studies show that
students who don’t read over the summer can lose as much as two years of reading skills. This
reading loss can be easily avoided if students read every day.
Please help your child get ready for senior level literary analysis by encouraging him or her to
complete these summer reading assignments.
In addition to the books on this list, students are welcome to read other academic, high-school
level books of their choice. If you have any questions please contact Ms. Mendoza at
[email protected]. Thank you for your support as we all work hard to help your
child succeed at Carver.
Where Can I get books?
There is no need to purchase any books! All titles are widely available at the Enoch Pratt Free
Library, which has branches all throughout Baltimore. If you choose to purchase books, they
are available at most local bookstores such as Barnes and Noble or online at amazon.com.
You can also participate in Pratt’s summer reading program to win fun prizes. Resources like
the “Book Thing” and “Baltimore Reads” also provide free books, however the titles are more
limited.
If you need assistance finding books or would like to ask about the academic quality of another
book, please contact Ms. Mendoza through email at [email protected].
Summer Reading
Choose and carefully read at least three books
from the list below:
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
A People’s History of the United
States by Howard Zinn
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled
Hosseini
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac
McCarthy
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Dreams from my Father by Barack
Obama
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James
W. Loewen
Memoirs of a Soldier Boy by Ishmael
Beah
Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion
Random Family by Adrian Nicole
LeBlanc
Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
The Absolutely True Story of a PartTime Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Odyssey by Homer
The Sound of the Waves by Yukio
Mishima
After You Read:
You should complete the following
assignments for each of the three books
you read (9 assignments total). Your
teacher will grade these assignments and
they will be the first assignments of first
quarter.
Assignments:
 Summarize the story in 2-3
sentences
 Choose any character and describe
his/her personality in a detailed,
three paragraph paper. Use specific
examples from the story that best
show the character’s unique
personality traits.
 Choose the most powerful or
moving part of the story and
describe why you found it so
powerful/moving in a one page
response. Use specific details to
show your teacher why this section
was so important to you.
Your work should be
formatted with your full
name, the title of the book
and the author on every
page. Plagiarism (copying
or cheating of any kind) is
absolutely unacceptable at
Carver!