ENGLISH 9 REGENTS
2013 – 2014 SUMMER READING LIST
Students entering the ninth grade will have a heavy reading requirement during the regular school year prior
to their final exam. The Pine Bush English Department requires you to read one novel during the summer prior
to entering your English class. Select one novel from the list below. While reading the novel, you must take
detailed chapter notes. During the first two weeks of school a class assignment will be discussed, and during
the third week, an essay test will be given on the novel. Your notes will be the key to a successful completion
of this project. It is imperative that you read one of these novels and come to school prepared. Start now to
get a great beginning to your freshman year!
Time frame:
1. Students read literature over the summer and complete detailed, hand-written notes with
references to:
Plot
Characters
Setting
Conflict
Theme
2. Teachers review assignment and format for essay/project during the first week of school.
3. Students will take an essay test during the third week of school. Exact dates will be designated
upon return in September 2012.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: An autobiographical novel that describes Angelou’s
coming of age as a precarious but insecure black girl in the American South during the 1930s and
subsequently in California in the 1940s.
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman: Shawn McDaniel’s life is not what it may seem. He is glued to his
wheelchair, unable to easily move a muscle—he can’t even move his mouth. Shawn’s father knows his son
may be suffering. Shawn is unable to communicate verbally to his father, and his life is in danger. To the
world, Shawn’s senses seem dead. With a little help, however, we meet a side of him that no one else has
seen—a spirit that is rich beyond imagining, breathing life.
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton: In the remote village of Ndotsheni, in the Natal province
of Eastern South Africa, the Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a fellow minister
summoning him to Johannesburg, a city in South Africa. He is needed there, the letter says, to help
his sister, Gertrude, who the letter says has fallen ill. Kumalo undertakes the difficult and expensive
journey to the city in the hopes of aiding Gertrude and of finding his son, Absalom, who traveled to
Johannesburg from Ndotsheni and never returned.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games
twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is
angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's
worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her
friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne
Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books
of the year.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers: "Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon
for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the
lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the
trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles
the proceedings in movie script format.
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The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman: Lyra Belaqua, living in Oxford's Jordan College, is a
young girl living among scholars. Her world may seem ordinary, but then she is thrown into a perilous
adventure when she overhears a conversation of an extraordinary microscopic particle, Dust. This
particle is said to unite different worlds, and is feared by many who want to destroy it forever. As Lyra
is flung into the middle of this horrible struggle, she meets wondrous creatures both big and small,
and villains who are not what they seem. Gobblers, that kidnap children, will turn out in the most
unexpected places. And a magical compass of gold that will answer any question if one is skilled
enough to read it.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier: Jerry Renault is pondering the question on the poster in his
locker: Do I dare disturb the universe? Refusing to sell chocolates in the annual Trinity School
fundraiser may not seem like a radical thing to do. But when Jerry challenges a secret school society
called The Vigils, his defiant act turns into an all-out war. Now the only question is: Who will survive.
On the Devil’s Court by Carl Deuker: Senior Joe Faust fears that, like the legendary Dr. Faustus, he
has made an irrevocable pact with the devil. The only child of a famous geneticist and a artist, Joe
feels inadequate except on the basketball court. When the family moves to Seattle, his parents force
him to go to the private school Eastside instead of the local high school. Joe unleashes his frustrations
in an abandoned gym where the devil he’s read about in Doctor Faustus seems to inspire a series of
perfect shots. Desperate for success and identity, Joe vows, “Give me a full season, give me twenty
four games on this power, and my soul is yours.” Joe becomes a superstar, but his uneasiness is
heightened as he delves deeper into Dr. Faustus in his English class.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer: The Twilight saga concludes for Bella Swan and vampire
Edward Cullen.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo: “My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the
alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering
is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its
dreams.” The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to
travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he
journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the
alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches about the essential wisdom
of listening to your heart and following your dream.
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2013 – 2014
Summer Reading List
Local libraries and bookstores have been contacted to ensure that these books will
be available:
Pine Bush High School Library
Thrall Library – Middletown
Town of Crawford Library – Pine Bush
Town of Mamakating Library – Bloomingburg
Barnes and Noble – Newburgh
Amazon.com
Barnes and noble.com
If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your English
teacher. Have a wonderful summer and see you in September!