Episcopal High School English Department
Summer Reading 2016
All required summer reading books will be available for sale in the EHS Campus Store
starting in early May.
Required and level-choice selections are available at www.mbsdirect.net starting June
1st.
If you do not order your summer reading books through MBS or purchase them at the
EHS Campus Store, please be sure to buy the correct version of the required text using
the ISBN below.
The English Department hopes you will enjoy your summer reading!
English I
Book 1—Required:
John Green, The Fault in Our Stars (ISBN: 978-0-14-242417-9)
Book 2—Choose one of the following novels:
Octavia Butler, Kindred: Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth
birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in
California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation
owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back
repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stays grow longer,
more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will
end, long before it has a chance to begin.
E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks: Over the course of
one summer, Frankie Landau-Banks, a somewhat geeky girl with an unassuming
nature, has developed into a 15-year-old with an attention-grabbing figure, a new
attitude, and sights set on making changes at her elite boarding school in this novel.
The teenager also has a new boyfriend, a gorgeous senior who belongs to a longstanding secret society on campus—The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, known
mostly for silly pranks and a history of male-only membership. With a witty, sharp, and
intelligently scheming mind, Frankie manipulates the Loyal Order to do her bidding with
pranks meant to make a political statement about the male-dominated and classist
nature of the school.
Pang-Mei Chang, Bound Feet & Western Dress: This novel details the saga of a
woman born at the turn of the century to a well-to-do, highly respected Chinese family, a
woman who continually defied the expectations of her family and the traditions of her
culture. Growing up in the perilous years between the fall of the last emperor and the
Communist Revolution, Chang Yu-i's life is marked by a series of rebellions: her refusal
as a child to let her mother bind her feet, her scandalous divorce, and her rise to Vice
President of China's first women's bank in her later years.
Book 3—Choose one from the Free-Choice Reading List.
English I Honors
Book 1—Required:
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (ISBN: 978-0-14-310732-3)
Book 2—Required:
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (ISBN: 978-0-316-76917-4)
Book 3—Choose one of the following novels:
Octavia Butler, Kindred: Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth
birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in
California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation
owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back
repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stays grow longer,
more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will
end, long before it has a chance to begin.
E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks: Over the course of
one summer, Frankie Landau-Banks, a somewhat geeky girl with an unassuming
nature, has developed into a 15-year-old with an attention-grabbing figure, a new
attitude, and sights set on making changes at her elite boarding school in this novel.
The teenager also has a new boyfriend, a gorgeous senior who belongs to a longstanding secret society on campus—The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, known
mostly for silly pranks and a history of male-only membership. With a witty, sharp, and
intelligently scheming mind, Frankie manipulates the Loyal Order to do her bidding with
pranks meant to make a political statement about the male-dominated and classist
nature of the school.
Pang-Mei Chang, Bound Feet & Western Dress: This novel details the saga of a
woman born at the turn of the century to a well-to-do, highly respected Chinese family, a
woman who continually defied the expectations of her family and the traditions of her
culture. Growing up in the perilous years between the fall of the last emperor and the
Communist Revolution, Chang Yu-i's life is marked by a series of rebellions: her refusal
as a child to let her mother bind her feet, her scandalous divorce, and her rise to Vice
President of China's first women's bank in her later years.
Book 4—Choose one from the Free-Choice Reading List.
English II
Book 1—Required:
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (ISBN: 978-0-395-92720-5)
Book 2—Choose one of the following books:
Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Henrietta Lacks was a
mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of
Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample
of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom
then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells
that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to
live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her
unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger,
and suspicion.
Kathleen Kent, Heretic’s Daughter: Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be
accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young
Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which
they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand
together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that
led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This
is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter
who survived.
Amor Towles, Rules of Civility: Set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the
story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five-year- old named
Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her
own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial
pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future.
Book 3—Choose one from the Free-Choice Reading List.
English II Honors
Book 1—Required:
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (ISBN: 978-0-395-92720-5)
Book 2—Choose one of the following books:
Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Henrietta Lacks was a
mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of
Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample
of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom
then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells
that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to
live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her
unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger,
and suspicion.
Kathleen Kent, Heretic’s Daughter: Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be
accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young
Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which
they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand
together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that
led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This
is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter
who survived.
Amor Towles, Rules of Civility: Set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the
story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five-year- old named
Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her
own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial
pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future.
Book 4—Choose one from the Free-Choice Reading List.
English III
Book 1—Required:
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner (ISBN: 978-1594631931)
Book 2— Read your approved Junior Research Book.
English III Honors
Book 1—Required:
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner (ISBN: 978-1594631931)
Book 2—Required:
Homer, The Odyssey trans. Fagles: (ISBN: 0-14-303995-4) Students only need to
read the first 12 books.
Book 3—Required:
Aeschylus, The Oresteia trans. Fagles: (ISBN: 0-14-044333-9) Students only need to
read “Agamemnon.”
Book 4—Read your approved Junior Research Book.
English IV: Literature Electives
Book 1—Required:
Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle (ISBN: 978-0-7432-4754-2)
Book 2—Choose one of the following books:
Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children: Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight
on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India's independence. Greeted by fireworks
displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn
the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified
in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are
inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times
indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the
telepathic powers linking him with India's 1,000 other "midnight's children," all born in
that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts.
Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and
Redemption: In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a
teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that
had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete
became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May
afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean,
against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini
lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy
aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini
would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor;
brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the
fraying wire of his will.
Book 3—Choose one from the free choice reading list.
English IV AP
Book 1—Required:
Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights (ISBN: 0-393-97889-3)
Book 2 Required:
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (ISBN: 978-0-679-73276-1)
Book 3—Choose one from the Free-Choice Reading List.
[All annotations have been adapted from information provided on amazon.com,
barnesandnoble.com, and the HAISLN reading list. For more details about each
selection, particularly information about books on the Free-Choice Reading List, please
explore one of these online sites, visit your local bookstore.]
Free-Choice Reading List: Use the key below to choose a title or visit the Pinterest page to
see book summaries and covers:
http://pinterest.com/swebb08/ehs-summer-free-choice-reading-list/
G Cultural/Social
& Classic
H Family/Friendship
H History/Historical Setting
Y Love/Romance
~ Sci-Fi /Fantasy
P Texas/Regional
L Mystery
Sp Sports/Athletics
' Religion/Spirituality
O War/Military
J Humor
Q Travel/Adventure/Outdoors
t Science
Ya Young Adult
Fiction and Drama
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart G & H
Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven; Ten Little Indians
GH
Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits G H
Will Allison, Long Drive Home H
Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim G
Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls Ya
Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio (related stories) G H
Isaac Asimov, I, Robot ~ O
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake G
Jane Austen, Emma; Pride and Prejudice H H Y
Ray Bradbury, Illustrated Man ~ G
Jennifer Brown, Hate List Ya
Josiah Bunting, All Loves Excelling: A Novel H Ya G
Stephen Carter, The Emperor of Ocean Park L
Raymond Carver, Where I’m Calling From &
Tracy Chevalier, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Remarkable Creatures H
Harlan Coben, Tell No One L H G
Pat Conroy, The Great Santini, The Water is Wide, H O P G Sp
Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak! G
Tatiana de Rosnay, Sarah’s Key H
Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov L
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo & Q L
Leif Enger, Peace Like a River H L Q
Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café G H
E.M. Forster, Howard’s End G H &
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain O Y H H
Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm H G H
Philipa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl H Y H
Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants Q H H
Robert A. Heinlein, Citizen of the Galaxy; Stranger in a Strange Land ~ H G
Joseph Heller, Catch-22 O & ~
Kay Honeyman, Firehorse Girl H
Nick Hornby, About a Boy, Slam H J
John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany & H
Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees, The Poisonwood Bible H Q G '
Jean Kwok, Girl in Translation G H
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake G H
Harriet Lane, Alys, Always: A Novel H
Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It Q &
Juliet Marillier, Wildwood Dancing Ya
Cormac McCarthy, The Orchard Keeper H
Patricia McCormick, Never Fall Down G H O
Patricia A. McKillip, The Riddlemaster ~
Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show H
Erin Morganstern, The Night Circus Y ~
Yannick Murphy, The Call: a Novel H
Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes H
Matthew Quick, Boy 21 ~
Veronica Roth, Divergent ~
J.D. Salinger, Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey H &
Jose Saramago, Blindness ~
Dai Sijie and Ina Rilke, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress H H Y
Zadie Smith, On Beauty G H
Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Boys Ya
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina Y &
Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson & J H
Siobhan Vivian, The List Ya
Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle G ~
Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men & P
David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle H Q
Nonfiction
John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil L P
Brian Boyle, Iron Heart Sp
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood G
Lynn Cox, Swimming to Antarctica, Grayson Sp
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America G
Bruce Feiler, Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths G '
Jack Gantos, Hole in My Life Ya G
Elizabeth Gilbert, The Last American Man Q G
Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success G
John Graves, From a Limestone Ledge, Goodbye to a River P
Ernesto Che Guevara, The Motorcycle Diaries: A Latin American Journey G Q O
Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design t
Jed Horne, Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great
Great American City t G
Jonathan Kozol, Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and
the Conscience of a Nation G
Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air; Under the Banner of Heaven Q '
Erik Larson, Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in
History t P H
Cunxin Li, Mao’s Last Dancer G
Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and
the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 O H
James McBride, The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother G H
Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes H
Wes Moore, The Other Wes G
Norman Ollestad, Crazy for the Storm Q
Richard Preston, The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story t
Esmeralda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican; Almost a Woman G H
Hampton Sides, Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the
International Hunt for His Assassin H
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley Q
David Sheff, Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction G H
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth '