Grade 11/12 Suggested Summer Reading Texts
Book descriptions taken from Amazon.com
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train
them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and
the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training
program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero grav ity. Yet
growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the
adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like
the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has b een
raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings
are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is,
the world survives.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted
territory of high school. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. Of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror
Picture Show. Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Perhaps no American author is more celebrated than Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is his most
famous work, read by millions of children and adults each year.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Jerry Renault is just a freshman the all-boys Trinity School, but from his first football tryout, he’s tough enough to
catch the attention of the Vigils, the most powerful clique at Trinity, and its leader Archie Costello. Jerry is a smart
kid, who wants to make a difference, find his own way in the world. When the school’s annual chocolate sale/fundraiser is announced, he doesn’t think his refusal to sell chocolates is going to be such a big deal, but it immediately
divides the school. Some think Jerry’s stand is heroic, but Archie thinks that Jerry needs to be taught a lesson. Needs
to be broken. And Archie knows just how to do it.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (from Mrs. Prebble’s list of favorite books)
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment
of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the
adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most
popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret
work for the government on the tesseract problem.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic
Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six
to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the
devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the greatgranddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history
of her country.
Unafraid of the Dark by Rosemary Bray
In her deeply affecting, vividly written memoir, Rosemary L. Bray describes with remarkable frankness growing up
poor in Chicago in the 1960s, and her childhood shaped by welfare, the Roman Catholic Church, and the civil rights
movement.
Songs of the Gorilla Nation by Dawn Prince-Hughes
In this elegant and thought-provoking memoir, Dawn Prince-Hughes traces her personal growth from undiagnosed
autism to the moment when, as a young woman, she entered the Seattle Zoo and immediately became fascinated
with the gorillas.
Grimm’s Fairytales Translated by Philip Pullman (from Mrs. Prebble’s list of favorite books)
Two centuries ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of Children’s and Household Tales. Now Philip
Pullman, one of the most accomplished authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal
tales of the Brothers Grimm.
Pullman retells his fifty favorites, from much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and
“Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “The Three Snake Leaves," "Godfather Death" and "The Girl with
No Hands." At the end of each tale he offers a brief personal commentary, opening a window on the sources of the
tales, the various forms they've taken over the centuries and their everlasting appeal.
Suffused with romance and villainy, danger and wit, the Grimms' fairy tales have inspired Pullman's unique creative
vision—and his beguiling retellings will draw you back into a world that has long cast a spell on the Western
imagination.
The Great Gatsby (For Grade 12 ONLY) by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and
earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies
some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new
beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us
then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--"
Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.
Mayday by Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block (Recommended by Mr. Woodrich)
Twelve miles above the Pacific Ocean, a missile strikes a jumbo passenger jet. The flight crew is crippled or dead.
Now, defying both nature and man, three survivors must achieve the impossible. Land the plane. From master
storyteller Nelson DeMille and master pilot Thomas Block comes Mayday, the classic bestseller that packs a supersonic
shock at every turn of the page....the most terrifyingly realistic air disaster thriller ever.
Winter of the World by Ken Follett(Recommended by Mr. Woodrich)
Five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, Welsh—enter a time of enormous social, political, and
economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of
World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Recommended by Miss Flake)
Alcott’s story begins with the four March girls—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—sitting in their living room, lamenting their
poverty. The girls decide that they will each buy themselves a present in order to brighten their Christmas. Soon,
however, they change their minds and decide that instead of buying presents for themselves, they will buy presents
for their mother, Marmee. Marmee comes home with a letter from Mr. March, the girls’ father, who is serving as a
Union chaplain in the Civil War. The letter inspires the girls to bear their burdens more cheerfully and not to complain
about their poverty.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Recommended by Miss Flake, only to be read if you have not read previously in
class)
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black
man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee
explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class
in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is
pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice—but the weight of history will
only tolerate so much.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne (Recommended by Miss Flake)
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel of Puritanism giving rise to twisted gender politics, hypocrisy, and strength of
character in the face of public scorn.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (HIGHLY Recommended by Miss Flake)
This moving, classic story of the honest farmer Wang Lung and his selfless wife O-lan is must reading for
those who would fully appreciate the sweeping changes that have occurred in the lives of the Chinese
people during this century.