English I Pre-AP Summer Reading (2017-2018)
Your English teachers have selected a wide range of books for your summer reading to tantalize, challenge, and
engross you. Pre-AP students are required to read two books from the list. Be sure to ANNOTATE (or “talk
to the text”) as you read the books. You may buy your own books and mark right on the text (highly
recommended); borrow the books and write your annotations on Post-It notes; or keep your commentary
in a notebook with page numbers for each note. Remember to go beyond mere summary of the plot.
Upon returning to school in the fall, students will be assessed through a writing assignment based on their
summer reading(s).
Literature Disclaimer: As Christian educators, we believe the study of literature is of great value, because
through it we can understand and evaluate the values, identities, and histories of humanity through a biblical
worldview and a scriptural lens. The literature curriculum at The Woodlands Christian Academy reflects this
philosophy. Therefore, our students are required to read a variety of literature - both Christian and secular which enables us to discuss societal values and movements from a Christ-centered perspective. In doing so, we
seek to prepare students to engage potentially controversial ideas equipped with a biblical mindset and the full
armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
English I (PAP students choose two.)
Each of these books represents coming-of-age stories, or bildungsroman. Coming-of-age stories generally
relate a young person’s movement toward adulthood and his/her awakening to a new understanding of
himself/herself and his/her world. In many of these stories, the protagonist will experience:
• psychological loss of innocence
• confrontation with the adult world
• moral challenges
• individual needs and desires vs. external pressures, expectations, and/or norms
• failure, disappointment, or loss
• awakening to his/her limitations
• acceptance of the complexities or “grayness” of the world
• awareness of the self
As you read and annotate, mark examples of these qualities in your text.
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young
Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Few other books in our
time have touched so many readers.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social")
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has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the
other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been
proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible
night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to
crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped
around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in
mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They
escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric
trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black
Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their
daughters for years to come.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical
Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. Set during World War II in Germany, Markus
Zusak’s groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel
scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books.
With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her
neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to
Dachau.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a
harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual.
Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the
war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions,
and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood.
The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate – a
life and a role that she has never challenged... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question
who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister – and so Anna
makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps
fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
American-Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest
Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth.
But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god.
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki, James D. Houston
At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was.
She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in
oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Written with her husband, Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person
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account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to
be silenced and fought for her right to an education. When she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price.
She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to
survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley
in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global
symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
All book summaries taken from GoodReads and Amazon Books
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