North Haven High School: Summer 2013
Summer Reading English 9 L1 and L2
All eighth grade students entering ninth grade are expected to read ONE of the following books
listed below. We encourage students to read more than one book over the summer; however, each
student will complete a writing on his or her chosen book during the second week of school. The
books below contain themes connected to the ninth grade curriculum.
Students will be given the opportunity to hear about and pick books in June. We have copies
available for student use over the summer. If students do not choose their books in June, they can
call the main office during summer school hours to borrow the books, or they can purchase the
books on their own.
Please take notes on the book using the signposts bookmark. Bring the bookmark and book to school
on the first day. Any notes found to have been influenced by unattributed outside sources, such as Internet
websites like SparkNotes.com, will automatically receive a zero.
Summer Reading Book Choices:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Green
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
Note: Students with reading difficulties should work with their reading,
special education or ELA teacher to select an appropriate book.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
This absorbing novel is about a Native American boy searching for a brighter future. At once
humorous and stirring, Alexie's novel follows Junior, a resident of the Spokane reservation who
transfers out of the reservation's school -- and into a nearby rich, all-white farm school -- in order
to nurture his desire to become a cartoonist. Junior encounters resistance there, a backlash at
home, and numerous family problems -- all the while relaying his thoughts and feelings via
amusing descriptions and drawings.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Narrator Hazel Grace Lancaster, 16, is (miraculously) alive thanks to an experimental drug that is
keeping her thyroid cancer in check. In an effort to get her to have a life, her parents insist she
attend a support group at a local church, which Hazel characterizes in an older-than-her-years
voice as a "rotating cast of characters in various states of tumor-driven unwellness." Despite
Hazel's reluctant presence, it's at the support group that she meets Augustus Waters, a former
basketball player who has lost a leg to cancer. The connection is instant, and a romance blossoms.
There is a road trip—Augustus, whose greatest fear is not of death but that his life won't amount
to anything, uses his "Genie Foundation" wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author of
her favorite book.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Nolans lived in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919...Their daughter
Francie and their son Neely knew more than their fair share of the privations and sufferings that
are the lot of a great city's poor. Primarily this is Francie's book. She is a superb feat of
characterization, an imaginative, alert, resourceful child. And Francie's growing up and
beginnings of wisdom are the substance of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
“If you build it, he will come.” These mysterious words, spoken by an Iowa baseball announcer,
inspire Ray Kinsella to carve a baseball diamond in his cornfield in honor of his hero, the baseball
legend Shoeless Joe Jackson. What follows is both a rich, nostalgic look at one of our most
cherished national pastimes and a remarkable story about fathers and sons, love and family, and
the inimitable joy of finding your way home.
Notice & Note Signposts Bookmark
Name_________________________________________
Book _________________________________________
Notice & Note Signposts Bookmark
Record page numbers and brief responses to the
signposts you see. Try to find two good examples
for each signpost.
Signpost Descriptions
Contrasts and Contradictions
Contrasts and Contradictions
When a character does something that contrasts with what
you’d expect or contradicts his earlier acts or statements
STOP and ask, “Why is the character doing that?”
AHA Moment
AHA Moment
When a character realizes, understands, or finally figures out
something STOP and ask yourself, “How might this change
things?”
Tough Questions
Tough Questions
When a character asks him or herself a very difficult question,
STOP and ask yourself, “What does this question make me
wonder about?”
Words of the Wiser
Words of the Wiser
When a character (probably older and wiser) takes the main
character aside and offers serious advice, STOP and ask,
“What’s the point of the lesson and how might it affect the
character?”
Again & Again
Again & Again
When you notice a word, phrase, or situation mentioned over
and over, STOP and ask yourself, “Why does this keep
happening over and over again?”
Memory Moment
When and author interrupts the action to tell you about a
memory, STOP and ask yourself, “Why or how might this
memory be important?”
Memory Moment