English Summer Reading 2017 - Find your grade (I, II, III, IV) and level (CP, PAP, AP) below.
Your English teachers have selected a wide range of books for your summer reading to tantalize,
challenge, and engross you. College Prep students are required to read at least one book from the lists
below; Pre-AP students will read two. Be sure to ANNOTATE (or “talk to the text”) as you read the
book(s). You may buy your own book and mark right on the text (highly recommended); borrow
the book 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 (College Prep students choose one; 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") 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 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.
English II (College Prep students choose one; PAP students choose two.)
Works on this list continue the study and appreciation of the bildungsroman genre in increasing depth
and complexity. English II students should be able to connect a character’s coming-of-age to his or her
own self-awareness and identity.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught
transformation into Americans. On the heels of their arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle
together in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An engineer by training, Ashoke adapts far less warily than his wife,
who resists all things American and pines for her family. When their son is born, the task of naming him
betrays the vexed results of bringing old ways to the new world. Named for a Russian writer by his Indian
parents in memory of a catastrophe years before, Gogol Ganguli knows only that he suffers the burden of his
heritage as well as his odd, antic name. Lahiri brings great empathy to Gogol as he stumbles along the firstgeneration path, strewn with conflicting loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs. With
penetrating insight, she reveals not only the defining power of the names and expectations bestowed upon us
by our parents, but also the means by which we slowly, sometimes painfully, come to define ourselves.
Emma by Jane Austen
Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for
either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others.
But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable
match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she
never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of
relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but
dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he
finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and
reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty
is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
"Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year
at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is
friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk
to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking
altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally
able to face what really happened at that terrible party… In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an
utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school.
She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for
oneself.
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 great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane
bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an
unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and
public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes
of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own
extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once
a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we
carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible
little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
It’s the spring of 1944 and fifteen-year-olds Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders have lived five blocks
apart all their lives. But they’ve never met, not until the day an accident during a softball game sparks an
unlikely friendship. Soon these two boys—one expected to become a Hasidic rebbe, the other at ease
with secular America—are drawn into one another’s worlds despite one father’s strong opposition. Set
against the backdrop of WWII and the creation of the state of Israel, The Chosen is a poignant novel
about transformation and tradition, growing up and growing wise, and finding yourself—even if that
might mean leaving your community.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima enters his life. She is a curandera, one who heals with herbs and
magic. 'We cannot let her live her last days in loneliness,' says Antonio's mother. 'It is not the way of our
people,' agrees his father. And so Ultima comes to live with Antonio's family in New Mexico. Soon Tony will
journey to the threshold of manhood. Always, Ultima watches over him. She graces him with the courage to
face childhood bigotry, diabolical possession, the moral collapse of his brother, and too many violent deaths.
Under her wise guidance, Tony will probe the family ties that bind him, and he will find in himself the
magical secrets of the pagan past—a mythic legacy equally as palpable as the Catholicism of Latin America in
which he has been schooled. At each turn in his life, there is Ultima who will nurture the birth of his soul.
The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from El Patron, lord of a country called
Opium. Can a boy who was bred to guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can he
ever be free?
Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña
Danny's tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so
fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even
on a team. Danny’s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border
means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t
speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it
works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. That’s
why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he may just have to face the
demons he refuses to see--the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never
saw coming. Set in the alleys and on the ball fields of San Diego County, Mexican Whiteboy is a story of
friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions.
English III College Prep
These works are representative of 20th century American literature.
The Things They Carried by Tim Obrien
A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto
the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory,
imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of
Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa,
and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at
the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere, from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative
writing, it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their
perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing.
Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden
North Korea’s political prison camps have existed twice as long as Stalin’s Soviet gulags and twelve
times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. No one born and raised in these camps is known to have
escaped. No one, that is, except Shin Dong-hyuk. In Escape From Camp 14, Blaine Harden unlocks the
secrets of the world’s most repressive totalitarian state through the story of Shin’s shocking
imprisonment and his astounding getaway. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence—he saw his mother
as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his mother
and brother. Harden’s harrowing narrative exposes this hidden dystopia, focusing on an extraordinary
young man who came of age inside the highest security prison in the highest security state. Escape from
Camp 14 offers an unequalled inside account of one of the world’s darkest nations. It is a tale of
endurance and courage, survival and hope.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small
of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.”
Zadie Smith One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were
Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of
Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its
strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most
widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his
wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women
are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander
makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued
only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love
with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of
her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now….Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and
altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and literary tour de
force.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on
who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin
meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call
themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits
and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already
unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue. With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan
examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and
daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings
become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their
eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller,
enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.
NOTES:
Some of the books may contain adult situations. We urge you to choose a book with a parent’s or
guardian’s guidance. If a book makes you uncomfortable, abandon it and select another. Please
remember to annotate your novel as you read, so you will recall the book and will be ready to write
when you return to school.
English IV
Grendel by John Gardner (1970)
ISBN 0679723110
The first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic Beowulf, tells his
side of the story in a book William Gass called "one of the finest of our contemporary fictions."
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
ISBN 0517223627
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel
written by English mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It
tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar,
anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as
well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. Its
narrative course and structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in both popular
culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
ISBN 014243720
Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead and subject to the cruel regime at Lowood
charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of
governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful
marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and
richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed. With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous
secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte's innovative and enduring
romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (2003)
ISBN 0345418263
What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he
turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams? As a boy, William Goldman claims, he
loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he
discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts"
reached his ears. Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to
delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere. What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love.
Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful
Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, and
Miracles. In short, it's about everything.
NOTES:
Some of the books may contain adult situations. We urge you to choose a book with a parent’s or
guardian’s guidance. If a book makes you uncomfortable, abandon it and select another. Please
remember to annotate your novel as you read, so you will recall the book and will be ready to write
when you return to school.
AP Language and Composition (Must read both works.)
These works are representative of 20th century American literature.
As they read, students will complete a reading log (*see separate document on next page). Upon return
in the fall, students will be required to both write about, and participate in Socratic Seminars on their
readings.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto
the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory,
imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of
Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa,
and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at
the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere, from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative
writing, it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their
perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small
of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.”
Zadie Smith One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were
Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of
Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its
strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most
widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.
All book summaries taken from GoodReads and Amazon Books.
AP Language and Composition
Reading Journal Question List
Please create Evernote reading logs for each of your readings. These reading logs are the crux of your summer work so
complete them thoughtfully and thoroughly, and be sure they cover the entire work. Respond to the text in full sentences so
that you can use your developed, organized, and focused thoughts aloud in our Socratic Seminars. You are to do these for
EACH work- they will be shared with me upon return in the fall.
1. CHANGES: Note times when your reading changes:
You see something you didn't see before.
You recognize a pattern--the images start to overlap, gestures or phrases recur, some details seem associated with
each other.
The story or text suddenly seems to you to be about something different from what you thought.
You discover that you were misreading.
You realize that the writer has introduced a new context, new perspective, point of view, or tone.
2. PUZZLEMENT: Note times when you are surprised or puzzled:
Something just doesn't fit.
Things don't make sense—pose explicitly the question or problem that occurs to you.
3. DETAILS: Note details that seem important and that make you look again.
4. REAL LIFE: Note ways in which the story makes you speculate about real life or a connection to another text or even
another academic discipline.
5. ENDING 1st IMPRESSION: Note your first impression of the ending of the work. What "ended"? (How many times, after
all, have you read a short story, novel, or poem only to find yourself really confused about the ending? Recording your
questions, gut reactions, and first impressions at this time is critical.)
6. RHETORICAL/LITERARY DEVICES: Note rhetorical or literary devices that you recognize--how do they
contribute to your reading of the text?