DOWNERS GROVE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
ENGLISH AND COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
2011-2012 Summer Reading List
The English and Communication Department believes that thoughtful reading is a key ingredient in a student’s preparation for
college and for a career. Careful reading is a developed skill that must be practiced consistently. Students at North High
School are required to develop their reading abilities through the reading of the assigned works listed below. In September,
students will be required to use the assigned reading for writing assignments, for quizzes, and for in-class discussion.
Incoming English and Communication I A013 and A014
Incoming English and Communication I/Read 180 A180
Choice of one of the following:
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
Incoming English and Communication I Interdisciplinary A003
The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

While reading, please note the following (either marking IN the book or on a separate piece of paper)
o What struggles does Percy encounter?
o How does Percy overcome them?
o How does Percy change throughout the book?
o How does Percy prepare for his challenging journey?
o How does Percy feel about the challenges and changes he experiences?
Incoming English and Communication I Honors Wt A033
Required: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
AND
Choice of one of the following:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
English and Communication II A253 and A254
Maze Runner by James Dashner
English and Communication II Honors Wt A263
Required: Mythology by Edith Hamilton
AND
Choice of one of the following:
*A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Flyboys by James Bradley
Assignment: Please refer to the summer reading assignment guidelines you were given in May 2011.
This assignment will also be available on the DGN library Blackboard page.
English and Communication III A353 and A354
Choice of one of the following:
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking: by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
AP English Language and Composition A343
When the Killing’s Done by T.C. Boyle (book, 2011)
“Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic…Are We?” by Susan Casey (essay)
“An Entrance to the Woods” by Wendell Berry (essay)
Assignment: Please refer to the summer reading assignment guidelines you were given in May 2011.
This assignment will also be available on the DGN library Blackboard page.
English IV Humanities and Critical Expression A383
Choice of one of the following:
Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace
*Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Assignment: As you read, find 8 quotations by the narrator or the characters that deal with how music, art, and/or
storytelling are important to people and can affect their lives. Write the quotation and the page number. Then, for each quotation
write a 40-50 word response detailing YOUR reaction to the ideas in the quotation. Quotations will be due on the first full day of
classes and will count for 50 points. Quotations must be from over the course of the WHOLE book and will be used in an
additional assignment.
English IV Realms of Possibility A551
Choice of one of the following:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
English IV Transformations and Triumphs A471 and A474
Choice of one of the following:
18 Best Stories by Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe
The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Wonderland by Michael Bamberger
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
English IV Journalistic Expression and Media Literacy A513
Choice of one of the following:
*Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas by Chuck Klosterman
Game On: The All American Race to Make Champions of our Children by Tom Farrey
Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson
Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey
English IV Voices from the Edge A591
Choice of one of the following:
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
English IV Literary Expression A421
Choice of one of the following:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
*Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler (the required reading is Dawn)
English IV Critical Lenses A571
Choice of one of the following:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
English IV Written Expression A411
Choice of one of the following:
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
English IV Effective Expression A401 and A404
Choice of one of the following:
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
A Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Acceleration by Graham McNamee
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
English IV Oral Expression A431
The Way We Talk Now by Geoffrey Nunberg
AP English Literature and Composition A373
Required: Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw
Mark for the following ideas:
 Woman’s place in society
 Creativity versus conformity
AND
Choice of one of the following:
Emma by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Mark your selected text for the following:
 Motivations and values of main characters
 Narrator’s view of the larger world in which the character lives
 Attitudes toward women presented in the novel
 Societal issues that are important in the novel
*star denotes mature subject matter