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Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
2013 Summer Reading Assignment
Grades 9-12
To Parents and Students:
Before You Begin: The 2013 Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Summer Reading program strives to present current, relevant,
and/or high-interest literature to a young adult audience. Our goal is to encourage our students to choose books both
appropriate for and interesting to them, to read for pleasure, and to demonstrate their reading comprehension at a high level
of thinking. The lists consist of titles from past and current Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) nominees from the Kentucky
Reading Association, some current winners of the Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), plus
a few classic or modern classic texts. Some titles may contain content that is mature in nature or that may be objectionable to
some families. We recommend using resources such as the Lexington Public Library or accessing reviews on websites such as
Amazon.com to make informed decisions when selecting specific books.
What To Do: Students will need to choose a title based on their grade level list, acquire the book at Dunbar’s Library, any
Lexington Public Library, or a bookstore, and read the book before school starts. Students also need to complete the quote
assignment, which will be due the second day their English class meets (either the third or fourth day of school) and which
will be used to write an On-Demand essay for a 100 -point grade. We recommend that students give themselves plenty of
time – at least a week for most students – to read their chosen book and complete their assignment so they are prepared for
a successful beginning to the new school year. Happy reading!
* * * I M P O R T A N T ! * * *
Please be aware that the quotation identification portion of the assignment will be used to develop an On Demand essay in
Advanced level classes, so diligent completion of the summer reading and accompanying assignment is imperative to a
student’s success at the beginning of the year. To focus on important ideas, record your answers to the following questions
as you read and as you pick quotes for the assignment:
 Summarize the plot (without giving away the ending). Was the book easy to follow?
 How thoroughly were the characters developed? Did they change in any meaningful way or learn something about
life over the course of the book?
 What images or events did you consider most memorable about the book?
 Who is the specific intended audience of this book? Why did the author choose to write about this particular
subject?
 What stylistic choices did the author make? (Ex: Written in verse, Started with a flashback, Had different
characters tell their different perspectives, etc.)
 What is the main idea or theme of the book? What makes it good, different, or groundbreaking?
 What was your favorite part of the book? Your least favorite?
 Would you recommend that others read this book? Why or why not?
Contents of This Packet:
The Lists
Incoming English 1 (Grade 9) Students:
Incoming English 2 (Grade 10) Students:
Incoming English 3 (Grade 11) Students:
Incoming English 4 (Grade 12) Students:
The Assignment
Theme and Important Quotations:
Rubric:
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Incoming English 1 (Grade 9) Students should select and read one title:
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.
Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the
FBI wants to know what happened.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption
from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a
corrupt king.
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
When wealthy, seemingly perfect Brittany, and Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, develop a
relationship after Alex discovers that Brittany is not exactly who she seems to be, they must face the disapproval of their
schoolmates--and others.
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
In the late eighteenth-century, Sido, the twelve-year-old daughter of a self-indulgent marquis, and Yann, a fourteen-yearold Gypsy orphan raised to perform in a magic show, face a common enemy at the start of the French Revolution.
Ten Mile River by Paul Griffin
Having escaped from juvenile detention centers and foster care, two teenaged boys live on their own in an abandoned
shack in a New York City park, making their way by stealing, occasionally working, and trying to keep from being arrested.
No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin
In their own voices--raw and uncensored--inmates sentenced to death as teenagers talk about their lives in prison, and
share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up there.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a
seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret
about her existence.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body
parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own
lives.
Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith
Still mourning the recent death of his mother, seventeen-year-old Troy Stotts relates the events of the previous year when
he and his two closest friends try to retaliate against the sheriff's son, who has been bullying them for years.
Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee
When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and feeling out of
control. As she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother's cancer, having a boyfriend for the
first time, and discovering that other people's lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
When seventeen-year-old Lucy discovers her family is under an ancient curse by an evil Elfin Knight, she realizes to break
the curse she must perform three impossible tasks before her daughter is born in order to save them both.
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
The magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlyn and Archimedes and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and
men who fly, of wizardry and war.
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to
overthrow the Dominican Republic’s government. Known as "las mariposas," or "the butterflies," in the underground, this
story tells of their teenage years, their involvement with the revolution, and their fear as their rebellion is uncovered.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Heartbreaking, stunning, unforgettable, human: however it is described, McCullers's masterpiece is riveting reading
because of its appeal to our sense of morality and the way it touches on race, class, religion, and family.
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Incoming English 2 (Grade 10) Students should select and read one title:
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Sixteen-year-old Valerie, whose boyfriend Nick committed a school shooting at the end of their junior year, struggles to
cope with integrating herself back into high school life, unsure herself whether she was a hero or a villain.
If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser
Growing up in the inner-city projects, DeShawn is reluctantly forced into the gang world by circumstances beyond his
control.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a
gifted cellist, weights whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.
In the Path of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith
In 1970, after their older brother is shipped off to Vietnam, sixteen-year-old Jonah and his younger brother Simon leave
home to find their father, who is being released from an Arizona prison, but soon find themselves hitching a ride with a
violent killer.
King of the Screwups by K.L. Going
Liam Geller is one of the most popular boys in school but can't seem to do anything right in the eyes of his father; so he
goes to live with his homosexual, rocker uncle who helps him to understand that there is much more to him than his father
will ever see.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San
Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus is released into what is now a police state, and decides to use his expertise
in computer hacking to set things right.
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Compulsive liar Micah promises to tell the truth after revealing that her boyfriend has been murdered.
Maze Runner by James Dashner
Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community
in which he finds himself if he is to escape.
The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson
Fifteen-year-old Darren Bennett is a typical teenager. But Darren's new, socially awkward best friend, Eric Lederer, lives a
life unrecognizable to everyone: Eric can't sleep, at all, ever. When a fight over a girl leads Darren to tell a stranger about
Eric's bizarre secret, Darren is caught up in the kind of fight-for-your-life adventure he daydreams about.
Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray
When Murray was born in 1980, her father was in jail and her cokehead mother had almost lost custody of daughter Lisa.
By age 15, she took permanently to the streets, relying on friends for shelter. With the death of her mother, she began her
step-by-step plan to attend an alternative high school, which eventually led to a scholarship and acceptance to Harvard.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Ah-Kim Chang, or Kimberly as she is known in the U.S., had been a promising student in Hong Kong when her father died.
Now she and her mother work for Kimberly's Aunt Paula in a Chinatown clothing factory where they earn barely enough to
keep them alive. Despite this, Kimberly excels at school and is eventually admitted to an elite, private high school. An
outsider, she deals with added social pressures, only to be comforted by an understanding best friend, Annette.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli arrive in America at the end of the 1960s, shortly after their arranged marriage in Calcutta.
Soon after they arrive in Cambridge, a son is born, and, according to Indian custom, the child will be given two names: an
official name and a pet name to be used only by family. The son must figure out where he fits in the world.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
In this autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment and frustration. Sent at a young age
to live with her grandmother in Arkansas, Angelou learned a great deal from this exceptional woman and the tightly knit
black community there. These lessons carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life, including a tragic
occurrence while visiting her mother and an unwanted pregnancy.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Sharing a room at Devon, an exclusive New England prep school, in the summer prior to World War II, Gene and Phineas
form a complex bond of friendship that draws out both the best and worst characteristics of each boy and leads ultimately
to violence, a confession, and the betrayal of trust.
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Incoming English 3 (Grade 11) Students should select and read one title:
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
When Anna's romance-novelist father sends her to an elite American boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high
school, she reluctantly goes, and meets a boy who becomes her friend, despite the fact they both want something more.
Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu
When her unstable mother dies unexpectedly, sixteen-year-old Lucy must take control and find a way to keep the long-held
secret of her mother's compulsive hoarding from being revealed to friends, neighbors, and especially the media.
Hold Me Closer Necromancer by Lish McBride
Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of
werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison
with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.
Leverage by Joshua Cohen
High school sophomore Danny excels at gymnastics but is bullied, like the rest of the gymnasts, by members of the football
team, until an emotionally and physically scarred new student joins the football team and they form an unlikely friendship.
Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
Five-year-old Jack has spent his life living in an eleven-by-eleven foot space his mother calls Room and while Jack uses his
imagination to create wondrous fantasies to entertain himself, his mother dreads the day her son begins to question why
they must remain in Room and tries to find a way to escape.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a
beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
Amber Appleton, living in a school bus with her mom, refuses to give in to despair and continues visiting the elderly at a
nursing home, teaching English to Korean women, and caring for a Vietnam veteran and his dog, but a fatal tragedy may
prove to be one burden too many for the seventeen-year-old girl.
Split by Swati Avasthi
A teenage boy thrown out of his house by his abusive father goes to live with his older brother, who ran away from home
years earlier under similar circumstances.
You by Charles Benoit
Fifteen-year-old Kyle discovers the shattering ramifications of the decisions he makes, and does not make, about school,
the girl he likes, and his future.
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
Mike Smith is a "box man," which means he can open any safe, padlock, or locked door without a combination or a key – a
talent that lands him in prison at the age of eighteen. He spends his time writing down the story of his life because writing is
the only way he can share it: he hasn't spoken in ten years, since the tragic day he became known as the "Miracle Boy.”
The Radleys by Matt Haig
Dr. Peter Radley and his wife, Helen, live an ordinary life in the village of Bishopthorpe. They follow the rules of The
Abstainer's Handbook, and haven't told their 15-year-old vegan daughter, Clara, and 17-year-old son, Rowan, that they're
really vampires. When a drunken classmate of Clara's attacks her on her way home from a party and inadvertently awakens
her blood thirst, Peter's call for help to his brother, Will, a practicing vampire, leads to scary consequences.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel by Helen Grant
10-year-old Pia Kolvenbach and her family are living happily, until Pia's grandmother accidentally sets herself on fire and
burns to death. A rumor erupts that her grandmother exploded, and, overnight, Pia becomes an outcast. Her only friend is
the most unpopular boy in her class, nicknamed StinkStefan. The two of them begin visiting an elderly man who entertains
them with ghost stories from local folklore that they hope might help them solve a decades-old mystery.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Capote combines painstaking research with a narrative feel to produce a spellbinding story. Two two-time losers living in a
lonely house in western Kansas are out to make the heist of their life, but when things don't go as planned, the robbery
turns ugly. The book is a real-life look into murder, prison, and the criminal mind.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Set in Lorain, Ohio, in 1941, the point of view of this story is passed from one character to the next, but the focus is on 11year-old Pecola Breedlove, whose entire family is ugly. But there are far uglier things in the world than, well, ugliness, and
poor Pecola is subjected to most of them. She's spat upon, ridiculed, and ultimately raped. She yearns to be the very
opposite of what she is - to be a white child with the blondest hair and the bluest eye.
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Incoming English 4 (Grade 12) Students should select and read one title:
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to
Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and
the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family.
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
Finley, an unnaturally quiet boy who is the only white player on his high school's varsity basketball team, lives in a dismal
Pennsylvania town that is ruled by the Irish mob, and when his coach asks him to mentor a troubled African American
student who has transferred there from an elite private school in California, he finds that they have a lot in common in spite
of their apparent differences.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous,
frightening monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity
for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly, and that the society she
lives in is not perfect after all.
DJ Rising by Love Maia
Sixteen-year-old Marley Diego-Dylan's career as "DJ Ice" is skyrocketing, but his mother's heroin addiction keeps dragging
him back to earth.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Sixteen year old Hazel, who has cancer, meets Augustus at a kids-with-cancer support group and as they fall in love they
both wonder how they will be remembered.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Sixteen-year-old Jacob, having traveled to a remote island after a family tragedy, discovers an abandoned orphanage, and,
after some investigating, he learns the children who lived there may have been dangerous and quarantined and may also
still be alive.
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Rory, of Boueuxlieu, Louisiana, is spending a year at a London boarding school when she witnesses a murder by a Jack the
Ripper copycat and becomes involved with the very unusual investigation.
Recovery Road by Blake Nelson
Seventeen-year-old Maddie meets Stewart in a rehabilitation facility for drug and alcohol abuse, and they begin a
relationship, which they try to maintain after they both finish treatment.
What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez
Marooned in a broken-down Houston neighborhood--and in a Mexican immigrant family where making ends meet matters
much more than making it to college--smart, talented Marissa seeks comfort elsewhere when her home life becomes
unbearable.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
A mystery set in tech-loving, modern day San Francisco. Clay Jannon (former web designer) lands a job at a bookstore with
very few patrons and even fewer purchases. His curiosity leads him to the discovery of a larger conspiracy.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
A boy’s coming of age in the wake of a brutal, racist attack on his mother. Drawn from real-life statistics about racially
inspired attacks on our country’s Native American reservations.
Pure by Juliana Baggott
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked: Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their
healthy, superior bodies. But outside the Dome, behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her
grandfather, Pressia thinks about what is lost. When Pressia meets a Pure, their worlds shatter.
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
The Inferno is a moving human drama, a journey through the torment of Hell, an expression of the Middle Ages, and a
protest against the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
An enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit and wisdom, told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to
live in bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and
her evolving self through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose.
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Summer Assignment: AFTER Reading – Theme and Important Quotations
What is a Theme? (adapted from Patti Kingsmill at Vanier College)
The theme of a literary work is its central, sometimes underlying, idea about life or human nature. A theme is made up of:
1. a topic or subject;
2. the attitude that the text takes toward that topic;
3. and a general, complete idea.
For example, one of the topics in the movie The Matrix is reality. One of the themes of the film regarding that topic is “The world we
perceive may not be all there is of reality."
Step 1: After reading your selected book, list three topics addressed in your book:
Topic 1:
Topic 2:
Topic 3:
Step 2: Select one of your topics (or combine them, if you want) and write a thematic statement that expresses the attitude the
author takes toward that topic or the idea you think the author wants to communicate about life or human nature. Write a
complete sentence that could apply to your book.
THEME:
After coming up with an applicable thematic statement, fill in ten quotations that you believe support this theme (and denote page
numbers), then defend, giving specific reasoning, why you chose that particular quotation as important in developing your theme.
Explain how the quotations selected are important to the development of the characters, the building or resolution of the plot, or
the author’s intended effect; ALL QUOTES should relate to the THEME.
Quotation 1:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Quotation 2:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
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Quotation 3:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Quotation 4:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Quotation 5:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Quotation 6:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
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Quotation 7:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Characterization
Plot
Conflict
Author’s effect
Symbol
Other: _________
Quotation 8:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Quotation 9:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Quotation 10:
Page:
Chosen because:
Relates to literary element of:
Page 9 of 9
Student Name ________________________________________
Summer Reading Quotations Assignment Rubric
Novice (12)
The quotes lack
cohesion and clarity;
Few literary elements
are present or those
present are incorrect;
Quote selection reflects
a lack of understanding
of the book
Apprentice (17)
The quotes are
expressed with thought
but may lack cohesion;
Some literary elements
are present; Quote
selection reflects an
adequate
understanding of the
book
Proficient (22)
The quotes are
expressed with cohesive
thought; Literary
elements are present;
Quote selection reflects
a good understanding
of the book
Quality/ Connections of
Written Portions
(25 points)
Communicates few
connections to the
selected book; Many
words are imprecise;
Writing may be unclear;
Incorrect spelling and
punctuation may
interfere with
communication
Intended purpose of
Quotations
(25 points)
Quotations selected
somewhat relate to the
theme of the book, the
development of the
characters, the building
or resolution of the
plot, or the author’s
intended effect
Vague or lacking
explanations of why the
quotation was chosen
Communicates some
connections (thematic
or symbolic) to the
selected book; Some
words are imprecise;
Writing may be
somewhat unclear;
Some incorrect spelling
and punctuation does
not interfere with
communication
Quotations selected
relate to the theme of
the book, the
development of the
characters, the building
or resolution of the
plot, or the author’s
intended effect
General explanations of
why the quotation was
chosen
Communicates some
high-level connections
(thematic, mood, tone,
or symbolic) to the
selected book; Words
are appropriate; Writing
is mostly clear and
understandable;
Spelling and
punctuation is mostly
correct
Quotations selected are
important to the theme
of the book, the
development of the
characters, the building
or resolution of the
plot, or the author’s
intended effect
Clear explanations of
why the quotation was
chosen
Literary Content and
Selections
Of Quotations
(25 points)
Justification of Quotes
(25 points)
Distinguished (25)
The quotes are
expressed with complex
and cohesive thought;
Several literary
elements (theme,
character, symbolism)
appear; Quote selection
reflects genuine
understanding of the
book
Clearly communicates
multiple sophisticated
connections (thematic,
mood, tone, or
symbolic) to the
selected book; Words
are chosen carefully;
Writing is clear and
understandable;
Spelling and
punctuation is correct
Quotations selected are
crucial to the theme of
the book, the
development of the
characters, the building
or resolution of the
plot, or the author’s
intended effect
Clear, specific
explanations of why the
quotation was chosen
Total _____________/100
Further Comments: