June 2, 2015
Dear Viking Parents and Students,
This summer, we are asking all students at Bishop Verot Catholic High School to read the same book,
Unbroken, ​
by Laura Hillenbrand. In addition to ​
Unbroken​
, students will read one more book if they are in a
college preparatory or standard English course, and two more if they are placed in an honors or AP course.
Students are required to write ONE essay of approximately 700 words about their favorite book from their
assigned reading list. They do not need to write an essay for each book. They should only write one essay
about their favorite book. In the essay, students need to connect ideas and circumstances within the book to
the quote assigned to each grade. Students should consider how the quote relates to their favorite work. In
some cases, the relationship may be ironic; in others, the relationship may be obvious or straightforward.
The essay needs to be typed and double spaced. The essay needs to be written by the student, and only the
student please, as we are most interested in student ideas and writing. We invite our parents to read the
summer reading works with their children, involving them in discussion that generates ideas. Here is the list
of quotes and works for the 2015 - 2016 academic year:
All ninth graders, whether they are in honors, college prep, or standard classes will use the
following quote for their 700- word essay:
“You can outdistance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you.”
- Rwandan Proverb
9th grade honors:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time​
- Haddon
The Orphan Train​
- Kline
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
9th grade college prep and standard:
The Book Thief​
- Zusak
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
All tenth graders, whether they are in honors, college prep, or standard classes will use the
following quote for their 700 word essay: “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” - Shakespeare
10th grade honors:
The Great Gatsby​
- Fitzgerald
In Cold Blood ​
- Capote
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
10th grade college prep and standard:
The Secret Life of Bees ​
- Kidd
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard version of
the text.)
All eleventh graders, whether they are in honors or college prep, will
use the following quote for their 700 word essay:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within
us.” - Emerson
11th grade honors:
Jane Eyre ​
- Bronte
Great Expectations​
- Dickens
Unbroken ​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
11th grade college prep:
And then There Were None ​
- Christie
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
All twelfth graders, whether they are in honors, college prep, or Advanced Placement English
Literature, will use the following quote for their 700 word essay:
“How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world
That has such people in't!” - Shakespeare
Advanced Placement English Literature
Brave New World ​
- Huxley
The Circle ​
- Eggers
Unbroken ​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
12th grade honors:
Long Days Journey Into Night​
- O'Neil
Antigone​
- Sophocles
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
12th grade college prep:
Little Bee​
- Cleave
Unbroken​
- Hillenbrand (Please do not get the young adult adaptation. Please buy the standard, adult
version of the text.)
If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact the English Department Chair, Stacey
Elmeer, this summer at ​
[email protected]​
. The members of the English Department look forward to
another productive and enlightening academic year with our talented Vikings.
Sincerely,
Mr. Clayton Atkins
Mrs. Mary Dakin
Mrs. Stacey Elmeer
Mrs. Morgan Engels
Mrs. Mary Kistel
Mrs. Lynn Knox
Mr. Anthony Pierce