ST. DOMINIC ACADEMY
ENGLISH II - SUMMER READING - 2016
Summer reading for the Class of 2017 focuses on World Literature. All sophomores
will be reading the book American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
Additionally, students taking English II CP should select one of the following books
to read. English II Honors students should select two.
Summer reading is meant to be a pleasure; it is also meant to be expanding. So that
you enjoy and benefit from the summer reading, avoid procrastinating. These books
are available at local libraries and bookstores as well as through internet
booksellers. Choose carefully.
Students are encouraged to take notes and reflect on the readings. In the first week
of class, students' knowledge of themes, characters, and conflicts will be tested.
Reading evaluations will count as a first quarter test grade. Students may bring the
book (annotated if they would like).
REQUIRED: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
.
As alienated kids go, Jin Wang is fairly run-of-the-mill: he eats lunch by himself in a corner
of the schoolyard, gets picked on by bullies and jocks and develops a sweat-inducing crush
on a pretty classmate. And, oh, yes, his parents are from Taiwan. This much-anticipated,
affecting story about growing up different is more than just the story of a ChineseAmerican childhood; it's a fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they
could escape. True to its origin as a Web comic, this story's clear, concise lines and expert
coloring are deceptively simple yet expressive. Yang accomplishes the remarkable feat of
practicing what he preaches with this book: accept who you are and you'll already have
reached out to others.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc
American Born Chinese is a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, the
winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best
Coloring and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. –Amazon.com
CP students need to choose one of the following; Honors must choose two
 My Children, My Africa by Athol Fugard
“Here is a painful play about the hope of a country and it's people falling by the wayside
under the mad rush of anger and rage and frustration.”
Amazon.com
“The New Yorker has said of Athol Fugard, ‘A rare playwright, who could be a primary
candidate for either the Nobel Prize in Literature or the Nobel Peace Prize.’ “
“It is the touching tale of a white South African girl who befriends a black South African
boy and his teacher, amidst a time of strong racial tension.”
ST. DOMINIC ACADEMY
ENGLISH II - SUMMER READING - 2016
Amazon.com
 Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
" The unshakable friendship between two Irish girls from very different walks of life.
Maeve Binchy is magnificent."
From AudioFile
"From Knockglen to Dublin, heartbreak and betrayal follow three extraordinary and
unforgettable women as an explosive confrontation brings hidden lies to the surface and tests the
meaning of love and the bonds of friendship."
"[An] irresistible invitation to share the lives of people who believe in enduring values."
Detroit Free Press

Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi by David Chotjewitz
“In 1933, best friends Daniel and Armin admire Hitler, but as anti-Semitism buoys Hitler to power,
Daniel learns he is half Jewish, threatening the friendship even as life in their beloved Hamburg,
Germany, is becoming nightmarish.”
From the Publisher
“There are many Holocaust books for children, but this one stands out in its careful dissection of one
family's experience before the war, and in its nuanced approach to the complexity of emotions and
relationships under stress.”
Kirkus Reviews
 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
"Hesse's famous and influential novel, Siddhartha, is perhaps the most important
and compelling moral allegory our troubled century has produced. Integrating Eastern and
Western spiritual traditions with psychoanalysis and philosophy, this strangely simple tale,
written with a deep and moving empathy for humanity, has touched the lives of millions since
its original publication in 1922. Set in India, Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin's
search for ultimate reality…"
From the Book jacket
 Brave New World by Alduous Huxley
"Huxley's visionary novel of social engineering postulates a future world in which for the
sake of social stability, drugs and sex and mindlessness replace truth and beauty. It became a classic
almost from its publication."
Yuri Rasovsky from AudioFile
 The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
"This mother-daughter story achieves more than just a glimpse into Chinese culture
and heritage. It is an outline of a number of challenges for women, including social rules,
expectations, marriage, food dishes, clothing choices, and raising children."
From The book jacket