The Ursuline School
Summer Reading Suggested Titles for High School 2016
(Updated as of June 16, 2016)
All high school students are required to read the following book:
The Rent Collector, by Camron Wright
Look below for additional requirements,
according to your grade level.
ENGLISH 9
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must read the following
book:
Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
Students are encouraged to take notes either in a notebook, a document, or on
sticky-notes as they read, as well as underline key passages that they find
important or interesting. There will be class discussion and assignments based on
the book in September.
Recommended Optional Reading for Incoming English 9 - Students must choose
one additional book from this list:
Bellow, Saul The Adventures of Augie March
Christie, Agatha Murder on the Orient Express
Conan Doyle, Arthur The Hound of the Baskervilles
Crichton, Michael The Andromeda Strain
Dickens, Charles Great Expectations
Doctorow, Cory Little Brother
Doctorow, E. L. Ragtime
Dumas, Alexandre The Three Musketeers
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Green, John Paper Towns
Kingsolver, Barbara The Bean Trees
Kingston, Maxine Hong The Woman Warrior
Lee, Harper To Kill A Mockingbird
Lockhart, E. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
Morgenstern, Erin The Night Circus
Myers, Walter Dean Monster
Nafisi, Azar Reading Lolita in Tehran
Potok, Chaim The Chosen
Riggs, Ransom Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Smith, Betty A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Walls, Jeanette The Glass Castle
Non-Fiction
Krakauer, John Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
McCully, Emily A. The Woman Who Challenged Big Business - and Won!
Myers, Walter Dean Bad Boy: A Memoir
Parks, Rosa Rosa Parks: My Story
Sedaris, David Me Talk Pretty One Day
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ENGLISH 9 HONORS
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must read the following 2
books:
An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden
This novel was first published in 1955. It was a glimpse into the bombed out
streets of London after World War II. War united the country, but after the war,
class divisions arose again. This is a much-loved English novel reminiscent of The
Secret Garden.
“Someone has dug up the private garden in the square and taken buckets of dirt, and
Miss Angela Chesney of the Garden Committee is sure that a gang of boys from rundown Catford Street must be to blame. But Angela's sister Olivia isn't so sure. Olivia
wonders why the neighborhood children—the “sparrows” she sometimes watches from
the window of her house —have to be locked out of the garden. Don't they have a right
to enjoy the place, too? But neither Angela nor Olivia has any idea what sent the
neighborhood waif Lovejoy Mason and her few friends in search of “good, garden
earth.” Still less do they imagine where their investigation of the incident will lead
them—to a struggling restaurant, a bombed-out church, and at the heart of it all, a
hidden garden.”
1. Take notes on the novel’s plot. The plot would include the setting, the
characters, the conflicts, the climax and the conflict resolutions. Follow the
friendship of Lovejoy Mason and Tip Malone, a dubious pair with a doubtful
goal; Mrs. Combie’s and Vincent’s wayward dream of a restaurant; Father
Lambert and his dilapidated, bombed-out church; Olivia and Angela Chesney
who watch and comment on the comings and goings of those living on Catford
Street; Mr. Manley and his odd routine; and minor characters who enliven the
reader’s understanding of the major characters.
2. Find and copy a passage that is filled with imagery that makes you feel that
you are there with a character or inside a character’s head. Setting descriptions
have bountiful images. Why did this passage draw you in?
3. Which character most appeals to you and why?
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4. What importance does the statue of Mary have in the plot?
5. Is anyone in your life like Mrs. Combie, Olivia Chesney or Father Lambert?
If so, explain.
AND
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
“Maybe you won’t rock a cradle, Muriel.
Some women seem to prefer to rock the boat.”
“Eighteen-year-old Muriel Jorgensen lives on one side of Crabapple Creek. Her
family’s closest friends, the Normans, live on the other. For as long as Muriel can
remember, the families’ lives have been intertwined, connected by the crossing stones
that span the water. But now that Frank Norman—who Muriel is just beginning to
think might be more than a friend—has enlisted to fight in World War I and her
brother, Ollie, has lied about his age to join him, the future is uncertain. As Muriel
tends to things at home with the help of Frank’s sister, Emma, she becomes more and
more fascinated by the women’s suffrage movement, but she is surrounded by people
who advise her to keep her opinions to herself. How can she find a way to care for
those she loves while still remaining true to who she is?
Written in beautifully structured verse, Crossing Stones captures nine months in the
lives of two resilient families struggling to stay together and cross carefully, stone by
stone, into a changing world.”
Assignment:
1.
Write an original page of verse for the novel, and tell where it should go in
the story. Have your poem look like the author’s poetry, and have it fit smoothly
into the plot.
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2.
Write a paragraph explaining your idea of what the author is saying about
war in general.
3.
Would you be a suffragette? Explain why or why not.
Recommended Optional Reading for English 9 Honors:
Fiction
Angelou, Maya I know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Auel, Jean The Clan of the Cave Bear
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
Bellow, Saul The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow
Bradbury, RayFahrenheit 451
Buck, Pearl The Good Earth
Coelho, Paul The Alchemist
Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage
Crichton, Michael The Andromeda Strain
Dickens, Charles A Tale of Two Cities
Dickens, Charles Great Expectations
Doyle, Arthur Conan The Hound of the Baskervilles
Dumas, Alexandre The Three Musketeers
Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man
Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate
Forster, E. M. Where Angels Fear to Tread
Gaines, Ernest A Lesson Before Dying
Green, John The Fault in Our Stars
Hardy, Thomas Return of the Native
Hemingway, Ernest For Whom the Bell Tolls
Hillenbrand, Laura Seabiscuit
Hosseini, Khaled A Thousand Splendid Suns
Huxley, Aldous Brave New World
James, Henry Turn of the Screw
Kidd, Sue Monk The Invention of Wings
Lee, Harper To Kill A Mockingbird
London, Jack Call of the Wild
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Morgenstern, Erin The Night Circus
Orwell, George 1984
Patchett, Ann Bel Canto
Paton, Alan Cry, The Beloved Country
Remarque, Erich Maria All Quiet on the Western Front
Riggs, Ransom Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Smith, Betty A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Styron, William Sophie’s Choice
Tan, Amy The Joy Luck Club
Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
Non-Fiction
Bissinger, H. G. Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and A Dream
Charis Frieman-Mendel & Jennie Ann Freiman Cook Your Way through the SAT:
Recipes Worth a Thousand Words
Gail, Stewart Missing Persons
Kingsolver, Barbara Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food life
Krakauer, Jon Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Moore, Wes Discovering Wes Moore
Myers, Walter Dean Bad Boy: A Memoir
O’Reilly, Bill Killing Lincoln
Oronson, Marc Trapped: How The World Rescued 33 Miners From 2,000 Feet Below
the
Chilean Desert
Parks, Rosa Rosa Parks: My Story
Pollan, Michael The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat
Schanzer, Rosalyn Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem
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ENGLISH 10
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must choose one from the
following two books:
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
OR
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Students are encouraged to take notes either in a notebook, a document, or on
sticky-notes as they read, as well as underline key passages that they find
important or interesting. There will be class discussion and assignments based on
the book in September.
English 10 Honors
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must read the following
book:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Students are encouraged to take notes either in a notebook, a document, or on
sticky-notes as they read, as well as underline key passages that they find
important or interesting. There will be class discussion and assignments based on
the book in September.
Recommended Optional Reading for English 10 and 10 Honors:
Classic Fiction
Anonymous Go Ask Alice
Auel, Jean The Clan of the Cave Bear
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
Bradbury, Ray Fahrenheit 451
Daly, Maureen Seventeenth Summer
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Dickens, Charles Tale of Two Cities
Dostoevsky, Feodor Crime and Punishment
Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate
Gaines, Ernest A Lesson Before Dying
Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hardy, Thomas Return of the Native
Hillenbrand, Laura Seabiscuit
Hosseini, Khaled A Thousand Splendid Suns
James, Henry Turn of the Screw
Morrison, Toni Beloved
Orwell, George Animal Farm
Orwell, George 1984
Patchett, Ann Bel Canto
Paton, Alan Cry, The Beloved Country
Stocket, Kathryn The Help
Styron, William Sophie’s Choice
Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
Non-Fiction
Bissinger, H. G. Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and A Dream
Charis Frieman-Mendel & Jennie Ann Freiman Cook Your Way through the SAT:
Recipes Worth a Thousand Words
Gail, Stewart Missing Persons
Kingsolver, Barbara Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food life
Krakauer, Jon Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Moore, Wes Discovering Wes Moore
Myers, Walter Dean Bad Boy: A Memoir
O’Reilly, Bill Killing Lincoln
Oronson, Marc Trapped: How The World Rescued 33 Miners From 2,000 Feet Below
the Chilean Desert
Parks, Rosa Rosa Parks: My Story
Pollan, Michael The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat
Schanzer, Rosalyn Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem
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ENGLISH 11
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must read the following book:
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote
Students are encouraged to take notes either in a notebook, a document, or on
sticky-notes as they read, as well as underline key passages that they find
important or interesting. There will be class discussion and assignments based on
the book in September.
English 11 Honors
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must read the following book
and complete the accompanying assignment:
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The teacher will notify the students directly about the accompanying summer
assignment.
Recommended Optional Reading for English 11 and English 11 Honors:
Chopin, Kate The Awakening
Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage
Hemingway, Ernest For Whom the Bell Tolls
Kidd, Sue Monk The Invention of Wings
O’Reilly, Bill Killing Lincoln
Skinner, B. F. Walden Two
Thoreau, Henry David Walden
Walker, Alice The Color Purple
AP ENGLISH 11 - Language and Composition
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector, students will have a required
assignment. Teachers will notify the students directly.
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ENGLISH 12
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must choose one from the
following three books:
Emma, by Jane Austen
OR
All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren
OR
Frankenstein, by Mary W. Shelley
Students are encouraged to take notes either in a notebook, a document, or on
sticky-notes as they read, as well as underline key passages that they find
important or interesting. There will be class discussion and assignments based on
the book in September.
ENGLISH 12 HONORS
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector you must read the following book
and complete the accompanying assignment:
Wuthering Heights,by Emily Bronte
Students are encouraged to take notes either in a notebook, a document, or on
sticky-notes as they read, as well as underline key passages that they find
important or interesting. There will be class discussion and assignments based on
the book in September. Additionally, they are required to answer the following
questions on a double-spaced word document, Times New Roman, 12 font.
1.
Discuss Emily Bronte's careful attention to a rigid timeline and the role of
the novel as a sober historical document. How is this significant, particularly in
light of the turbulent action within? What other contrasts within the novel strike
you, and why? How are these contrasts important, and how do they play out in
the novel?
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2.
Do you think the novel is a tale of redemption, despair, or both? Discuss the
novel's meaning to you. Do you think the novel's moral content dictates one
choice over the other?
3.
Discuss the role of women in Wuthering Heights. Is their depiction typical of
Bronte's time, or not? Do you think Bronte's characterizations of women mark
her as a pioneer ahead of her time or not?
4.
Who or what does Heathcliff represent in the novel? Is he a force of evil or
a victim of it? How important is the role of class in the novel, particularly as it
relates to Heathcliff and his life?
Recommended Optional Reading for English 12 and English 12 Honors:
Alvarez, Julia In the Time of Butterflies
Austen, Jane Emma
Dreiser, Theodore Sister Carrie
Drucker, Doris Invent Radium or I'll Pull Your Hair: A Memoir
Fowles, John The French Lieutenant’s Woman
Shaw, George Bernard Pygmalion
Steinbeck, John East of Eden
Styron, William Sophie’s Choice
Swift, Jonathan Gulliver’s Travels
Von Drehle, David Triangle: The Fire that Changed America
Warren, Robert Penn All the King’s Men
Watson, James The Double Helix
Poetry (recommended for incoming English 12 and English 12 Honors)
The Best poems of the English Language - Harold Bloom (compiled by)
“To His Coy Mistress” Andrew Marvell
AP English 12 - Literature and Composition
In addition to the required book The Rent Collector, students will have a required
assignment. Teachers will notify the students directly.
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