HANOVER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
High School Summer Reading 2016
Atlee High School
Dear Students and Parents:
The Hanover County Public Schools English department believes that summer reading is a good
way to develop lifelong reading practices in students, to inspire a love of reading, and to give students
common ground for learning at the outset of the school year. To foster a love of reading, contemporary
and dynamic texts have been suggested for summer reading. Additionally, we are broadening what
summer reading encompasses. We want students reading this summer, and reading doesn’t have to come
from just a book.
Students can select a title (or titles) from the recommended summer reading list based on their
English course, or they may select another type of reading from a magazine, technical manual, website,
or online resource. Parents are encouraged to participate in the reading selection. If students or parents
have concerns about choosing one of the recommended readings, they may select something else to read.
Summer reading is not required for a grade, but those who read and submit a reading response,
will receive extra credit for their first 9 weeks’ English grade. Students may choose from a list of options
for their reading response. The reading responses should be turned in to their English teachers during
the second class block in September to receive the extra credit. Choices of reading responses are found
on the next page.
Pre-Baccalaureate, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement English, and College
Composition (Dual Enrollment) students should complete the specific reading assignments for their
course, which vary by school, and are mandatory for students in these classes. These book lists are
located near the end of this document.
Reading Assignment for AP11
Students should choose a book from the provided AP list. Additionally, students must complete the
Rhetorical Analysis vocabulary assignment.
AP Language and Composition is a college course that focuses on the reading and analysis of non-fiction texts. Non-fiction is
defined as writing about actual events, people, and subjects. Students are reminded that this high-level course requires
students to work independently. Corresponding assignments should reflect one’s own work.
Your Summer Reading assignment is to read and reflect on a nonfiction book of your choice from the list below.
These recommended selections include choices from Time Magazine’s and The New York Times’ “Top 100 Non-Fiction
Books,” from former AP Language student recommendations, and from the current bestseller list. The Atlee library owns
many of them! You are welcome to choose from this list for your choice book or choose another book based on your
interests.
Biography
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
Memoir
Riding the Bus with my Sister by Rachel Simon
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
Philosophy
Quiet The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Six Questions of Socrates : A Modern-Day Journey of Discovery Through the World by Christopher Phillips
Science and Medicine
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Politics, History and Military History
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul Janeczko
Humor
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
King of the Mild Frontier by Chris Crutcher
Yes Please by Amy Phoeler
Business
Against Thrift: Why Consumer Culture is Good for the Economy, the Environment, and Your Soul by James Livingston
Branded Beauty: How Marketing Changed the Way We Look by Mark Tungate
Sports
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Computers and Gaming
In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy
All Your Base are Belong To Us: How Fifty Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture by Harold Goldberg
Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell
Family and Relationships
97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman
Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella
Nature
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
True Crime
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science by Douglass Starr
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe
Travel
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King
Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India by Miranda Kennedy
See the next two pages for the written component of your summer reading assignment.
There are two required assignments:
1.
2.
PASTA for your nonfiction book
Define the rhetorical analysis terms
Analyze your book using an AP strategy: PASTA (Purpose, Audience, Subject, Tone, Authorial bias) is an acronym
for the series of questions that a reader must ask him/herself before analyzing nonfiction.
Read the descriptions below and answer the questions for each bulleted prompt. This will be graded for
completion at the start of the year; however, through the first weeks of school you will use these responses to
write a full analysis of your book.
What is the Purpose? (The reason behind the text)
As you are reading, analyze the purpose/argument/claim of the writer.
 What is the author’s purpose for writing this book? What does he or she want the reader to know or
understand as a result of reading it? Explain your reasoning.
Who is the Audience? (The group of readers to whom this piece is directed)
As you are reading, determine to whom this piece is directed. How do you know who the audience is? How is the
audience defined? Discuss how the writer demonstrates understanding of the audience and how he or she uses
that understanding to accomplish his or her goals.
 Who is the audience?
 How do you know?
What is the Subject? (The general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text)
 You should be able to state the subject in a few words or phrases.
What is the Tone? (The attitude of the author)
As you are reading, analyze the attitude of the writer. Examine the choice of words, emotions expressed, and
imagery used.
 Identify two tones the author creates in the text.
 For each tone, find one example from the text illustrating the tone.
Sample tone words:
These are just a sample of different tone words. There are many more tone words that you may use.
animated
ambivalent
apathetic
accusatory
angry
amused
disapproval
aggressive
bitter
cautionary
belligerent
assertive
distressed
adapted
arrogant
detached
awestruck
admiring
admiring
assertive
comical
depressed
ardent
earnest
nostalgic
benevolent
optimistic
cynical
condescending disheartened
empathetic
disparaging
unbiased
What is the Authorial bias? (The voice that tells the story & how it tells the story)
As you are reading, consider the authority and credibility of the writer. How does the writer establish his or her
credibility in the text?
 Find 3 specific passages that establish the writer as a trustworthy and/or qualified speaker.
 Below each quote, explain how the passage establishes the writer’s credibility.
Rhetorical Analysis Vocabulary
To prepare for your close reading of nonfiction in AP, you should come in on the first day familiar with the terms
listed below. Create a three-columned chart in Google docs through your HCPS google account with the word,
definition, and an example. Come prepared to class on the first day of school with this assignment printed. There
are many websites that are dedicated to rhetorical techniques; you are welcome to use any example that you find
there. You can also use your knowledge from anything else you have read or viewed. Remember, this is your own
work; you should not seek help from a friend.
RHETORICAL BASICS
Tone
Assertion
Claim
Counterclaim
Thesis
Syntax
Diction
Connotation
Denotation
Style
Figurative Language
Structure
Argument
Repetition
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
SYNTAX
Antecedent
Simple/Compound/Complex Sentences
Declarative/Exclamatory/Interrogative Sentence
Ellipses
Active/Passive Voice
Appositive
Parentheses
PURPOSE
Describe
Explain
Inform
Persuade
Entertain
Cause/Effect
Compare/Contrast
STRUCTURE
Anecdote
Allegory
Satire
Comparison
Juxtaposition
Extended metaphor
Analogy
BALANCE
Parallel Structure
Chiasmus
Antithesis
SATIRE
Persona
Hyperbole
Wit/Humor
Parody
Caricature
Innuendo
Irony
Juxtaposition
Mockery
Overgeneralization
Sarcasm
Understatement
EMPHASIS
Climax
Concrete Details (instead of abstractions)
Asyndeton
Polysyndeton
Irony (also appears in Satire)
Understatement (also appears in Satire)
Hyperbole (also appears in Satire)
Emphatic Word Order
Rhetorical Question
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Simile
Analogy
Metaphor
Synecdoche
Personification
Allusion
Apostrophe
Paradox