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Palisades Charter High School Summer Reading Assignments for 2016-­‐2017 ALL GRADE LEVELS, CHOOSE FROM THE LIST BELOW
FOR HONORS & A/P READING LIST, see p. 2
Incoming 9th graders are required to read at least one book and to
complete a dialectical journal (see p.3).
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
The Secret Life of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
Dumplin’ by Julia Murphy
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
I Woke Up Dead at the Mall by Judy Sheehan
Fifteen Lanes by S. J. Laidlaw
Salt to Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
The Memory Jar by Elissa Hoole
Trial by Fire by Nora McClintock
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks
Accident Season by Moira Fowley- Doyle
Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee
Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten
Jumping Off Swings by Johanna Knowles
Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
X a novel by Ilyasah Shabazz
Diego Crossing by Robet Hough
Frontlines by Michael Grant
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Undocumented- A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey… by Dan-el Peralta Padilla
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pederson and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose
Drowning is Inevitable by Shalznda Stanly
Paralyzed by Jeff Rud
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Required Honors Reading List (Choose 1 from the appropriate grade level)
Incoming 10th (10th grader in 2016-17)
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
We the Animals by Justin Torres
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore (Required for African American Literature)
Incoming 11th (11th grader in 2016-17)
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
*Required for students taking Mashbaum’s 11th CC&W
Extreme Ownership – How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead & Win by Joco Willink & Leif Babin
Incoming 12th (12th grader in 2016-17)
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois
Required AP Language Reading Assignment
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"1491" by Charles C. Mann (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/03/1491/302445/)
Required AP Literature Reading Assignment
The Oedipus Trilogy (Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone) by Sophocles
AND
Choose 1 of the following novels
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
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Dialectical Journal Format
The dialectical journal consists of three columns: Literary Device, Context/Evidence/Citation, and
Explanation/Commentary. Please see the directions below that correspond with your incoming grade level.
Before the first journal entry, write your heading and identify the title of the book (underline or italicize) and the
author. Also, be sure to number each entry.
Directions for Summer Reading Assignment (incoming 9th graders):
You will turn in a dialectical journal for one (1) book. Directions for how to fill out the
journal are in the columns below; see p. 7 for samples.
Literary Device
Context/Quote/Citation
Explanation/Commentary
Identify 10 total literary
devices or techniques used in
the passage (e.g. conflict,
characterization, imagery,
irony, metaphor, symbol,
foreshadowing). You may use
a device more than once.
Focus only on explaining
HOW a particular device
conveys the meaning of the
quote.
Provide contextual information the reader
needs to fully understand the quoted
passage. You may accomplish this by
answering each of the following
questions:
In the commentary section, analyze the
significance of the quoted passage. Do not restate
the evidence. Analysis requires “pulling apart” the
evidence and discussing its deeper
meaning/significance. The following guiding
questions will help you work through this process.
While composing the commentary, please take
care to fully answer the questions or questions
contained in at least one of the bullet following
points:
• • • Who is speaking (e.g. the narrator, a
character, the author)?
To whom is he/she speaking?
Why?
Next, insert a quoted passage from the
text. Begin this section by clearly
identifying the source of the quoted
passage (e.g. the narrator, a character, the
author). Use a present-tense attribution
verb (e.g. says, states, promises). Enclose
the quoted evidence in quotation marks.
• • • Why is this passage important? What
important lesson does it help readers better
understand?
What does this passage reveal about how the
character is changing, learning, or growing?
What are the effects of the literary devices or
techniques in this passage?
Finally, provide an MLA-style
parenthetical citation by clearly
identifying the page in the text where the
quoted passage may be found. (see
example in the Sample Dialectical Journal
Entry).
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Directions for Summer Reading Assignment (incoming 10th graders)
Literary Device
Context/Quote/Citation
Explanation/Commentary
Identify 10 total literary
devices or techniques used in
the passage. You MUST
choose one of each of the
following devices: diction,
mood, imagery, conflict, and
characterization. The other
five are your choice. Focus
only on explaining HOW a
particular device conveys the
meaning of the quote.
Provide contextual information the reader
needs to fully understand the quoted
passage. You may accomplish this by
answering each of the following
questions:
In the commentary section, analyze the
significance of the quoted passage. Do not restate
the evidence. Analysis requires “pulling apart” the
evidence and discussing its deeper
meaning/significance. The following guiding
questions will help you work through this process.
While composing the commentary, please take
care to fully answer the questions or questions
contained in at least one of the bullet following
points:
• • • Who is speaking (e.g. the narrator, a
character, the author)?
To whom is he/she speaking?
Why?
Next, insert a quoted passage from the
text. Begin this section by clearly
identifying the source of the quoted
passage (e.g. the narrator, a character, the
author). Use a present-tense attribution
verb (e.g. says, states, promises). Enclose
the quoted evidence in quotation marks.
• • • Why is this passage important? What
important lesson does it help readers better
understand?
What does this passage reveal about how the
character is changing, learning, or growing?
What are the effects of the literary devices or
techniques in this passage?
Finally, provide an MLA-style
parenthetical citation by clearly
identifying the page in the text where the
quoted passage may be found. (see
example in the Sample Dialectical Journal
Entry).
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Directions for Summer Reading Assignment (incoming 11 graders)
Literary Device
Context/Quote/Citation
Explanation/Commentary
Identify 10 total literary
devices or techniques used in
the passage. You MUST
choose one of each of the
following devices: irony,
symbolism, metaphor,
opposition, and tone. The
other five are your choice.
Focus only on explaining
HOW a particular device
conveys the meaning of the
quote.
Provide contextual information the reader
needs to fully understand the quoted
passage. You may accomplish this by
answering each of the following
questions:
In the commentary section, analyze the
significance of the quoted passage. Do not restate
the evidence. Analysis requires “pulling apart” the
evidence and discussing its deeper
meaning/significance. The following guiding
questions will help you work through this process.
While composing the commentary, please take
care to fully answer the questions or questions
contained in at least one of the bullet following
points:
• • • Who is speaking (e.g. the narrator, a
character, the author)?
To whom is he/she speaking?
Why?
Next, insert a quoted passage from the
text. Begin this section by clearly
identifying the source of the quoted
passage (e.g. the narrator, a character, the
author). Use a present-tense attribution
verb (e.g. says, states, promises). Enclose
the quoted evidence in quotation marks.
• • • Why is this passage important? What
important lesson does it help readers better
understand?
What does this passage reveal about how the
character is changing, learning, or growing?
What are the effects of the literary devices or
techniques in this passage?
Finally, provide an MLA-style
parenthetical citation by clearly
identifying the page in the text where the
quoted passage may be found. (see
example in the Sample Dialectical Journal
Entry).
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Directions for Summer Reading Assignment (incoming 12th graders)
Literary Device
Context/Quote/Citation
Explanation/Commentary
Identify 10 total literary
devices or techniques used in
the passage (e.g. conflict,
characterization, imagery,
irony, metaphor, symbol,
foreshadowing). You may use
a device more than once.
Focus only on explaining
HOW a particular device
conveys the meaning of the
quote.
Provide contextual information the reader
needs to fully understand the quoted
passage. You may accomplish this by
answering each of the following
questions:
In the commentary section, analyze the
significance of the quoted passage and explain
how it helps convey a bigger theme of the novel.
Do not restate the evidence. Analysis requires
“pulling apart” the evidence and discussing its
deeper meaning/significance. The following
guiding questions will help you work through this
process. While composing the commentary, please
take care to fully answer the questions or
questions contained in at least one of the bullet
following points:
• • • Who is speaking (e.g. the narrator, a
character, the author)?
To whom is he/she speaking?
Why?
Next, insert a quoted passage from the
text. Begin this section by clearly
identifying the source of the quoted
passage (e.g. the narrator, a character, the
author). Use a present-tense attribution
verb (e.g. says, states, promises). Enclose
the quoted evidence in quotation marks.
Finally, provide an MLA-style
parenthetical citation by clearly
identifying the page in the text where the
quoted passage may be found. (see
example in the Sample Dialectical Journal
Entry).
• • • • Why is this passage important? What
important lesson does it help readers better
understand?
What does this passage reveal about how the
character is changing, learning, or growing?
What are the effects of the literary devices or
techniques in this passage?
How does the passage reveal a theme/big
idea?
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Sample Dialectical Notes Incoming 9th Graders
Student Name
Teacher Last Name
Class & Period
Date
Summer Reading Assignment
Title by Author
Quote, Context and Citation
1) While describing the Washington Varsity
Crew Coach, Al Ulbrickson, Brown writes,
“In order to attend Franklin High School, he
has to row a small boat two miles over to
Seattle and back every day for four years….
[At the University of Washington] he
excelled in both areas [crew and classes],
and when he graduated in 1926,
Washington quickly hired him as the
freshmen crew coach, and then as head
coach” (14).
2) Don Hume, the stroke seat of the
Washington Olympic boat, got sick right
before the team’s Olympic qualifying races.
He was able to race, and get the boat into
the Olympics, but since getting sick he had
never fully recovered. A few days before
their first Olympic race, their coach, Al
Ulbrickson, told the press, “Hume means
everything to us. Unless he recovers quickly
and regains condition we don’t have much
chance” (322).
Commentary/Response/Analysis
This quote shows that something taxing and time consuming that
Ulbrickson had to do was what brought him his success in life.
The rowing he did everyday contributed to his ability to be so
successful in rowing later in life. This expresses a theme common
in many books; hard work will pay off. This theme is present in
Ulbrickson’s life because the hard work he put into rowing
everyday led to a payoff – a successful rowing and coaching
career. One way this theme is present in other people’s lives is if
you put in the work of studying for a test, your pay off will come
when you get a good grade.
3) An unnamed former coxswain who
encounters the brilliance of George
Pocock, University of Washington’s boatbuilder and advisor to the crew team,
describes him by saying, “In his presence
Washington crewmen always stood, for
he symbolized that for
which God’s children always stand” (48).
The ex-rower’s comments about George Pocock sufficiently
summarize the man’s stoic presence. It was such that commanded
respect without a word, godly almost. The traits described
exemplify those of an experienced mentor. Some of the greatest
coaches of all time, such as Phil Jackson and John Wooden exhibit
the same qualities as Pocock.
4) While observing the noticeable amount
of freshman ceasing to attend practice, the
protagonist Joe Rantz notes,“The first to
drop out had been the boys with
impeccably creased trousers and freshly
polished oxfords” (51).
Joe’s observations revealed that rowing was not a sport for the
feint of heart. The “rich kids” with fancy clothes and a lack of
character could not endure something as strenuous as crew, and
they threw in the towel because of it. They went in thinking it
would just be something easy which would make them look
socially appealing, but turned out
to be much more challenging. Joe understood this and continued
working to achieve his goal, while so many others did not. This
shows Joe’s determination, one of his most important qualities and
a trait he utilizes several times in the novel.
While the Olympic team did bring alternate rowers to fill in for
anyone unable to compete, Ulbrickson was still very confident that
they could not win without Hume. This goes to show how vital
each and every person in that boat was to their success. Had
Hume or one of the others not been able to race, they most likely
wouldn’t have won. Each boy was one part in this big machine,
and with one of them changed, the whole thing would’ve fallen
apart. With this, the author is able to give insight into that concept
of “the boat” and help readers better understand the team
dynamics.
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Sample Dialectical Notes for Grades 10-12
Student Name
Teacher Last Name
Class & Period
Date
Title by Author
Lit Device
1) Metaphor
2) Simile
3) Characterization
4) Diction
Quote w/Context &
Citation
Commentary/Response
When Eleanor and
Park share their first
kiss, Park
immediately believes
that he would spend
the rest of his life
kissing her "If she
weren't made of so
many other miracles"
(250).
The author uses metaphor to describe in depth the feelings
Park has towards Eleanor, and to mark the new-found
seriousness of their relationship. To be" made of miracles"
means that Park sees Eleanor as more than just a girl; he sees
her as divine, goddess-like. Park's notion that Eleanor is more
than human makes readers wonder if he is being honest, or if
he is more caught up in the idea of being young and in love,
than he is in truly loving Eleanor. This passage conveys that
sometimes love is rooted more in expectations that it is in
true feelings.
The moment that
Eleanor tells
Park that she has to
leave town to escape
her abusive
stepfather, Park
thinks, "It felt like
someone had turned
the world upside
down and was
shaking it" (289).
Mr. Carpenter, the
principal of Matthew’s
school, expresses
concern over the tone
of Matthew’s essay,
which Matthew
describes, “Angry?
Yeah, but more. Bitter?
Closer, but not quite.
Acerbic? Almost.
Caustic? That’s it” (19).
By comparing Park's conflicted feelings
about Eleanor skipping town to this scenario, of his entire life
being shaken upside down, Rowell illustrates Park's confusion,
regret, and sorrow. Just a few hours before, on the date, Park
had felt genuinely accepted and complete for once, due to his
relationship, and he is now having all of that joy ripped away
from him. He feels angry but also lost, as he struggles to
understand the way in which happiness can come and then
vanish in just a matter of time. This passage supports the
idea that, more often than not, love comes at a cost.
Matthew wishes his
mother were warm and
caring, but rather, she is
“pierced, heart and
When Matthew describes his writing style as “caustic” and
“acerbic”, it suggests that he is self-loathing. In his essay, he
attacks religious views in a very blunt and sarcastic way,
expressing his resentment towards them because of the
homophobia they inflict, which leads to his brother’s suicide.
By describing his own writing style as caustic and acerbic,
however, he is expressing how he also blames himself for his
brother’s death. He was unable to protect his brother from the
crassness of his peers when his brother was outed, and as such
feels the need to reflect that tone and attitude onto those he
believes are responsible, himself included. He can’t stand
himself or what he did, so he verbally and emotionally attacks
himself. Matthew’s self-loathing hints at the theme when
people feel guilty for their actions, they will try to deflect
blame onto others. He feels incredibly guilty about his
brother’s suicide, so Matthew tries to place the blame on his
environment’s strong religious tendencies. He is justifying
his own involvement with his brother’s depression by
making religion seem as abhorrent as he believes himself to
be.
The use of the word “pierced” to describe the effect dreams
have on Matthew’s mother expresses a very cynical view on
life. Matthew tells that his mother’s dreams and memories have
‘pierced’ his mother’s heart and soul, causing emotional
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soul, by fragmented
dreams and splintered
memories” (87).
5) Conflict
As Matthew falls asleep
one night, he thinks,
“Forgive yourself. And
where did that come
from? Forgive myself
for what, exactly, you
bastard internal voice…
Luke. Luke. Luke”
(210).
destitution. By using the word ‘pierced’, dreams and memories
are given a negative connotation, as something that can cause
physical harm to someone. Readers feel the desolation his
mother’s dreams and memories cause her. This suggests the
theme if one cannot move on from the past and appreciate
the present, they will cause their own suffering. His mother
was not able to let go of her past mistakes nor her
unsatisfied dreams, which leads her down a spiraling path of
alcohol abuse and self-destruction. If she instead focuses in
the present, she will be able to recognize the value of her
relationships with her son and husband rather than enervate
herself over the events leading to her other son’s death.
Following Luke’s suicide, Matthew is in a constant man versus
self conflict. He blames himself for Luke’s death, for not being
there for him, and for not being able to stop him.
Subconsciously, he knows this, but he just can’t admit it to
himself that he feels to blame. He is only able to confront
himself with the thoughts of his guilt when he is in an almostasleep, half-delirious state. By calling his internal voice a
‘bastard’, Matthew expresses his disdain for himself. He cannot
stand that he is a contributor to Luke’s decision to end his own
life. Because he can’t admit his own guilt, he wastes away
blaming everyone in his town and their religious beliefs,
alienating his friends and family. Matthew’s man versus self
struggle reveals the theme if one cannot let go of the past
and move forward, they will cause their own suffering.
Even though Luke is dead and there is nothing Matthew can
do about it, he still dwells on the ‘what ifs’. He doesn’t
admit to himself he feels to blame and doesn’t allow himself
to forgive anyone. This leaves him lying sleepless at night,
having night terrors, panic attacks, and reliant on anxiety
medication. If he can’t move on from the past, he will
continue to suffer.
The bolded portion of each dialectical note connects the use of the device to a theme. This is a
requirement for 12th graders only.
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