Dear Students,
Summer is a time for vacations, ice-cream, roller coasters, and relaxation. None of us wants you to miss
out on your hard-earned break. However, most students lose about three months of knowledge and skills every
summer break due to little or no intellectual engagement. Since we care as much about your ability to retain the
intellectual skills that you have acquired this past year, here is your Summer Reading Assignment.
You will choose TWO (2) books from the list of texts for the grade you will be entering in the fall of this
year; one must be fiction and the other nonfiction. For the book you choose you must keep a record, in other
words a log, of your reading. Neatly record all log entries on loose leaf, in a composition notebook, or if you
prefer, it may be typewritten. Clearly label the title of each book; include the author’s name and range of pages.
There is an example of how you should format each log on the following pages. In this log (a composition or
spiral bound notebook is highly recommended) you will choose a significant passage, quote, or dialogue, then
write a response. This is called a dialectical journal which will be used to keep you, the reader, engaged. It is a
conversation between you and the text. As a result, reading becomes interactive, interesting, and direct rather than
a passive activity, which can cause boredom. By engaging with the text, you will work to create meaning, express
your unique perspective and in a very real, literal manner own the text.
Due Date for the Summer Reading Assignment for Grades 9-12
These logs are due and will be collected by your English teacher on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015.
(Any late work will immediately incur a 50% reduction; late summer assignments will not be accepted
after Monday, September 21, 2015. Additional penalties may follow at the discretion of the faculty of The
Frederick Douglass Academy.
Please note, for the current Spring Semester 2015, you may bring to your English teacher two (2) books you
intend to read from your specific grade for extra credit (see attachment of book lists on pages 5-8). You may
borrow them from the library, purchase your own copy, or bring in the e-book version. In order to receive
extra credit, all fiction and non-fiction summer reading books are due in class by MONDAY,
JUNE 15, 2015.
OBJECTIVES: Students will:
1. bring background knowledge and experience to reading
2. construct meaning from the text
3. provide direct, individualized, as well as constructive criticism
4. develop appreciation for the structure of a text’s plot
1
READING LOG FOR FICTION AND NON-FICTION
INSTRUCTIONS:
For EACH book, you must complete the following:
1. Choose FIVE (5) passages or quotes from EACH book. Be sure to include FIVE (5) entries that refer to
the beginning, middle, and end of the fiction you select, and FIVE (5) entries that refer to the beginning,
middle, and end of the non-fiction you choose. Your total number of entries for BOTH literary works
must equal TEN (10).
2. Copy each passage or quote on blank white paper and write the page number. On that same blank page,
select at least TWO (2) of the following reading prompts for EACH passage or quote. Copy the
selected reading prompt. Each response must consist of at least 3-5 sentences. You will answer
TEN (10) prompts for EACH book. Your total number of prompts (which are questions answered or
statements explained) for BOTH literary works must equal TWENTY (20).
READING PROMPTS
1) Who is speaking? Where does this particular scene take place (setting)? Explain the character’s
thoughts, motives, and actions (i.e. What does the person mean?).
2) How would you summarize the idea expressed here?
3) What does this excerpt reveal about the character(s) or ideas in this book? What is your opinion
of the character(s)? Use textual evidence to substantiate your claim.
4) What literary device/technique (i.e. symbolism, flashback, irony, metaphor, simile, personification,
allusion, hyperbole, etc.) does the author use to convey meaning?
5) I really don’t understand why….
6) I agree/disagree wholeheartedly with the idea/statement that…..
7) I think the message the author is trying to convey is…..
8) This passage is similar to a time in my life when….. OR: This passage reminds me of the character
_____________________________from the literary work entitled, ___________________________.
(Include the character’s name and the title of the literary work.)
9) If I were (include the character’s name),…..OR: If I were (specify the situation/dilemma, etc.),
I would have said/done…...
10) This passage, quote, or excerpt is significant.
PLEASE NOTE: A sample of the reading log for each literary work is attached. ALTHOUGH THREE
SAMPLE RESPONSES ARE PROVIDED, YOU ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO CHOOSE ANY TWO
OF THE TEN PROMPTS PER PASSAGE.
2
READING LOG FOR FICTION (Sample of a STRONG Response)
READING LOG FOR FICTION (Sample of a WEAK Response)
Title: 1984
Author: George Orwell
Page Range: 1-73
Title: 1984
Author: George Orwell
Page Range: 1-73
Reading Prompts:
Entry #1: “The frightening thing, he reflected for the ten thousandth time as he
forced his shoulders painfully backward… If the Party could thrust its hand into the
past and say of this or that event, it never happened—that, surely, was more
terrifying than mere torture and death” (Orwell 34).
Reading Prompts:
Question #2: How would you summarize the idea expressed here?
Question #2: How would you summarize the idea expressed here?
Winston is participating in routine exercise in this part of the book. Everyone has
to do it and if you don’t you can get in trouble. As he is doing the exercise, his mind
wanders. He begins to think that his government is too controlling and gets off
track. The woman in the Telescreen yells at him and he gets back to exercising
correctly. He thinks that the control the Party has over people and history is worse
than death or torture.
Winston is exercising. He thinks the Party is worse than death.
Question #3: What does this excerpt reveal about the character(s) or ideas in
the book? What is your opinion of the character(s)? Use textual evidence to
substantiate your claim.
Question #3: What does this excerpt reveal about the character(s) or ideas in
the book? What is your opinion of the character(s)? Use textual evidence to
substantiate your claim.
This part of the book shows that Winston, the protagonist, seems to understand
something others do not. Most people fear death, but Winston fears the Party’s
ability to control what happens and what does not happen. He seems to
understand that the Party’s control is so absolute that they are able to manipulate
history and therefore manipulate the citizens. I think that Winston is very
rebellious, but is up against a very harsh government. Earlier in the story, Winston
fears dying simply because he is writing “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” in a
notebook. The funny thing is that not only is the idea banned, but so is simply
owning the notebook and writing individual thoughts into it.
This shows that Winston is against the Party. My opinion is he is brave. I know he
is brave because he buys a notebook in the first chapter.
Entry #1: “The frightening thing, he reflected for the ten thousandth time as he
forced his shoulders painfully backward… If the Party could thrust its hand into the
past and say of this or that event, it never happened—that, surely, was more
terrifying than mere torture and death” (Orwell 34).
Question #5: I really don’t understand why…
I am really confused as to how Winston’s government got so much control over
everyone. It seems as if they are able to see everything, but why would tcitizens of
Oceania allow this? If no one is allowed to even think negatively about the Oceania
and Big Brother, does that mean they don’t have freedom of speech? Are there
other people like Winston, and couldn’t they get together and overthrow the Party?
Question #5: I really don’t understand why…
Why do they have to exercise?
3
READING LOG FOR NON-FICTION (Sample of a STRONG Response)
READING LOG FOR NON-FICTION (Sample of a WEAK Response)
Title: Mom & Me & Mom
Author: Maya Angelou
Page Range: 175-200
Title: Mom & Me & Mom
Author: Maya Angelou
Page Range: 175-200
Reading Prompts:
Entry #6: “Vivian Baxter was in a coma. I spoke to her anyway. Her hand lay in
mine without movement” (Angelou 196).
Reading Prompts:
Question #1: Who is speaking? Where does this particular scene take place
(setting)? Explain the character’s thoughts, motives, and actions (i.e. What
does this person mean?).
Question #1: Who is speaking? Where does this particular scene take place
(setting)? Explain the character’s thoughts, motives, and actions (i.e. What
does this person mean?).
In this quote, Maya Angelou, the narrator, is speaking from her mother’s hospital
room in Greensboro, North Carolina. Maya had just returned home to North
Carolina after being away for a few weeks on business. Her mother had
encouraged her to accept an invitation to teach in England at the University of
Exeter. Maya had initially refused the offer because she was extremely reluctant
to leave her ill mother’s side. However, her mother promised that she would still
be there when Maya returned.
In this quote, Maya Angelou is the narrator. She’s in a hospital room visiting her
mother. Her mother wants her to teach at a university, but Maya may not go.
Question #8: This passage is similar to a time in my life when…
Question #8: This passage is similar to a time in my life when…
This passage is similar to a time in my life when my godmother, Maxfene, passed
away. She was also dying of cancer but had decided to come home for a Mother’s
Day dinner with her friends and family rather than stay at the hospital. We all had
a joyous time while Maxfene lay immobile, yet smiling, in her bed. My mother
came out of the room to tell us, “She’s gone.” I went into the room, to the side of her
bed, and kissed her face. My mother tried to pull me back, apparently disturbed by
my interaction with the recently deceased, but I pulled away. I wrapped my arms
around my godmother anyway, just like Maya held her mother’s hand, despite her
impending death.
This passage is similar to a time in my life when my godmother died. Her name
was Maxfene. I remember when she was sick. It was rough.
Question #10: This quote is significant.
Question #10: This quote is significant.
This quote is significant. After a very difficult childhood without her parents,
and conversely, an adolescence and adulthood drenched in her mother’s unique
and powerful love, Maya is forced to watch her mother, Vivian Baxter, fade into
powerlessness at the hands of lung cancer. Vivian Baxter was a passionate,
popular, and independent figure throughout her life, but as she lay dying,
she became silent then still.
This quote is significant. Vivian Baxter can’t move. Maya still wants to talk to
her mother, but there is nothing Maya can do. What’s the point?
Entry #6: “Vivian Baxter was in a coma. I spoke to her anyway. Her hand lay in
mine without movement” (Angelou 196).
4
Dear Incoming Frederick Douglass Academy Freshmen:
The curriculum for English I/II begins this summer with a required reading assignment. You must select and read one book from each of the lists below.
This means you will select one work of fiction and one work of non-fiction for a total of two books. You must also complete a fiction and non-fiction
reading log for the two selected literary works. Both the fiction and non-fiction reading logs will be collected by your English teacher on
Monday, September 21, 2015.
Mandatory 9th Grade Text: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
All incoming 9th grade students are required to read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass. This literary work will be
taught in class; therefore, all freshmen must obtain a copy for September 2015. You may purchase a copy of this text in our school bookstore
for $3.00.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
Set in the future, the children of Earth must fight for their future. A New York
Times Bestseller.
The Color of Water, James McBride
James McBride, the son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit
she was white, has written a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race
and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.
Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama
This memoir reveals the first African-American president’s childhood,
teenage and college years.
Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer
A personal account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is a 1997 bestselling non-fiction
book written by Jon Krakauer.
I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, Nujood Ahi
Sold off by her impoverished family at the age of 10, Nujood found the courage
to run away. With the help of an activist lawyer, sympathetic judges, and the
international press, she divorced her husband and returned home.
Firehouse, David Halberstam
Follow thirteen firefighters into the World Trade Center on 9/11.
The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason
Imagine the epic anew through these inventive stories.
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
Narrated by a murder victim looking down from heaven, a family’s story in the
wake of the crime unfolds.
This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff
This story portrays the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his
abusive father, based on the memoirs of writer and literature professor Tobias
Wolff.
Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
A Mexican girl learns the secrets of her mother’s kitchen and heart in this favorite
of the magic realism genre.
Pidgeon English, Stephen Kelman
Recently emigrated from Ghana with his sister and mother to London’s
enormous housing projects, Harri is pure curiosity and ebullience: obsessed with
gummy candy, a friend to the pigeon who visits his balcony, quite possibly the
fastest runner in his school, and clearly also fast on the trail of a murderer.
Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage, Kay Bratt
In 2003, Kay Bratt’s life changed dramatically. A wife and mother of two girls in
South Carolina, Bratt relocated her family to rural China to support her husband as
he took on a new management position for his American employer. Bratt began
volunteering at the local orphanage.Within months, her simple desire to make use
of her time transformed into a heroic crusade to improve the living conditions and
minimize the unnecessary deaths of Chinese orphans.
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Michael Lewis
The author explains how the Oakland Athletics built a successful team despite one
of the smallest payrolls in baseball.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Alex Haley
Haley reveals the life of Malcolm X from his traumatic childhood plagued by
racism to his years as a drug dealer. This includes his conversion to the Black
Muslim sect (Nation of Islam) while in prison for burglary, his subsequent years of
militant activism, and the unexpected turn late in his life to orthodox Islam.
Gemini, Nikki Giovanni
The celebrated author gives an extended autobiographical statement on her first 25
years as a black poet.
Children of the Paper Crane, Masamoto Nasu
This story chronicles the life and death of a 12 year-old girl in Hiroshima
following the A-bomb attack at the close of World War II.
The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore
Two kids with the same name live in the same decaying city. One grows up to be a
Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business
leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison for felony murder. Here is the
story of two boys and the journey of a generation.
A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines
Two men, a condemned criminal and a reluctant teacher, share lessons about
dignity in this moving story set in Louisiana.
Chinese Cinderella; The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter, Adeline
Yen Mah
A Chinese proverb says, “Falling leaves return to their roots.” Adeline Yen Mah
returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate
triumph and courage in the face of despair.
Down These Mean Streets, Piri Thomas
In his memoir Thomas navigates El Barrio, a neighborhood of Spanish Harlem.
A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
In the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are
mustering; This is Book 1 of the series entitled, “A Song of Ice and Fire.”
47, Walter Moseley
Tall John, who believes there are no masters and no slaves, and who carries a
yellow carpetbag of magical healing potions and futuristic devices, is both an
inspiration and an enigma. He claims he has crossed galaxies and centuries and
arrived by Sun Ship on Earth in 1832 to find the one chosen to continue the fight
against the evil Calash. The brutal white overseer and the cruel slave owner are
disguised as Calash, who must be defeated.
The Circuit, Francisco Jimenez
This is a collection of short stories based on the life of the author, Francisco
Jimenez, while he was growing up as the son of migrant farm workers in
California.
5
Dear Incoming Frederick Douglass Academy Sophomores:
The curriculum for English III/IV begins this summer with a required reading assignment. You must select and read one book from each of the lists
below. This means you will select one work of fiction and one work of non-fiction for a total of two books. You must also complete a fiction and
non-fiction reading log for the two selected literary works. Both the fiction and non-fiction reading logs will be collected by your English teacher on
Monday, September 21, 2015.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
This book is a moving story of two women struggling to survive the Taliban’s grip
in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
The Power of One, Bryce Courtenay
A lonely British boy in South Africa learns important lessons about race and
courage in following his own heart and two friends, one black and one white.
A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah
A former boy soldier escapes the horrors of the war in Sierra Leone.
On the Rez, Ian Frazier
This book is a sharp, unflinching account of the modern-day American Indian
experience, especially that of the Oglala Sioux, who now live on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation in the plains and badlands of the American West.
The Lost City of Z, David Grann
A modern-day journalist follows the tracks of an explorer of the Amazon and
solves the mystery of a legendary ancient city.
King Leopold’s Ghost, Adam Hochchild
Hochchild’s superb, engrossing chronicle focuses on one of the great, horrifying
and nearly forgotten crimes of the century: greedy Belgian King Leopold’s rape of
the Congo, the vast colony he seized as his private fiefdom in 1885.
Wanting, Richard Flanagan
An aboriginal orphan in Tasmania, an Arctic explorer, and Charles Dickens all
want something more from life.
Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat
At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croixde-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There
she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that
can be healed only when she returns to Haiti –to the women who first reared her.
Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
This is a gripping story of how the plague impacted one small village in England
during the 1600s.
Reflections of a Rock Lobster, Aaron Fricke
A gay teen describes his decision to use the courts to allow him to bring a
male date to his senior prom.
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
In the Southwest, a young woman finds love and new meaning in her life by
embracing dreams, Native American myths, and her past.
Gulag: A History, Anne Applebaum
In this magisterial and acclaimed history, Anne Applebaum offers the first
fully documented portrait of the Gulag, from its origins in the Russian
Revolution, through its expansion under Stalin, to its collapse in the era
of glasnost.
The Tiger’s Wife, Tea Obreht
In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to
unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent
death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the
stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But
most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her – the legend of
the tiger’s wife.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Mark Haddon
This is the story of Christopher John Francis Boone, who knows all the countries of
the world and their capitals, as well as every prime number up to 7,057. He relates
well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be
touched, and he detests the color yellow.
Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Adiche
In post-colonial Nigeria, three children of different backgrounds experience the
ravages of civil war and relief of union.
The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
This novel tells the story of Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, and her journey
to womanhood. Through the telling of Dinah’s story, the Jewish Bible comes alive
in a new and exciting way as we learn about and understand the lives of the women
of antiquity.
Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima comes to stay with his family in New
Mexico. Under her wise wing, Tony will probe the family ties that bind and rend
him, and he will discover himself in the magical secrets of the pagan past.
Indian Killer, Sherman Alexie
A serial murderer is terrorizing Seattle, hunting and scalping white men. The
crimes of the so-called Indian Killer have triggered a wave of violence and racial
hatred. Seattle’s Native Americans are shaken and confused, none more so than
John Smith. Born Indian, and raised white, Smith desperately yearns for his lost
heritage and seeks his elusive true identity.
Mint Alley, C..L.R. James
A young, black, educated, middle class man observes and becomes involved in the
everyday life of the “ordinary, regular people” in Mint Alley, a barrack yard in
Trinidad.
Born to Run, Christopher McDougall
McDougall reveals the secrets of distance running from a Mexican Indian tribe.
When I Was Puerto Rican, Esmeralda Santiago
Santiago lyrically writes about her childhood on her native island and of her
bewildering years of transition in New York City.
Those Guys Have All the Fun, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
Miller and Shales provide an oral history of the sports network ESPN.
A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League,
Ron Suskind
As an honor student walking the gauntlet of sneers and threats at his crime-infested
high school in Washington, D.C., Cedric Jennings achieved the impossible: a 4.02
grade point average and acceptance into Brown University.
Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin
Originally published in 1955, James Baldwin’s first non-fiction book has become a
classic. These searing essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel, movies, and
Americans abroad remain as powerful today as when they were first written.
Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup
Kidnapped into slavery in 1841, Northup spent 12 years in captivity. This
autobiographical memoir represents an exceptionally detailed and accurate
description of slave life and plantation society.
Lies My Teachers Told Me, James W. Loewen
Americans have lost touch with their history, and in Lies My Teachers Told Me,
Professor James Loewen provides an explanation. After surveying eighteen leading
high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job
of making history interesting or memorable.
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
Baldwin explores the relations between race and religion with a concentration in his
experiences with the Christian church when he was a young man. In addition,
Baldwin discusses the Islamic ideas of others in Harlem.
6
Dear Incoming Frederick Douglass Academy Juniors:
The curriculum for English V/VI begins this summer with a required reading assignment. You must select and read one book from each of the lists
below. This means you will select one work of fiction and one work of non-fiction for a total of two books. You must also complete a fiction and
non-fiction reading log for the two selected literary works. Both the fiction and non-fiction reading logs will be collected by your English teacher on
Monday, September 21, 2015.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
The Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
A family of immigrants struggles to blend its new culture into the old.
When the Emperor was Divine, Julie Otsuka
The Japanese-American experience in the WWII internment camps is told through
the eyes of each member of one uprooted family.
The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins
Examine the intricacies of evolution.
Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
On September 6, 1992, Christopher McCandless’s body was found inside an
abandoned bus in Alaska. One year later, investigative journalist Krakauer retraces
McCandless’s steps to determine what happened to him.
Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann
Philippe Petit’s high-wire walk between the Twin Towers binds the lives of an
unlikely set of New Yorkers.
Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Though it reads like a novel, this book is in fact a non-fiction work stemming from
ten years of research on one extended family in the Bronx.
Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the Civil War,
Drew Gilpin Faust
Faust makes a major contribution to both Civil War historiography and women’s
studies in this outstanding analysis of the impact of secession, invasion, and
conquest on Southern white women.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Beverly Daniel
Tatum
In this honest and unflinching story, Ms. Tatum looks at the phenomenon of why
self-segregation has become so common sixty years after Brown v. Board of
Education established integration in schools. She argues the central question of
whether racial self-segregation among Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Whites is a
problem or a way to cope in American society.
Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
This book is a collection of “economic” articles. The authors argue that economics
is, at root, a study of incentives.
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris
The story of one Native American family is woven together through the accounts of
a grandmother, mother, and daughter.
Manchild in the Promised Land, Claude Brown
Harlem’s vibrancy and racism’s viciousness serve as a backdrop for a young man’s
struggle to rise from a life of petty crime to an educated freedom.
The Dew Breaker, Edwidge Danticat
A Haitian woman traveling from Florida to New York with her father learns the
truth about his life and work in Haiti under the Duvalier dictatorship.
Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates
An indictment of the 1950s in America, the novel focuses on the hopes and
aspirations of Frank and April Wheeler, self-assured Connecticut suburbanites
who see themselves as very different from their neighbors in the Revolutionary Hill
Estates.
Black Boy, Richard Wright
Wright’s harrowing memoir depicts his childhood while growing up in rural
Mississippi during the 1920s-1930s.
The Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle
This vivid novel follows the lives of two couples in central California – one, a pair
of wealthy suburbanites and the other, illegal immigrants from Mexico. The plot
thickens as their paths collide in interesting and unexpected ways.
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Set in 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi, this novel portrays the relationships between
white women and their black maids during an era of segregation and racial
upheaval.
Bodega Dreams, Ernesto Quinonez
Chino, a smart, promising young man living in Spanish Harlem, admires Bodega,
a local drug dealer. Chino is drawn to Bodega’s street-smart idealism, but soon
finds himself over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers,
turncoat morality, and murder.
In the Castle of My Skin, George Lamming
This is an autobiographical novel of race and class by one of the leading Black
writers of the 20thcentury.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell explains how ideas, products and messages gain popularity. The tipping
point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a
threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
A woman’s cancer cells were extensively cultured without her permission during
1951.
Unburnable, Marie Elena St. John
Haunted by scandal and secrets, Lillian Baptiste fled Dominica when she fourteen
after discovering she was the daughter of Iris, the half-crazy woman whose life was
referenced in chante mas songs sung during Carnival.
How to Escape a Leper Colony, Tiphanie Yanique
For a leper, many things are impossible, and many other things are easily done.
Babalao Chuck said he could fly to the other side of the island and peek at the nuns
bathing.
Revolutionary Suicide, Huey Newton
Eloquently tracing the birth of a revolutionary, Huey P. Newton’s famous and oftquoted autobiography is as much a manifesto as a portrait of the inner circle of
America’s Black Panther Party.
Black Wall Street, Jay Jay Wilson
Black Wall Street is a work of historical fiction which builds its storyline along the
events leading up to the Tulsa race riot of 1921.
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
This is a terrifying account of how an architect and a serial killer were linked by
the World’s Fair of 1893.
Angela Davis: An Autobiography, Angela Davis
The political activist reflects upon the people and incidents that have influenced
her life and commitment to global liberation of the oppressed.
7
Dear Incoming Frederick Douglass Academy Seniors:
The curriculum for English VII/VIII begins this summer with a required reading assignment. You must select and read one book from each of the lists
below. This means you will select one work of fiction and one work of non-fiction for a total of two books. You must also complete a fiction and
non-fiction reading log for the two selected literary works. Both the fiction and non-fiction reading logs will be collected by your English teacher on
Monday, September 21, 2015.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
Part bildungsroman, part meditation on the country, this beautifully crafted novel
tells the story of John Grady Cole, who with his friend Rawlins, encounter various
adventures on their way south and finally arrive at a paradisiacal hacienda where
Cole falls into an ill-fated romance.
The Long Song, Andrea Levy
Told by July, a slave girl born on a Jamaican plantation in the nineteenth century,
this is the story of her life during and after the last years of slavery.
The Good Soldiers, David Finkel
An embedded reporter recounts a heartbreaking year in the life of American
battalion fighting in post-surge Iraq.
Carry Me Home, Diane McWhorter
The year 1963 was a cataclysmic turning point in America’s long civil rights
struggle. McWhorter weaves together police and FBI documents, interviews with
black activists and former Klansmen, and personal memories into an extraordinary
narrative of the city, the personalities, and the events that brought about America’s
second Emancipation.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman
Explore the limits and power of healing in this account about Hmong immigrants
in California.
Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and
Activists, Joel Best
Resist the spin doctors. Joel Best provides a classic guide to understanding how
numbers can confuse us.
Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing, Ted Conover
The journalist recounts his experience learning about the New York State
Department of Correctional Services by becoming a correctional officer for a year.
The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
A powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama, this is
the story of an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969.
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
Two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal, get entangled in England’s
cultural transformation that includes Jamaicans, Muslims, and the tension between
colonial and post-colonial power.
Kindred, Octavia E. Butler
Dana, a 26-year-old black woman in a mixed-race marriage, is mysteriously
transported back in time from 1970s California to the antebellum South, where she
saves Rufus, the son of a plantation owner.
Ines of My Soul, Isabel Allende
A work of historical fiction, Allende’s novel recounts the life of Ines Suarez, a
daring Spanish conquistadora who toiled to build the nation of Chile.
Philadelphia Fire, John Edgar Wideman
Based on the 1985 bombing by police of a West Philadelphia row house owned by
the Afrocentric cult MOVE, this book tells of Cudjoe, a writer who returns to his
old neighborhood after a decade of self-imposed exile, obsessed with finding the
lone boy who was seen running from the flames.
World War Z, by Max Brooks
Through a series of oral interviews, Max Brooks, as an agent of the United Nations
Postwar Commission, describes the history of “World War Z”. (Each interview
serves a chapter.)
A Walk Across the Sun, Corban Addison
Corban Addison leads readers on a chilling, eye-opening journey into Mumbai’s
seedy underworld – and the nightmare of two orphaned girls swept into the
international sex trade.
The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright
Wright, a New Yorker writer, brings exhaustive research and delightful prose to one
of the best books yet on the history of terrorism.
Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya, Caroline
Elkins
This major work of history for the first time reveals the violence and terror at the
heart of Britain’s civilizing mission in Kenya.
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens
Author and journalist Christopher Hitchens criticizes religion as a malignant force.
Half the Sky, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
More girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls,
than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century. New York Times
columnist Kristof and his wife, WuDunn, a former Times reporter, make a
brilliantly argued case for investing in the health and autonomy of women
worldwide.
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, Manning Marable
Filled with startling new information and shocking revelations, Malcolm X unfolds
a sweeping story of race and class in America.
The Mis-Education of the Negro, Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson shows us the weakness of Euro-centric based curricula that fail
to include African-American history and culture.
Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese
Twin brothers, conjoined and then separated, grow up amid the political turmoil of
Ethiopia.
Brown Girl, Brownstones, Paule Marshall
This coming-of-age story centers on the daughter of Barbadian immigrants living in
Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II. A precursor to feminist
literature, this novel was written by and about an African-American woman.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight,
lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with
his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the
Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, James Weldon Johnson
This literary work tells of a biracial man’s coming-of-age at the beginning of the
20th century.
Colonizer and Colonized, Albert Memmi
Memmi discusses the minds of the oppressor as well as the oppressed. In addition,
he reveals the truth about colonialism and struggles that are as relevant today as
they were decades ago.
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