SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
Purpose: To combat summer learning loss.
Objective: To engage students in summer reading for the enjoyment and to take responsibility
for their continued success in the classroom. To prepare students for success with the rigors of
the Common Core Curriculum and Exams, ACT and SAT tests, and their future success in postsecondary education and the working world.
Summer learning loss is not a work of fiction; it is very real. When we fail to exercise our
brains and continue to practice the skills we have recently learned, we lose the very skills we
need to continue to grow and be successful. Just like learning a new language, or perfecting your
ability to play a sport or instrument, if you do not practice, you will not be successful. According
to an article in The New York Times, “[this] learning loss is cumulative, summer after summer. It
has a tremendous impact on students’ success, including high school completion, post-secondary
education and work force preparedness.” Therefore, it is our goal at SSHS to encourage the
growth and achievement of our students. With the implementation of this reading program and
student and parental involvement, we can be successful in reducing the achievement gap our
schools try so hard to combat. It may be a baby step, but it is a step.
For the full article from The New York Time please follow this link: http://www.nytimes.com/
2011/07/28/opinion/28smink.html
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While at this time summer reading is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged and highly
recommended. For students who do choose to complete the summer reading there is an
assignment to go along with their reading. For their completion of the reading and the prescribed
assignment, students will receive the benefit of having their lowest quiz score dropped from their
first quarter of their English course.
All completed summer assignments are due to Mrs. Holmes by the second day of classes, August
26, 2014. Mrs. Holmes will then ensure that students’ work will be given to the appropriate
English teacher for credit.
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Thank you all for your support! Happy reading!
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Mrs. Jennifer Holmes and your SSHS English Department
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SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
Reading for students entering the 9th grade
!Students entering Grade 9 are strongly encouraged to read one or more novels for their enjoyment and for
their continued skill development during the summer vacation. The novels suggested in the list below are
thematically related to several of the topics students will explore in their English I course and are
appropriate for Common Core requirements. The first novel listed is the novel that we as English teachers
would want all students to read. Novels marked with an asterisk (*) are for advanced readers. You may
choose whichever novel(s) you wish.
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Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak
When Melinda Sordino's friends discover she called the police to quiet a party, they ostracize her, turning
her into an outcast --even among kids she barely knows. But even worse than the
harsh conformity of high-school cliques is a secret that you have to hide. Barnes and Noble.com Synopsis
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Maya Angelou
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
“…this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with
images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women, Angelou paints a
sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people—and the times—that
touched her life. Amazon.com Review
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Richard Adams
Watership Down*
First published in 1972, Richard Adam's extraordinary bestseller Watership Down takes us to a world we
have never truly seen: to the remarkable life that teems in the fields, forests, and riverbanks, far beyond
our cities and towns. It is a powerful saga of courage, leadership, and survival; and epic tale of a
hardy band of Berkshire rabbits forced to flee the destruction of their fragile community and their trials
and triumphs in the face of extraordinary adversity as they pursue a glorious dream
called "home." distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
Betty Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn*
“…a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relationships. The Nolans lived in the
Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919...Their daughter Francie and their son Neely knew
more than their fair share of the privations and sufferings that are the lot of a great city's poor. Primarily
this is Francie's book. from The New York Times
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Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games
SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins has created a fascinating dystopian world. Reading The Hunger
Games can lead to interesting discussions about our own world and how reality shows, threats of war,
authoritarian governments and obsession with fashion trends influence us daily. Due to the darkness of
the story, it is best suited for teens and adults rather than tweens.
Summer reading for students entering 10th grade
Students entering Grade 10 are strongly encouraged to read one or more novels for their enjoyment and for
their continued skill development during the summer vacation. The novels suggested in the list below are
thematically related to several of the topics students will explore in their English II course and are
appropriate for Common Core requirements. The first novel listed is the novel that we as English teachers
would want all students to read. Novels marked with an asterisk (*) are for advanced readers. You may
choose whichever novel(s) you wish.
!Ayn Rand
Anthem (1938)
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This is the story of one man’s rebellion against a totalitarian society. When the novel’s hero, Equality
7-2521, commits the unpardonable crime—independent thought—he sets himself in conflict with the moral
strictures of his world—a world in which all expressions of individualism have been suppressed, where the
very word “I” has been banished from the language—a world of joyless, selfless men permitted to exist only
for the sake of serving the group.
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!In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they
Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451
start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as
the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Guy Montag
meets a young girl who makes him question his profession and the values of the society in which he lives.
Amazon.com
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Syn*Khaled Hosseini
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The Kite Runner *
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This painful, moving, remarkable debut novel depicts the childhood, adolescence, and adulthood of a deeply
flawed
protagonist. Growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan, Amir feels unloved by his widowed father, who seems to care
more for
SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
Hassan, the son of their Hazara servant, Ali. Amir and Hassan are close but not quite friends. On what should
have been the best day of his young life, when he wins a kite-flying contest and finally some respect from
his father, Amir betrays Hassan and becomes haunted by guilt. Amir comes to California when the Soviets
invade his country but returns years later to rescue Hassan's orphaned son from the Taliban and redeem
himself. Library Journal Reviewopsis MATURE readers only!
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Rick Riordan!
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Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief
The series that started it all. Join the adventures of Percy Jackson and his demigod friends as they fight mythological
monsters and the forces of the titan lord Kronos.
Summer reading for students entering 11th grade
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Students entering Grade 11 are strongly encouraged to read one or more novels for their enjoyment and for
their continued skill development during the summer vacation. The novels suggested in the list below are
thematically related to several of the topics students will explore in their English II course and are
appropriate for Common Core requirements. The first novel listed is the novel that we as English teachers
would want all students to read. Novels marked with an asterisk (*) are for advanced readers. You may
choose whichever novel(s) you wish. AP III students have a separate assignment.
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Sue Monk Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees
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Fourteen-year-old Lily Owen, who is neglected and isolated on her father’s North Carolina peach farm,
becomes a runaway who finds the true meaning of family in the home of three black sisters who raise bees.
The story is set in the early 1960s against the background of racial violence and unrest. Amazon.com Review
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Tim O’ Brien
The Things They Carried
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SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
A collection of interrelated short fiction stories with recurring characters and an interwoven plot and
theme. These stories recreate the Vietnam War experiences and its psychological effects on an American
foot soldier.
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William Golding
Lord of the Flies
'If you like your books to have gripping and believable characters with a plot second to none, then Lord of
the Flies is for you' "Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?" Lord of the Flies isn't your
average book... A predictable setting for a story: a deserted island suddenly inhabited by a group of reckless
school boys. It's the perfect recipe for an adventure book like any other. Except...it's not like any other. Set
in an unspecified war period, a plane crashes, leaving a group of schoolboys stranded on a desert. Who
wouldn't want a whole island to play on all day without any nagging from the Adults? The unlikely
protagonists are the fair haired Ralph and his side-kick, appropriately named Piggy. Without any adults, the
boys realise that a leader must be elected in order to make sure that everyone has fun and doesn't act
unkindly. Aiman.A guardian.co.uk
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J.D. Salinger
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The Catcher in the Rye*
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Holden Caufield, the seventeen-year-old narrator and protagonist of the novel, addresses the reader
directly from a mental hospital or sanitarium in southern California. He wants to tell us about events that
took place over a two-day period the previous December. Typically, he first digresses to mention his older
brother, D.B., who was once a "terrific" short-story writer but now has sold out and writes scripts in nearby
Hollywood. The body of the novel follows. It is a frame story, or long flashback, constructed through
Holden's memory.
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Kathryn Stockett
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The Help
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Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. It is 1962, and her
mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her
beloved maid Constantine, but Constantine has disappeared, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary
SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
women whose determination forever changes a town and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers,
friends—view one another. The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the
ones we don’t. Amazon.com Review
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John Irving
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules is the story of Homer Wells, an orphan who fails to be adopted and as a result grows
up
in the orphanage of St. Cloud’s. It is also the story of Dr. Larch and his life at St. Cloud’s, his work as an
obstetrician and an abortionist, and his love for Homer Wells. The major theme of The Cider House Rules is
that individuals define their own rules by which to act and live despite societal dictates. In the case of this
novel, these rules contextualize the difficult issue of abortion.
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Summer reading for students entering 12th grade
SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
Students entering Grade 12 are strongly encouraged to read one or more novels for their enjoyment and for
their continued skill development during the summer vacation. The novels suggested in the list below are
thematically related to several of the topics students will explore in their English II course and are
appropriate for Common Core requirements. The first novel listed is the novel that we as English teachers
would want all students to read. Novels marked with an asterisk (*) are for advanced readers. You may
choose whichever novel(s) you wish. AP IV students have a separate assignment.
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Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre *
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As an orphan, Jane’s childhood is not an easy one, but her independence and strength of character sustain
her through
the miseries inflicted by cruel relatives and a brutal education system. Taking a job as a governess in a
house containing
dangerous secrets and a passionate man she finds increasingly attractive, Jane is ultimately forced to call on
her resources in order to hold fast to her beliefs. Amazon.com Synopsis
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Remarque!
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All Quiet on the Western Front*!
All Quiet on the Western Front is narrated by Paul Bäumer, a young man of nineteen who fights in the
German army on the French front in World War I. Paul and several of his friends from school joined the army
voluntarily after listening to the stirring patriotic speeches of their teacher, Kantorek. But after
experiencing ten weeks of brutal training at the hands of the petty, cruel Corporal Himmelstoss and the
unimaginable brutality of life on the front, Paul and his friends have realized that the ideals of nationalism
and patriotism for which they enlisted are simply empty clichés. They no longer believe that war is glorious
or honorable, and they live in constant physical terror.
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Yann Martel
The Life of Pi
The novel begins with the author describing in an author’s note his travels to India, where he meets a man
named Francis Adirubasamy in a coffeehouse in Pondicherry. His response to the author’s claim that he
needs inspiration is “I have a story that will make you believe in God.” After which he refers the author to
Piscine Patel in Toronto, who immediately begins to tell his own story. As a teenager in Pondicherry, India, Pi
Patel describes his family – himself, his parents, and his brother Ravi. He is constantly exploring new
opportunities and learning many odd and exciting things.
Deriving his full name (Piscine) from a world famous swimming pool in France, his parents are good friends
with Francis Adirubasamy (from the author’s note), a world class swimmer who often goes on about the
Piscine Molitor in Paris. He goes by Pi instead because his schoolmates make a big deal out of calling him
SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
“pissing” instead as it sounds similar. They all take to the name and from that point on, his name is no long
Piscine but Pi.
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Jon Krakauer
the Wild
!In April 1992 a young Into
man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the
wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in
savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and
invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How
McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild. Google Books Synopsis
Reading Journal
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In order to receive credit for completing your summer reading, you must answer ALL of the following prompts
carefully and thoroughly. Be sure to include relevant textual evidence to support your ideas. Also, don’t forget
to identify the novel’s title and author’s name!
Due: First Week of School (Turn in to English teacher if you are a fall semester course, to Mrs. Holmes if you
have English in the spring.)
Length: Approximately 3 pages, neatly handwritten or typed!
(a) Write a one-page reaction statement to the novel you read. Be specific in your thoughts about the points
that you liked or didn’t like about the novel, ideas that intrigued you, etc. Be sure to include specific
textual references (include page numbers) to support your reaction/thoughts.
(b) Cite a memorable passage of no more than thirty words or three sentences from the book (include page
number(s)). Explain why you have chosen this passage from the book.
(c) Describe your first impression of one character or event that you find interesting. Give at least three
examples of specific textual evidence (include page numbers) that support or generate this impression.
(d) ** Identify what causes a significant change in one character and describe the results of that change. This
change may be the consequence of a choice, a conflict of some kind that has to be resolved, a display of
some outstanding trait like courage, or even the result of an action/event that occurs during the story.
Whenever possible, include specific textual references (include page numbers) to support your
conclusions, especially those that help to illustrate or provide evidence of the character’s change.
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SSHS English Department Summer Reading List
2014-2015
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