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.
For Standard and Advanced students, 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 Response Options
Interview
Review It!
Graphic Expression
Create your own interview
questions for a character in
your story. Then, create the
answers to those questions
based on what you think your
character might say.
Complete an online book
review of the story you
read. Go to goodreads.com
and create an account to
review your book!
Take a scene or information
from your reading and turn it
into a graphic novel! Use
digital tools, drawing, or
overlay photography to create
the graphics in your novel.
Podcast
Directions:
And…...Action!
Create a podcast based
on your reading
selection. Discuss the
impact your reading has
on society and the
themes that emerged
from the reading.
Respond to your summer
reading with one or more of
the ideas in the squares, or
choose your own creative idea!
Create a commercial for your
reading material. Your
commercial/movie trailer can
be written, or you can actually
create a commercial and
videotape yourself talking
about and selling your summer
reading selections!
Newspaper Article
Report
Product
Create a front page
newspaper story
explaining your summer
reading choice. Describe
your reading selection,
give specific details about
the reading, and tell what
you learned
Answer the following
questions in 1-2 well
developed paragraphs: Which
character is the most
believable? Why? Which was
the most memorable? Why?
How do these characters (or
character) propel the plot and
theme of the story?
Create a visual representation
of your reading. It could be a
diagram, a drawing, a skit, a
storyboard or any other
creative idea!
Rising 9th Grade Reading Selections
Standard and Advanced English Courses
The Geography of
You and Me
Jennifer K.
Smith
The Plain Janes
(Book 1)
Cecil Castellucci
and Jim Rugg
Crackback
John Coy
*Tears of a Tiger
Sharon Draper
*How They Croaked:
the Awful Ends of the
Awfully Famous
Kevin O’Malley
Sparks fly when sixteen-year-old Lucy Patterson and seventeen-year-old Owen Buckley
meet on an elevator rendered useless by a New York City blackout. Soon after, the two
teenagers leave the city, but as they travel farther away from each other geographically,
they stay connected emotionally, in this story set over the course of one year.
YALSA Teen’s Top Ten (2015), Booklist starred (2014)
After a bombing in the city, Jane's parents move to a suburb where she befriends three
outcasts--all named Jane--and starts a group called People Loving Art in Neighborhoods,
which tries to enrich their community with art but instead is viewed as a threat. (Graphic
Novel)
School Library Journal starred (2007), Booklist starred (2007)
When Miles Manning, a successful high school football player, discovers his teammates are
using steroids--and one of them is his best friend--he's faced with a tough decision: Is he
willing to do what it takes to win? Football is his life, and his family, especially his dad, is
pinning its hopes on him. It's a lot of pressure for a high school junior to bear.
School Library Journal 2005, Wilson’s Senior High School 2007, Booklist starred 2005
The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident
adversely affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving, as well as many others
in their school. Contains references to suicide.
Notable/Best Books (ALA), School Library Journal, Booklist
The graphic details of the gory deaths of nineteen famous people are revealed in a
conversational manner in this often humorous, disgustingly appealing book. Readers will be
equally engaged and grateful for modern medical remedies! Some slang language
references to bodily functions and body parts.
YALSA Nonfiction nominee 2012
* May contain objectionable material
Reading Assignment for Pre-IB 9
Read both of the following books:
*Find Me Unafraid
Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner
*The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
* May contain objectionable material
DIRECTIONS FOR Find Me Unafraid: All IB students, along with members of our IB faculty, will be participating in
discussions of this text in September.
We will be working with the summer reading books in class. You may elect to take notes for later use. There is NO
required written component to be completed over the summer.
Rising 10th Grade Reading Selections
Standard and Advanced English Courses
Shelter
Harlan Coben
The Final Four
Paul Volponi
Delilah Dirk and the
Turkish Lieutenant
Tony Cliff
After Mickey witnesses his father's death and his mother's admission into rehab, he is sent
to live with his estranged uncle and changes high schools. When Mickey's new girlfriend,
Ashley, suddenly disappears Mickey refuses to let another person walk out of his life and
follows clues that reveal truths about both Ashley and Mickey's father. Agatha Award
Nominee for Best Childrens Young Adult (2011), Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult
(2012)
Four players at the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament struggle with the
pressures of tournament play and the expectations of society at large.
School Library Journal starred (March 2012), Booklist starred (February 2012), Bulletin of the
Center for Children's Books starred (March 2012)
Lovable ne'er-do-well Delilah Dirk is an Indiana Jones for the 19th century. She has traveled
to Japan, Indonesia, France, and even the New World. Using the skills she's picked up on the
way, Delilah's adventures continue as she plots to rob a rich and corrupt Sultan in
Constantinople. For Delilah, one adventure leads to the next in this thrilling and funny
installment in her exciting life. (Graphic Novel)
Booklist starred (2013)
When Nick and Allie are killed in a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls,
where although Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing--even skinjacking--to break free.
2009 ALA Popular Paperback List, 2008 School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2008
International Reading Association Young Adult Choice List, 2007 PEN USA Literary Award –
Finalist, 2007 Children’s Literature Council of Southern California “Fantastic Work of Fiction”
Deep in the Kalahari Desert, a Corpus lab protects a dangerous secret. But what happens
when that secret takes on a life of its own? When an educational safari goes wrong, five
teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide.
Everlost
Neal
Shusterman
Kalahari
Jessica Khoury
*I am a Seal Team
Six Warrior (special
Young Adult edition)
Howard Wasdin,
Stephen
Templin
Howard Wasdin overcomes a tough childhood to live his dream and enter the exciting and
dangerous world of U.S. Navy SEALS and Special Forces snipers.
* May contain objectionable material
Reading Assignment for Pre-IB 10
Read both of the first two books listed, and four of the listed short stories:
*Find Me Unafraid
Fahrenheit 451
Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner
Ray Bradbury
4 of the following short stories:
"A Doctor's Visit"
"Who was to Blame?"
"The Princess"
"The Black Monk"
"The Bishop"
"The Betrothed"
"Gooseberries"
Anton Chekhov
* May contain objectionable material
DIRECTIONS FOR Find Me Unafraid: All IB students, along with members of our IB faculty, will be participating in
discussions of this text in September.
We will be working with the summer reading books in class. You may elect to take notes for later use. There is NO
required written component to be completed over the summer.
Rising 11th Grade Reading Selections
Standard and Advanced English Courses
Bleachers
John Grisham
*Breathing
Underwater
Alex Flinn
*Half Bad
Sally Green
High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for
the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely
has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into
an unbeatable football dynasty. His boys relive their high school days as they mourn their
coach’s death.
Booklist 2003, New York Times 2003, School Library Journal 2003
Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen year-old Nick
recounts his relationship with her, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes
living with his abusive father. Contains strong language, violence, and references to sexuality.
Notable Books (ALA), School Library Journal
In modern-day England, where witches live alongside humans, Nathan, son of a White witch
and the most powerful Black witch, must escape captivity before his seventeenth birthday and
receive the gifts that will determine his future.
Booklist starred (2014), Junior Library Guild
Shift
Jennifer
Bradbury
X-Men: Magneto
Testament
Greg Pak
Lincoln’s Last Days:
the Shocking
Assassination That
Changed America
Forever
Bill O’Reilly,
Dwight Jon
Zimmerman
Some friends fade away....Others disappear. Imagine you and your best friend head out West
on a cross-country bike trek. Imagine that the two of you get into a fight -- and stop riding
together. Imagine you reach Seattle, go back home, start college. Imagine you think your
former best friend does too. Imagine he doesn't. Imagine your world shifting.... Shift is a tour
de force -- a literary debut that'll knock the wind out of you as it explores the depths of loyalty,
the depths of friendship, and the unknowable depths of another person.
Booklist starred 2008, School Library Journal 2008, Virginia Reader’s choice selection, Kirkus
Reviews starred 2008, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) 2008
Collects no. 1-5 of "X-Men: Magneto Testament" which relates Magneto's childhood as a
Jewish schoolboy in Germany during the reign of the Nazis. (Graphic Novel)
Adapted from Bill O’Reilly’s historical thriller, this gripping account of one of America’s most
dramatic nights—how one gunshot changed the country forever is accompanied by abundant
ilustrations, inlcuding period photographs, maps, and art.
* May contain objectionable material
Reading Assignment for IB 11
Read all three of the following books:
*Find Me Unafraid
*Station Eleven
Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner
Emily St. John Mandel
The Crucible
Arthur Miller
* May contain objectionable material
DIRECTIONS FOR Find Me Unafraid: All IB students, along with members of our IB faculty, will be participating in
discussions of this text in September.
We will be working with the summer reading books in class. You may elect to take notes for later use. There is NO
required written component to be completed over the summer.
Rising 12th Grade Reading Selections
Standard and Advanced English Courses
*Adrift
Paul Griffin
The Christopher Killer
Alane
Ferguson
Nothing Can Possibly
Go Wrong
Prudence
Shen & Faith
Erin Hicks
Matt and Mike are best friends, just two working-class guys trying to earn some money in
Montauk for the summer. When they meet Driana, JoJo, and Stef, three friends who live a
much different life of privilege, worlds collide when the group ventures out to sea aboard a
small boat that Stef sneaks out from a neighbor’s dock. As the waves rise and the fragile vessel
weakens, things go horribly wrong. Adrift at sea for days, who will have what it takes to
survive?
Publishers’ Weekly starred (2015)
Camryn Mahoney, the eighteen year-old daughter of the town’s coroner, becomes an active
participant in the investigation into the murder of one of her close friends. She not only gets an
inside look into the world of forensic science, she learns valuable lessons about whom to trust.
Contains factual details about an autopsy.
Edgar Award 2007, Heartland Award for Excellence in children’s Literature 2007, Black-eyed
Susan Book Award 2008-09 Nominee (Maryland State Reading List)
When the robotics club and the cheerleaders are both denied funding for their respective
organizations on grounds of abominable misbehavior, Nate enrolls the club's robot in a
battlebot competition in a desperate bid for prize money that will fund both groups. Nothing
can go wrong ... can it? (Graphic Novel)
Booklist starred (2013), School Library Journal starred (2013)
We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
*Lockdown
Alexander
Gordon Smith
*Ghosts of War: The
True Story of a 19
Year-Old GI
Ryan
Smithson
Each summer the wealthy, seemingly perfect, members of the Sinclair family gather on their
private island. We Were Liars is the story of those annual reunions; in particular what
happened during a summer that protagonist Cadence is unable to remember. Prejudice, greed,
and shifting patriarchal favoritism among the three adult sisters contrasts with the
camaraderie and worldview of the teenage cousins and their dear friend Gat. Lazy days of
sticky lemonades on the roof and marathon Scrabble games give way to twisty suspense, true
love, and good intentions gone horribly wrong.
Goodreads Choice 2014 winner
Futuristic. Alex, a 14-year-old who has been involved in crime for several years, describes his
life in a notorious underground prison a mile below the surface of the earth where he and
other teen boys are incarcerated for life. Alex and his savvy cellmate devise an escape plan.
Themes: fear, brutallity and loyalty. Students looking for a fast-paced read that deal in the
consequences of bad decisions, prison life and survival will be drawn to this book. There
are graphic descriptions of the violence of the prison officials, guards and inmates,
though none of the scenes are gratuitous.
Award winning British author
Follows young man’s journey as he joins the reserves following 9-11, his thought process about
which service he chooses, and why he marries after boot camp. This mature young man tells
the story of deployment to Iraq. Contains mildly graphic descriptions and mildly strong
language.
Starred Review: School Library Journal
* May contain objectionable material
Reading Assignment for IB 12
Read all three of the following books:
*Find Me Unafraid
The Stranger
Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner
Albert Camus
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
* May contain objectionable material
DIRECTIONS FOR Find Me Unafraid: All IB students, along with members of our IB faculty, will be participating in discussions of this
text in September.
We will be working with the summer reading books in class. You may elect to take notes for later use. There is NO
required written component to be completed over the summer.
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
Reading Assignment for AP 12
Your Summer Reading assignment is to read one of the AP novels and one other novel of your choice. You will then use the reference
book How to Read Literature Like a Professor and apply its concepts to both novels.
Required Text
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading between the Lines.
Revised ed. New York: Harper Perennial, 2014. Print.
Note: It is not necessary to read this entire book; rather, use this book as a reference to analyze your two novels.
AP Novels (choose ONE)
*The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
*The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin
*The Memory-Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards
*Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
* May contain objectionable material
Choice book
Read any novel of your choice
ASSIGNMENT
DIRECTIONS:
1. After you finish reading each novel, review it and find a significant passage (from one to three paragraphs) that
relates in some way to one of the chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Each of your passages
must relate to a different chapter. You should find two passages total--one from each novel.
2.
For each passage, write a one-page response paper (typed and double spaced), applying the ideas and
approaches in the relevant chapter of How to Read Literature to your analysis of and response to the passage.
For example, you might discuss the description of people coming in to dinner at the beginning of The Great
Gatsby in relation to Foster’s discussion of meals often being a kind of communion, a coming together of a
community.
3.
Title each response with the name of the chapter from How to Read Literature. At the top of the page, quote the
passage from your novel (at the least include the first and last sentence of the passage) and cite the page number in
parentheses.
For Standard and Advanced classes:
There are many excellent sources of additional titles to choose from if you don’t see something you like on
the list.
Virginia Readers’ Choice 2014-15 www.vsra.org/virginia‐readers‐choice/nominate‐vote/
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) 2014 www.ala.org/yalsa/
Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network Recommended Reading Lists:
http://www.haisln.org/images/HAISLN_9th‐10th_grade_2015.PDF
http://www.haisln.org/images/HAISLN_11th‐12th_2015.PDF
In addition to these links for alternate book choices, below is a list of other types of reading that may be
chosen for summer reading.


American Cheerleader magazine
Sports Illustrated magazine
 Thrasher Skateboarding magazine
 Teen Ink magazine
 Field and Stream magazine
 Buzzfeed.com
 theSkimm.com
 wonderopolis.org
Students can use their Pamunkey Regional Library card for FREE digital magazine access. The use of the free
online magazines requires students to use their Pamunkey Regional Library card and download the Zinio app
on their phone. Many of these magazines are also available for checkout in any of the public libraries in
Hanover County.
Please note that links to these lists are provided as a convenience for students and parents. Hanover County Public Schools
has not read or specifically endorses these lists. It is possible that some titles may contain objectionable material. If
students decide not to read titles from the Hanover County recommended list, parents and students are encouraged to
review the book’s content prior to making a selection.