Students entering grades 10, 11 and 12 in September are required to read a minimum of three books from this list, or from a comparable selection.
Book Reports
Students must prepare a book report for each book (for a minimum total of three reports). Reports should be about a page in length (typed, double-spaced, or neatly handwritten), and submitted on the first day of class.
The report should include:
Important Note:
Please avoid titles that are taught in class: The Awakening by Chopin, Candide by Voltaire, Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury, Death of a Salesman by Miller, Metamorphosis by Kafka, Hamlet by Shakespeare, The House on Mango Street by Cisneros, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde, Fast Food Nation by Schlosser, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Ehrenrich, Outliers by Gladwell, Freakonomics by Dubner, A Streetcar Named Desire by Williams, Maus by Spiegelman, Animal Farm by Orwell, The Crucible by Miller, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain, The Things They Carried by O’Brian, The Rent Collector by Wright, The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leyson, Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, 1984 by Orwell, The Outsiders by Hinton, Divergent by Roth, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, The Alchemist by Coelho, The Stranger by Camus, Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky, The Joy Luck Club by Tan, Lord of the Flies by Golding, and Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare.
Other Books to Read
While the summer book list provides suggested reading, other titles may be appropriate. Adult bestsellers by such authors as James Michener, Michael Crichton, Susan Isaacs, Tom Clancy, John Grisham and Stephen King are acceptable, though students aspiring to honors work or college literature study should emphasize the classics. If in doubt about a title, talk to your teacher.
In addition to reading three books, students are expected to keep aware of current events by reading newspapers or weekly news magazines such as Time and Newsweek through the summer months.
Also acceptable: Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey, Martha Grimes, Rex Stout, Helen MacGinnis, Dick Francis, Tony Hillerman, Raymond Chandler, John LeCarre, Mary Higgins Clark.