High School
2001
Summer Reading List
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To prepare for the assessment of your summer reading, please take notes about your book on the following items: characters, setting, plot, theme, mood, tone symbols, significance of the title, author's techniques. If you purchased your book, use a highlighter to help you remember important points. You may refer to your notes during the assessment which will take place during the first week of the school year. Five percent of your quarter grade will be based on your successful reading of this book. Extra credit of up to two percent of your first quarter grade may be earned by reading more than one book |
Out of the Silent Planet
C.S. Lewis
This first book in Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” tells the story of Dr. Ransom,
abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Malacandra by spaceship.
On this red planet, Dr. Ransom’s adventures begin as he eludes his captors
and meets the intriguing beings on Malacandra.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
Set in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, this coming of age story follows
Francie Nolan, reader, thinker, and romantic, as she grows up.
When We Were Orphans
Kazuo Ishiguro
Christopher Banks, an orphaned English boy, born in the early 20th
century, returns to Shanghai as an acclaimed detective to pursue the mysterious
disappearance of his parents.
Plainsong
Kent Haruf
A mature story dealing with sensitive issues, this novel is about
eight main characters in the town of Holt, Colorado, who work together
to do what is right for each other.
A Walk to Remember
Nicholas Sparks
The year is 1958, and Landon Carter has no idea that his falling in
love with the quiet “preacher’s kid,” Jamie Sullivan, is about to change
his life forever.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Tracy Chevalier
Inspired by Vermeer’s painting of the same name, this is an elegant
and intriguing story of a young peasant girl’s coming-of-age in 17th century
Holland.
Interpreter of Maladies
Jhumpa Lahire
This book features stories about the immigrant experience of Indians
in America and how they try to balance their lives between the traditions
they inherited and the new ideas in America.
At Home in Mitford
Jan Karon
This is the first in the popular series about Father Tim, his dog,
and all the characters populating the small rural town of Mitford.
Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
This story is told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price,
a fierce, evangelical Baptist, who takes his family as missionaries from
Georgia to the Belgian Congo in 1959. The members of this family
understand each other no better than they understand the African people
they have come to “save.”
Wasted
Marya Hornbacher
An honest, unsettling memoir written by a woman who struggled with
both anorexia and bulimia for 14 years, this paperback portrays what it
is like to be in the depths of these illnesses.
It’s Not About the Bike
Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins
This is Lance Armstrong’s inspiring life story, from his beginning
in bicycle racing through his defeat of cancer.
In a Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson
Humorist and travel writer Bill Bryson takes his readers to Australia
for a funny but provocative glimpse of this unique country.
Circle of Magic #1: Sandry’s
Book
Tamara Pierce
Four young misfits are brought to Winding Circle, a center of learning
for magic. Although misfits in their home lives, they each have a
special gift to offer the world.
Enchantment
Orson Scott Card
Card has woven threads of history, religion, and myth together into
a convincing time-hopping tale that is part love story, part adventure.
Bellwether
Connie Willis
This novel lampoons society’s herd mentality. A statistician,
who studies fads and their meaning, and a scientist, who studies group
behavior and the chaos theory, discover a joint project in a flock of sheep
then fall in love.
Blue Gold
Clive Cussler
Control of the world’s freshwater resources is sought by a global organization
in an attempt to dominate the economics of the world. The National
Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) works to uncover and thwart this diabolical
scheme.
The Killer’s Cousin
Nancy Werlin
After being acquitted of murder, 17-year-old David goes to stay with
relatives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he finds himself forced to
face his past as he learns more about his strange, young cousin Lily.
A Cold Day in Paradise
Steve Hamilton
In the small town of Paradise, Michigan, a murder with Maximilian Rose’s
unmistakable trademarks occurs. Rose has been locked in the state
pen for years. McKnight must unravel the truth about the crime in
this town that is now anything but Paradise.
Fair Ball: A Fan’s Case for
Baseball
Bob Costas
Sportscaster Bob Costas discusses the economic state of baseball and
offers his ideas on how to level the playing field for all baseball teams.
This is a must-read for fans of baseball.
Shots on Goal
Rich Wallace
There is hope that Sturbridge’s soccer team will win the league championship
for the first time. To do this, they will have to work together as
a team, and teamwork is what they are missing.
Slo-Mo
Rick Reilly
Slo-Mo is a nice guy. NBA sharks devour him; his agent robs him
blind. A footwear executive blackmails him to endorse shoes.
For those who idolize pro-athletes, this book might lead them to ask, “How
much do I love this game?”
Home and Away
Scott Simon
One fan’s love affair with Chicago sports, this book abounds in sketches
of Ernie Banks, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Michael Jordan, and others.
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
The novel’s title is Speak, but it is the silence of the main
character, Melinda, a ninth grader, that dominates. Her silence is
the result of being raped by a male classmate. Melinda has a final
encounter with her rapist that forces her to emerge from hiding and to
speak.
Burning Up
Carolyn Cooney
While researching the history of a burned-out barn, 15-year-old Macey
Clare discovers a destructive secret hidden in her quiet Connecticut hometown.
She also discovers her own power to change others’ attitudes.
Monster
Walter Dean Myers
Written as though it were a film script, Monster describes 16-year-old
Steve Harmon, accused accomplice in a cold-blooded murder.
Tears of a Tiger
Sharon Draper
Drinking and driving is the cause of an accident that kills Andy’s
best friend and captain of his high school team. Unable to stop blaming
himself, Andy commits suicide. The book is a realistic story about
high school sports stars.