RBHS Summer Reading 2007

The Assessment: Most students will be assessed (tested) in their English class. Students should prepare for the assessment by noting such things as character descriptions, themes, setting, plot, mood, tone, symbols, the significance of the title, and author's techniques. Historical context, relationship to personal or world events, and evidence of author bias are other aspects to consider. Students will be permitted to refer to their notes during the assessment. If the student owns the book, he/she is encouraged to take notes, or to highlight important aspects or passages during a second reading -- the first time through should be just for pure enjoyment.

To Buy or To Borrow the Book?: The local public libraries will purchase copies of all our books, and they encourage our students to visit them and borrow the books. Students may certainly do well on the assessment if they read a book from a library and take notes on paper to help them remember important aspects. The RB Library will also own at least two copies of each book on the general list, as well as many of the title on the AP lists, but students should not count on those being available if they wait until school begins in the fall to begin their reading.

If a student wants to make notes directly on the pages of the book, he/she must purchase a copy of their own. Students may visit any of a number of local bookstores - all have been notified of our list, and may have extra copies on hand. Online bookstores also are sources for purchasing a copy.

Advanced Placement Requirements: Students enrolled in either AP U.S. History, AP World History, or AP European History may use one of the books they read for that class to also write their assessment for their English class --- unless they are also enrolled in an AP English class, which has its own special requirement. Students in an AP English class must read the specific book(s) required for that class.

General List
All students not enrolled in AP Literature, AP Lang/Comp, AP U.S. History, AP World History, AP Euro,
or the SEE Team must choose at least one of the following books to read during the summer.

Categories

Classic Fiction Contemporary Literature Sports Science Fiction Young Adult Mysteries Non-Fiction

Classic Fiction

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Left in the custody of an uncaring aunt, Jane overcomes the hardness of relatives and the tyranny of boarding school to become an accomplished young teacher. She becomes a governess and falls in love with the master of the house.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

The summer of ‘28 was a vintage season for a growing boy. A summer of green apple trees, mowed lawns, and new sneakers. Of half-burnt firecrackers, of gathering dandelions, of Grandma’s belly-busting dinner. It was a summer of sorrows and marvels and gold-fuzzed bees. A magical, timeless summer in the life of a twelve-year-old boy named Douglas Spaulding.

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Contemporary Literature

La Linea by Ann Jaramillo

When Miguel, 15, leaves San Jacinto, Mexico, to join his parents in California, his sister, Elena, 13, secretly follows him. Together with their guides they barely survive a harrowing journey through the desert and across la linea, the border.

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

A variety of people and personalities have been selected to compete on Lost and Found, a daring new reality TV show. In teams of two, they will race across the globe battling for a million dollar prize. What starts as a lark turns deadly serious as the number of players is whittled down, temptations beckon, and the bonds between partners strain and unravel.

My Jim by Nancy Rawles

Story of Sadie Watson, wife of Jim who was left behind when he joined Huck Finn. When their master dies, Sadie and her children are sold. Jim is beaten and runs away when he tries to visit her. This story is a vivid portrayal of hard times and love.

March by Geraldine Brooks

Follows Mr. March, father of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women during his Civil War experiences. While writing cheerful letters home March reveals to the reader what he is not telling his family: cruelty, racism, violence and suffering. The story switches to Mrs. March and her reaction when she uncovers the truth about her husband’s life.

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Sports

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis

Michael Oher, 15, 350 pounds and six-feet-five-inches tall, living on the Memphis streets is adopted into a wealthy family whose mission is to find him an opportunity to use his physical gifts to play football.

Three Clams and an Oyster by Randy Powell

During their humorous search to find a fourth player for their flag football team, three high school juniors are forced to examine their long friendship, their individual flaws, and their inability to try new experiences.

Black and White by Paul Volponi

Marcus and Eddie are best friends and high school basketball stars who turn to armed robbery for spending money. When they are caught and go through the legal system, they find out how important one’s race can be (Marcus is black and Eddie is white).

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Science Fiction

Firestorm by David Klass

After learning that he has been sent from the future to save the earth, 18-year-old Jack receives help from an unusual dog and a shape-shifting female fighter. Ecology, adventure, suspense

Life as we Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Through journal entries Miranda, 16, describes her family’s struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

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Young Adult

Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

After being assigned to perform community service in a nursing home, Alex, 16, befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

A story of growing up in high school. Charlie’s letters are more than a diary. They are unique, hilarious and devastating. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course.

Saint Iggy by K. L. Going

Iggy Corso, who lives in city public housing, is caught physically and spiritually between good and bad when he is kicked out of high school, goes searching for his missing mother, and causes his friend to get involved with the same dangerous drug dealer who deals to his parents.

Street Love by Walter Dean Myers

Damien, 17, a basketball champion and academic star, is accepted into a top college. He falls in love with Junice, 16, who is desperate to protect her little sister after their single-parent mom is sentenced to 25 years for dealing drugs. This novel is a collection of poems, with each character represented by different writing styles—from rap when Damien is with his best friend to poetic with lots of metaphors when Junice describes how she feels.

If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan

Hilary Burke, a young Neo-Nazi, is in a coma after a motorcycle accident. Ironically, she has been taken to a Jewish hospital and shares a room with elderly Chana, an Auschwitz survivor. Through Chana’s memories, Hilary is transported back to World War II, experiencing the horrors suffered by Polish Jews trying to survive in the Lodz ghetto and in the concentration camp.

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Mysteries

Fake ID by Walter Sorrells

After a lifetime of moving and assuming new identities, 16-year-old Chass begins to piece together the disturbing past that haunts her and her mother which involves a mysterious tape, a deceased popular singer, and the secrets of several people in a small Alabama town.

Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons

When his father is framed for murder and bioterrorism, high school junior Evan, using clues from a stolen laptop, travels from Seattle to Paris with two friends to find the real culprit.

Zoo, a Novel by Graham Marks

After Cam Stewart, 17, escapes from the kidnappers who took him in front of his San Diego home, he continues a dangerous adventure that includes finding a mysterious chip in his arm which leads him to question his identity.

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Non-Fiction

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama

Obama tells of his life as the son of a white mother being raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. His African father came into his life once or twice, but Obama reconnected with his father’s family and his African heritage on a visit to Africa. We read of his early years working for a nonprofit organization in south side Chicago.

Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert

On the burgeoning shelf of cautionary but occasionally alarmist books warning about the consequences of dramatic climate change, Kolbert’s calmly persuasive reporting stands out for its sobering clarity. Expanding on a three-part series for the New Yorker, Kolbert lets facts rather than polemics tell the story: in essence, it’s that Earth is now nearly as warm as it has been at any time in the last 420,000 years and is on the precipice of an unprecedented “climate regime, one with which modern humans have had no prior experience.”

Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky by Farah Ahmedi

7-year-old Farah living in war-torn Afghanistan used to daydream about climbing a towering ladder to see what was on the other side of the sky. Today she is 17, living in a western suburb of Chicago. What happened when she woke up late one morning and decided to take a shortcut to school 10 years ago is the basis for this book, which won the Good Morning America and Simon & Schuster “The Story of My Life” contest.

SEE Team (School of Environmental Education)
Freshmen who are enrolled in the SEE program will read both of
the following books instead of one from the General list

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

An ecological mystery, made up of endangered miniature owls, the Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House scheduled to be built over their burrows, and the owls’ unlikely allies — three kids determined to beat the screwed-up adult system

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. This is a comical and inspiring book that appeals to history buffs, environmentalists, and athletes.

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AP Literature Choose one of the following titles
The Road by Cormac McCarthy In a barren, ashen landscape that was once the United States of America, a weary man and his young son are traveling south in search of the ocean. They scavenge for food and shelter, and they must constantly avoid marauding bands of fellow survivors who would prey on them. The man assures his son that they are “the good guys”, but in this novel McCarthy forces us to explore the definitions of good and evil.		Empire Falls by Richard Russo Miles Roby has been slinging burgers at the Empire Grill for 20 years, a job that cost him his college education and much of his self-respect. What keeps him there? It could be his bright, sensitive daughter Tick, who needs all his help surviving the local high school. Or maybe it’s Janine, Miles’ soon-to-be ex-wife, who’s taken up with a noxiously vain health-club proprietor. Or perhaps it’s the imperious Francine Whiting, who owns everything in town and seems to believe that everything includes Miles himself.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Eugenides weaves together a kaleidoscopic narrative spanning 80 years of a stained family history, from a fateful incestuous union in a small town in early 1920s Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit; from the early days of Ford Motors to the heated 1967 race riots; from the tony suburbs of Grosse Pointe and a confusing, aching adolescent love story to modern-day Berlin.		The Known World by Edward P. Jones Caldonia Townsend is an educated black slaveowner, the widow of a well-loved young farmer named Henry, whose parents had bought their own freedom, and then freed their son, only to watch him buy himself a slave as soon as he had saved enough money. Although a fair and gentle master by the standards of the day, Henry Townsend had learned from former master about the proper distance to keep from one's property. After his death, his slaves wonder if Caldonia will free them.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson The narrator, John Ames, is 76, a preacher who has lived almost all of his life in Gilead, Iowa. He is writing a letter to his almost seven-year-old son, the blessing of his second marriage. It is a summing-up, an apologia, a consideration of his life. Robinson takes the story away from being simply the reminiscences of one man and moves it into the realm of a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.

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AP World History Choose two of the following titles Note: students enrolled in AP World History may also use one of these for their non-AP English class Summer Reading assessment.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah An account of a 12-year-old boy who gets caught up in Sierra Leone’s Civil War in the 1990’s.		Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe A book that deals with colonialism in Africa and its effects on the traditional ways.
1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies An intriguing historical case for the idea that the Chinese beat Columbus to America by 70 years.	Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende Set in a country of arbitrary arrests, disappearances and summary executions, this novel tells of two people prepared to risk everything for the sake of justice. The reality of overcrowded morgues and mass graves is contrasted with the colorful landscape of South America.	The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini An Afghan story about fathers, sons, friendship, and betrayal placed in Afghanistan and America from pre-Soviet times to the present.
Haing Ngor: A Cambodian Odyssey by Haing S. Ngor A book about the brutality and terror under Pol Pot’s rule of Cambodia.	Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang A book about a girl caught up in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and her ability to cope with the terror and chaos.	Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi The author, daughter of a former charismatic mayor of pre-revolutionary Tehran, chronicles a private literature class she started in Tehran after she left her last teaching post over a refusal to wear the veil.
Thousand Cranes by Kawabata Yasunari A story by a Nobel-Prize-winning author about the tea ceremony as a backdrop for a man’s relationship with two separate women in postwar Japan.		The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri This Indian story follows the intertwined fates of two neighboring families, as the homeless man who sleeps on their apartment stairs landing dies.

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AP European History Choose two of the following titles Note: students enrolled in AP European History may also use one of these for their non-AP English class Summer Reading assessment.
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester Describes the making of the Oxford English Dictionary by volunteer contributors, one of them a certified lunatic in an asylum.	Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen. After re-enacting Magellan’s adventurous journey in 2001, the author shared his own experiences, along with compiled research including satellite images, sailor’s testimony, a log of Magellan’s pilot, and other eyewitness accounts.	The Battle That Shook Europe: Poltava & the Birth of the Russian Empire by Peter Englund By defeating the Swedish king at Poltava, Peter the Great ended the rule of the Swedish Empire and heralded the rise of Russia, the effects of which would be felt for 300 years.
The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History by Derek Saver Tracks the growth of Czech nationalism through literature, art, architecture, language, and music to provide a thorough story of how the Czechs shed the oppression of the German and Austrian reigns to become a distinct people.	The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr In 1992 a young art student uncovered a clue that led to the discovery of a painting lost for over 200 years. This book uncovers the world of art restoration but it’s really a detective story. We learn about Caravaggio, the violence-prone but gifted painter hounded by his fans and by the law.	Marie Antoinette: the Journey by Antonia Fraser A personal and empathetic look at France’s unhappiest queen, beginning at age 14 when she was married off to the future king, to further Austria’s interests in France.
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom A survivor of the Nazi death camps, Ten Boom tells of her ordeal.	Paris: The Secret History by Andrew Hussey A readable, impressively researched, shockingly violent alternative history of Paris which illuminates the city’s gutters, slaughters, riots, underbellies, and crimes.	The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson A behind-the-scenes look at the 1850’s cholera epidemic in London and the pioneering doctor who promoted the new idea that disease spreads by contamination (germs) rather than through smells in the air.
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman Describes the people and events that led up to World War I.	Michelangelo & the Pope’s Ceiling, by Ross King The story behind the art, and the history & politics that came into play, most notably those of Pope Julius II, the corrupt & autocratic leader.	The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn Both memoir and history, in this book the author tells of his search for the fate of his great-uncle’s family, lost during the Holocaust in Poland.
Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Secret Past by Giles Tremlett Exposes the social and political history of Spain, from its Civil War to today.	Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine by Anna Reid Talking to peasants and politicians, rabbis and racketeers, dissidents and paramilitaries, survivors of Stalin’s famine and of Nazi labor camps, the author charts Ukraine’s tragic past and explores its struggles to build a national future.	Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas Tells of the life of a 18th and 19th-century British abolitionist, an unsung hero who truly changed the world.

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AP United States History Choose two of the following titles Note: students enrolled in AP U.S. History may also use one of these for their non-AP English class Summer Reading assessment.
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose President Thomas Jefferson authorized Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition to find an all-water route across the western two-thirds of the continent, and to discover and describe what Jefferson had bought from Napoleon.	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown First published in 1970, this book changed the way Americans think about the original inhabitants of their country. Beginning with the Long Walk of the Navajos in 1860 and ending 30 years later with the massacre of Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee in South Dakota, it tells how the American Indians lost their land and lives to a dynamically expanding white society.	Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis In a series of historical vignettes, the reader learns about (among other things) the famous but mysterious duel between Hamilton and Burr, the awkward problem of slavery in the 1790s, the collaboration between James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, George Washington's farewell, and the famous relationship between John Adams and Jefferson.
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz A foreign war correspondent returns home and studies the lasting impact of America's Civil War along with the re-enactors who continually relive it.	1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky Covers topics such as the Vietnam War, student movements throughout the world, Soviet repression, The summer Olympics in Mexico City, a presidential election in the U.S., and an attempted uprising in Czechoslovakia. The author exposes both heroes and villains in world events, and brings to life an exciting and chaotic time in history.	The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson Chicago World's Fair 1893 intertwines with the story of two men: the architect behind the 1893 World's Fair and the serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen The author blasts history textbooks as bland and inaccurate, giving specific critiques regarding ten common topics, from the Pilgrims to the Vietnam War.	The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley A great autobiography, for many reasons: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans.	Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham Meacham highlights Roosevelt's and Churchill's shared backgrounds as sons of the ruling elite, their genuine, gregarious friendship, and their common worldview during staggeringly troubled times.
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara Inspiring and informative accounting of the Battle of Gettysburg, including characterizations of all the major personalities on both sides of the battle.	The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto The Dutch colony established in the wilderness known as Manhattan pre-dated the “original” thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony.	Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe This book was revolutionary in 1852 for its passionate indictment of slavery and for its presentation of Tom, "a man of humanity," as the first black hero in American fiction. Harriet Beecher Stowe was appalled by slavery, and she took one of the few options open to nineteenth century women who wanted to affect public opinion: she wrote a novel, a huge, enthralling narrative that claimed the heart, soul, and politics of pre-Civil War Americans. It is unabashed propaganda and overtly moralistic, an attempt to make whites - North and South - see slaves as mothers, fathers, and people with (Christian) souls.
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell This NPR contributor takes readers on a pilgrimage of sorts to the sites and monuments that pay homage to Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley, the victims of the first three presidential assassinations. Vowell brings into sharp focus not only the figures involved in the assassinations, but the social and political circumstances that led to each.

At Riverside Brookfield High School we value reading for both recreational and curricular purposes. The philosophy for our summer reading program encompasses both of those purposes. Some of our Advanced Placement courses require summertime reading to allow students to read and absorb books relevant to that curriculum which they might not have time for during the school year. Students not enrolled in those AP courses are expected to select a book from the "general list." The purpose of general summer reading is twofold: to maintain reading skills and to expand a student's area of interest and knowledge.
Answers to some of your questions:
The Assessment	To buy or to borrow the book?	Advanced Placement Requirements
Contact information, if you have other questions

The Lists
General Reading List
AP World History (choose two)	SEE Team (School of Environmental Education) (read both)	AP Literature (choose one)
AP European History (choose two)	AP U.S. History (choose two)	AP Language & Composition (read both)

Doreen Fritz Department Chair of Library & Instructional Technology (708) 442-7500, ext. 117 E-mail: fritzd	AP English Requirements George Miller Department Chair - English (708) 442-7500, ext. 157, VM 157 E-mail: millerg	AP History Requirements John Beasley Department Chair - Social Studies (708) 442-7500, ext. 133, VM 243 E-mail: beasleyj
All e-mail addresses are @rbhs208.org