Grade 12 Summer Reading List
Amesbury Public Library
AHS Summer Reading: English Department
- All AHS students are expected to read during the summer. Read one book from “Faculty Favorites” and then find the requirements for the English class you will enter in the fall. That will describe what you are expected to do. Enjoy!
AHS SUMMER READING BOOK GROUP 2008
FACULTY FAVORITES SELECTION
AHS staff members have selected the following books that they enjoy for Summer Reading. Every AHS student will select ONE title from the list below to read. In the fall on Thursday, September 11,2008 you will participate in a book discussion led by the teacher who selected the book. Select an author, title, and style that you will enjoy reading. Your “ticket” into the Book Discussion in the fall will be your completed Journal Questions. Journals will be used in the discussion, and then collected to be given to your English teacher. This book “counts” as one of your required Summer Reading books for English class.
FACULTY FAVORITES JOURNAL QUESTIONS: [write down the following information]
Student name:
Title: Author:
3 Entries: SELECT a minimum of 3 QUOTES OR STATEMENTS throughout the book that you wish to discuss. Copy the STATEMENT and record the page number. Write why you picked this STATEMENT [ refer to any of the suggested reasons below.] Each REASON RESPONSE should be a minimum of 10 LINES.
- Shows an important detail about the setting [explain how]
- Shows an important theme or idea in the book
- Shows an important symbol’s meaning
- Shows an important style element [humor, suspense, argument, character, etc]
- Shows something you learned from this book
- Shows something you agree or disagree with
- Shows something you didn’t understand
Final Recommendation: Write a conclusion statement in your Journal that finishes the following sentence: THIS BOOK [SHOULD / SHOULD NOT] BE ADDED TO THE AHS READING LIST BECAUSE ……
SELECTIONS: PICK 1
Title: Wilderness Author: Robert B. Parker Style: Mystery
Description: Enjoy a detective mystery that is set in Canada’s wilderness.
Staff: Thad Ackerman
Title: Silent Spring Author: Rachel Carson Style: Nonfiction
Description:
“A remarkable woman.” A brilliant scientist! She has made the single greatest scientific impact in the history of the United States. Ironically, she died of the very same problem in which she was writing!
Staff: Wayne P. Adams
Title: Never Give Up- My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL.
Author: Tedy Bruschi with Michael Holley Style: Sports memoir
Description:
This book gives readers the behind-the-scenes look at the ordeal Tedy Bruschi, his family and team went through with the onset of his stroke just weeks after winning a third Super Bowl. Readers will get to know one of the most popular, toughest and energetic Patriots of all time. As Tom Brady wrote in the “Foreward,” “There are a lot of reasons to look up to him, and I promise you will finish this book with an admiration for him on a much deeper level.” A book for all football, sports and Patriots fans alike.
Staff: Steven Bastien
Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven Author: Mitch Albom Style: Fiction
We all know someone whose life may seem mundane and common but this person has not been isolated in the world. We all have an impact on each other, some small, some large; we remember some, while others we pass by without a second thought. This book tells the story of how Eddie had touched lives. These 5 people with whom he has had some connection will be waiting in “heaven” to reveal what his life was all about.
Staff: Kathy Beaudoin
Title: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog Author: John Grogan
Description: This heartwarming memoir is the unforgettable story of a family and their wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. For all pet lovers
Staff: Mrs. Boody
Title: My Sister’s Keeper Author: Jodi Picoult Style: Fiction
Description:
Is it ethical for parents to genetically create a child for the sole purpose of becoming a donor match for their sick child? This question and more are at the heart of this book. Jodi Picoult creates a heart warming tale about a loving family, the relationships with one another and the struggle for life. Each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view; so, just when you think you know how you feel on the subject, you are given another side. My Sister’s Keeper is a must read Jodi Picoult novel. If you’ve never read one of her books before, welcome to the fan club. It will inspire a summer of reading.
Staff: Jean Brockmyre
Title: Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage and Triumph
Author: Travis Roy and E.M. Swift Style: Sports and Adventure Biography
Description:
“Eleven Seconds is a story about America’s love affair with sports and the people who embrace its never-die spirit. Most of all, it is the story of one young man who surrendered to no limits and defied all odds, both before and after the tragedy that ended his game.” –www.hatchettebookgroupusa.com Staff: Tricia Cignetti
Title: The Kite Runner Author: Khaled Hosseini Style: Novel
Description:
Unforgettable. Powerful. Gripping. These words describe the epic, realistic tale of a wealthy Afghan boy name Amir. His soul-searching journey spans two continents and many political, familial, and personal upheavals. From Kabul, Amir is haunted by his decision to betray his best friend Hasaan, the son of a Hazara servant. The forefront of this novel is Amir’s coming of age story; the backdrop is the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban. The book focuses on the boyhood friendship between Amir and Hasaan and the strained relationship between Amir and his father Baba. It is a beautiful and horrifying story of survival- so intense that you won’t want to put it down! Staff: Mrs. Daileanes
Title: Into the Wild Author: Jon Krakauer Style: non-fiction
Description: Tracks the disastrous journey of young Chris McCandless who disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness seeking enlightenment.
Staff: Mr. Dodier
Title: Finn Author: Jon Clinch Style: Fiction
Description:
Embarking from a scene in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Clinch has written a debut novel of harrowing intensity. He uses details and much of Twain’s plotting, characters, and themes, to create a story at once intricately entwined with Huckleberry Finn and separate from that novel in tone and focus. He sets his sights on humanity’s immense capacity for evil. Clinch’s book contains many surprises, but some find it too gruesome, and too void of hope.
Staff: Ann Fuller
Title: Water for Elephants Author: Sara Gruen Style: Novel
Enter the world of the 1930”s traveling circus and journey back in time to Jacob’s first hand account of heartache, drama, grit, and love. Some adult, explicit content.
Staff: Mrs. Gallagher
Title: Nineteen Minutes Author: Jodi Picoult Style: Mystery
Description:
In this emotionally charged novel, Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different. Deals with contemporary issues of bullying and school violence. Staff: Mrs. Hoyt
Title: The Lord of the Rings Author: J.R.R. Tolkien Style: Fantasy
Description:
Great work by English philologist and WWI veteran that explores the nature of power and the potential of the individual to make a difference. The movies do no justice to the immense creative effort of this great friend of C.S. Lewis (Narnia series author). Highly recommended for enjoyment. Staff: P. Jancewicz
Title: The Dante Club Author: Matthew Pearl Style: Historical Fiction
Description: This bestseller is set in 19th century Boston. A series of unsolved murders is investigated by a group of famous figures such as Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes in the Dante Club, who notice patterns in the crimes from Dante’s Inferno. Staff: Bob Kelly
Title: Anthropologist on Mars or The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat
Author: Oliver Sacks Style: Nonfiction- medical mysteries
Description:
Sacks is the doctor who was played by Robin Williams in the movie “Awakenings”. His books are stories about people with brain damage and the effects on them. We are talking about Autism, Tourette’s, etc. In some cases these people become more skilled at certain things like art or music. Many of the victims are functioning adults with strange abilities or lack of abilities. Staff: Barbara Leary
Title: The Count of Monte Cristo Author: Alexandre Dumas Style: Classic novel
Description:
Love, greed, betrayal, revenge. A classic adventure story.
Staff: Mrs. McComiskey
Title: Pensees Author: Blaise Pascal Style: French philosophy
Description:
Pensees means thoughts. In this work, Pascal expresses his poetic, insightful, thought-provoking and inspirational comments on life.
Staff: Denise Minnard
Title: Celestine Prophesy Author: James Redfield Style: Fiction, adventure
Description:
Celestine Prophesy is an adventure to seek an ancient Peruvian manuscript which contains pieces of wisdom the human race will need to lift to a higher level of thought and spirituality. This is a story of one man’s pursuit in discovering a better way to live.
Staff: Diane Pendergast
Title: Never Cry Wolf Author: Farley Mowat Style: Nature/science
Description:
Fairly easy to read, well-written. First person account of Mowat’s time studying arctic wolves. As a newly graduated zoologist, Mowat is sent north to determine if the wolf is responsible for the decline in the caribou population. Told with humor, it also illustrates many of the misconceptions about wolves and the impact of humans on the natural world. Staff: Cindy Richmond
Title: The Watchmen Author: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Style: Graphic novel
Description:
This stunning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of superheroes plagued by all too human failings. The concept of the super hero is dissected and inverted as strangely realistic characters are stalked by an unknown assassin. Originally published as a 12 issue series in 1986 and 1987, Watchmen remains one of DC Comics’ most popular graphic novels. Staff: Mia Rowlands
Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven Author: Mitch Albom Style: Fiction
We all know someone whose life may seem mundane and common but this person has not been isolated in the world. We all have an impact on each other, some small, some large; we remember some, while others we pass by without a second thought. This book tells the story of how Eddie had touched lives. These 5 people with whom he has had some connection will be waiting in “heaven” to reveal what his life was all about. Staff: Brett Twombly
Title: Maus I and II Author: Art Speigelman Style: Graphic novel/Holocaust History
Description:
A biography of Vladek Speigelman, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, written by his son. The book encompasses two stories as Art describes his father’s survival and deals with their relationship. The long term ramifications of the Holocaust through time and generations plays out through the cartoon of cats (Nazis) versus mice (Jews).
Staff: Kristen Walsh
GRADE 12 SUMMER READING LIST
Senior Reading Lists 2009
SENIOR SUMMER READING LIST : 2009 For all students entering SENIOR English in the fall of 2009. Some copies of books are available at the Amesbury Public Library during the summer. You may also purchase your own copies at area bookstores, such as Envelop the Moment at 5 Market Square. Students will select ONE book from the FACULTY FAVORITES LIST to read for ONE of their Summer Reading books. That book and its journal are DUE SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 [See that list] THEN, Students will read another REQUIRED book depending on the SENIOR English course they registered for [college prep or honors]. The titles have been selected to help prepare you for contemporary Literature which you will be studying in Senior English. Discussions and activities using your reading will be an important part of your class. Journal[s] due Thursday, September 3, 2009. Journal Questions are on the back of this sheet. [Students who pre-registered for AP Literature have a different List.] HONORS ENGLISH: READ THREE BOOKS.
All students entering Honors English are required to read three (3) works. Complete Summer Reading Journal entries for each REQUIRED BOOK by Thursday, September 3, 2009.
1. FACULTY FAVORITES BOOK / JOURNAL [due Sept. 11]
2. REQUIRED TITLE: The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
3. CHOOSE ONE WORK from this list of REQUIRED Contemporary Authors:
*Journals for books 2&3 due Sept. 3
Ambrose, Stephen
Atwood, Margaret
Brown, Dan
Conroy, Pat
Dubus Jr., Andre
Irving, John
Junger, Sebastian
Kerouac, Jack
Picoult, Jodi
Russo, Richard
Sebold, Alice
Shaara, Michael
Shreve, Anita
Tan, Amy
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Tyler, Anne
Vonnegut, Kurt
Walker, Alice
COLLEGE PREP ENGLISH: READ TWO BOOKS.
1. FACULTY FAVORITES SELECTION [due Sept. 11]
2. REQUIRED TITLE: Select ONE work by one of the REQUIRED CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS [above]. Journal due Friday, September 3, 2009. SUMMER READING: ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE, 2009 You have pre-registered for AP English. If you decide to change your schedule to honors or college prep English before July 15, you may change your summer reading to those classes’ requirements. HOWEVER, STUDENTS WHO CHANGE THEIR SCHEDULES AFTER JULY 15 ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE AP SUMMER READING REQUIREMENTS. Students who enroll in AP English are expected to be avid readers. They will read four works, some of which are available in the library. See Mrs. Hoyt for a complete list of requirements by June 24. Students will write a Reader Response Journal for WORKS 2,3, and 4 to be turned in on Thursday, September 3, 2009 (See format handout on back).
DESCRIPTIONS OF FOUR WORKS:
1. FACULTY FAVORITES: SELECT ONE WORK that you want to read. Prepare those journal questions and participate in the school-wide discussion group on September 10, 2009.
2. ASSIGNED HISTORICAL NOVEL / CHOICE: Select one of the following to read; research historical information about the era and location of the novel. As part of your Reader Response journal, photocopy two pages from the novel that describe setting or character [to be used in class activity]. Test on this book will be given on Thursday, September 3, 2009:
JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen
DAVID COPPERFIELD BY Charles Dickens
3 and 4. Choose two works by authors on the recommended list below. Choose authors that you think you might like to read for your Senior Research project. (You may also read two books by the same author if you already know the author you wish to study.**All authors MUST be preapproved by Mrs. Hoyt, so discuss your choices with her. These are “AP quality” authors!)
Achebe, Chinua
Alvarez, Julia
Angelou, Maya
Atwood, Margaret
Austen, Jane
Bronte, Charlotte or Emily
Defoe, Daniel
Dickens, Charles
Dostoevski, Fyodor
Faulkner, William
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Hansberry, Lorraine
Hardy, Thomas
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Hemingway, Ernest
Ibsen, Henrik
Irving, John
Kingsolver, Barbara
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia
Melville, Herman
Morrison, Toni
Oates, Joyce Carol
O’Connor, Flannery
Steinbeck, John
Tan, Amy
Tolkien, JRR
Twain, Mark
Updike, John
Vonnegut, Kurt
Salinger, JD
Warren, Robert Penn
Wharton, Edith
Woolf, Virginia
Playwrights
Chekhov, Anton
Miller, Arthur
O’Neill, Eugene
Shepard, Sam
Tolstoy, Leo
Walker, Alice
White, EB
Wilde, Oscar
Williams, Tennessee
Wilson, August
Senior Reading Lists 2009
*Journals for books 2&3 due Sept. 3
Ambrose, Stephen
Atwood, Margaret
Brown, Dan
Conroy, Pat
Dubus Jr., Andre
Irving, John
Junger, Sebastian
Kerouac, Jack
Picoult, Jodi
Russo, Richard
Sebold, Alice
Shaara, Michael
Shreve, Anita
Tan, Amy
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Tyler, Anne
Vonnegut, Kurt
Walker, Alice
You have pre-registered for AP English. If you decide to change your schedule to honors or college prep English before July 15, you may change your summer reading to those classes’ requirements. HOWEVER, STUDENTS WHO CHANGE THEIR SCHEDULES AFTER JULY 15 ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE AP SUMMER READING REQUIREMENTS. Students who enroll in AP English are expected to be avid readers. They will read four works, some of which are available in the library. See Mrs. Hoyt for a complete list of requirements by June 24. Students will write a Reader Response Journal for WORKS 2,3, and 4 to be turned in on Thursday, September 3, 2009 (See format handout on back).
DESCRIPTIONS OF FOUR WORKS:
1. FACULTY FAVORITES: SELECT ONE WORK that you want to read. Prepare those journal questions and participate in the school-wide discussion group on September 10, 2009.
2. ASSIGNED HISTORICAL NOVEL / CHOICE: Select one of the following to read; research historical information about the era and location of the novel. As part of your Reader Response journal, photocopy two pages from the novel that describe setting or character [to be used in class activity]. Test on this book will be given on Thursday, September 3, 2009:
Alvarez, Julia
Angelou, Maya
Atwood, Margaret
Austen, Jane
Bronte, Charlotte or Emily
Defoe, Daniel
Dickens, Charles
Dostoevski, Fyodor
Faulkner, William
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Hansberry, Lorraine
Hardy, Thomas
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Hemingway, Ernest
Ibsen, Henrik
Irving, John
Kingsolver, Barbara
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia
Melville, Herman
Morrison, Toni
Oates, Joyce Carol
O’Connor, Flannery
Steinbeck, John
Tan, Amy
Tolkien, JRR
Twain, Mark
Updike, John
Vonnegut, Kurt
Salinger, JD
Warren, Robert Penn
Wharton, Edith
Woolf, Virginia
Playwrights
Chekhov, Anton
Miller, Arthur
O’Neill, Eugene
Shepard, Sam
Tolstoy, Leo
Walker, Alice
White, EB
Wilde, Oscar
Williams, Tennessee
Wilson, August
