Grade 9 Summer Reading List
Amesbury Public Library
AHS FRESHMAN ENGLISH SUMMER READING LIST
For those entering Grade 9: All students are required to read TWO BOOKS this summer in preparation for school in the fall. Additional copies of this list are available during the summer online at the AHS website, and at the Amesbury Public Library. (Book descriptions are adapted from Perma-Bound.)
ALL STUDENTS WILL BE TESTED ON TWO SUMMER READING BOOKS ON FRIDAY, September 7, 2007 DURING THEIR LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSES. Students are encouraged to take notes on the books so that they remember details.
1. The first book is REQUIRED READING: Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. “A story about an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson.” Students will be prepared to discuss the story together when school opens.
2. For the second book, CHOOSE ONE BOOK from the list below. Copies of the books are available at the Amesbury Public Library through inter-library loan, or for purchase at area bookstores. Please return a book to the Public Library as soon as you have read it so that another student may borrow it. Remember to take notes on it so that you can remember details:
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing (non-fiction) the incredible survival story of the ship’s crew who became castaways in the Antarctic.
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. (science fiction) Two boys are caught in the sweep of evil.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott (fiction) The classic tale of four sisters growing up in Civil War era – their adventures, their loves, and their family life.
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier (fiction) A young high school student refuses to be intimidated by the society around him.
Shizuko’s Daughter, by Kyoto Mori (fiction) A young Japanese girl struggles with the memories of her mother, who committed suicide.
The Hungry Ocean, by Linda Greenlaw (non-fiction) A real – life view of Gloucester fishing from one of the women made famous in The Perfect Storm.
Z for Zachariah, by Robert O’Brien (fiction) A novel about the aftermath of nuclear devastation.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith (fiction) A young girl comes of age in the squalor and poverty of the Brooklyn slums.
Bless the Beasts and the Children, by Glendon Swarthout (fiction) Story of 6 adolescent misfits and how they set out to save themselves in a society dedicated to one narrow definition of success.
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer (non-fiction) Tracks the disastrous journey of young Chris McCandless, who disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness seeking enlightenment.
FRESHMAN HONORS ENGLISH SUMMER READING LIST: 2007
All students entering Honors English are required to select and read TWO books from the following choices. Students in Honors English love to read and discuss challenging literature. These books will be used in English class at the beginning of the year for discussion, activities, as well as assessments. Students will be tested on Friday September 7, 2007 on both books. Students may not substitute other books for these choices, and may not use books on the Summer Reading List for college prep students.
Students will sign out books before they leave school in June. Additional copies are available during the summer at the Amesbury Public Library, or at area bookstores. Students will return the books in the fall.
Choose TWO of these books to read:
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. The classic story of a young boy’s adventures in a nineteenth-century Mississippi River town.
Night by Elie Wiesel. The true story of the author and his life as a Jew under the Nazis.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The original diary in journal format [not the play edition] of Anne’s ordeal as she and her family were hidden during the Holocaust.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Fantasy about a society in which all books must be burned.
