Summer Reading

In preparation for next year's English class, please follow the directions below that apply to your upcoming class. In most cases, you will be asked to read at least two books over the summer. One of those books will be a core book at each grade level, giving you a head start on a text that will become important in next year’s English class; the second book will be one of your own choosing. It might come from the provided list of wonderful books (starting on page 10), it might be the book you heard your friend raving about, or it might be something you’ve found lying around the house. Wherever you find it, have fun selecting the second book (and maybe the third, fourth, fifth …), and read!

Please find your grade core books listed below, along with a few guiding questions or note-taking suggestions and/or

requirements. Please remember that reading this book IS required. It will be the focus of discussion, activities, and writing early in the new school year, so you will want to know it well. In addition, your teacher may elect to assess your completion of the reading early in the year. Be sure to check the requirements for the class you will be entering next year, as different levels and different classes may have different assignments.

If you are a rising eleventh or twelfth grader who plans on taking selective courses, you will not be sure which class you will be enrolled in for the first semester. Therefore, we have selected a book that will be relevant in any selective class in which you are enrolled.

Phaedrus students, please adhere to the separate requirements shared with you by your Phaedrus teachers– this list does not apply to you (except in that there are some terrific titles at the end that you might be interested in).

Enjoy your summer reading!

"Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings - Life has been good for eighth-grader Brady and his friends J.T. and Digger on the
Chesapeake Bay, until the arrival of rich folks and developers angers some family and friends. The tragic overturning of a kayak raises questions, and Brady soon faces difficult moral decisions.

• Please take notes or use post-its to mark points of interest, major characters, important events, significant settings, and key ideas.
• As you consider your second Summer Reading book choice, please work closely with a parent/ guardian to select a title that feels appropriate for both your sensibility and reading level.

"Refugee" by Alan Gratz. Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board anship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety and freedom in America.. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a
long trek toward Europe.

All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers–from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But for each of them, there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together.

As you read, please take notes, either through the use of post-it notes/highlighting or by keeping a reading journal. Be prepared to work with these notes during the first weeks of our English class.

While reading "Refugee," consider the following questions:

1. Consider the reasons that Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud’s families have for leaving their homes. What are the situations in each of their lives that force them to flee? How are their situations similar and how are they different?
2. Discuss the personalities of each of these young people: Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud. Each of them has to take charge of their families’ plights at different points in their story. Describe the points at which each young person has to act as an adult.
3. Compare the method of travel for each of these refugee families. How does Josef’s sea voyage compare to those of Isabel and Mahmoud? What is the most threatening part of each of these voyages, and how do those threats create obstacles for the families as they travel?
4. What is the theme of this book as expressed through the central characters?

"The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. In this memoir, Walls narrates the story of her spirited, frustrating, and fascinating adventures as the child of two brilliant but irresponsible parents who wind up homeless in New York.

Trigger warning: While this memoir does have some frank portrayals of mature situations, and it does depict abusive behavior of parents toward children, its value as an excellent and complex coming-of-age story makes it a worthwhile read.

As you read this memoir, please do the following:

1. Use post-its or highlighting to mark your text, noting significant passages and commenting/asking questions about the text.
2. Pay particular attention to these points:

• the various settings and the effects of these settings on the characters
• the deeper meaning(s) of “the glass castle”
• the positive and negative sides of the parents and their effects on their children

3. A movie of the novel came out a few years ago. If you watch it, be ready to discuss what you think translates well from the page to the screen and what doesn't. In what ways does the movie differ from the book?

Please note that each class in tenth grade has a different assignment.

Global Perspectives

"Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is a graphic memoir by Marjane Satrapi, who grew up and lived in Iran from the time of her birth in 1969 until the age of 14, when she went to study in Austria.

What is a graphic memoir? Similar to forms like manga, or graphic novels, a graphic memoir is the story of a period of someone's life told through text and illustrations, in the style of what used to be called "comic strips." In Persepolis (which means "City of Persians," as Persian is the ethnicity claimed by most Iranians), we learn what happened to Marji when, at the age of 10, her country went through a violent and world-changing revolution that led to a theocratic government which is still in power today.

Important: Satrapi tells her story in two parts– the first part goes up to page 155 in the blue-covered version and ends
with the chapter entitled "The Dowry." Part 2 follows Marji's adolescence in Europe and begins with the chapter
entitled "The Soup." You are required to read Part 1 (through page 155). You may elect to read Part 2 as well.
Please note: Part 2 contains frank discussions of adult topics (from the perspective of a young person growing into an
adult), and you may not be comfortable reading it. If not, don't worry– you will not be held accountable for Part 2.

English 10

"Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers. The true story of one family, caught between two of America's biggest disasters of the early 2000's: the war on terror and Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home.

Told with eloquence and compassion, "Zeitoun" is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water.

Please take notes or use post-its to mark points of interest, major characters, important events, significant settings, and key ideas. Be prepared to work with these notes during the first weeks of our English class.
 

English 10 Honors

• "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" by Katherine Boo and either 
• "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson or 
• "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
• and one other book*

*If you do not choose "The Grapes of Wrath" as your second book, please read a work of fiction for your third book.

Written by Pulitzer Prize winning New Yorker staff writer Katherine Boo and winner of the National Book Award, "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" is a vivid portrayal of slum life in Mumbai, India. It follows the story of Abdul, who supports his family as a trash reclaimer, and who is accused of a vicious crime and has to navigate the corruption of the Mumbai law enforcement and judicial systems. Along the way we meet his family and neighbors in Annawadi, a slum near the airport, and learn about the depths of their poverty and the many obstacles to their daily survival. This work of journalistic nonfiction is frank in its sometimes colorful portrayal, but also very moving and uplifting in its depiction of the improbable hopefulness of these complex, hard-working people.

See what connections you find between "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" and one of these two narratives: the fictional account of dispossessed landowners who leave Oklahoma during the Great Depression and head for the “promised land” of California in John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath," or Bryan Stevenson’s non-fiction work, "Just Mercy," in which the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative comments on the American criminal justice system as he presents stories of legal cases fought to defend people, usually members of marginalized groups.

Use post-its and/or mark your text to note significant passages and to comment or ask questions about the texts.

English Selective Courses (11th and 12th graders)

Please read "Interpreter of Maladies"  by Jhumpa Lahiri (described below) and one other book.

(PLEASE NOTE: Students entering the honors-level 11th and 12th grade courses, please see the separate listings and assignments below.)

"Interpreter of Maladies," by Jhumpa Lahiri

In this acclaimed short story collection, Indian American writer Jhumpa Lahiri explores contemporary American life through the eyes of characters who often struggle with reconciling their American and South Asian identities. Though the stories are thematically similar, each is self-contained, and the collection therefore provides an enjoyable variety of characters and contexts.

The title story, for example, depicts an Indian American family on vacation in India, where they meet and befriend a driver and tour guide who shows them some local sights. As you read, please use post-it notes or a journal to record your thoughts. When you come to class in the fall, be sure you've read all of the stories in the collection.7

English 11 Honors

"Pachinko"  by Min Jin Lee and "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen and one other book.

"Pride and Prejudice" follows the Bennett sisters as they pursue both marriage and independence, in a time when middle class women had few options for social class advancement outside of finding a husband. Beginning with the line "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," the novel is both funny and insightful, exploring tensions between class, gender, attraction, and marriage.

"Pachinko" is a novel from 2017 about Korean immigrants to Japan and their descendents between the 1880s and 1980s. The characters struggle to survive and thrive in Japan, while dealing with prejudice, economic hardship, and family secrets. Lee, the author, was inspired by Victorian novels (like Pride and Prejudice), so be attuned to possible similarities in terms of structure, setting, and character development.

Please make a note about at least five moments in each text when the voice and tone strikes you as especially significant, and five in which you are aware of the idea of secrecy and its effects on people’s lives. Be prepared to discuss these.

English 12 Honors

"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver and one other book.

"Demon Copperhead" - Set in Southern Appalachia, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel depicts Damon Fields, also known as Demon Copperhead, who navigates the world of foster care, drug addiction, school, and young love. Written in the first person, Demon tells us his tragic, yet resilient story with an unforgettable voice that has readers rooting for him from the very beginning.

Please note the two attached lists of recommended books, one for grades seven and eight, the other for grades nine through twelve. Again, your second book does not have to come from this list, but you may want to peruse the selections and see what strikes your interest.

(PLEASE REFER TO THE PDF)