   June 2013 Dear Parents, As you know, summer reading assignments are an important part of every high school’s academic program. Research has shown that critical reading skills are key to effective oral and written communication. Both of these skills are the foundation for success in higher education and the career world. We hope that our summer reading program is one way to encourage our students to read more, read purposefully, and read for enjoyment. When your students are juniors and seniors, many of you will call the guidance department to ask for suggestions regarding SAT preparation courses. These very expensive programs are not nearly as effective in preparing our students for the SAT as good reading habits. In addition to the educational value of good reading habits, reading opens a young person’s mind to a wealth of ideas and knowledge that will be invaluable in life’s journey. This year, we are asking you to partner with us to insure that our students read the required and at least one of the suggested books that are assigned. Too often, students wait until the end of the summer, read hastily or rely on “the movie” or study guides, such as the Spark Notes, rather than actually reading the material carefully. We are asking you to do several things. First, please make sure that your daughter has purchased or borrowed the books early in the summer. Periodically check to see that she is pacing herself and reading throughout the summer. Encourage your daughter to read thoughtfully by looking up unfamiliar vocabulary and keeping a reading journal with key themes or questions about the book. Finally, we are asking both students and parents to sign the attached contract verifying that the students have completed the summer reading assignments. Attached you will find a list of required books for certain courses. Also attached is a suggested reading list for all high school students. We are asking each student to read at least one other book from the suggested list, in addition to required reading for specific courses. We hope that by giving each student the option of reading a book of her choice from the suggested list that she will enjoy the reading experience as well as learn from it. We thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Mrs. Linda Arndt Academic Dean Mrs. Joan Olsinski Academic Dean Mrs. Patricia O’Grady Director of Guidance    Dear Students and Parents, In an effort to ensure that you have successfully completed your summer reading assignments, we are asking both our students and their parents to please sign the following contract and return it to the homeroom teacher on the first day of classes. We hope by encouraging you to read throughout the summer that you will develop a habit of reading that will last a lifetime. ____I have successfully completed all of my summer reading assignments. The additional book that I selected to read was _______________________________________________________. Student’s Name (please print) _________________________________________________ (Student’s signature) ________________________________________________________ ___My daughter has completed her summer reading assignments. Parent’s Name_____________________________________________________________ (Parent’s signature)_________________________________________________________ Thank you for your cooperation. Please return this form to the homeroom teacher on the first day of classes. Mandatory Summer Reading Summer 2013 FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES IN 2013-2014 The Noticer by Andy Andrews JUNIORS IN 2013-2014 An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski SENIORS IN 2013-2014 Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Check Amazon.com or e-book downloads for the best prices. You may also patronize your local public library. You might also get the books from former students.) Reading for English Classes FRESHMEN IN 2013-2014 Types of Literature College Prep: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd Types of Literature Honors: My Àntonia by Willa Cather SOPHOMORES IN 2013-2014 American Literature College Prep: Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway American Literature Honors (in addition to the above): One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey JUNIORS IN 2013-2014 British Literature College Prep: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë British Literature Honors: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Students are required to read the Penguin Classics edition paperback. 101 Things You Didn’t Know About Jane Austen by Patrice Hannon Students must keep a “reading journal” in which they comment freely as they read the novel and choose and record “10 facts about Jane Austen I find most interesting” from the nonfiction book. SENIORS IN 2013-2014 World Literature College Prep: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (See Mrs. Moser for book.) World Literature Honors: 1984 by George Orwell The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood College Essay In addition to the summer reading, all seniors are required to write one college essay over the summer break. Students are expected to have their first drafts for the first day of classes. The English classes will work to perfect the essays throughout the first marking period. Students who are not positive where they are applying should complete the essay on the common application. AP Classes have already received their reading lists or work packets. Those reading lists are in addition to the books listed above for all students. Suggested Summer Reading Summer 2013 In addition to the assigned books listed for your courses, please select at least one book from this list to add to your mandatory summer reading. This book may not be one of your mandatory summer reading books. When you return in the fall, you will be asked to write a short essay discussing the book you have chosen. Remember reading is the best preparation for the SAT and ACT. Watching the movie or reading a study guide in place of reading the book will not help with improving your reading and writing skills. Books marked with * have been suggested by students. *A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway *A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray *A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah *A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving *A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens *A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini *A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks *ABC Murders by Agatha Christie *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain *Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll All But My Life by Gerda Weissman Klein All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren *And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie *Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt *Angels and Demons by Dan Brown *Animal Farm by George Orwell *Boy in the Stripped Pajamas by John Boyne *Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat *Bright Young Things by Anne Godbersen Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood *Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger *Colors of the Mountain by DaUng *Dracula by Bram Stoker Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons End of the Affair by Graham Greene *Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki *Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Frankenstein by Mary Shelley *Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell *Go Ask Alice by Anonymous *Great Expectations by Charles Dickens *Growing Up by Russell Baker *Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult *Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo *House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III Jubilee by Margaret Walker *Just Listen by Sarah Dessen Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez *Kindred by Octavia Butler *Light in August by William Faulkner Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen *Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkein Love After Auschwitz by Livia Bitton-Jackson *Modoc by Ralph Helfer *Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie *Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman *Night by Elie Wiezel *Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens *Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse *Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier *Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane *Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe *Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred Taylor *Roots by Alex Haley *Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay Shanghi Girls by Lisa See Sister of My Heart by Christa Banerjee Oivakaruni Slaughter House –Five by Kurt Vonnegut *Sold by Patricia McCormick *Speak by Laurie Anderson *The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton *The Book Thief by Markus Zusak *The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyle *The Choice by Nicholas Sparks The Chosen by Chain Potok *The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown *The Girl who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow *The Giver by Lowis Lowry *The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck *The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood *The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien *The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros *The Hunger Games (Book 1 of Series) by Suzanne Collins The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan *The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Last Lecture by Randy Pauch *The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks *The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan *The Luxe (Book 1 of Series) by Anne Godbersen The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards *The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Pearl by John Steinbeck *The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky The Power of One by Bruce Courtenay *The Road by Cormac McCarthy *The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne *The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd *The Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daily The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien *Those Who Saved Us by Jenna Blum *The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen *Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson *Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen *Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic