Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

ACCELERATED READER BOOK LIST – Each nine weeks, one of the three required AR books for English must come from this list, either fiction or nonfiction. If any book here is below your lowest reading level, you will not need to obtain prior permission. (Summaries are from renlearn.com, the Accelerated Reader website).

FICTION Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen Summary: This classic story about eighteenth-century England features a glamorous, proud heroine and a dashing, prejudiced hero, whose worth is slowly discovered.

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen Summary: This is a classic novel of manners and morals in eighteenth-century England.

To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee Summary: Two children witness the effects of racial prejudice, as their father courageously defends an innocent black man who has been accused of raping a white woman.

Animal Farm, George Orwell Summary: Politically minded farm animals undergo a revolution against their human master and establish a new government that fails because of a corrupt leader tempted by greed and power.

1984, George Orwell Summary: Eternal warfare is the price of bleak prosperity in this satire of totalitarian barbarism.

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck Summary: Friends George and Lennie yearn for land of their own while working on a ranch in California's Salinas Valley.

The Red Pony, John Steinbeck Summary: Ownership of a beautiful red pony teaches ten-year-old Jody about life and death.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain Summary: Huck and Jim encounter life on the Mississippi in one of the great works of American Literature.

The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R. R. Tolkien Summary: It is up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam with a small band of companions to carry the Ring of Power to the one place it could be destroyed, while avoiding the Ringwraiths.

Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell Summary: The epic love story of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the Civil War. Scarlett battles great odds to retain her southern elegance at the plantation "Tara."

The Call of the Wild, Jack London Summary: Buck, a dog that has been forced into the harsh life of a sled dog, befriends a man seeking his fortune in the Klondike gold fields, and must ultimately decide whether to stay with his master or obey his instinct to join the wolves.

White Fang, Jack London Summary: This classic tale tells of a savage dog's transformation through love.

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte Summary: In this stormy, intense, introspective novel of the mid-nineteenth century, Jane Eyre is a plain, yet spirited, governess whose virtuous integrity, keen intellect, and perseverance break through class barriers to reach the man she loves.

The Once and Future King, T.H. White Summary: This book tells the story of the youth and reign of King Arthur, the establishment of the Round Table, and the search for the Holy Grail. The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas Summary: One of the greatest adventure stories ever written - the prototype of literary romance.

The Man in the Iron Mask, Alexandre Dumas Summary: Musketeer battles Musketeer in a final confrontation that could topple a kingdom.

The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane Summary: This stirring tale of action in the American Civil War captures the immediacies and experiences of actual battle and army life.

The Pearl, John Steinbeck Summary: Kino, a poor Mexican pearl-diver, believes he has received the answer to his prayers when he finds a great pearl worth a fortune, but tragedy soon follows.

The Time Machine, H.G. Wells Summary: The Time Traveller journeys 800,000 years into the future and discovers two bizarre races at war on the Earth, the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks.

War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells Summary: A daring portrayal of aliens landing on English soil, it is the survival of mankind in the face of scientific powers spinning out of control.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith Summary: A young girl comes of age in the squalor and poverty of the Brooklyn slums.

The Yearling, Marjory K. Rawlings Summary: A young boy living in the Florida backwoods is forced to decide the fate of a fawn he has lovingly raised as a pet.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson Summary: A London physician leads a double life when he discovers a drug that alters his appearance and disposition.

The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury Summary: These haunting stories about man's attempt to explore and settle Mars capture both beauty and horror.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury Summary: In this futuristic novel, the main character struggles with excessive controls on individual liberty, especially the banning and burning of books.

The Glory Field, Walter Dean Myers Summary: This story follows a family's 250-year history from the capture of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants.

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan Summary: This book chronicles the lives of four Chinese women, their forty-year friendship, and how the death of one brings her daughter into the fold and creates a new understanding for each.

The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara Summary: The great Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that covers the four bloodiest and most courageous days of the Civil War--the Battle of Gettysburg. NONFICTION A Night to Remember, Walter Lord Summary: This book provides an account of the sinking of the "Titanic," a reputedly unsinkable ship that went down in the Atlantic on April 10, 1912 after hitting an iceberg, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 people.

Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy Summary: A now classic study in courage as seen in the lives of J. Q. Adams, Daniel Webster, T. H. Benton, Sam Houston, Robert Taft, and others. Commemorative Edition with a forward by Robert F. Kennedy.

Flags of Our Fathers, James Bradley Summary: In 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches strewn with comrades, they reached the island's highest peak and raised the American flag. The coauthor is Ron Powers.

Flyboys: A True Story of Courage, James Bradley Summary: This book examines the disappearance of eight American airmen shot down and taken prisoner on the remote island of Chichi Jima in World War II, the secrecy that surrounded the events for decades, and the violence inflicted by both sides in the Pacific.

All Over But the Shoutin’, Rick Bragg Summary: The author recalls his poverty-stricken youth in Alabama in the 1960s and 70s, focusing on the efforts of his mother to protect her sons from the violence of their father, and telling of the sacrifices she made so her children could have a better life.

My Losing Season, Pat Conroy Summary: The author reflects on his days at a South Carolina military college. He recalls his love of basketball and its value to him as a means of self-expression, and shares experiences that shed new light on his novel THE GREAT SANTINI.

Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916, Michael Capuzzo Summary: This book details the first documented cases in American history of sharks attacking swimmers, which occurred along the Atlantic coast of New Jersey in 1916.

Out of Harm’s Way: The Extended True Story of One Woman’s Lifelong Devotion to Animal Rescue, Terri Crisp Summary: Poignant memories from an animal savior, this book chronicles the devotion that Terri Crisp has for saving animals during disasters. The coauthor is Samantha Glen.

Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case, Chris Crowe Summary: This book presents a true account of the murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science, John Fleischman Summary: Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. In 1948, when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain, he miraculously survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.

Hole in My Life, Jack Gantos Summary: The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, Jim Krakauer Summary: An account of Jon Krakauer's climb of Mount Everest in one of the most deadliest seasons in the history of Everest.

Left for Dead: A Young Man’s Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis, Peter Nelson Summary: This book recalls the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy cover-up and unfair court martial of the ship's captain, and how a young boy helped the survivors set the record straight fifty-five years later.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach Summary: This book explores how human cadavers have been used throughout history.

Radioactive Boy Scout, Ken Silverstein Summary: David Hahn, the Michigan teenager who tried to build a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard in 1994, endangered the residents of his Michigan hometown and raised the ire of the federal government.

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote Summary: This book recreates the slaying of the Clutter family of Kansas, and the capture, trial, and execution of their murderers.

All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot Summary: Recounting the problems and joys of the life of a countryside veterinary surgeon.

All Things Bright and Beautiful, James Herriot Summary: Heart-warming day-to-day story of James Herriot's life as a Yorkshire veterinarian.

Kids Are Americans Too, Bill O’Reilly Summary: Bill O'Reilly teaches children to respect the constitutional rights of others while showing them how to understand and protect their civil rights. The coauthor is Charles Flowers.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Summary: This is an autobiographical account by the runaway slave Frederick Douglass that chronicles his experiences with his owners and overseers, and discusses how slavery affected both slaves and slaveholders.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, Vickie Myron Summary: Dewey Readmore Books, the resident cat at Spencer Public Library in Spencer, Iowa, was found in the book return in December 1988, adopted by the library staff, and became a loving member of the community. The coauthor is Bret Witter.

A Place Called Heartbreak: A Story of Vietnam, Walter Dean Myers Summary: Describes the ordeal of Major Fred Cherry, who was shot down in combat over Vietnam and spent 7 and 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand Summary: The amazing story of Louis Zamperini, whose military aircraft crashes into the Pacific. His incredible story of survival at sea for forty-seven days, as well as his survival in Japanese prisoner of war camps, is a powerful testament to the human spirit and divine intervention.