Robert E. Fitch High School

101 Groton Long Point Road GROTON. CONNECTICUT 06340 JOSEPH A. ARCARESE MICHAEL B. EMERY PRINCIPAL VICE PRINCIPAL

PETER BASS VICE PRINCIPAL

SEAN P. McKENNA VICE PRINCIPAL To All Incoming 10th Grade Students and Parents/Guardians:

As we all know, reading is an important skill for life and learning. With this in mind, Robert E. Fitch has implemented required summer reading for all students who will be attending the high school during the 2012-2013 school year. Below are descriptions of the books on the approved 10th grade summer reading list. Please pay attention to the following expectations:

 IT IS expected that all incoming 10th grade students select 1 title to read over the summer; students entering Honors English 10 must select 2 titles.  These titles are available for circulation at the local libraries (at the Groton Public Library, the Bill Memorial Library, and Mystic & Noank Public Library.)  These titles are also available for purchase at local booksellers.  For students who do have access, these titles are also available electronically.  It is recommended that students take brief notes of their reading in order to remember main ideas, main events and main characters (in works of fiction) of a book. We have provided a graphic organizer for this purpose; while it is not required to complete, we highly recommend it.  During the first week of school, STUDENTS WILL BE QUIZZED on their summer reading in their English class. This quiz grade will count towards the first quarter average in English class.

10th GRADE SUMMER READING LIST

Caleb’s Crossing-Geraldine Brooks Caleb’s Crossing is the “One Book, One Region” title. There are multiple copies of this title at area libraries, and there will be a series of events on this should book should readers want to participate. A work of historic fiction, the novel centers on the trials and tribulations of the first Native American student to attend Harvard University during the colonial period of American history.

I Have Lived A Thousand Years By Livia Bitton Jackson The author Livia Bitton Jackson recounts her personal experiences as a Jewish teenager during WWII. As an inmate of the notorious Auschwitz camp, she witnesses cruelty and suffering. However, despite the hardships she endures, she never loses hope, demonstrating to the reader the strength of the human spirit.

Turn to Backside House Rules By Jodi Picoult Having a hard time reading social clues or expressing himself in a way that anybody can understand, Jacob is a small-town American teen with Asperger’s Syndrome. Loving forensic analysis, he always listens in on his police scanner to find out about local crimes, eager to check out the crime scenes. When someone is murdered and Jacob appears, his entire family becomes the focus of intense investigation - does he appear guilty because of the symptoms of his Asperger’s, or is Jacob a murderer?

Tenderness By Robert Cormier Two completely different young people, from completely different circumstances, looking for tenderness come together and find what they are seeking. However, the past trauma they have suffered along with the dilemmas, conflicts, and needs they have race the reader toward an ending that will leave them stunned. Note to sensitive readers: contains instances of graphic imagery.

Same Difference By Siobhan Vivian Emily is a teenager ready for change in Siobhan Vivian’s coming-of-age tale. Emily heads to Philadelphia for a summer art institute where she meets new and exciting friends causing her to question her true identity—artist or everyday teenager? Emily must expand her horizons as she makes new friends, confronts challenges, and creates original art.

Dragon House By John Shors Dragon House tells the story of two Americans, Iris and Noah, who come together in the most unusual way and find themselves working to establish a center, the Dragon House, to educate and house street children in modern-day Vietnam. Iris carries with her a deceased father’s dream. Noah, whose leg was amputated while serving time in Iraq, continues to fight physical and psychological pain. The dragon is an Asian symbol of good luck, and Dragon House is a novel filled with suffering, redemption, sacrifice, and love.

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