HONORS 10Th AMERICAN LITERATURE/COMPOSITION

AMERICAN LITERATURE/COMPOSITION SUMMER READING LIST

The purpose of summer reading is to sustain the powers of imagination and to explore worlds of characters, settings, plots, and ideas we can visit only through literature. We believe the summer reading assignments should be high-interest titles that entice students to read. Summer reading is an intellectual exercise, and we want students to be comfortable and engaged in reading independently. The books on your list are available from your local library or bookstore. During the first week of the semester, your English teacher will evaluate your reading through various types of assessment. The reading level is listed after each book in the first list. Be advised some books may contain somewhat explicit language, sexual references, or mature subject matter. If there are any questions, contact the English Department Chair. If there are any questions, contact the English Department Chair at [email protected].

As an American Literature student, you are required to choose one of the works listed below:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush— who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will give the reader pause to reflect on the impact of one’s actions and words. —all relating to “The Crucible.” http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/ follow this link to an interactive website for audio of the tapes and information about the book. Lexile Level: 600

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them — not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all — family money, good looks, devoted friends — but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.- this books fits with Dark Romanticism and Transcendentalism Highly recommend the audio which is superbly narrated by Will Patton. Available on Audible- if you order the kindle book, the audio can be added for a discount.

Connections to American Literature include: Modern example of Dark Romanticism and Transcendentalism. Lexile Level: 760 The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury : Ray Bradbury brings wonders alive. For this peerless American storyteller, the most bewitching force in the universe is human nature. In these eighteen startling tales unfolding across a canvas of tattooed skin, living cities take their vengeance, technology awakens the most primal natural instincts, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyard rockets. Provocative and powerful, The Illustrated Man is a kaleidoscopic blending of magic, imagination, and truth—as exhilarating as interplanetary travel, as maddening as a walk in a million-year rain, and as comforting as simple, familiar rituals on the last night of the world. – A contemporary connection to Modernism

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream--a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes such as the friendship of a shared vision, and giving voice to America’s lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men has proved one of Steinbeck’s most popular works- Classic connection to Modernism

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life-like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.

Through Kimberly's story, author Jean Kwok, who also emigrated from Hong Kong as a young girl, brings to the page the lives of countless immigrants who are caught between the pressure to succeed in America, their duty to their family, and their own personal desires, exposing a world that we rarely hear about. Connections to American Literature include: The American Dream. Lexile Level: 1840