Guardians, in an Effort to Keep Our NISD Students Engaged in Literacy

Dear Northwest ISD High School Parents/ Guardians,

In an effort to keep our NISD students engaged in literacy throughout the summer, students are expected to read one or more novels from the following district approved grade level lists.

This novel should be read in its entirety before school starts. This will ensure that the student is well- prepared to participate in classroom discussions and assignments over their chosen book, and is ready to begin the year with the rigor and challenges of our district curriculum.

Since the student will be self-selecting a text from the list for him/herself, if the student or parent finds the material in one book too mature, the student should choose another book on their grade level list.

● GT and Pre-AP students in grades 9 and 10 are expected to read at least one novel in the GT/Pre- AP column from their grade level list. After at least one title is read from this list, then GT/Pre-AP students may read other titles from either the GT/ Pre-AP list OR from the On-Level list.

● On-Level students are expected to read at least one novel in the On-Level column from their grade level list. After at least one title is read from this list, then On-Level students may read other titles from either the On-Level list OR from the GT/Pre-AP grade level list.

GT/Pre-AP/AP On-Level English I The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Lord of the Flies by William Golding The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

English II The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller The Chosen by Chaim Potok The Crossover by Kwame Alexander Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald

English III AP English III (Language) English III On-Level ***AP English III students are to choose one of the Bleachers by John Grisham following nonfiction titles listed after the summary pages of this document. This list is compiled by the American Library Association and College Board for college-bound high school students. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown The Help by Kathryn Stockett The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

English IV AP English IV (Literature) English IV On-Level How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster ***In addition, during the first six weeks, AP English How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and IV students will choose to work with a text of literary Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by merit. Students will have already read several works Thomas C. Foster of literary merit throughout high school, and any of those would be a great choice. If a student is wanting to read something new this summer, works of literary merit that have been listed numerous times on the AP exam are included on the last page of this document. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey The Sword and the Stone (from the Once and Future King Tetralogy) by T.H White STEM For those students attending the STEM Academy Academy at Northwest High School, the text needing to be read at each grade level include… English I- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey English II- Please see the English II Pre-AP choices above. Students may choose from any book on this list. Steele For those students attending Steele Accelerated Accelerated High School, the text needing to be read at each High School grade level includes the titles linked below.

Steele Summer Reading List

Story Summaries

English I Pre-AP/GT The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson (Dystopian/ Science Fiction) Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. Her parents show her home movies of her life, her memories, but she has no recollection. Is she really the same girl she sees on the screen? Little by little, Jenna begins to remember. But along with the memories come questions—questions no one wants to answer for her. What really happened after the accident? In this fascinating novel, acclaimed author Mary E. Pearson presents an unforgettable look at one human life and a glimpse into a possible future that may be closer than we think. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics, the nature of humanity, and helps readers ponder the idea of “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should, or should we?”

Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (Science Fiction) Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast. But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Hiding his youth and identity behind the anonymity of the computer networks, Ender begins working to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if he fails.

Lord of the Flies, William Golding (Fiction/ Adventure/ Classic) William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary young boys stranded on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first, it seems as though it's all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious, and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic, survival, death. As ordinary standards of behavior collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket, homework, and adventure stories— and another world is revealed beneath, primitive, and terrible.

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd (Historical Fiction) Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

English I On-Level The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, Neal Beacom (Non- Fiction) A thrilling spy mission, a moving Holocaust story, and a first-class work of narrative nonfiction. In 1945, at the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann, the head of operations for the Nazis' Final Solution, walked into the mountains of Germany and vanished from view. Sixteen years later, an elite team of spies captured him at a bus stop in Argentina and smuggled him to Israel, resulting in one of the century's most important trials -- one that cemented the Holocaust in the public imagination. THE NAZI HUNTERS is the thrilling and fascinating story of what happened between these two events. Survivor Simon Wiesenthal opened Eichmann's case; a blind Argentinean and his teenage daughter provided crucial information. Finally, the Israeli spies -- many of whom lost family in the Holocaust -- embarked on their daring mission, recounted here in full. THE NAZI HUNTERS is a can't-miss work of narrative nonfiction that young adult readers will certainly enjoy.

Red Queen, Victoria Aveyard (Dystopian/ Fantasy) This is a world divided by blood – red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart ...

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, Sean Covey (Non-Fiction) This helpful guide for teenagers will bring a special perspective and focus to the lives of young people everywhere. Sean speaks directly to teenagers in a language they can really understand and relate to, providing a step-by-step guide to help them improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, get along with their parents, and much more.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, Kimberly Willis Holt (Realistic Fiction) Nothing ever happens in Toby’s small Texas town. Nothing much until this summer that’s full of big changes. It’s tough for Toby when his mother leaves home to be a country singer. Toby takes it hard when his best friend Cal’s older brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. Now their sleepy town is about to get a jolt with the arrival of Zachary Beaver. Toby is in for a summer unlike any other, a summer sure to change his life. While it's a summer filled with heartache of every kind, it's also a summer of new friendships gained and old friendships renewed. And it's Zachary Beaver who turns the town of Antler upside down and leaves everyone, especially Toby, changed forever. With understated elegance, Kimberly Willis Holt tells a compelling coming-of-age story about a thirteen-year-old boy struggling to find himself in an imperfect world. At turns passionate and humorous, this extraordinary novel deals sensitively and candidly with obesity, war, and the true power of friendship.

English II Pre-AP/GT The Chosen, Chaim Potok (Historical Fiction) The classic story of two fathers and two sons and the pressures on all of them to pursue the religion they share in the way that is best suited to each. And as the boys grow into young men, they discover in the other a lost spiritual brother, and a link to an unexplored world that neither had ever considered before. In effect, they exchange places, and find the peace that neither will ever retreat from again....

The Book of Strange New Things, Arthur Miller (Dystopian, Science Fiction) This story begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us.

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe (Historical Fiction, Tragedy) THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society. The second story, which is as modern as the first is ancient, and which elevates the book to a tragic plane, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world through the arrival of aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries. These twin dramas are perfectly harmonized, and they are modulated by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.

English II On-Level The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, Sarah Miller (Non- Fiction, Historical, Suspense/Thriller) Many of us have heard the saying, “Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.” But how many readers actually know the real story behind this saying? In a linear narrative, appropriate for upper middle school and above readers, author Sarah Miller takes readers along non-fiction story line that actually reads more like a thriller, as she investigates a brutal crime: the August 4, 1892, murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden. The accused? Mild- mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew and stepdaughter of Abby. Most of what is known about Lizzie’s arrest and subsequent trial (and acquittal) comes from sensationalized newspaper reports; as Miller sorts fact from fiction, and as a legal battle gets under way, a portrait of a woman and a town emerges.

The Crossover, Kwame Alexander (Novel in Verse, Poetry) "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle novel of family and brotherhood. Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle (Mystery, Adventure, Classic) Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson are faced with their most terrifying case yet. The legend of the devil-beast that haunts the moors around the Baskerville family home warns the descendants of that ancient clan never to venture out in those dark hours when the power of evil is exalted. Now, the most recent Baskerville, Sir Charles, is dead and the footprints of a giant hound have been found near his body. Will the new heir meet the same fate?

Swallowing Stones, Joyce McDonald (Realistic Fiction) It begins with a free and joyful act--but from then on, Michael finds it impossible even to remember what it felt like to be free and joyful. When he fires his new rifle into the air on his seventeenth birthday, he never imagines that the bullet will end up killing someone. But a mile away, a man is killed by that bullet as he innocently repairs his roof. And Michael keeps desperately silent while he watches his world crumble. Meanwhile Jenna, the dead man's daughter, copes with desperation of her own. Through her grief, she tries to understand why she no longer feels comfortable with her boyfriend and why a near stranger named Michael keeps appearing in her dreams. Suspenseful and powerfully moving, this is the unforgettable story of an accidental crime and its haunting web of repercussions.

English III Advanced Placement Language and Composition ***AP English III Language students are to choose one of the following nonfiction titles listed after these summary pages of this document. This list is compiled by the American Library Association and College Board for college- bound high school students.

English III On-Level Bleachers, John Grisham (Realistic Fiction) High school All-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty. As Coach Rake's 'boys' sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake – or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, still struggling to come to terms with his explosive relationship with the Coach, his dreams of a great career in the NFL, and the choices he made as a young man, the stakes could not be higher.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Daniel James Brown (Non-Fiction) Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism. Drawing on the boys’ own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant.

The Help, Kathryn Stockett (Fiction) Twenty-two-year old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy until Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeeth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend is perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation, but her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a secret project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women- mothers, daughters, caregiver, friends- view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brein (Short Stories, Memoirs) They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, illustrated bibles, each other. And if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. Since its first publication, The Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of American literature, and a profound study of men at war that illuminates the capacity, and the limits, of the human heart and soul.

English IV Advanced Placement Literature and Composition How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Thomas C. Foster (Non- Fiction) What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface -- a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character -- and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.

***In addition, during the first six weeks, AP English IV Literature students will choose to work with a text of literary merit. Students will have already read several works of literary merit throughout high school, and any of those would be a great choice. If a student is wanting to read something new this summer, works of literary merit that have been listed numerous times on the AP exam are included on the last page of this document.

English IV On-Level Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton (Fiction) A deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by social injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country, is a classic work of love, hope, courage, and endurance, born of the dignity of man.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Thomas C. Foster (Non- Fiction) What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface -- a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character -- and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.

The Sword and the Stone, (from the Once and Future King Tetralogy) T.H. White (Fantasy) “Learn. That is the only thing that never fails.”- Merlyn the Wizard Before there was a famous king named Arthur, there was a curious boy named Wart and a kind old wizard named Merlyn. Transformed by Merlyn into the forms of his fantasy, Wart learns the value of history from a snake, of education from a badger, and of courage from a hawk- the lessons that help turn a boy into a man. Together, Wart and Merlyn take the reader through this timeless story of childhood and adventure.

English III Advanced Placement Language and Composition Summer Reading Assignment 2017 ***AP English III Language students are to choose one of the following nonfiction titles listed after these summary pages of this document. This list is compiled by the American Library Association and College Board for college-bound high school students.

Amazon.com, Goodreads.com, or BN.com can provide summaries and reviews of the books to help you decide.

During the first six weeks of the school year, AP English III students will be required to write an essay over the issues that are discussed, and the message the author is attempting to communicate.

The books represent a wide array of topics and subjects. Try to find a book that really interests you. If you are particularly interested in chemistry or physics, a book on those topics might be wise choices. Half-Price Books on 377 in Watauga and Recycled Books in Denton are great places to find bargain books.

If you are interested in being on the UIL Social Studies team this year, the book is: Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire, by David Remnick. You can read it this summer and it will prepare you for the UIL competition and it will count for your summer reading for AP English.

Illustrate an idea in the book that you find compelling. (done either on the computer or by hand) that is 8 ½ by 11 inches and is not the same as the cover of the book.

A paragraph (with textual support) explaining why you find the idea compelling; this should be around 250 words and should be typed or written neatly IN INK. Make sure you proofread for errors, and it should not be torn out of a spiral notebook.

History—(Any of these books will supplement your study of AP US History this year.)

Brown, Daniel James. The Boys in the Boat: And Their Epic Quest for Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Bryson, Bill. One Summer, America 1927. 2012. deWaal, Edmund. The Hare with Amber Eyes. 2011.

Ellis, Joseph. The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution. 2015.

Gopnik, Adam. Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life. 2009.

Grandin, Greg. Fordlandia. 2010.

Greenblatt, Stephen. Swerve. 2011.

Kiernan, Denise. The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II. 2013.

Larsen, Erik. The Devil in the White City. 2004.

Larsen, Erik. Dead Wake. 2014.

Larsen, Erik. Thunderstruck. 2007.

McCullough, David. 1776. 2005.

McCullough, David. The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal. 1978.

McPherson, James. The War that Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters. 2015.

Nelson, Craig. Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon. 2009.

Nolen, Stephanie. Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race. 2002.

Pietrusza, Peter. 1920: the Year of the Six Presidents. 2008.

Stark, Peter. Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire. 2014.

Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August. 2004.

Vowell, Sarah. Assassination Vacation. 2006. (Visiting sites in the US where infamous assassinations have taken place).

Vowell, Sarah. Take the Cannoli. 2000.

Vowell, Sarah. The Partly Cloudy Patriot. 2002.

Vowell, Sarah. The Wordy Shipmates. 2008. (An amusing take on the Puritans).

Vowell, Saraj. Unfamiliar Fishes. 2012. (The story of the annexation of Hawaii).

Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. 2005.

Winchester, Simon. The Map That Changed the World. 2009.

Wolfe, Tom. The Right Stuff. 2008

Math and Science:

Cone, Marla. Silent Snow: The Slow Poisoning of the Arctic. 2005.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. 1997.

Feynman, Richard. Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher. 1995.

Freeberg, Ernest. The Age of Edison. 2012.

Frienkel: Plastic: A Toxic Love Story. 2011.

Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. 2006.

Johnson, Steven. The Story of Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World. 2014.

Keane, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon and Other Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. 2011.

LeCouteur, Penny and Jay Burreson. Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History. 2003.

Muller, Richard. Physics for Future Presidents. 2008.

Roach, Mary. Gulp: Adventures in the Alimentary Canal. 2

Roach, Mary. Packing for Mars. 2012.

Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. 2004.

Sobel, Dava. Planets. 2005.

Sullivan, Robert. Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants. 2004.

Tyson, Neil DeGrasse. The Pluto Files. 2009.

Waldman, Jonathan. Rust: The Longest War. 2015.

Social Issues and Current Events: _

Blackwell, Andrew. Visit Sunny Chernobyl and Other Adventures in the World’s Most Polluted Places. 2012.

Bonnett, Alastair, Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and other Inscrutable Geographies. 2014.

Carnavon, Countess Fiona. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle. 2007.

Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains. 2011.

Chua, Amy. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. 2011.

Friedman, Thomas L. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America. 2008.

Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath. 2013.

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference. 2002.

Gladwell, Malcolm. What the Dog Saw. 2010.

Levitt, Steven and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. 2005.

Martinez, Ruben. Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail. 2001.

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Nature:

Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. 2006.

Dillard, Annie. Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek. 1975.

Reel, Monte. Between Man and Beast. 2013.

Sports:

Asinof, Eliot. Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series. 1963.

Baumberger, Michael. Men in Green. 2015.

Madden, Bill, 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever. 2014.

AP English Literature and Composition

(a.k.a. AP English IV)

Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition. As you can surmise from the course title, this class will be comprised of two major areas: literature (novels, plays, short stories, and poetry) and composition (yes…that means crafting essays). You will be responsible for reading a variety of novels and plays on your own, which will require commitment and time management. Time in class will be spent writing, discussing, working on multiple-choice questions, and doing activities intended to improve your performance on the AP English Literature Exam in May. We encourage you to read How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster over the summer. (Either version of the book is appropriate for our purposes.) The content of this book will guide our discussion and our assignments during the first six weeks and throughout the year.

Over the summer, please obtain a copy of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. We will start reading this novel the first week of school, so it is vital that you have a copy in your possession.

During the first few weeks of the school year, you will choose a work of literary merit which you will use to complete a project. You have read several works of literary merit throughout high school, and any of those would be a great choice. (If you plan to analyze a work you have read previously, it might be a good idea to review the text prior to the start of school.) If you want to read something new this summer, works of literary merit that have been listed numerous times on the AP exam recently include: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Beloved, Billy Budd, Catch 22, The Color Purple, Crime and Punishment, Death of a Salesman, Ethan Frome, Frankenstein, The Glass Menagerie, The Grapes of Wrath, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, Obasan, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Scarlet Letter, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Wuthering Heights. Additionally, feel free to do a Google search for titles listed on the AP English Literature exam for essay prompt 3 to find other works of literary merit that may interest you.

If you have questions, please contact the AP English Literature teachers:

Byron Nelson HS: Denise Tennison: [email protected]

Northwest High School: Jamie Weatherall: [email protected]

V. R. Eaton HS: Rae Jean Johnson [email protected]