sign in sign up
<<
Home , Cost of Living (play)

2020 SUMMER READING

ENGLISH The English Department encourages you to read as much as possible this summer; to get lost in a book, meet inspiring characters, marvel in the wonders of language, find solace in a story, and find new ways to look at the world. Below are the required texts for each course; they represent a wide range of content and genre and we urge you to try something new and challenging. We have also included a long list of optional texts to help you find books that will push you to grow as an English student. As always, consult with a trusted adult if you are unsure about a particular text.

Happy Reading!

Middle School and Upper School Students 1. Read the required text for your grade level and read TWO MORE from the list for your grade level. 2. The English Department has compiled a list of optional books for all students. We hope you have time to read additional selections.

Students taking Advanced Level Courses 1. Read the required text for your grade level and read TWO MORE from the list for your grade level. 2. The English Department has compiled a list of optional books for all students. We hope you have time to read additional selections.

GRADE 6 Required Read: Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper

Choose Two: Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech (Fiction) Feathers, Jacqueline Woodson (Fiction) Amal Unbound, Aisha Saeed (Fiction) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin (Fiction) Kira-Kira, Cynthia Kadohata (Fiction) Amina’s Voice, Hena Khan (Fiction) Front Desk, Kelly Yang (Fiction) Forever or a Long Long Time, Caela Carter (Fiction) A Long Walk to Water, Linda Sue Park (Fiction – Based on a true story) Hidden Figures (Young Readers Edition), Margot Lee Shetterly (Non-Fiction) Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai (Novel in Verse) Pashmina, Nidhi Chanani (Graphic Novel)

GRADE 7 Required Read: The Night Diary, Veera Hiranandani

Choose Two: A Crack in the Sea, H.M. Bouwman (Fiction) Echo, Pam Munoz Ryan (Fiction) The Length of a String, Elissa Brent Weissman (Fiction) York, Laura Ruby (Fiction) The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill (Fiction) The Benefits of Being an Octopus, Ann Braden (Fiction) Jefferson's Sons, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Historical Fiction) I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai (Non-Fiction) Under the Mesquite, Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Novel in Verse) Other Words for Home, Jasmine Warga (Novel in Verse) Unbound, Ann E. Burg (Novel in Verse) Good Masters, Sweet Ladies, Laura Amy Schlitz (Drama) American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang (Graphic Novel)

GRADE 8 Required Read: Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Choose Two: Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Fiction) A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin (Fiction) Life of Pi, Yann Martel (Fiction) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Fiction) The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd (Fiction) Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson (Creative Non-Fiction) When I was Puerto Rican, Esmerelda Santiago (Creative Non-Fiction) The Crucible, (Drama) Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (Drama) Carver: A Life in Poems, Marilyn Nelson (Poetry) A Time to Dance, Padma Venkatraman (Poetry) Little White Duck: A Childhood in China, Na Liu (Graphic Novel)

GRADE 9 Required Read: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Choose Two: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (Fiction) Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys (Fiction) A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris (Fiction) Swamplandia!, Karen Russell, (Fiction) We are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Fiction) The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls (Creative Non-Fiction) , Beth Henley (Drama) (CONTINUED) The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (Drama) Dream Work, Mary Oliver (Poetry) Headwaters, Ellen Bryant Voigt (Poetry) Words Under the Words, Naomi Shihab Nye (Poetry) Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Graphic Novel/Creative Non-Fiction)

GRADE 10 Required Read: Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler

Choose Two: Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi (Fiction) The Red and the Black, Stendahl (Fiction) Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (Fiction) Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks (Fiction) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick, (Fiction) The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui (Creative Non-Fiction) Fire Girl, Sayantani Dasgupta (Creative Non-Fiction) The House of Bernarda Alba, Federico García Lorca (Drama) A Doll's House, Ibsen (Drama) Monument, Natasha Trethewey (Poetry) The January Children, Safia Elhillo (Poetry) Maus, Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel/Creative Non-Fiction)

GRADE 11 Required Read: Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver Additional Required Read for Adv. English: Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead

Choose Two: The Word for World is Forest, Ursula K. LeGuin (Fiction) Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (Fiction) All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy (Fiction) Dear Life, Alice Munro (Short Fiction) The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (Creative Non-Fiction) The Ungrateful Refugee, Dina Nayeri (Creative Non-Fiction) Tell Me How It Ends, Valeria Luiselli (Creative Non-Fiction) Topdog/Underdog, Suzan-Lori Parks (Drama) Top Girls, Caryl Churchill (Drama) Citizen, Claudia Rankine (Poetry) Against Love Poetry, Eavan Boland (Poetry) Look, Solmaz Sharif (Poetry) Vietnamerica, G. B. Tran (Graphic Novel/Creative Non-Fiction)

GRADE 12 AND POSTGRADUATES Required Read: Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips Additional Required Read for Advanced English: Literature of Medicine: Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese

Choose Two: A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor (Short Fiction) Swing Time, Zadie Smith (Fiction) Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel (Fiction) An American Childhood, Annie Dillard (Creative Non-Fiction/Essays) Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward (Creative Non-Fiction) , Lynn Nottage (Drama) Cost of Living, (Drama) Deaf Republic, Ilya Kaminsky (Poetry) Whereas, Layli Long Soldier (Poetry) One Big Self, C.D. Wright (Poetry) Collected Poems of WB Yeats (Poetry) Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (Graphic Novel/Creative Non-Fiction)