2014 SUMMER READING LIST for students entering GRADE 10

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” – Sir Richard Steele

All students are required to read a minimum of one book; however, we strongly encourage students to read several books for fun and for mental exercise. The book must be from the choices listed below. At the beginning of the school year, students will be asked to write about the books they read over the summer. Students should work on their note- taking skills to prepare for discussions and assessments. These books can be found in our library, the public library, Barnes and Noble, or ordered from Amazon.

Paper Towns by

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Arnold Spirit, Jr. is a social outcast living on a reservation in Spokane, WA. After a frustrating outburst in school, Arnold soon leaves to attend an affluent school district twenty-two miles away; however, Arnold is the only Indian to attend this school. Arnold must navigate between his Indian world at home, a place that now sees him as a traitor, and his new white world at school, where he never can fully fit. Coupled with Ellen Forney’s cartoons, Sherman Alexie’s writing is engaging and witty.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas senses that he holds the knowledge to lead his fellow Gladers out of a maze that surrounds their safe haven. But with no memory of their past lives, escape might lead Thomas and the other Gladers into worse situations.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

An unrelenting modern classic follows the tale of Clay Jensen, who returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life: Clay is one of them. He spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide and becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain while learning the truth about himself—a truth he never wanted to face.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It is his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, The Kite Runner. The book focuses on the tumultuous lives of two Afghan women and how their lives cross each other, spanning from the 1960s to 2003.

Just after midnight, a snowstorm stops the Orient Express dead in its tracks in the middle of Yugoslavia. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for this time of year. But by morning there is one passenger less. A 'respectable American gentleman' lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside . . . Hercule Poirot is also aboard, having arrived in the nick of time to claim a second-class compartment -- and the most astounding case of his illustrious career.

The Help Kathryn Stockett

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

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 till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

An Abundance of Katherines John Green

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy–loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. John Green

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .

After. Nothing is ever the same. Whale Talk Chris Crutcher

A varsity letter jacket: it's exclusive, nearly unattainable, revered . . . and everything that's screwed up about Cutter High, as far as T. J. Jones is concerned. That's why T. J. is determined to have the Cutter All Night Mermen—the unlikeliest swim team a high school has ever seen—earn letter jackets of their own. It won't be easy. For one thing, they don't even have a pool. They will fight for their dignity, they will fight with each other, and sometimes they will just fight. And then they will realize that a single moment can bring lifelong heartache or lifelong friendship. For T. J. and his crew of misfits, the quest may be far more valuable than the reward. Running Loose Chris Crutcher

Louie Banks has it made. He's got a starting spot on the football team, good friends, and a smart, beautiful girlfriend who loves him as much as he loves her. Early in the fall, he sees all his ideas of fair play go up in smoke; by spring, what he cares about most has been destroyed. How can Louie keep going when he's lost everything?

The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd

14-year-old Lily, raised by a neglectful father in the 1960s south, takes off on a journey that teaches her about her long- dead mother and the realities of race in America and the true nature of love and faith.

Game Walter Dean Myers

Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to, because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run squarely into a pick. Coach's new offense has made another player a star, and Drew won't let anyone disrespect his game. Just as his team makes the playoffs, Drew must come up with something big to save his fading college prospects. It's all up to Drew to find out just how deep his game really is.

Out of my Mind Sharon Draper “If there is one book teens and parents (and everyone else) should read this year, Out of My Mind should be it” (Denver Post).

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow. In this breakthrough story—reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly— from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.

Copper Sun Sharon Draper

Copper Sun is the epic story of a young girl torn from her African village, sold into slavery, and stripped of everything she has ever known—except hope.

Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte Recommended for honors

For decades, people have enjoyed losing themselves in the stories of classic literary characters, including wondering about the secrets hidden in Mr. Rochester's attic. The novels of Charlotte Brontë remain as popular, relevant, and enjoyable for the modern reader as they were for their contemporary readership, continuing to sell in the thousands. Elegantly packaged, with a textured, cloth-effect jackets, this novel will remain a must-read for generations to come.

1984 George Orwell Recommended for Honors

Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell’s narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Brave New World Aldous Huxley Recommended for Honors

Aldous Huxley is rightly considered a prophetic genius and one of the most important literary and philosophical voices of the 20th Century, and Brave New World is his masterpiece. From the author of The Doors of Perception, Island, and countless other works of fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, and poetry, comes this powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations. Brave New World remains absolutely relevant to this day as both a cautionary dystopian tale in the vein of the George Orwell classic 1984, and as thought-provoking, thoroughly satisfying entertainment.

A limited number of these titles can be found in the Gulfport High School Library. Please contact the school for library hours. 896-7525

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

— Groucho Marx

BOOK IMAGES and book summaries FROM AMAZON.COM. framingham.k12.ma.us

Contact ELA department chair with any questions [email protected]