Portsmouth Christian Academy at Dover Upper School Recommended Summer Reading June 2014 Portsmouth Christian Academy’s Upper School library recommends the following books for your summer reading enjoyment and to keep your reading skills sharp for the coming year! You’ll find various genres represented here: current popular titles and classic works, fiction and nonfiction, Christian and secular titles: in other words, something for every reading interest, so enjoy! Note: Different books are appropriate for and appeal to different ages, reading levels, personalities, interests, beliefs and lifestyles. As always, please use both your own discretion and your parents’ guidance in choosing what to read. NOTE: In this year’s reading list, articles on dystopian fiction and on the author Ray Bradbury are followed by the general reading list. Dystopian Fiction: I want a book like The Hunger Games! Suggestions: Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game and Ender in Exile. Condie, Ally. Matched, Crossed, Reached. Dashner, James. The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, Death Cure, The Kill Order. Fisher, Catherine. Incarceron, Sapphique Lowry, Lois. The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, Son. Lu, Marie. Legend, Prodigy,Champion. 1 Roth, Veronica. Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant. Westerfield, Scott. Uglies series. Suzanne Collins’ runaway bestseller trilogy The Hunger Games was a product of the author’s love for military history and also her fascination with the gladiators of ancient Rome. The admittedly horrifying idea of children being forced to fight to the death, or otherwise manipulated in a dystopian society, finds echoes in other books published before and definitely since. In the same vein, James Dashner’s The Maze Runner series begins when Thomas wakes to find himself in an elevator, recalling nothing but his name. The elevator opens to a strange world of teenage boys who have learned to survive in “the glade,” an enclosed space surrounded by a dangerous and ever-changing maze. They have begin to give up hope – until Thomas and then a comatose girl arrives, bringing with her a strange note. The series continues with The Scorch Trials, Death Cure and the prequel, The Kill Order. Veronica Roth’s Divergent series clearly appeal to Hunger Games fans. Set in a bleak future Chicago, society has recovered from a devastating conflict by dividing into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue: Candor (honesty); Abnegation (selflessness); Dauntless (bravery); Amity (peace-loving); and Erudite (wisdom and knowledge). All sixteen- year-olds must choose the faction in which they will spend the rest of their lives. The main character, Beatrice, raised in Abnegation, makes a surprising choice. At the initiation that follows, Beatrice, now called Tris, struggles to make it past extreme physical and psychological endurance tests. If that’s not enough, she must also sort out friends from enemies, figure out what to do about her feelings for a certain off-limits boy – AND hide a deadly secret. All this and more awaits the reader as Tris also becomes aware of a growing conflict in this ‘perfect’ society – and finds out that her secret can either save or destroy her and those she loves. Another great choice for lovers of dystopian fiction is the Matched trilogy, by Ally Condie (Matched, Crossed, Reached). For Cassia, everything is planned for her –what she eats, the work she will do, the man she will marry. In Matched, the Society Officials make all these decisions for individuals, completely removing the “burden” of choice. When Cassia’s best friend Xander is identified as her ideal Match, it confirms her belief that Society indeed knows best, until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes across the screen – Ky. This improbable error exposes cracks in her supposedly perfect Society, and the series continues through Cassia’s collision course with the unthinkable – rebellion against the predetermined life Society has planned for her. In Marie Lu’s Legend, the former western United States is now the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Fifteen-year-old June, born into an elite and wealthy family, is a superachiever headed for sure success in the Republic's military. Born into the slums, 2 fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal, but his motives may not be as criminal as they seem. June and Day have no reason to meet - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day is the prime suspect. Caught in a game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. The two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the extent to which their country will go to keep its secrets. Full of nonstop action and suspense (beware: a fair bit of violence) and surprise surprise, an improbable but budding romance. The action continues with Prodigy and Champion. Many of these works find echoes in George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Also, see the description of Kazuo Ishiguro’s book Never Let Me Go and Lois Lowry’s The Giver. So there are plenty of possibilities for lovers of dystopian fiction! OTHER GREAT BOOKS (All Genres) Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Set in the Igbo community of Umuofia in eastern Nigeria in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as the British Empire is expanding into Nigeria, Things Fall Apart is the tragic story of both the protagonist, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture itself. Curriculum Connection – World History, World Literature. Applegate, Katherine. The One and Only Ivan. 2013 Newbery Award winner. While this is not written for a high school audience, it’s still a very sweet feel-good read! It’s based on the true story of Ivan the Shopping Mall gorilla. If it seems strange to read a point written from the point of view of a gorilla, it won’t after you read it. This is a heart-tugging, heart-warming novel of courage and friendship. Indulge your inner kid for a few minutes, and read it. Asimov, Isaac. Foundation. A classic science fiction trilogy! For twelve thousand years, the Galactic Empire has ruled in peace, but it is now dying. Hari Seldon, creator of the science of psychohistory, can see the Dark Age that will follow, lasting 30,000 years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best scientific and scholarly minds in the Empire and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy – a sanctuary he calls the Foundation. But soon the Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords and must choose between living as slaves to the barbarians – or defying them and risking total destruction. Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. If you’re a Pride and Prejudice fan, you’ll love the story of how sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne navigate the ups and downs of love. Curriculum Connection – AP Literature, British Literature. 3 Batson, Wayne. The Door Within series. Down in the basement of his grandfather’s house, Aidan Thomas discovers three ancient scrolls and an invitation to another world, where he encounters knights, warriors, kings, and mysterious Glimpses who can travel between two worlds. Aidan joins them in the struggle between good and evil, but it means risking everything and trusting the unseen hand of the one true King. Billerbeck, Kristin. Billerbeck writes light, fun Christian romance novels about young career women and their jobs, love lives, bad hair days and horrible fashion sense. Enjoy A Billion Reasons Why, She’s Out of Control, Perfectly Ridiculous (new), and many others. Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. These connected stories describe man’s attempt to explore and settle Mars during the 21st century. Considering that’s here and now, it makes for interesting reading. Bradbury, Ray. Something Wicked This Way Comes. Two best friends learn that of all the terrors in the Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show, the greatest threat exists within themselves. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. It is a time when books are banished and the written word is forbidden. Fireman Guy Montag loves his job, which is to burn any books that are discovered along with the houses where they are found. When he meets a young girl who tells him of a time when the written word was legal, Montag begins to rescue books rather than burn them …and then must run for his life. Bradley, Alan. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery. At the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist, is trying to make sense of a dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, she finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. Murder has come to Buckshaw, and Flavia’s on the trail. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.” Enjoy this and many other Flavia moments! Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Starts off rather slowly, with Jane’s unhappy childhood, and then picks up steam! Jane Eyre is full of drama (ok, make that melodrama) including creepy houses, fires, storms, murders, romance and insanity. It’s also about Jane’s stubborn independent streak, definitely a problem for a 19th century Englishwoman. Curriculum Connection – British Literature. If you enjoy Charlotte Bronte’s classic, check out her sister Emily’s famous work Wuthering Heights. Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game.