• Solebury School • Summer Reading List • 2017 •
Below you’ll find the summer reading titles for the departments and courses that offer summer reading. Please note that in some instances the reading is mandatory and in others it is recommended. The difference is that Mandatory Readings are required and will be incorporated into class work during the fall trimester. Recommended Readings are optional and result in bonus points awarded to the fall trimester average.
* Mandatory Reading
# Recommended Reading
UPPER SCHOOL (Grades 9-12)
English
The English department chooses its titles on literary merit and the relevance of the texts to what we will study in the coming year. Sometimes these books contain material that may be controversial or upsetting. We encourage parents to read the books with their children, and students to come to school ready to talk about them. In addition to the titles below, please see additional requirements for each class explained on next page.
English 9 *The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
Honors English 9*The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
English 10 & Honors English 10*Maus, a Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History,
Art Spiegelman (book 1 is required summer reading and book 2 will be read in class)
English 11*Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Slinger
American Studies Literature*The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
(Grade 11)*Cambridge, Caryl Phillips
AP English (Grade 12)*Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
* How to Read like a Professor,
Thomas C. Foster
*A selection of poems (I will email a packet of poetry over the summer when enrollment is established. Any student who decides to sign up for AP English during the summer must email Zack Arrington at to arrange to get this packet)
In addition to the required titles listed above, English courses have additional requirements as follows:
For English 9, 10 and 11 (regular and honors) and AP English, it is required that students read at least one additional book (that they have not previously read) from the recommended reading list for the respective grade levels found at the end of this document. Students who read additional books from the list beyond this requirement can arrange with their teacher to receive extra credit.
For American Studies Literature, it is also recommendedthat students read at least one additional book from the recommended grade 11-12 reading list found at the end of this document. Students who read one of these books can arrange with their teacher to receive extra credit.
Teach2Serve
Year OneHow to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas,
David Bornstein (chapters 1, 2, 5, 8, 16, 18 and two additional chapters of your choosing)(provided by Teach2Serve)
Justice, Michael J. Sandel (chapters 1-6) (provided by Teach2Serve)
Year TwoThe Blue Sweater, Jacqueline Novogratz(provided by Teach2Serve)
Recommended for students entering grades 9-10
Realistic Fiction
*Alexie, ShermanThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Doerr, AnthonyAll the Light We Cannot See
Green, JohnThe Fault in our Stars
Haddon, MarkThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Rowell, RainbowEleanor & Park
Otsuka, JulieWhen the Emperor Was Divine
Saenz, Benjamin AlireThe Inexplicable Logic of My Life
Yoon, NicolaThe Sun is Also a Star
Shusterman, NealChallenger Deep
King, A.S.Ask the Passengers
Bray, LibbyGoing Bovine
Unrealistic Fiction – Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Dystopia
Adams, DouglasHitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Vonnegut, Kurt Cat’s Cradle
Ruby, LauraBone Gap
Tolkien,J.R.R.The Fellowship of the Ring (fantasy)
Tolkien,J.R.R. The Two Towers (fantasy)
Kazuo IshiguroNever Let Me Go
Michael CrichtonJurassic Park
Thompson Walker, KarenThe Age of Miracles
Goldman, WilliamThe Princess Bride
Gaiman, NeilNeverwhere
Historical Fiction
Wolfe, TomThe Right Stuff
Zusak, MarcusThe Book Thief
Lee, StaceyUnder a Painted Sky
Classics
Bronte, EmilyJane Eyre
Stevenson, Robert LewisThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Alcott, Louisa MayLittle Women
Dickens, CharlesBleak House
Wilde, OscarThe Picture of Dorian Gray
Non-Fiction
Brown, Daniel JamesThe Boys in the Boat
Bryson, BillA Walk in the Woods
Hoose, Phillip M.Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
Junger, SebastianA Perfect Storm
Krakauer, JonInto Thin Air
Roach, MaryGulp
Skloot, RebeccaThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Weiner, JonathanThe Beak of the Finch
Sheinkin, SteveMost Dangerous
Murder/ Mystery
Christie, AgathaMurder on the Orient Express
Doyle, Sir Arthur ConanThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Hammett, DashiellThe Maltese Falcon
Chabon, MichaelThe Yiddish Policemen’s Union
Memoir
McBride, JamesThe Color of Water
Grealy, LucyAutobiography of a Face
Fey, TinaBossy Pants
Magical Realism
Esquivel, LauraLike Water for Chocolate
Ruma, Nova SenThe Walls Around Us
Older, Daniel José Shadowshaper
Gaiman, NeilThe Ocean at the End of the Lane
Russell, KarenSwamplandia
Recommended for students entering grades 11-12
Realistic Fiction
Alvarez, JuliaHow the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Donoghue, EmmaRoom
Flynn, GillianGone Girl
Fowler, Karen JayWe are all Completely Beside Ourselves
Hosseini, KhaledThe Kite Runner
Hosseini, KhaledA Thousand Splendid Suns
Irving, JohnA Prayer for Owen Meany
Krauss, NicoleHistory of Love
Martel, YannLife of Pi
Patchett, AnnBel Canto
Rowling, J.K.Casual Vacancy
Tartt, DonnaThe Goldfinch
Wolitzer, MegTheInterestings
Zentner, JeffThe Serpent King
Niven, JenniferAll the Bright Places
Adichie, ChimamandaNgoziAmericanah
Unrealistic Fiction – Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Dystopia
McCarthy, CormacThe Road
Vonnegut, KurtGalapagos
Brooks, Max World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Rosoff, MegHow I Live Now
Weir, AndyThe Martian
Okorafor, NnediBindi
Van der Meer, JeffAnnihilation
Historical Fiction
Baker, KevinDreamland
Brooks, GeraldineYear of Wonders
Chevalier, TracyGirl With a Pearl Earring
Gruen, SaraWater for Elephants
Stockett, KathrynThe Help
Wein, ElizabethCode Name Verity
Frazier, CharlesCold Mountain
James, MarlonA Brief History of Seven Killings
Hegi, UrsulaStones from the River
McEwan, IanAtonement
Follett, KenPillars of the Earth
Classics
Baldwin, JamesGo Tell it on the Mountain
Ellison, RalphInvisible Man
Hurston, Zora NealTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Morrison, ToniThe Bluest Eye
Steinbeck, JohnGrapes of Wrath
Steinbeck, JohnCannery Row
Malory, Sir ThomasLe Morted’Arthur
Miller, ArthurDeath of a Salesman (play)
Camus, AlbertThe Stranger
McCullers, CarsonThe Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Jackson, ShirleyWe Have Always Lived in the Castle
Non-Fiction
Bryson, BillThe Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way
Sedaris, DavidLet’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
Weiner, JonathanThe Beak of the Finch
WuDunn, S.; Kristof, N.Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women …
Larson, ErikDevil in the White City
Capote, TrumanIn Cold Blood
Abby, EdwardDesert Solitaire
Murder/ Mystery
King, LaurieThe Secret Life of Bees
Racculia, KateBellweather Rhapsody
Lyga, BarryI Hunt Killers
Cain, James M.The Postman Always Rings Twice
Magical Realism
Marquez, Gabriel GarciaOne Hundred Years of Solitude
Obreht, TeaThe Tiger’s Wife
King, A.S. I Crawl Through It
Memoir
Angelou, MayaI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
McCourt, FrankAngela’s Ashes
Mann, SallyHold Still
Murray, LizBreaking Night
Walls, JeannetteGlass Castle
Smith, PattiJust Kids
X, MalcolmAutobiography
Bauby, Jean-Dominique The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Philosophical Novel
Quinn, DanielIshmael