Holy Name High School	Holy Name High School Lakewood Public Library
Summer Reading List 2012

Freshman || Sophomore || Sophomore Honors || Junior || Junior Honors || Senior || Senior AP

Freshman Summer Reading List

Theme: Self-Realization

Required book: Twelfth Angel by Og Mandino

Optional books (Choose one) (Honors students must choose two):

• Joshua and the Children by Joseph Girzone (modern-day parable)
  A stranger comes to a village and attempts to bring peace to the unhappy children. He feels the children are the key to the future "because adults resist change, and once adults learn to hate, it is hard for them to forgive and lay aside their hatred." A simple, moving story presented in an uncomplicated way.
  
  
• The Pact by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins & Rameck Hunt (non-fiction)
  Three young men growing up on the streets and facing life's pitfalls, make a pact. They promise each other they will become doctors and stick together during the long, difficult journey to reach that dream. This is a story of the power of friendship and beating the odds.
  
  
• Rachel's Tears by Beth Nimmo et al.(inspirational fiction)
  Rachel Scott was a typical teenager who was incredibly dedicated to following Christ. On April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School, she was killed for that faith. This book provides a vision of hope for preventing youth violence across the nation.
  
  
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (popular fiction)
  Stargirl is as magical as the desert sky, as strange as her pet rat, as mysterious as her own name. And she captures Leo's heart with just one smile. But when the students of Mica High turn on Stargirl for everything that makes her different, Leo urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In a celebration of nonconformity, Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity...and the inspiration of first love.
  
  
• Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix (historical fiction)
  Bella, from Italy, gets a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. There she works long hours under terrible conditions. When these conditions worsen, Yetta, a coworker, helps workers rise up in a strike. Wealthy Jane learns of their plight and becomes involved with their cause. On March 25, 1911, a spark ignites some cloth in fire, leading to one of the worst workplace disasters ever. Haddix's extensive historical research brings the tragic story to life through her thrilling story of Bella, Yetta and Jane.
  
  
• Where Are The Children? by Mary Higgins Clark (mystery)
  Nancy thought that her new marriage would help her forget the deaths of her two children. However, soon, because of situations she cannot control, her nightmares begin again.

Sophomore Summer Reading List

Theme: Injustices Throughout the World

Required book: Jerk California by Jonathan Friesen

Optional books (Choose one):

• Forbidden City by William Bell
  Seventeen-year-old Alex accompanies his father, a cameraman for a Canadian TV network, to China for a foreign assignment. Although both of them thought it would be a learning experience, neither realized the true adventure they would be experiencing in the spring of 1989 at Tien An Men Square, where a massacre of Chinese people took place. Alex discovers what risks newspeople must take to let the world know of terrible events.

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  In the Ruins of a placeonce known as North America lies the nation of Panem. This Capitol is harch and cruel and keeps its 12 districts from rebelling by forcing them all to send one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. In the story, Katniss Everdeen will be forced to make some difficult choices if she wants to survive and win.

• I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson
  The inspiring and haunting story of a teenage girl who survived the Nazi death camps of World War II along with her mother and brother. The many obstacles that they face give way to the strength of the human spirit.
  
  
• New Boy by Julian Houston
  Fifteen-year-old Rob wants nothing more than to escape the segregated South. But in late 1950s Virginia, opportunity doesn't come easily to an African-American teen, so Rob's parents enroll him a Connecticut boarding school where he will have the best education available. He will also be the first student of color in the school's history. While at school, he wonders where he belongs as the Civil Rights movement heats up back home.
  

• Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
  When German prisoners of war are brought to her Arkansas town during World War II, twelve-year-old Patty, a Jewish girl, befriends one of them and must deal with the consequences of that friendship. She is willing to risk losing family, friends--even her freedom--for what has quickly become the most important part of her life.
  
  

Sophomore Honors Summer Reading List

Theme: Injustices Throughout the World

Required books:

1984 by George Orwell

The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck

Optional books (Choose one):

• Forbidden City by William Bell
  Seventeen-year-old Alex accompanies his father, a cameraman for a Canadian TV network, to China for a foreign assignment. Although both of them thought it would be a learning experience, neither realized the true adventure they would be experiencing in the spring of 1989 at Tien An Men Square, where a massacre of Chinese people took place. Alex discovers what risks newspeople must take to let the world know of terrible events.

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  In the Ruins of a placeonce known as North America lies the nation of Panem. This Capitol is harch and cruel and keeps its 12 districts from rebelling by forcing them all to send one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. In the story, Katniss Everdeen will be forced to make some difficult choices if she wants to survive and win.

• I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson
  The inspiring and haunting story of a teenage girl who survived the Nazi death camps of World War II along with her mother and brother. The many obstacles that they face give way to the strength of the human spirit.

• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
  This story concerns Jefferson, a mentally slow, barely literate young man, who, though an innocent bystander to a shootout between a white store owner and two black robbers, is convicted of murder. His godmother turns to teacher Grant Wiggins, pleading with him to help Jefferson to face his death by electrocution with dignity. Eventually, the two men achieve a relationship that transforms them both.

Junior Summer Reading List

Theme: "The Tears of Things": Strength Through Adversity

Required Book: Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald

Optional books (Choose one):

• Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
  At age 9, Lucy was diagnosed with cancer. When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the taunts of classmates. Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength. She portrays what it is like as a child and young adult to deal with such a life-changing obstacle.
  
  
• Bleachers by John Grisham
  Neely Crenshaw, a great high school quarterback for the Messina Spartans, returns to his hometown 15 years later because his former coach is dying. Neely reunites with players from his high school team, but he feels strangely out of place and apparently harbors bitterness towards the very successful Coach Rake, who had lasting effects on his players.
  
  
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  Holden Caulfield, a high school student at Pencey Prep, tells the reader his opinions of different people around him, especially the phonies. He tries to justify what he does and how he thinks, but he is not doing well at school and does not fit in with the rest of the boys. This classic contains problems and concerns that teens have experienced right up to the present day.
  
  
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
  Merricat lives with her older sister, Constance, and her invalid uncle Julian in a mansion cut off from the local village. Several years ago four members of the family were poisoned and Constance was accused, but was acquitted. One day Charles, a cousin, shows up. Although Merricat does not like him, Constance makes him welcome in the house, but Merricat decides that she must do something to drive him away. Gothic horror & psychological thriller.
  
  
• You Belong To Me by Mary Higgins Clark
  This novel is the suspenseful story of the mysterious murders of many women. Former undercover agent Dr. Susan Chandler tries to discover the identity of the murderer by piecing together clues provided by talk-show listeners. The murderer's identity shocks her and will shock you, too.
  
  

Junior Honors Summer Reading List

Theme: "The Tears of Things": Strength Through Adversity

Required books:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Optional books (Choose one):

• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  Holden Caulfield, a high school student at Pencey Prep, tells the reader his opinions of different people around him, especially the phonies. He tries to justify what he does and how he thinks, but he is not doing well at school and does not fit in with the rest of the boys. This classic contains problems and concerns that teens have experienced right up to the present day.

• Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
  Based on two real life French Catholic priests who were sent to the American Southwest in 1851, Willa Cather's 1927 novel captures the essence of their experiences. The Mexican people, formerly ruled by Spain, had been Catholic for centuries and welcomed the priests. They travel throughout the area and meet a wide variety of people along the way. Always, their adventures take on mythical and religious significance, such as when the priest finds himself quite lost and then sees a juniper tree in the shape of a cross that leads him to food and shelter. Each of these adventures has a crisis, and each crisis is answered by a religious experience. This deepens the faith of the two proests who share their common religious feelings, even though they have very different personalities.

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  Bradbury shows a frightening vision of the future where firemen do not put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. This society holds up teh appearance of happiness as the highest goal--aa place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad.

• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
  Merricat lives with her older sister, Constance, and her invalid uncle Julian in a mansion cut off from the local village. Several years ago four members of the family were poisoned and Constance was accused, but was acquitted. One day Charles, a cousin, shows up. Although Merricat does not like him, Constance makes him welcome in the house, but Merricat decides that she must do something to drive him away. Gothic horror & psychological thriller.

Senior Summer Reading List

Theme: Overcoming Obstacles

Required book: A Child Called "It" by David Pelzer

Optional books (Choose one):

• The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall
  Red Stevens was a self-made man who gave his family everything and ruined them in a the process. Now, as his estate is divided among the greedy and self-serving relatives, one member is singled out for something special: Red's great-nephew, Jason. In a darkened room, Jason is confronted by the image of his deceased great uncle on a video monitor and is about to learn the secret of The Ultimate Gift. An inspiration book.
  
  
• The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
  In Victorian England, where wealth and poverty live side by side, one mysterious man navigates both world with perfect ease. Rich, handsome and ingenious, Edward Prince charms the most prominent of the well-to-do as he orchestrates the crime of his century. Crichton authored other best sellers such as Airframe, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World.
  
  
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  This story is based on the injustices and hypocrisies in 1960's Mississippi where black women were good enough to bring up white babies but not good enough to use the same restroom. The story is told from three perspectives: two maids and a white woman who stumbles across these injustices while she is looking for a way to become a journalist. It is beautifully written, sad, and funny. On the NY Bestseller List for over a year!
  
  
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
  Agatha Christie once again shows her genius for writing detective fiction.  In this novel there is a rumor circulating in town that a woman has poisoned her husband.  Then there is another death -- another victim.  Unfortunately for the killer, the king of all detectives Hercule Poirot takes over the investigation.
  
  
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
  This story concerns one family's near total collapse as seen through the eyes of the family dog, Enzo. It has everything: love, tragedy, redemption, danger, and a dog that teaches the reader about being human and about unconditional love. This should appeal to fans of both dogs and car racing...a gripping story.
  
  

Senior AP Summer Reading List

Theme: Overcoming Obstacles

Required books:

Color of Water by James McBride

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

Optional books (Choose one):

• The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
  In Victorian England, where wealth and poverty live side by side, one mysterious man navigates both world with perfect ease. Rich, handsome and ingenious, Edward Prince charms the most prominent of the well-to-do as he orchestrates the crime of his century. Crichton authored other best sellers such as Airframe, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World.
  
  
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  This story is based on the injustices and hypocrisies in 1960's Mississippi where black women were good enough to bring up white babies but not good enough to use the same restroom. The story is told from three perspectives: two maids and a white woman who stumbles across these injustices while she is looking for a way to become a journalist. It is beautifully written, sad, and funny. On the NY Bestseller List for over a year!
  
  
• The Once and Future King by T. H. White
  This novel combines all the elements of Arthurian legend, adventure and history in describing the lives of Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and some of the other notables of Camelot. The novel progresses through Arthur's life, he reign, his sorrows, and joys and the perils and high points of life in England. White shows the reader how the forces of light and darkness interplay in the shaping of a society where magic can be a real factor in everyday life.
  
  
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
  Agatha Christie once again shows her genius for writing detective fiction.  In this novel there is a rumor circulating in town that a woman has poisoned her husband.  Then there is another death -- another victim.  Unfortunately for the killer, the king of all detectives Hercule Poirot takes over the investigation.

Summer Reading List
Holy Name High School