THOMAS CAMPUS – 2015
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT, INCOMING 9 TH AND 10 TH GRADE
FICTION
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the
swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special
friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths
about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
Asylum by Madeline Roux
For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that
the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm—formerly a psychiatric hospital. As Dan and
his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really
went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because Brookline was no ordinary mental hospital, and there are
some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist.
Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose.
Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it.
Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.
An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are and who they
want to be.
Paper Towns by John Green
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.
The Crossing by Gary Paulsen
A critically acclaimed tearjerker from a master storyteller: On one side of the border is brutality and heartache; on the other side--a new life.
14yo Manny is an orphan in Juarez, Mexico. He competes with his bigger, meaner rivals for the coins American tourists throw off the bridge
between Texas and his town. Across that heavily guarded bridge await a different world and a better existence.
On the night when Manny dares the crossing--through the muddy shallows of the Rio Grande, past the searchlights and the border patrol--the
young man encounters an old stranger who could prove to be an ally or an enemy. Manny can't tell for certain. But if he is to achieve his dream,
then he must be willing to risk everything--even his life.
Fade to Black by Alex Finn
Three perspectives -- one truth
The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he
saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell.
The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really?
The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems with Alex. But he'd never do something like this.
Would he?
Other Fiction Titles to choose from…
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
A Step from Heaven by Anna Na
Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #1) by Cindy Pon
The Leaving of Things by Jay Antani
Non-Fiction
*I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb.
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an
education.
On Tuesday October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price. When she was shot in the head at point blank range while riding the bus home
from school, few expected her to survive.
Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in Northern Pakistan to the halls of the
United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever nominee for the Nobel Peace
Prize.
I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, and of Malala's parents' fierce love for
their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
It will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.
*The Warriors Heart: Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage
In this adaptation of his best-selling book, The Heart and the Fist, Eric speaks directly to teen readers, interweaving memoir and intimate secondperson narratives that ask the reader to put themselves in the shoes of himself and others. Readers will share in
Eric’s evolution from average kid to globe-traveling humanitarian to warrior, training and serving with the most elite military outfit in the world: the
Navy SEALs. Along the way, they’ll be asked to consider the power of choices, of making the decision each and every day to act with courage and
compassion so that they grow to be tomorrow’s heroes. Sure to inspire and motivate.
*Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall and Lisa Wysocky
An inspiring and compelling memoir from a young woman who lost her childhood to slavery—and built a new life grounded in determination and
justice.
Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her
into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt’s capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day,
seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an
anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima’s servitude—but her journey to true freedom was far from over.
A volunteer at her local police department since she was a teenager, Shyima is passionate about helping to rescue others who are in bondage. Now
a US citizen, she regularly speaks out about human trafficking and intends to one day become an immigration officer. In Hidden Girl, Shyima
candidly reveals how she overcame her harrowing circumstances and brings vital awareness to a timely and relevant topic.
*Tweak - Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff
This New York Times bestselling memoir of a young man’s addiction to methamphetamine tells a raw, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful tale of the
road from relapse to recovery and complements his father’s parallel memoir, Beautiful Boy.
Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop
addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a
violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the
compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge the mental and physical depths of drug
addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It's a harrowing
portrait—but not one without hope.
Freshman and Sophomore Summer Reading Assignment 2015
How do I know what I think until I see what I say? -- E.M. Forster
Freshman and Sophomore literature students must choose one book, from either the FICTION list or the
NON-FICTION list and complete a One-Pager Assignment. **HONOR’S LITERATURE STUDENTS MUST READ
TWO BOOKS: ONE FROM THE FICTION LIST AND ONE FROM THE NON-FICTION LIST. HONOR’S STUDENTS
ARE TO COMPLETE 1 ONE PAGER ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BOOK OF THEIR CHOOSING. Extra credit will be
given to any student that chooses to read additional books and complete additional One-Pager
assignments.
What is a One Pager?
A One Pager is a single-page response that shows your understanding of a piece of text you have read. It is a way of
making a representation of your individual, unique understanding. It is a way to be creative and experimental; it is a way
to respond to your reading imaginatively and honestly.
The purpose of a One Pager is to own what you are reading since we read differently when we know we are going to do
something with the text that we have read. We learn best when we are able to create our own patterns!
The Rules
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Read the instructions carefully and follow them. Do the project on ONE SIDE of an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper.
Use a lot of color and patterns (perhaps even texture) to illustrate your thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively.
Show that you read and thought about the book you chose.
What To Do
 Be sure to put the author’s name and title of the book you’re responding to somewhere on the page where
the reader will notice it.
 Pull out two or three important quotes that jump out at you, make you think or wonder, or remind you of
something. Write them down anywhere on your page. Use different colors and/or writing styles to individualize
each quote or phrase.
 Use a visual image (either drawn, computer-generated, or cut out from a magazine) to create a visual focus—
these pictures need to illustrate what pictures you have in your mind from reading.
 Write a personal statement about what you have read—what did it mean to personally? What is your opinion,
final thought, big question or personal connection? (Think about this by asking yourself a question or two and
then answering them as your personal statement about the book.)
 Create it in such a way that your audience will understand something about the literature from your One Pager.
What Not To Do
 Don’t merely summarize—you’re not retelling the story.
 Use unlined paper only, to keep from being restricted by lines.
 Don’t think half a page will do—make it rich with quotes and images. FILL UP THE PAGE!
Examples
The following are examples of One Pagers. Notice how they incorporate images, quotes, and responses. If you
would like to see a larger version of a One Pager, please go to the following link: http://goo.gl/ALrGBD