Columbia High School
Grade 9 Summer Reading Assignment: Summer 2015
Each incoming 9th grade student is required to read one book from the summer reading list and to
report on the book using the attached Summer Reading Assignment Sheets. The assignment is to
be completed by the student and will count toward the first quarter average. Reading
comprehension will be assessed through a quiz and writing assignment during the first week of
school! The assignment is due on the fourth day of school and will NOT be accepted after
this time. You will receive more information about the due date from your English teacher on day
one. A variety of books have been chosen to meet the interest and reading ranges of all students.
Due Date: Friday, September 11th
Choose ONE of the following to read during the summer between 8th and 9th grades:
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
Going for the Record by Julie A. Swanson
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Every Day by David Levithan
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Name ____________________________________ Date ______________________
Title of Book _______________________________
Author ____________________
Parent Signature __________________________________________________
(REQUIRED)
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar Humor (Level: Intermediate)
Scott Hudson begins his freshman year of high school as a source of income to Wesley, the school shakedown artist. The girl he's known
since kindergarten has blossomed into a goddess, but doesn't seem to know he's alive. He gets roped into writing the sports column for
the school newspaper, even though he's not an athlete. On top of everything else, his mom is pregnant. As Scott maneuvers through a
number of serious situations--bullying, a suicidal classmate, school dances--he still manages to be upbeat and true to himself.
Overloaded with extracurricular activities and honors homework, he begins a journal filled with lists and tips for his expected sibling on
how to survive freshman year. As the school year and his mom's pregnancy progress, Scott begins to find his niche at school and tells his
story with humor and insight in this novel.
Going for the Record by Julie A. Swanson Sports/Realistic Fiction (Level: Intermediate)
The summer before her senior year in high school, everything is coming together for Leah’s soccer aspirations. She makes the
Olympic Developmental Program's regional team, is invited to a national camp, and is recruited by coaches at major universities.
But her self-absorbed dedication to soccer is challenged when she learns her chief sup-porter, her father, has terminal pancreatic
cancer with only three months to live. Leah and her family find themselves on a devastating path as they learn to cope with the
illness. They go through fear and anger, denial, hope, bargaining, and resignation. They also have to watch as their father tries to
cope with extreme pain and still maintain his sense of control and dignity.
Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates School Drama (Level: Intermediate)
High school junior Matt Donaghy is considered an okay guy. He gets good grades, writes for the school paper, is in the Drama
Club, and is known for his witty, if immature, humor. Students and teachers seem to like him. But one day he says something
that makes a few classmates think he's out to bomb the school. The school principal is notified, the police are called in, and
rumors are abuzz. Even his buddies doubt his innocence, and none of the guys come forward in his defense. There is, however,
someone else who overheard Matt's statement and understood his mocking intent. School renegade Ursula Riggs, or "Ugly Girl"
as she refers to herself, doesn't know Matt very well but reveals what she heard and the context in which it was said -- even
though her parents instruct her to mind her own business. But even if Ursula can help Matt clear up this misunderstanding, will
life at Rocky River High School ever be the same again?
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Drama (Level: Challenging)
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He
relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a
superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine,
order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls
apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.
Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical
Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to
face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the
workings of Christopher’s mind.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Mystery/Suspense (Level: Challenging)
Sixteen-year-old Jacob, traumatized by his grandfather's sudden, violent death, travels with his father to a remote island off the
coast of Wales to find the orphanage where his grandfather was sent to live to escape Nazi persecution in Poland. When he
arrives, he finds much more than he bargained for: the children from his grandfather's stories are still at the orphanage, living in
a time loop in 1940. The monsters that killed Jacob's grandfather are hunting for "peculiar" children, those with special talents,
and the group at the orphanage is in danger. Jacob must face the possibility that he, too, has certain traits that the monsters are
after and that he is being stalked by adults he trusted.
Every Day by David Levithan Fantasy (Level: Challenging)
Imagine waking up in a different body every day. A is a 16-year-old genderless being who drifts from body to body each day,
living the life of a new human host of the same age and similar geographic radius for 24 hours. One morning, A wakes up a girl
with a splitting hangover; another day he/she wakes up as a teenage boy so overweight he can barely fit into his car. Straight
boys, gay girls, teens of different races, body shapes, sizes and genders make up the catalog of A's outward appearances, but
ultimately A's spirit--or soul--remains the same. One downside of A's life is that he/she doesn't have a family, nor is he/she able
to make friends. A tries to interfere as little as possible with the lives of the teenagers until the day he/she meets and falls head
over heels in love with Rhiannon, an ethereal girl with a boyfriend’s body A is taking over. A pursues Rhiannon each day in
whatever form he/she wakes up in, and Rhiannon learns to recognize A--not by appearance, but by the way he/she looks at her
across the room. The two have much to overcome, and A's shifting physical appearance is only the beginning.
Name __________________________________________
Date _______________
Grade 9 Independent Summer Reading Form
Title of Book ____________________________________ Author’s Name _____________________________
Directions: Answer all parts of the following worksheets with complete sentences. Use correct grammar,
spelling, word usage, capitalization, and punctuation.
List three themes found within your book.
1.
2.
3.
Give one example from your book to support each of the themes you have listed. List an instance or character
that explains each theme. Be as specific as possible.
1.
2.
3.
What is the setting of your book? What year do the events take place? Where? Economic conditions?
Name four conflicts in your book. Briefly explain the circumstances surrounding each conflict. Specify what
kinds of conflicts are taking place (person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. fate, person vs. society,
person vs. nature)
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the climax or point of highest tension? When do things begin to change? Explain in detail how this
changes the outcome of the novel.
Refer back to the four conflicts you have already listed. How are each of these conflicts resolved? If a conflict
is not resolved, indicate the final status of the conflict. Again, be as specific as possible
1.
2.
3.
4.
Characterization: This is the method used by the writer to develop a character. A character can be developed
in four ways:
1. Physical description – What does the character look like?
2. What other characters say about a specific character
3. What the character says (dialogue) and how the character acts
4. What the narrator says about the character
Choose FIVE (5) characters from your story and provide examples for each of the following:
 The character’s role in the story (who are they in the context of the story)
 The character’s traits (you will need to do multiple)
 Evidence from the text to support these traits (Please do not just supply page numbers; copy a
quotation from the book to show how the character exhibits the traits you chose.)
Character #1: _______________________________________________

The character’s role in the story (who are they in the context of the story)

The character’s traits (you will need to do multiple)

Evidence from the text to support these traits (Please do not just supply page numbers; copy a
quotation from the book to show how the character exhibits the traits you chose.)
Character #2: _______________________________________________

The character’s role in the story

The character’s traits

Evidence from the text to support these traits
Character #3: _______________________________________________

The character’s role in the story

The character’s traits

Evidence from the text to support these traits
Character #4: _______________________________________________

The character’s role in the story

The character’s traits

Evidence from the text to support these traits
Character #5: _______________________________________________

The character’s role in the story

The character’s traits

Evidence from the text to support these traits
Thematic Paragraph
Your Task: Write a well-developed paragraph in which you use ideas from your Summer Reading Novel to
establish and defend the main theme of the literature. Develop your controlling idea using specific examples
and details from the novel. You may choose to use one of the themes you developed in question #1, or you can
create a new one.
Remember, a well-developed paragraph is typically 8-10 sentences in length.
Following the following format to help you organize your idea:

Topic Sentence (containing the controlling idea and the Title, Author, and Genre)

Supporting Details(Specific examples from the text)

Elaborating Details (explain how the details work to prove the controlling idea)

Supporting Details(Specific examples from the text)

Elaborating Details (explain how the details work to prove the controlling idea)

Concluding Sentence
Write the FINAL DRAFT of your paragraph on the lines below. This can also be typed and stapled to the back
of the packet before turning it in to your teacher.
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