College-Bound Booklist
The following list of books is a combination of many lists that have been compiled by colleges,
universities, and high school English instructors. College professors expect incoming students to be
familiar with these works. In some cases these titles will be reassigned at the college level and
discussed and examined in more depth. As an honors English student, it is assumed that your reading
abilities, comprehension skills, and maturity are adequate to read many of these suggested topics.
The list of suggested titles offers a wide variety of topics and interests, so hopefully you will be able to
find a book you like. You are encouraged to share your book with your parents and to include in your
reader response journal the notes from discussions you have had with them. Many of your parents have
read or are familiar with the content of these books, and may offer valuable assistance in choosing a
title that suits your interests. If you would like to read a book that does not appear on this list, please
see your teacher for approval.
Please note that titles marked with an asterisk (*) are on the Fulton County approved novel list for
ninth grade.
All book descriptions were taken from Amazon.com.
Fiction—Section 1
Allende, Isabel
House of the Spirits
The story of the Trueba family in Chile, from the turn of the century to the violent days of the
overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in 1973.
Allison, Dorothy
Bastard Out of Carolina
Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright lives in the harsh backcountry of South Carolina. Her loyalty to family
is tested as she navigates her estranged relationship with Daddy Glenn.
Alverez, Julia
In the Time of the Butterflies
The Mirabal sisters lead a revolution against the injustices of the dictatorship of the Trujillo regime in
the Dominican Republic.
Baldwin, James
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Baldwin chronicles two generations, stretching from the Deep South to Harlem, in the midst of
racial and societal upheaval.
Balzac, Honore de
Pere Goriot
A father is reduced to poverty after giving money to his daughters.
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Brontë, Emily
Wuthering Heights
One of the masterpieces of English romanticism, this is a novel of Heathcliff and Catherine, love
and revenge.
Camus, Albert
The Stranger
A man who is virtually unknown to both himself and others commits a pointless murder for which he
has no explanation.
Card, Orson Scott *
Ender’s Game
Ender Wiggin is a very bright young boy with a powerful skill. One of a group of
children bred to be military geniuses and save Earth from an inevitable attack by aliens,
known here as "buggers," Ender becomes unbeatable in war games and seems poised to
lead Earth to triumph over the buggers. Meanwhile, his brother and sister plot to wrest
power from Ender. Twists, surprises and interesting characters elevate this novel into
status as a bona fide page turner.
Cervantes, Miguel de
Don Quixote
An eccentric old gentleman sets out as a knight “tilting at windmills” to right the wrongs of the world.
Chevalier, Tracy
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring centers on Vermeer's prosperous Delft household during the 1660s.
When Griet, the novel's quietly perceptive heroine, is hired as a servant, turmoil follows.
Cisneros, Sandra
Carmelo
Based in Mexico City, the Celayas family secrets are revealed through the Grandmother’s lies.
Courtenay, Bryce
The Power of One
“The Power of One has everything: suspense, the exotic, violence; mysticism, psychology and magic; schoolboy
adventures, drama in the boxing ring.”
–The New York Times
Crew, Linda *
Children of the River
To escape the Khmer Rouge army, Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunt. Now she is a high
school student in Oregon. Reconciling American values with Cambodian traditions is difficult.
Defoe, Daniel
Robinson Crusoe
The adventures of a man who spends 24 years on an isolated island.
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Dickens, Charles
A Tale of Two Cities
Relates the adventures of a young Englishman who gives his life during the French Revolution to save the husband of the
woman he loves.
Dickens, Charles
Bleak House
Bleak House is a satirical look at the Byzantine legal system in London as it consumes the minds and talents of the greedy
and nearly destroys the lives of innocents--a contemporary tale indeed. Dickens's tale takes us from the foggy dank streets
of London and the maze of the Inns of Court to the peaceful countryside of England. Likewise, the characters run from
murderous villains to virtuous girls, from a devoted lover to a "fallen woman," all of whom are affected by a legal suit in
which there will, of course, be no winner.
Dickens, Charles *
Great Expectations
The moving story of the rise, fall, and rise again of a humbly-born young orphan.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor
Crime and Punishment
A psychological novel about a poor student who murders an old woman pawnbroker and her sister.
Eliot, George
The Mill on the Floss
Maggie is miserable because her brother disapproves of her choices of romances.
Esquivel, Laura
Like Water for Chocolate
As the youngest of three daughters in a turn-of-the-century Mexican family, Tita may not marry but
must remain at home to care for her mother.
Forster, E.M.
A Passage to India
A young English woman in British-ruled India accuses an Indian doctor of sexual assault.
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
One Hundred Years of Solitude
A technique called magical realism is used in this portrait of seven generations in the lives of the
Buendia family.
Gardner, John
Grendel
The first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic Beowulf,
tells his own side of the story.
Grass, Grunter
The Tin Drum
Oskar describes the amoral conditions through which he has lived in Germany, both during and after
the Hitler regime.
3
Guy, Rosa *
The Friends
A story of the friendship of Phyllisia, and Edith. Phyllisia is a new student in a Harlem school
who is made fun of because of her West Indian style of talk. Edith is poorly dressed girl, who
is the only one willing to be friends with Edith.
Hamilton, Edith *
Mythology
Fans of Greek mythology will find all the great stories and characters here--Perseus, Hercules, and Odysseus--each
discussed in generous detail by the voice of an impressively knowledgeable and engaging (with occasional lapses) narrator.
This is also an excellent primer for middle- and high-school students who are studying ancient Greek and Roman culture
and literature.
Hesse, Karen
Out of the Dust
A young girl’s poetry expresses the trials of life during the Oklahoma dustbowl.
Hemingway, Ernest
A Farewell to Arms
A disaffected young soldier falls in love with a nurse and flees the war to be with her.
Hemingway, Ernest
The Sun Also Rises
A young American veteran of World War I lives in Paris and travels with his friends and the woman he
loves.
Hemingway, Ernest *
The Old Man and the Sea
This tale of an aged Cuban fisherman going head-to-head (or hand-to-fin) with a magnificent marlin encapsulates
Hemingway's favorite motifs of physical and moral challenge.
Hesse, Hermann
Siddhartha
Emerging from a kaleidoscope of experiences and pleasures, a young Brahmin ascends to a state of
peace and mystical holiness.
Joyce, James
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A novel about a young man growing up in Ireland and rebelling against family, country, and religion.
Kafka, Franz
The Trial
A man is tried for a crime he knows nothing about, yet for which he feels guilt.
Kingsolver, Barbara
Bean Trees
Taylor Greer flees Kentucky and learns about growing up through her relationship with an unexpected
native-American child.
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Martel, Yan
Life of Pi
After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat
with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named
Richard Parker
Miller, Arthur
Death of a Salesman
A salesman, depressed about his failure to achieve financial success, grows increasingly unhinged and
faces suicide.
Pasternak, Boris
Doctor Zhivago
An epic novel of Russia before and after the Bolshevik revolution.
Patron, Alan
Cry, the Beloved Country
A country Zulu pastor searches for his sick sister in Johannesburg, and discovers that she has become a
prostitute and his son a murderer.
Remarque, Erich Maria
All Quiet on the Western Front
A young German soldier in World War I experiences pounding shellfire, hunger, sickness, and death.
Scott, Sir Walter
Ivanhoe
Tale of Ivanhoe, the disinherited knight, Lady Rowena, Richard the Lion-Hearted, and Robin Hood at
the time of the Crusades.
Shelley, Mary W.
Frankenstein
A gothic tale of terror in which Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster from corpses.
Shute, Nevil
On the Beach
The people of Australia await the arrival of nuclear fallout.
Sinclair, Upton
The Jungle
A turn-of-the-century Lithuanian immigrant and his family struggle to survive in wretched poverty in
the meatpacking district of Chicago.
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksander
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Ivan Denisovich Shukhov endures one more day in a Siberian prison camp and finds joy in survival.
5
Steinbeck, John
East of Eden
A powerful and ambitious novel that is at once a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of
Genesis.
Steinbeck, John *
The Pearl
Kino, a poor Mexican pearl fisher, finds a valuable pearl. Yet instead of bringing blessings, the pearl acts as a harbinger of
misfortune to Kino and his wife, Juana.
Swift, Jonathan
Gulliver’s Travels
Gulliver encounters dwarfs and giants and has other strange adventures when his ship is wrecked in
distant lands.
Tan, Amy
The Joy Luck Club
After her mother’s death, a young Chinese-American woman learns of her mother’s tragic early
life in China.
Tolstoy, Leo
Anna Karenina
Anna forsakes her husband for the dashing Count Vronsky and brief happiness.
Twain, Mark
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Two boys growing up in Missouri have a variety of adventures, thwart a murderer, and find gold.
Uchida, Yoshiko *
The Picture Bride
Yoshiko Uchida masterfully tells the story of Hana, a Japanese immigrant, who comes to
America to marry a man she has never met.
Wilde, Oscar
The Picture of Dorian Grey
Wilde’s dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty.
Williams, Tennessee
The Glass Menagerie
A young man, fed up with his responsibilities to his nostalgic mother and crippled sister, flees family
life.
Wilson, August
The Piano Lesson
At the heart of the play stands the ornately carved upright piano which is the Charles family’s prized,
hard-won possession. The desire to sell the antique piano for cash in order to buy the same Mississippi
land the family worked as slaves becomes the real “piano lesson.”
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Biography/Historical/Nonfiction---Section 2
Angelou, Maya
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
An African-American writer traces her coming of age.
Ashe, Arthur and Arnold Rampersad
Days of Grace
Biography of a highly respected tennis star and citizen of the world who dies of AIDS.
Baker, Russell
Growing Up
A columnist with a sense of humor takes a gentle look at his childhood in Baltimore during the
Depression.
Beecher Stowe, Harriet
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
An international bestseller that sold more than 300,000 copies when it first appeared in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin was
dismissed by some as abolitionist propaganda; yet Tolstoy deemed it a great work of literature "flowing from love of God
and man." Today, however, Harriet Beecher Stowe's stirring indictment of slavery is often confused with garish
dramatizations that flourished for decades after the Civil War: productions that relied heavily on melodramatic
simplifications of character totally alien to the original. Thus "Uncle Tom" has become a pejorative term for a subservient
black, whereas Uncle Tom in the book is a man who, under the most inhumane of circumstances, never loses his human
dignity. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is the most powerful and most enduring work of art ever written about American slavery,"
said Alfred Kazin.
Berenbaum, Michael
The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as told in the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum
Brown, Dee
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
A narrative of the white man’s conquest of the American land as the Indian victims experienced it.
Bryson, Bill
A WALK IN THE WOODS: REDISCOVERING AMERICA ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness.
Accompanied only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia,
intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin.
If nothing else, A Walk in the Woods is proof positive that the journey is the destination. As Bryson and Katz haul
their out-of-shape, middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny personal memoir
and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created it, and the places it passes through.
Carter, Forrest *
The Education of Little Tree
The story of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and halfCherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression.
Cooke, Alistair
Alistair Cooke’s America
A history of the continent, with anecdotes and insight into what makes America work.
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Covington, Dennis
Salvation on Sand Mountain
A story of snake handling and strychnine drinking, of faith healing and speaking in tongues. It is also the story of one man's
search for his roots--and, in the end, of his spiritual renewal.
Criddle, Jan D. and Teeda Butt Mam
To Destroy You Is No Loss: The Odyssey of a Cambodian Family
After the 1975 Communist takeover of Cambodia, Teeda’s upper-class life is reduced to surviving
impossible conditions.
Crow Dog, Mary and Richard Erdoes
Lakota Woman
Mary Crow Dog stands with 2,000 other Native Americans at the site of the Wounded Knee massacre,
demonstrating for Native American rights.
Curie, Eve
Madam Curie
In sharing personal papers and her own memories, a daughter pays tribute to her mother, a scientific
genius.
Dubner, Stephen and Levitt, Stephen
FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING
Starred Review. Forget your image of an economist as a crusty professor worried about fluctuating interest rates: Levitt
focuses his attention on more intimate real-world issues, like whether reading to your baby will make her a better student.
Recognition by fellow economists as one of the best young minds in his field led to a profile in the New York Times, written
by Dubner, and that original article serves as a broad outline for an expanded look at Levitt's search for the hidden
incentives behind all sorts of behavior. There isn't really a grand theory of everything here, except perhaps the suggestion
that self-styled experts have a vested interest in promoting conventional wisdom even when it's wrong. Instead, Dubner and
Levitt deconstruct everything from the organizational structure of drug-dealing gangs to baby-naming patterns. While some
chapters might seem frivolous, others touch on more serious issues, including a detailed look at Levitt's controversial
linkage between the legalization of abortion and a reduced crime rate two decades later. Underlying all these research
subjects is a belief that complex phenomena can be understood if we find the right perspective. Levitt has a knack for
making that principle relevant to our daily lives, which could make this book a hit. Malcolm Gladwell blurbs that Levitt
"has the most interesting mind in America," an invitation Gladwell's own substantial fan base will find hard to resist.
Ehrenreich, Barbara
Nickel and Dimed
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. Barbara Ehrenreich
decided to join them. She soon discovered that even the “lowliest” occupations require exhausting
mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live
indoors.
Franklin, Benjamin
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Considered on of the most interesting autobiographies in English.
Griffin, John Howard
Black Like Me
John Howard Griffin changes the color of his skin and ventures as a black man into the deep south
during the onset of the Civil Rights movement.
8
Haley, Alex
Roots
This novel traces Haley’s search for the history of his family, from Africa through the era of slavery to
the 20th century.
Kalsen, Carol
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England
The status of a woman in colonial society affects the Salem witch accusations.
Keller, Helen
The Story of My Life
The story of Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, and her relationship with her devoted teacher
Anne Sullivan.
Kennedy, John F.
Profiles in Courage
A series of profiles of Americans who took courageous stands in public life.
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr.
King’s most important writings are gathered together in one source.
Kovic, Ron
Born on the Fourth of July
Paralyzed in the Vietnam War, 21-year-old Ron Kovic received little support from his country and its
government.
Krakauer, Jon
INTO THIN AIR
A riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent
veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall.
Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's
book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written
within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey
up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips
throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers
to ponder timeless questions.
Lawrence, D.H.
Sons and Lovers
An autobiographical novel about a youth torn between a dominant working-class father and possessive
genteel mother.
Machialvelli, Niccolo
The Prince
A treatise giving the absolute ruler practical advice on ways to maintain a strong central government.
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Malcolm X, with Alex Haley
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Traces the transformation of a controversial Black Muslim figure from street hustler to religious and
national leader.
Maybury-Lewis, David
Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World
Profiles members of several tribal cultures.
McCourt, Frank
Angela’s Ashes
Despite impoverishing his family because of his alcoholism, McCourt's father passed on to his
son a gift for superb storytelling. He recounts his desperately poor early years, living on public
assistance and losing three siblings, but manages to make the book funny and uplifting.
McPherson, James
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
From the Mexican War to Appomattox, aspects of the Civil War are examined.
Moaveni, Azadeh
LIPSTICK JIHAD: A MEMOIR OF GROWING UP IRANIAN IN AMERICA AND AMERICAN IN IRAN
Adult/High School–Moaveni went to Tehran to report for Time–to find out both the truth about Iran and, she hoped, her
"authentic self." One of the strongest memoirs written about being trapped between two countries, the book begins with the
author as a young Californian who told friends she was "Persian." Secretly enthralled by the country her parents left during
the Islamic Revolution, she wanted to love Iran and determined to give it a chance. She quickly adapted to not smoking or
smiling in public. She learned how dating boys and girls seen together on the street are subject to being beaten by the
police. Her book is an excellent introduction to the country's recent history and the Islamic Revolution
Preston, Richard
THE DEMON IN THE FREEZER: A TRUE STORY
On December 9, 1979, smallpox, the most deadly human virus, ceased to exist in nature. After eradication, it was confined
to freezers located in just two places on earth: the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Maximum Containment
Laboratory in Siberia. But these final samples were not destroyed at that time, and now secret stockpiles of smallpox surely
exist. For example, since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the subsequent end of its biological weapons program, a
sizeable amount of the former Soviet Union's smallpox stockpile remains unaccounted for, leading to fears that the virus
has fallen into the hands of nations or terrorist groups willing to use it as a weapon. Scarier yet, some may even be trying to
develop a strain that is resistant to vaccines. This disturbing reality is the focus of this fascinating, terrifying, and important
book.
Plato
The Republic
Plato creates an ideal society where justice is equated with health and happiness in the state and the
individual.
Rogosin, Donn
Invisible Men: Life in Baseball’s Negro Leagues
Negro League players finally gain recognition for their contributions to baseball.
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Schlosser, Eric
Fast Food Nation
Schlosser’s survey reveals the effects of the fast-food industry on every facet of our culture.
Thoreau, Henry David
Walden
In the mid-19th century, Thoreau spends 26 months alone in the woods to “front the essential facts of
life.”
Tocqueville, Alexis de
Democracy in America
This classic in political literature examines American society from the viewpoint of a leading French
magistrate who visited the U.S. in 1831.
Tuchman, Barbara
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
Tuchman uses the example of a single feudal lord to trace the history of the 14th century.
Walls, Jeannette
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
A remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once
deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic
father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace
life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit
who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family. The
Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another,
and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be
homeless even as their children prospered.
Williams, Juan
Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-65
From Brown vs. the Board of Education to the Voting Rights Act, Williams outlines the social
and political gains of African-Americans.
Winn, Marie
THE PLUG-IN DRUG: TELEVISION, COMPUTERS, AND FAMILY LIFE
In The Plug-In Drug, Marie Winn demonstrates "with devastating persuasiveness" (The Washington Post) that television
has a negative impact on child development, school achievement, and family life. But rather than focusing on program
improvement as a solution, Winn proposes that the problem lies within the seductive act of TV watching itself. Extensive
TV watching alters children's relations with the real world, depriving them of far more valuable real life experiences,
especially playing and reading. Ever sympathetic to parents' need for relief, Winn proposes ways to control this addictive
medium and live with it successfully. This 25th anniversary edition addresses the variety of new electronic media that have
supplemented television in the home and increased children's bondage to screen experiences.
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