Scott High School
A School of Excellence
3400 Old Taylor Mill Road
Taylor Mill, Kentucky 41016
Phone: (356) 3146
Fax: (859) 356-5516
Dear Students and Parents:
This summer, each student at Scott High School has a reading assignment. Literacy is a key
component in being successful in high school, and our Summer Reading Program is designed to
help students maintain—and even sharpen—the skills they already possess.
This summer’s assignment allows students to choose high-quality books that appeal to their
interests. In addition to reading the book, students must prepare a presentation about the book.
(Advanced students have additional assignments, too.) Presentations will be given the first week
of English class; all other advanced-class assignments are due on the first day of school.
The presentation assignment, rubric and list of acceptable books are available on the school’s web
site and in the school office. For Advanced, Honors and Advanced Placement students, the
required texts are:
Incoming Freshman Advanced English: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, plus a
presentation on a book from the A.P. list
Incoming Sophomore Advanced English: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, plus a
presentation on a book from the A.P. list
Incoming Junior Honors English: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck; Death of a
Salesman, by Arthur Miller; plus a presentation on a book from the A.P. list
Incoming Senior Honors English: Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, Lord of the
Flies, by William Golding; and a presentation on a book from the A.P. list
Incoming A.P. English Literature: Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley; Their Eyes
Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; and The Kite Runner, by
Khaled Hosseini; and a presentation on a book from the A.P. list.
Incoming A.P. English Language: The Elements of Style, by Strunk & White, and a
presentation on a book from the A.P. list.
Students searching for a book should read the plot synopses and reviews posted at amazon.com.
All of these books may be borrowed at local libraries or purchased at local bookstores. Many can
be found at stores specializing in used books, such as The Book Rack and Half-Price Books in
Florence, and the used book service on amazon.com. Some students may benefit from using
unabridged editions of the books on tape or CD.
We encourage all students to make time in their summer for these assignments. Students who fail
to complete the work will earn a 0—which is not the best way to begin a new school year. If you
have questions regarding the assignments, please email me at tom.clark@kenton.kyschools.us;
I’ll respond as quickly as possible.
Happy reading!
Tom Clark
Chair, English Department
AP English Literature and Composition
Summer Reading Guidelines
Required Reading and Assignments
o
o
o
o
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Novel of choice and presentation (see note #3 below)
It is recommended that you purchase your own copy of each of these works because we
will be discussing these texts at the beginning of the year; however, you may check
before the end of this school year to see if the English Department has any copies you can
borrow. Annotate the text by underlining and marking important passages, including
your comments. If you must borrow a book, be sure to take copious notes on paper or
post-its (don’t forget page numbers) so you are prepared to contribute in a meaningful
way to classroom discussion.
As you read, you need to do the following:
1.
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Create three journal entries for each of the three novels (Eyes, Kite, and
Brave), for a total of nine journals. All entries must be a minimum one typed
page, double-spaced, and should be compiled into one Word document. Look
at the list of possible topics below, and identify at the top of each entry the
topic you have selected. Each topic can be used only once per novel, and no
more than twice in the entire series of entries. Be sure that you are making
specific references to the text in your journal entries. You will receive
instructions on the first day of class about how to submit your journals
electronically to your teacher. Journals will be graded on both the quantity
and the analytical quality of your responses, as well as on compliance with the
assignment specifications.
Any diction, passage, imagery, or situation that affects you
Three things you agree (disagree) with
How the book makes you feel
How the reading relates to your life
How the reading relates to a period in history
Relate the reading to another literary work
What you think the author was trying to accomplish and how it reflects his
personal life
Why you think a character (major or minor) acted like (he/she) did
What you think it would be like to live in the setting of each book
Note any reference to fine arts (music, art, drama, theatre, etc.)
How you can use this knowledge in your own life
What you think the book means, and why you think that


Assume the role of one of the main characters and discuss your reaction/handling
of a particular situation
Three things you would like to discuss in class
2. Complete the AP Major Works Data Sheet for each novel (posted on our
school’s website under Summer Reading). These forms will be used later in
the year as we review novels and plays for the AP exam, so please pay careful
attention to each section and use specific examples. Some sections of the
Data Sheet require that you do outside research on the author as well as the
historical context of the novel. This assignment must also be typed because it
will be submitted electronically. Instructions will be given on the first day of
class about how to submit this assignment for a grade.
3. Novel of Choice—select one novel or play on the list of works which have
been referenced on the AP English Literature Exam since 1973 (henceforth
known as “the AP list”). Read this novel and electronically complete a Data
Sheet for it, then follow all the attached guidelines (also posted on our
school’s website) to create a powerpoint presentation on the novel. This
project will be electronically submitted and presented during the first week of
class. You may NOT select any novel or play previously read in your English
classes or being read this summer for class, NOR may you select any of the
following, which we will be reading this year:
A Doll’s House, The Color Purple, Wuthering Heights, Hamlet,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Heart of Darkness, Lord of the
Flies, Oedipus Rex, Antigone
Additionally, be prepared for a test on the three specified novels, one on each of the first
three days of class.
Recommended Reading
In addition to completing the required reading, I assume that all of you will continue to
read for pleasure—after all, you have signed up for AP English Literature because you
love to read! Two lists have been posted on the school website (look in the Summer
Reading section) which might prove helpful as you select additional works to read over
the summer. One is the AP List; the other is a list from Entertainment Weekly of the 100
“New Classics.” I would recommend that you fill out Major Works Data Sheets for any
of these works you read.
Questions
Feel free to email Mrs. Welp (Addison.welp@kenton.kyschools.us) or Mrs. Henson
(Shannon.henson@kenton.kyschools.us). We do not check our emails daily, but you
should receive a response within a week or two. Don’t wait until August 17 to ask your
questions!!!!
Scott High School 2010 Summer Reading Project
For AP English Literature and Composition Students
Directions
 Choose a novel or play from the AP List. This should be a book that you must physically
bring with you on the day of your presentation. Do not select any novel or play you
have previously read for class, nor any others on the summer reading list or ones we will
read in class this year.
o Note: This should be a book that you have not read before. (We are English
teachers. We pretty much know what your past teachers have assigned.)
 Read the book! As you read, use post-it notes, index cards, or paper inserts in order to
mark significant passages/quotes that you find particularly interesting or important. On
your insert, write a brief explanation (1-2 sentences) of the chosen important passages.
(Why did you choose this passage? How do you know it is important?) You must have
one annotation/insert per chapter. Be able to defend your choice!
(Those of you who choose books without chapters must make an annotation
every ten pages, for a total of at least twenty annotations.)
 When you are finished with your chosen book and your annotations, design a 2-3
minute powerpoint presentation for your class in which you inform your peers
regarding whether or not they should purchase the book based on your own
evaluation. (Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the book.) If you liked the book,
“sell” it to the class. If not, use your presentation to convince students to avoid the book
– still, of course, thoroughly covering the characterization and the themes. Get creative
and make this powerpoint presentation reflect your personality and style. Remember—
this will be one of the first impressions we have of you! The presentation requirements
are specified on the attached rubric – which you must read thoroughly before you even
choose your book.
 Know and understand that this assignment will be worth 10% of your course grade in
your first trimester English class. You must take it seriously.
 Due Date: Your teacher will explain on the first day how/when to submit this
powerpoint presentation. Presentations will take place during the first week of class.
Definitions
Theme – author’s lesson/moral/message shared with the reader through the novel
Ex: Spiderman II – “There’s a hero in all of us who helps us to be noble, even if we have to give up the
thing we want the most.”
Characterization – author’s portrayal of the character, particularly the character’s
personality, through the author’s narration, the character’s actions, and the character’s
words
Ex: Napoleon Dynamite – The movie opens with Napoleon, dressed in tapered jeans, moon boots, an early
90’s t-shirt, toting a Trapper-Keeper, getting on the bus and throwing an action figure on a string out the
window. This gives viewers clues to Napoleon’s idiosyncrasies and general attitude toward life.
Summer Reading Presentation
Rubric
be brought to class on presentation day
****
(No Rubric: -5) Rubric must
Category
15
10
5
0
Themes
Student discusses
at least two
themes and
shows how these
themes are
represented in
the novel, with
full explanations
of examples from
the reading.
Student discusses
two themes from
the novel and
shows how they
are represented in
the novel. There
was good
explanation of how
these themes are
presented in the
novel, but more
explanation or
clarification would
have been helpful.
Student
discusses one to
two themes
from the novel,
but examples
and
explanations
are unclear or
shaky. Student
does not
demonstrate
that they
understand the
reading.
Student does
not discuss a
theme of the
book.
Student discusses
the
characterization of
two characters in
the novel, but does
not do so
thoroughly, leaving
questions about
the
characterization of
one or both of the
characters.
Student
discusses one
or two
characters in
the novel, but
the discussion is
shaky or
unclear. The
discussion
focuses more
on a basic
description of
the character(s)
than on an
analysis of the
character’s
personality.
Student does
not discuss the
characters in
the book.
The powerpoint for
the presentation is
accurate and
attractive, but did
not enhance or
assist in the
presentation of the
book.
The powerpoint
is somewhat
accurate, but
does not
demonstrate
much effort or
time and does
not assist in the
No powerpoint
was created
for the
presentation
of the book.
Characterization Student
thoroughly
discusses
author’s
portrayal of at
least two
characters,
particularly the
characters'
personality,
through the
author’s
narration, the
character’s
actions, and the
character’s
words.
Powerpoint
The powerpoint
for the
presentation is
an accurate and
attractive
representation of
the novel and
helps with the
presentation of
the book.
Text
Student brought
the book in on
presentation day
and had one
annotation for
each chapter or,
if chapters don't
exist, one
annotation is
written for every
ten pages.
Total:
_____________ / 60
presentation of
the book.
Student brought
the book in on
presentation day
and had
annotations for
most chapters or
every 15 pages if
chapters did not
exist.
Student
brought the
book in on the
day of the
presentation,
but very few
annotations
were included
in the book.
Student did
not bring in
the book on
the day of the
presentation
and no or very
few
annotations
were brought
in for the
book.
AP English: Literature and Composition
Name___________________
Major Works Data Sheet
Biographical information about the author:
Title:___________________________
Author:_________________________
Date of Publication:_______________
Genre: __________________________
Historical information about the period of publication:
Characteristics of the genre:
Plot summary:
Major Works Data Sheet
Describe the author’s style:
Page 2
An example that demonstrates the style:
Memorable Quotes (minimum of five)
Quote
Significance
Major Works Data Sheet
Page 3
Characters
Name
Role in the story
Significance
Adjectives
Major Works Data Sheet
Page 4
Setting
Significance of the opening scene
Significance of the ending/closing scene
Symbols
Old AP Questions (leave blank)
Possible Themes
Titles from Free Response Questions*
Adapted from an original list by Norma J. Wilkerson.
Works referred to on the AP Literature exams since 1971 (specific years in parentheses).
A
Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner (76, 00)
Adam Bede by George Eliot (06)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (80, 82, 85, 91, 92, 94, 95,
96, 99, 05, 06, 07, 08)
The Aeneid by Virgil (06)
Agnes of God by John Pielmeier (00)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (97, 02, 03, 08)
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (00, 04, 08)
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (00, 02, 04, 07, 08)
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (95, 96, 06, 07, 08)
America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan (95)
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (81, 82, 95, 03)
The American by Henry James (05, 07, 10)
Angle of Repose (10)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (80, 91, 99, 03, 04, 06, 08)
Another Country by James Baldwin (95, 10)
Antigone by Sophocles (79, 80, 90, 94, 99, 03, 05)
Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler (94)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (78, 89, 90, 94, 01, 04, 06, 07, 09)
As You Like It by William Shakespeare (92, 05, 06, 10)
Atonement by Ian McEwan (07)
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (02, 05)
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (87, 88, 91, 92, 95, 97, 99, 02, 04, 07, 09)
B
"The Bear" by William Faulkner (94, 06)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (90, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09)
A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul (03)
Billy Budd by Herman Melville (79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 99, 02, 04, 05, 07, 08)
The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter (89, 97)
Black Boy by Richard Wright (06, 08)
Bleak House by Charles Dickens (94, 00, 04, 09)
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (94, 96, 97, 99, 04, 05, 06, 08)
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (07)
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (95, 08)
Bone: A Novel by Fae M. Ng (03)
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (06, 07)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (89, 05, 10)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevski (90, 08)
C
Candide by Voltaire (80, 86, 87, 91, 95, 96, 04, 06)
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (06)
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (82, 85, 87, 89, 94, 01, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08)
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (01, 08)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams (00)
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (94, 08, 09)
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (94, 96, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 06, 07)
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (71, 77, 06, 07, 09)
The Chosen by Chaim Potok (08)
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (06, 08)
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 05, 08, 09)
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje (01)
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton (85, 87, 91, 95, 96, 07)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevski (76, 79, 80, 82, 88, 96, 99, 00,
01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 09, 10)
The Crossing (09)
The Crucible by Arthur Miller (71, 83, 86, 89, 04, 05, 09)
D
Daisy Miller by Henry James (97, 03)
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel (01)
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (78, 83, 06)
"The Dead" by James Joyce (97)
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (86, 88, 94, 03, 04, 05, 07)
Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty (97)
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler (97)
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (06)
The Diviners by Margaret Laurence (95)
Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (79, 86, 99, 04)
Doctor Zhivago (10)
A Doll House (09)
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (71, 83, 87, 88, 95, 05)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (01, 04, 06, 08)
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia (03)
Dutchman by Amiri Baraka/Leroi Jones (03, 06)
E
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (06)
Emma by Jane Austen (96, 08)
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (76, 80, 87, 99, 01, 07)
Equus by Peter Shaffer (92, 99, 00, 01, 08, 09)
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (80, 85, 03, 05, 06, 07)
The Eumenides by Aeschylus (in The Orestia) (96)
F
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (99, 04, 09)
The Father by August Strindberg (01)
Faust by Johann Goethe (02, 03)
Fences by August Wilson (02, 03, 05, 09)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (03)
Fifth Business by Robertson Davis (00, 07)
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (07)
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (03, 06)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (89, 00, 03, 06, 08)
G
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines (00)
A Gesture Life by Chang-Rae Lee (04, 05)
Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen (00, 04)
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (71, 90, 94, 97, 99, 02, 08, 09)
Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien (01, 06)
The Golden Bowl (09)
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford (00)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (95, 03, 06, 09)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (79, 80, 88, 89, 92, 95, 96, 00, 01, 02,
03, 04, 05, 07, 08)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (82, 83, 88, 91, 92, 97, 00, 02, 04, 05,
07)
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin (83, 88, 90, 05)
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (87, 89, 01, 04, 06)
H
The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill (89, 09)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (88, 94, 97, 99, 00)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (03)
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (71, 76, 91, 94, 96, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04,
06, 09, 10)
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen (79, 92, 00, 02, 03, 05)
Henry IV, Parts I and II by William Shakespeare (80, 90, 08)
Henry V by William Shakespeare (02)
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (08)
House Made of Dawn by N Scott Momaday (95, 06)
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (04, 07)
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (08)
I
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (06)
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien (00)
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (05)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (76, 77, 78, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 94,
95, 96, 97, 01, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08, 09, 10)
J
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (78, 79, 80, 88, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 00, 05,
07, 08, 10)
Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee (99, 10)
Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson (00, 04)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (97, 03)
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (71, 76, 80, 85, 87, 95, 04, 09, 10)
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (82, 97, 05, 07)
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (77, 78, 82, 88, 89, 90, 96)
K
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (08)
King Lear by William Shakespeare (77, 78, 82, 88, 89, 90, 96, 01, 03, 04, 05,
06, 08, 10)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseinii (07, 08, 09)
L
Lady Windermere’s Fan (09)
A Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines (99)
Light in August by William Faulkner (71, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 95, 99, 03, 06)
The Little Foxes (10)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (08)
Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill (90, 03, 07)
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (77, 78, 82, 86, 00, 03, 07)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (85, 08)
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (95)
M
Macbeth by William Shakespeare (83, 99, 03, 05, 09)
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (80, 85, 04, 05, 06, 09, 10)
Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw (79, 96, 04, 07)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (03, 06)
Master Harold...and the Boys by Athol Fugard (03, 08)
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (94, 99, 00, 02, 07, 10)
M. Butterfly by David Henry Wang (95)
Medea by Euripides (82, 92, 95, 01, 03)
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (97, 08)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (09)
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (85, 91, 95, 02, 03)
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (78, 89)
Middlemarch by George Eliot (95, 04, 05, 07)
Middle Passage by V. S. Naipaul (06)
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (06)
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (90, 92, 04)
The Misanthrope by Moliere (08)
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 89, 94, 96, 01, 03, 04, 05,
06, 07, 09)
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (76, 77, 86, 87, 95)
Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao (00, 03)
The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie (07)
Mother Courage and Her Children by Berthold Brecht (85, 87, 06)
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (94, 97, 04, 05, 07)
Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw (87, 90, 95, 02)
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (97)
Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot (76, 80, 85, 95, 07)
My Antonia by Willa Cather (03, 08, 10)
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (03)
N
The Namesake (09)
Native Son by Richard Wright (79, 82, 85, 87, 95, 01, 04)
Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee (99, 03, 05, 07, 08)
1984 by George Orwell (87, 94, 05, 09)
O
Obasan by Joy Kogawa (94, 95, 04, 05, 06, 07, 10)
The Odyssey by Homer (86, 06, 10)
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (77, 85, 88, 00, 03, 04)
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (01)
Old School by Tobia Wolff (08)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (05, 10)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (89, 04)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey (01)
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (06)
The Orestia by Aeschylus (90)
Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf (04)
Othello by William Shakespeare (79, 85, 88, 92, 95, 03. 04, 07)
The Other (10)
Our Town by Thornton Wilder (86, 97, 09)
Out of Africa by Isaak Dinesen (06)
P
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (01)
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster (71, 77, 78, 88, 91, 92, 07)
Paradise Lost by John Milton (85, 86, 10)
Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen (06)
Père Goriot by Honore de Balzac (02)
Persuasion by Jane Austen (90, 05, 07)
Phaedre by Jean Racine (92, 03)
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (96, 99, 07, 08)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (02)
The Plague by Albert Camus (02, 09)
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov (97)
Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal (02, 08)
The Poisonwood Bible (10)
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James ( 88, 92, 96, 03, 05, 07)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (76, 77, 80, 86, 88, 96,
99, 04, 05, 08, 09, 10)
Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall (96)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (09)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (83, 88, 92, 97, 08)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (90, 08)
Push by Sapphire (07)
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (03, 05, 08)
R
Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow (03, 07)
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (87, 90, 94, 96, 99, 07, 09)
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (08)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (00, 03)
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie (08, 09)
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (07)
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (08)
The Road (10)
Robinson Crusoe (10)
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster (03)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (90, 92, 97, 08)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (81, 94, 00, 04, 05,
06, 10)
S
Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw (95)
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (71, 77, 78, 83, 88, 91, 99, 02, 04,
05, 06)
Sent for You Yesterday by John Edgar Wideman (03)
A Separate Peace by John Knowles (82, 07)
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (97)
Silas Marner by George Eliot (02)
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (87, 02, 04, 10)
Sister of My Heart (10)
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (91, 04)
Snow (09)
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (00, 10)
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (81, 88, 96, 00, 04, 05, 06, 07)
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (77, 86, 97, 01, 07, 08)
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence (96, 04)
The Stranger by Albert Camus (79, 82, 86, 04)
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (91, 92, 01, 04, 07, 08, 09)
The Street by Ann Petry (07)
Sula by Toni Morrison (92, 97, 02, 04, 07, 08)
Surfacing by Margaret Atwood (05)
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (85, 91, 95, 96, 04, 05)
T
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (82, 91, 04, 08)
Tarftuffe by Moliere (87)
The Tempest by William Shakespeare (71,78, 96, 03, 05, 07, 10)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (82, 91, 03, 06, 07)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zorah Neale Hurston (88, 90, 91, 96, 04, 05,
06, 07, 08)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (91, 97, 03, 09, 10)
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (04)
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (06)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (08)
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (77, 86, 88, 08)
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (90, 00, 06, 08)
Tracks by Louise Erdrich (05)
The Trial by Franz Kafka (88, 89, 00)
Trifles by Susan Glaspell (00)
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (92, 94, 00, 02, 04, 08)
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (85, 94, 96)
Typical American by Gish Jen (02, 03, 05)
V
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith (06)
W
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (77, 85, 86, 89, 94, 01, 09)
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (06)
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates (07)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee (88, 94, 00, 04, 07)
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (89, 92, 05, 07, 08)
Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare (82, 89, 95, 06)
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (82, 89, 95, 09)
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (91, 08)
The Women of Brewster Place (09, 10)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (71,77, 78, 79, 83, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92,
96, 97, 99, 01, 06, 07, 08, 10)
Z
The Zoo Story by Edward Albee (82, 01)
Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez (95)
Entertainment Weekly
New Classics List
1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000) ****cannot use on AP lit test
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
*****cannot use on AP lit test
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996) *****cannot use on AP lit test
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000) *****cannot use on AP lit test
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997) ******cannot use on AP lit test
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005) *****cannot use on AP Lit test
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) *****cannot use on AP lit test
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990) *****cannot use on AP lit test
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006) *****cannot use on AP lit test
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998) *****cannot use on AP lit test
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001) *****cannot use on AP lit test
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003) *****cannot use on AP lit test
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004) ***** cannot use on AP lit test
*****a note about the notes:
The AP Literature and Composition test is based on works of fiction (novels, plays, poetry), so any work of
nonfiction will not be tested on the exam. Additionally, some works on this list have not yet been deemed
“recognized literary merit” by the College Board. It doesn’t mean that you can’t read the book—it’s just that
you might not be able to use it as one of your choices on the exam in May.