Summer Reading List: AP English
St. Vincent Ferrer High School
Welcome to AP English! I look forward to working with you in the fall. We will be spending a good deal of
time discussing your summer reading books, so you need to know them well. You should not read SparkNotes,
CliffsNotes, or any other “notes” in lieu of reading these primary texts. I am not interested in what the writers of
SparkNotes and CliffsNotes have to say about the literature (in fact, I know what they say about the literature). I
want to hear what you think. So, you should analyze and interpret the literature on your own. The nature of these
assignments will require you to work on them throughout the summer. You should not procrastinate and wait
until the week before school starts to begin reading and completing your notes, as you will not finish. All of
your work should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point, Times New Roman font.
Reading Assignment
The following books are required reading for AP English:
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Stranger – Albert Camus
Long Day’s Journey Into Night – Eugene O’Neill
The following books are suggested reading. You are not required to read any of them. But, if you’re looking for
a good book to read while on the beach . . .
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
Emma – Jane Austen
The Scarlet Letter – Nathanial Hawthorne
A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
Writing Assignment
In preparation for class discussion, you will have to take notes as you read. For all 3 required books, I would like
you to complete a Critical Thinking Journal. The primary purpose of a Critical Thinking Journal is to help you
make sense out of what you read and enhance your analytical and interpretive skills. The goal is to enable you to
approach any work of literature, fiction or nonfiction, with the confidence of an expert, as you acquire
strong reading skills and learn to think independently.
How to Respond in Your Journal:
1. Double Entries: Select a quote that seems important to you and write it down on the left hand side of the page.
Respond to the quote in paragraph form on the right hand side of the page. Explain the quote in your own words,
analyze it, discuss its details. (5 double entries per book)
2. Sentence Starters: Begin an entry with one of the following sentence starters or make up one of your own: I
like/dislike this idea because. . . I was surprised by. . . This part confused me because. . . This character
reminded me of. . . This scene reminds me of a similar scene in. . . This part made me angry because. . . This
section is particularly effective because. . . The ideas here remind me of the ideas in [title of work] because. . .
(2 per book)
3. Questions: Jot down questions about anything in the text that confuses you or seems unclear. You can
question anything from the use of a single word, to the way a character is portrayed, to an idea that the book
suggests. Always try to answer your question, even if you are uncertain what the answer may be. (2 per book)
4. Character Sketches: Write a paragraph in which you delve into one of the characters in the book. What kind
of conflicts does the character face? Why does the character do the things he/she does? What is his/her
motivation? How do you feel about the character and why? (1 per book)
5. Themes: What do you think is the author’s larger purpose, the message he/she is sending through the work?
Why do you think this? (1 per book)
As you can see, for each book, you should have 11 entries. The main point of this exercise is to think deeply
about what you are reading and to actively engage with the text.
Your work will be collected and graded at the beginning of the school year.
Enjoy your reading. See you in September!
-Mr. Mullaney