Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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SUMMER READING FOR HAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL
Purpose
Reading all year round helps students keep their reading and critical thinking skills in
shape. Summertime is special because it gives students a chance to read something that
captures their imagination, something that has not been assigned to an entire class.
Students who want to read from the classics may be interested in the book list on the
“Great Schools” website: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/ca/847 .
Requirement: Read Two Books!
All students in Hamden Public Schools must read at least two books during summer
vacation. They may choose any books that interest them, but we also offer a list of books
that have attracted a lot of reader interest. Summer reading contributes to the first
marking period grade in English through a test given in September. Students may bring
notes to help them on the test. Test questions for Freshman and Sophomore English and
American Literature 35 are modeled on the CAPT Response to Literature questions and
appear at the end of this document. Juniors and seniors will have questions that are
modeled on SAT writing prompts. A note page all students can use to gather information
about characters, plot, theme and language also appears just after the test questions.
Donations Welcome
The “Book Donor Program” at the Hamden High School Library invites you to donate
books to the library. A list of books to be donated is available by contacting Kathy
Gentile. Tel. 407-2040 ext. 5555 or e-mail KGentile@hamden.org. Books can be
donated in honor of, in memory of, or in appreciation of a special person. A bookplate
will be placed in the book. Thank you for your generosity.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Hamden High School Summer 2010 Reading Recommendations
Adventure (Fiction):
Cole, Stephen. Thieves Like Us. A mysterious benefactor hand picks a group of teen
geniuses to follow a set of clues leading to the secrets of everlasting life, secrets they
must steal and for which they risk being killed.
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. (Sequel to The Hunger Games.) By winning the
annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have
secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but, because
they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending
rebellion.
Green, John. Paper Towns. One month before graduating from his Central Florida high
school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the
beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes
him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.
Patterson, James. The Angel Experiment. (Maximum Ride Series.) The mutant Erasers
abduct the youngest member of the "birdkids, " a group created as the result of
genetic experimentation. The group takes off in pursuit and finds themselves
struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.
Contemporary Novels:
Caletti, Deb. The Fortunes of Indigo Skye. Eighteen-year-old Indigo is looking forward
to becoming a full-time waitress after high school graduation, but her life is turned
upside down by a large check given to her by a customer who appreciates that she
cares enough to scold him about smoking.
Fahy, Thomas Richard. The Unspoken. Six teens are drawn back to the small, North
Carolina town where they once lived and, one by one, begin to die of their worst
fears, as prophesied by the cult leader they killed five years earlier, and who they
believe poisoned their parents.
Hopkins, Ellen. Crank. Kristina Georgia Snow's life is turned upside-down, when she
visits her absentee father, gets turned on to the drug "crank", becomes addicted, and
is led down a desperate path that threatens her mind, soul, and her life.
Myracle, Lauren. Peace, Love & Baby Ducks. Fifteen-year-old Carly's summer
volunteer experience makes her feel more real than her life of privilege in Atlanta
ever did, but her younger sister starts high school pretending to be what she is not,
and both find their relationships suffering.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Fantasy
Funke, Cornelia Caroline. Inkheart. Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father Mo,
a bookbinder, can "read" fictional characters to life when an evil ruler named
Capricorn, freed from the novel "Inkheart" years earlier, tries to force Mo to release
an immortal monster from the story.
Larbalestier, Justine. Magic's Child. Fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino's life drastically
changed since her mother went insane and she learned about her family's relationship
with magic. Now she must decide which path to take between magic and madness—
if she uses too much, she will die; too little and go insane.
Marillier, Juliet. Daughter of the Forest. Sorcha's peaceful life is destroyed when her
father is bewitched. To save her family she embarks on a journey filled with pain,
loss, and terror. Finally she must choose between the life she has known and a love
that comes
only once.
Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. Clare and Henry, deeply in love, try
desperately to maintain normal lives even though he has been diagnosed with
Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition in which his genetic clock periodically
resets, pulling him through time to the past or future.
Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to
control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god
Poseidon. Sent to Camp Half Blood, he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod
daughter of Athena, who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's
lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.
Wooding, Chris. Poison. When Poison leaves her home in the marshes of Gull to
retrieve the infant sister who was snatched by the fairies, she and a group of unusual
friends survive encounters with the inhabitants of various Realms, and Poison herself
confronts a surprising destiny.
Humor
Crawford, Brent. Carter Finally Gets It. Awkward freshman Will Carter endures many
painful moments during his first year of high school before realizing that nothing
good comes easily, focus is everything, and the payoff is usually incredible.
Graphic Novels
Adamson, Heather. Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution. In graphic novel
format, this account tells the story of Charles Darwin’s research in the Galapagos
Islands and how he developed his theory of evolution.
Hamilton, Tim. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 : The Authorized Adaptation. This
graphic novel adaptation of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" tells the story of Guy
Montag, a career fireman, who realizes the evils of government-controlled thoughts
and sets about to change society.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Kim, Derek Kirk. Good as Lily. On her eighteenth birthday Grace Kwon is visited by
herself from three periods in her life and worries that her other selves will hurt her
chances of saving the school play. Presented in graphic novel format.
Vaughan, Brian K. Runaways. The Runaways are suspicious of a secret super-villain
society, and Molly Hayes must survive a night alone on the streets of Los Angeles.
Wood, Brian, 1972-. The New York Four. Riley, a shy straight-A student, comes out of
her shell when she becomes best friends with three other freshmen who join her in
explorations of Manhattan, but her new life is threatened by a developing online
romance.
Mystery
Cooney, Caroline B. Wanted! Everyone believes Alice is guilty of murdering her father.
The police are after her, and the real murderer is, too. It is only a matter of time
before somebody catches her.
Jinks, Catherine. The Reformed Vampire Support Group. Fifteen-year-old vampire
Nina has been stuck for fifty-one years in a boring support group for vampires, and
nothing exciting has ever happened to them—until one of them is murdered and the
others must try to solve the crime.
Piccoult, Jodi. Plain Truth. A shocking murder shatters the picturesque calm of the
Amish country and tests the heart and soul of the lawyer who steps in to defend the
young woman at the center of the storm.
Qualey, Marsha. Close to a Killer. Seventeen-year-old Barrie finds herself involved in a
string of murders that are somehow connected to her mother's hair salon.
Nonfiction
Friedman, Thomas L. Hot, Flat, and Crowded : Why We Need a Green Revolution-- and
How It Can Renew America. Argues that the United States needs to adopt an
evironmentally friendly national strategy to be healthier, wealthier, and more secure,
innovative, and productive.
Harper, Hill. Letters to a Young Brother. MANifest Your Destiny. Harper, an actor on
stage, film, and television (CSI: NY), has written a book of letters offering advice
based on his own experiences with school, work, sex, and life. Although he is
writing to young black men, his story appeals to readers of both sexes and all races.
Harper, Hill. Letters to a Young Sister : DeFINE Your Destiny. Hill Harper presents a
series of letters offering young African-American women guidance to help them
navigate the challenges of high school, covering topics such as peer pressure, sex,
friendships, drugs, gangs, and relationships, and encouraging them to build selfrespect and self-confidence.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Levitt, Steven D. & Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the
Hidden Side of Everything. The authors focus on the economics of real-world issues
that most people view as insignificant. How much did the Roe v. Wade decision
impact violent crime? Why do dealers get into the business of selling drugs if it nets
less than minimum wages for most of the “staff”? Does a rose by any other name
smell as sweet? Statistics can reveal a totally new point of view.
Macauley, David. The New Way Things Work. From zippers to helicopters to the Internet,
this is the ultimate illustrated guide to the way things work.
Merrill, Douglas Clark. Getting Organized in the Google Era : How to Get Stuff Out of
Your Head, Find It When You Need It, and Get It Done Right. Douglas Merrill,
former Google chief information officer, offers organizational advice to readers the
Internet-centric society and the digital tools available, and explaining tips and
techniques to determine what is important, improve memory, and keep task and
appointments in order.
Science Fiction
Bachorz, Pam. Candor. For a fee, "model teen" Oscar Banks has been secretly—and
selectively—sabotaging the subliminal messages that program the behavior of the
residents of Candor, Florida. Then his attraction to a rebellious new girl threatens to
expose his subterfuge.
Brindley, John. The Rule of Claw. Ash and her friends live in a future where they are the
only human teenagers left, but when Ash is kidnapped and becomes a pawn in a
power struggle among the formidable Raptors who captured her, she begins to
reconsider her own humanity.
Klass, David. Whirlwind. Jack finds himself embroiled in another dangerous adventure
when, after a six-month absence, he returns to the Hudson River town where he grew
up to find his girlfriend PJ only to discover that she is missing and everyone believes
him to be responsible for her disappearance and the death of his family.
Kostick, Conor. Epic. On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game,
fourteen-year-old Erik persuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in
order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their
families.
Pearson, Mary (Mary E.). The Adoration of Jenna Fox. In the not-too-distant future,
when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but
illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering
from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence.
Stephens, J. B. The Big Empty. After half of the world's population is killed by a plague,
seven teenagers seek a better life in a nightmarish future by deciphering coded
messages and trying to avoid the Slashers.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Sports
Myers, Walter Dean. Game. If Harlem High School senior Drew Lawson is going to
realize his dream of playing college, then professional, basketball, he will have to
improve at being coached and being a team player, especially after a new white
student threatens to take the scouts' attention away from him.
Deuker, Carl. Gym Candy. Mick Johnson works hard for a placement on the varsity
team during his freshman year, and decides to use steroids in order to hold onto his
edge, despite the consequences to his health and social life.
Draper, Sharon M. November Blues. A teenaged boy's death in a hazing accident has
lasting effects on his pregnant girlfriend and his guilt-ridden cousin, who gives up a
promising music career to play football during his senior year in high school.
Korman, Gordon. Pop. Lonely after a midsummer move to a new town, sixteen-year-old
high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends with a retired professional
linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior keeps Marcus in
hot water.
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. After spending her summer running the
family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteenyear-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of
those around her.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Questions for the September Summer Reading Assessment
for Freshman English, Sophomore English, and American Literature 35
1.
What are your thoughts and questions about the book? Reflect on the
characters, their problems, the author's use of symbolism, the title or other ideas
in the book.
2a.
How does the main character change from the beginning of the book to
the end? What do you think causes this change?
2b.
Choose an important passage from the book. Copy the passage carefully
and note the page number on which it appears. Explain what you think the
quotation means as it relates to elements of the book such as characters or the
theme.
3.
What does this book say about people in general? In what ways does it
remind you of people you have known or experiences you have had? You may
also write about stories or books you have read, or movies, works of art, or
television programs you have seen. Use examples from the books to explain your
thinking.
4.
How successful was the author in creating a good piece of literature? Use
examples from the story to explain your thinking.
Questions for the September Summer Reading Assessment
for Juniors and Seniors
What does this reading reveal about Americans now or in some other period of
time? Use connections to other literature, history and/or current events to
support the validity of the summer reading’s interpretation of the American
experience. In each case, descriptions should offer enough detail so that
someone who has not read the specific book or articles is able to understand.
Reading List Summer 2010
Hamden High School
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Taking Notes in Preparation for the Test in September
Author:
Title:
Main characters:
Plot:
someone
wants
but
so
Use a thinking map to show what the main character learns and the difference it
makes.
Copy an important passage:
Use a thinking map to show the book’s message about people in general.