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.
Bradbury, Ray **This book is only permitted second semester!
Fahrenheit 451
A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but one of the book burners, Guy Montag, suddenly
realizes their merit.
Brontë, Emily
Wuthering Heights
One of the masterpieces of English romanticism, this is a novel of Heathcliff and Catherine, love and revenge.
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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.
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.
Dick, Phillip
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
In Dick's futuristic dystopian novel, life has become a tenuous existence for those who have stayed behind after the war
and exodus to other planets. Rick Deckard struggles as a bounty hunter in San Francisco to destroy a new breed of
androids nearly undetectable to humans. However, he finds himself battling with empathy for the supposed lifeless
beings—especially when he must team up with one to achieve his goal. Dick blends the detective story with science
fiction and a bit of philosophy.
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.
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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.
Gaarder, Jostein
Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie's
World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day
fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on
each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes
obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she
enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving
letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie
must use the philosophy she is learning--but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
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.
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Grass, Grunter
The Tin Drum
Oskar describes the amoral conditions through which he has lived in Germany, both during and after the Hitler regime.
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 nativeAmerican 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.
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.
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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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Nonfiction and Poetry---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 American 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 half-Cherokee
grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression.
Collins, Billy
Nine Horses
Modern free-form poetry; Collins was the national poet laureate from 2001-2003
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Cooke, Alistair
Alistair Cooke’s America
A history of the continent, with anecdotes and insight into what makes America work.
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.
Dickinson, Emily (poet); Thomas H. Johnson (editor)
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Famous American poet of the late 19th century; work is characterized by short lines, slant rhyme, and unusual
capitalization and punctuation. Emily Dickinson proved that brevity can be beautiful. Only now is her
complete oeuvre--all 1,775 poems--available in its original form, uncorrupted by editorial revision, in one
volume. Thomas H. Johnson, a longtime Dickinson scholar, arranged the poems in chronological order as far as
could be ascertained (the dates for more than 100 are unknown). This organization allows a wide-angle view of
Dickinson's poetic development, from the sometimes-clunky rhyme schemes of her juvenilia, including
valentines she wrote in the early 1850s, to the gloomy, hell-obsessed writings from her last years. Quite a
difference from requisite Dickinson entries in literary anthologies: "There's a certain Slant of light," "Wild
Nights--Wild Nights!" and "I taste a liquor never brewed."
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.
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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.
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.
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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
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.
Plath, Sylvia
Ariel
American poet of the 20th century; most of her work is free-form with a focus on imagery and sounds; themes of
poems are often about loss and depression, as Plath struggled herself
Plato
The Republic
Plato creates an ideal society where justice is equated with health and happiness in the state and the individual.
Poe, Edgar Allan
The Raven and Other Poems
Romanticist American poet of the 19th century; work characterized by dark metaphor and suspense
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.
Ravitch, Diane
The Death and Life of the Great American School System
Diane Ravitch, former assistant secretary of education and a leader in the drive to create a national curriculum,
examines her career in education reform and repudiates positions that she once staunchly advocated. Drawing
on over forty years of research and experience, Ravitch critiques today’s most popular ideas for restructuring
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schools, including privatization, standardized testing, punitive accountability, and the feckless multiplication of
charter schools. She shows conclusively why the business model is not an appropriate way to improve schools.
Using examples from major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, and San Diego, Ravitch
makes the case that public education today is in peril.
Rogosin, Donn
Invisible Men: Life in Baseball’s Negro Leagues
Negro League players finally gain recognition for their contributions to baseball.
Schlosser, Eric
Fast Food Nation
Schlosser’s survey reveals the effects of the fast-food industry on every facet of our culture.
Skloot, Rebecca
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The story of the immortal HeLa cell and the woman they were taken from
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.
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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