Eng III Honors 2015 Summer Reading Choices
and Assignment
Directions: Take time to carefully select one of the books below that you have not already
read and complete the enclosed handout. (If you read it a while ago, it will be hard to fill out
the sheet accurately as it is meant to be filled in while reading.)
Classic Literature
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty
Go Set a Watchman: A Novel by Harper Lee***
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
***Release set for July 14, 2015 (sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, a
lost manuscript from the author just discovered in 2014!)
“New Classics” (Acclaimed Contemporary Literature)
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Nonfiction/ New Journalism
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
All over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
In the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Young Adult Literature
Laurie Halse Anderson, any novel
John Green, any novel
Cassandra Clare, any novel
Veronica Roth, any novel
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Disclaimer:
Dear Parents,
Please be aware that as the reading levels
increase in 11th and 12th grade, many novels
include mature subjects including: sexual
matters, violence, profanity, and
controversial themes. Take time to select
the appropriate reading material for your
child according to your family values as well
as his or her level of maturity.
Many of the titles included have been
acclaimed for writing style or are
considered to be good examples of
literature from a particular time period.
Other titles were included because they are
current in pop culture. We wanted to
provide a wide selection to appeal to
readers of varying maturity, interests, and
reading levels.
Sincerely,
Thetford & White
English III Honors Instructors
Young Adult Literature (continued)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Any novel by Jodi Picoult
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, including Eragon
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Note: Saw online, looks interesting. In the future, most people will have a Feed chip
implanted in their heads that connects everyone to an evolved version of the
Internet — at the cost of even basic privacy. During spring break on the moon, Titus
and Violet meet and build a relationship when their Feeds are hacked.
Great Authors of Particular Genres:
Coming of Age Novels
Sue Monk Kidd – coming of age books
Ursula Le Guin – sci-fi, coming of age
Ethnic Literature
Jimmy Santiago Baca – Hispanic/Native American literature
Julia Alvarez – Hispanic literature
Amy Tan – Asian-American literature
Maxine Hong Kingston – Asian-American literature
Suspense/Thrillers
Stephen King – Horror, suspense
James Patterson - thrillers, mysteries, young adult novels, and more
John Grisham – legal thrillers, suspense
Dean Koontz, suspense
Tom Clancy, techno-thriller/ spy/ war
Mysteries
Agatha Christie (classic mystery)
Mary Higgins Clark (contemporary mystery)
Patricia Cornwell (forensic pathologist solves serial killer mysteries)
Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan Novels/ basis of TV show Bones)
Post Apocolyptic
Lois Lowry, The Giver Series, coming of age
Max Brooks - Zombie Literature – World War Z
Susan Beth Pfeffer – Life As We Knew It (series)
Supernatural
Anne Rice - Supernatural Literature (vampires)
Katherine Howe – The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane, fits perfectly with the Salem Witchcraft Trials
Paula Brackston – Supernatural Literature (witches)
Deborah Harkness – Supernatural Literature (witches, werewolves, vampires, and daemons)
Alternative Universes/ Other worlds
George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones
Frank Herbert -Sci-Fi Worlds – Dune, the 40th Anniversary version
Miscellaneous
Laura Hillenbrand - Horses – Seabiscuit
Complete the attached handout and bring it with you the first day
of school.
Name:_______________________
Class Per. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Date: _________
Summer Reading Log
There are 6 signposts that can be found as we read. As you read if you look for the signs and
are able to answer the accompanying question, you can dig even deeper into text than you
have ever imagined possible. These signs and your analysis of them will drive you further into
the character’s psyche. Complete this log (all six signposts) for the entire book. Your log entries
must be thorough and NOT just scratch the surface. DIG, and have fun doing it!!!!
NOTICE AND….
NOTE
SIGNPOSTS THAT YOU MIGHT NOTICE:
LIST BRIEFLY WHERE YOU FOUND THE
SIGNPOST IN TEXT AND ANSWER THE
QUESTION THOROUGHLY.
1. Contrasts and Contradictions
Contrasts and Contradictions
1.
When a character does
something that contrasts
with what you would
expect or contradicts his
earlier acts or statements,
STOP and ask yourself: Why
is the character doing that?
2. Aha Moment
When a character realizes,
understands, or finally
figures out something,
STOP and ask yourself:
How might this change
things?
2.
3.
Aha Moment
1.
2.
3.
3. Tough Questions
When a character asks
himself a very difficult
question or is struggling
internally with a hard
decision, STOP and ask
yourself: What does this
question make me wonder?
4. Words of the Wiser
When a character (probably
older and wiser) takes the
main character aside and
offers serious advice, STOP
and ask yourself: What’s
the life lesson and how
might it affect the
character?
Tough Questions
1.
2.
3.
Words of the Wiser
1.
2.
3.
5. Again and Again
When you notice a word,
phrase, or situation
mentioned over and over,
STOP and ask yourself: Why
does this keep happening
again and again?
Again and Again
1.
2.
3.
6. Memory Moment
When the author interrupts
the action to tell you about
a memory, STOP and ask
yourself: Why might this
memory be important?
Memory Moment
1.
2.
3.
Summer Reading Character Development Presentation
English III Honors: Thetford & White
Directions: Use your notes to create a visual (a poster, a PowerPoint, or a Prezi) tracking your
main character’s growth or changes in the novel you chose for summer reading. The six
signposts help you to see character development. Be prepared to present your findings and
visual to the class on Thursday, August 27, 2015.
Rubric: (100 points/ Test Grade)
Quality of summer reading notes (submitted with project)
- 35 points
Quality of visual aid (correct, creative, demonstrates effort) – 35 points
Quality of verbal presentation (loud, clear, thorough, eye contact) – 30 points
Summer Reading Character Development Presentation
English III Honors: Thetford & White
Directions: Use your notes to create a visual (a poster, a PowerPoint, or a Prezi) tracking your
main character’s growth or changes in the novel you chose for summer reading. The six
signposts help you to see character development. Be prepared to present your findings and
visual to the class on Thursday, August 27, 2015.
Rubric: (100 points/ Test Grade)
Quality of summer reading notes (submitted with project)
- 35 points
Quality of visual aid (correct, creative, demonstrates effort) – 35 points
Quality of verbal presentation (loud, clear, thorough, eye contact) – 30 points
Summer Reading Character Development Presentation
English III Honors: Thetford & White
Directions: Use your notes to create a visual (a poster, a PowerPoint, or a Prezi) tracking your
main character’s growth or changes in the novel you chose for summer reading. The six
signposts help you to see character development. Be prepared to present your findings and
visual to the class on Thursday, August 27, 2015.
Rubric: (100 points/ Test Grade)
Quality of summer reading notes (submitted with project)
- 35 points
Quality of visual aid (correct, creative, demonstrates effort) – 35 points
Quality of verbal presentation (loud, clear, thorough, eye contact) – 30 points