In-Coming 11th & 12th Grade Summer Reading List

for ISM English 3 and 4 students

ISM English teachers have collaborated on a master book list for in-coming juniors and seniors.
Here you will find a variety of contemporary and classic novels, as well as a range of compelling
nonfiction. Please see recommendations as follows below. Wherever you venture, be sure to pack
your bags this summer and surround yourself with great literature!

You MUST read at least one of the texts listed below. In the first two weeks of classes you
will be completing an IN CLASS Assessment on the text that you read.

EXPECTATIONS:

Students are expected to read quality literature this summer.

Students will be assessed on this reading. English classes will begin the year with summer
reading discussions and activities, so please be prepared!

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Please come prepared to present and discuss:

A summary of the plot / key events of the book.
Your favorite characters/ people in the book.
The themes of the text.
Whether or not you recommend this book and why.

FIRST TASK:
Go through the list below and highlight the books that sound interesting to you.
Find them on Amazon and read the synopsis.
Decide on your top 5 picks.

FICTION
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The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (Sci Fi)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Sci Fi)
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (Noir)
How I Live Now by Meg Rosof
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley **
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte **
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguo
Waiting, Ha Jin
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Louise Erdrich
Fools Crow, James Welsh
The Road, Cormack McCarthy
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
Atonement,Ian McEwan
The Life of Pi, Yann Martel

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Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Cats Cradle OR The Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut
The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers
Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloane
Scoop, Evelyn Waugh (Satire)
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman (Fantasy)
Batman: The Killing Joke Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

Non-Fiction:
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer
Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg
Wild, Cheryl Strayed
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo
The Kindness of Strangers, Kate Adie
The Road Taken, Michael Buerk
Hitch-22: A Memoir, Christopher Hitchens
Fire Season by Philip Connors
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Frontline, David Loyn
The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
Endurance: Shakletons Incredible Voyage, Alfred Lansing
Songlines, Bruce Chatwin
The Places Between, Rory Stewart (British Journalist walks across Afghanistan)
The Year of Reading Dangerously, Andy Miller
The Snow Leopard, Peter Mathiessen
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, Ranulph Fiennes
Pacific Rims, Rafe Bartholomew