Sophomore Summer Reading List
June, 2007

 

Tenafly High School

SOPHOMORE SUMMER READING LIST June, 2008

Please choose one of the books from this list as your summer reading book. When you return to school in September, you will be expected to demonstrate your reading in the first assignment of the year. Assignments may include written and/or oral reports, projects, presentations, and so on.

Since one of our goals is to encourage the habit of life-long reading, we also assign independent reading during the school year. This summer reading assignment is the first of the books you will read on your own this year.

Some of these books have been recommended by previous sophomores; others fit the general reading focus of the sophomore curriculum -- Western literature. Select wisely; choose a book which appeals to you and which you have not read before. You can pick up a copy of your book from any of the area libraries, or if you want a personal copy, purchase one so you can highlight or underline passages. As you read, pay attention to how the story is written – to how the writer delivers the story to you.

Make note of at least three passages from the book that you find to be especially interesting or important. You will need to bring these passages to school with you in September, so photocopy and/or type the passages if you are not able to bring the book itself with you in September.

Additionally, if a film version of your book exists, make every effort to see the film. The experiences of reading a book and of watching a film are vastly different, and we’d like you to be able to discuss some of the differences between them. Do not, under any conditions, try to substitute the viewing of a film for the actual reading of a book.

Note: Students in HONORS SOPHOMORE HUMANITIES: You are required to read two books. Choose one book from the following list. In addition, upon your return to school in the fall, you will be assessed on Robert Fagles’ translation of The Odyssey. In order to keep some of the details of your reading fresh for your September assessments, which may take the form of presentations and/or written assignments, please take notes on the following elements:

- Evil in The Odyssey
 - The role of women and children in The Odyssey
- The idea of a hero in The Odyssey
 - The role of the gods in The Odyssey
- The values of the society in The Odyssey
- Comparisons with modern life (customs, culture, attitudes, etc.)
- Writing style and language
 
   
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
Binchy, Maeve Circle of Friends
Brinkley, David Autobiography
Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre
Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights
Carr, Jonathan A Civil Action
Clancy, Tom Patriot Games
Conroy, Pat The Great Santini; My Losing Season
Dickens, Charles David Copperfield; Tale of Two Cities
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Dumas, Alexandre The Count of Monte Cristo
DuMaurier, Daphne Rebecca
Evans, Nicholas The Horse Whisperer
Fowles, John The Magus
Frey, Darcy The Last Shot
Guest, Judith Ordinary People
Guterson, David Snow Falling on Cedars
Hardy, Thomas Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Return of the Native
Hossieni, Khaled Kite Runner
Huxley,Aldous Brave New World
Kingsolver, Barbara The Bean Trees
Joravsky, Ben Hoop Dreams
Kaysen, Susanna Girl, Interrupted
Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Life of Bees
Lamb, Wally She’s Come Undone; I Know this Much is True
LeGuin, Ursula The Earthsea Trilogy
Martell, Yann Life of Pi
McBride, James The Color of Water
McCourt, Frank Angela’s Ashes
Niffenger, Audrey Time Traveler’s Wife
Orwell, George 1984
Paolini, Christopher Eragon
Picouldt, Jodi My Sister’s Keeper
Puzo, Mario The Godfather
Renault, Mary The Bull from the Sea
Sparks, Nicholas The Notebook; Message in a Bottle
Stevenson, Robert L. Treasure Island; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stewart, Mary The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills; Merlin trilogy
The Last Enchantment, The Wicked Day
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five
White, T.H. The Sword in the Stone; The Once and Future King