Pittsfield High School Summer Reading List
Summer 2011

Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | AP Biology |

• Freshman
  
  Student will complete ONE book choice with a response journal. While ALL the books are chosen as high interest novels, the (*) indicates great books for reluctant readers.
  
  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  Eragon by Christopher Paolini
  Night Hoops by Carl Deuker (*)
  Far North by Will Hobbs
  Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
  The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
  The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
  Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
  Thirteen Reasons by Jay Asher
  Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini
  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
  The Uglies by Scott Westerfield (*)
  First Part Last by Angela Johnson (*)
  
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• Sophomore
  
  Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intensive requires TWO book choice and journals.
  
  Silver Fin by Charlie Higson
  Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
  Stotan by Chris Crutcher
  Marie Dancing by Carolyn Myer
  Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
  Handbook For Boys by Walter Dean Myers
  The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
  The Eldest by Christopher Paolini
  The Messenger by Lois Lowry
  Romeo’s Ex: Rosalind’s Story by Lisa Fiedler
  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
  The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
  
  Sophomores Honors Reading List
  
  Honors 10 students should read TWO of the titles from the list above and complete an excerpt journal for each. In addition, Honors 10 students must read Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez.
  
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• Junior
  
  Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intenseive requires TWO book choices and journals.
  
  The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  Heart of the Sea by Nat Philbrick
  The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
  Into the Wild by John Krakauer
  Night Country by Stewart O’Nan
  The Odd Sea by Fredrick Reiken
  Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
  Rite of Passage by Richard Wright
  Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
  Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
  High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
  
  Junior Honors Reading List
  
  Honors 11 student should read TWO of the titles from the list above and complete an excerpt journal for each. In addition, Honors 11 students must read Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  
  Junior Advanced Placement Language and Composition
  
  Complete one exceprt journal for each book.
  
  Cider House Rules by John Irving
  Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
  Read all essays from The Best American Essays.
  
  The excerpt journal for The Best American Essays should include an excerpt from five different essays.
  
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• Senior
  
  Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intensive requires TWO book choices and journals. Honors requires THREE book choices and journals. Honors has a specific assignment: please visit the PHS website for assignment guidelines.
  
  
  Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  Foul Ball by Jim Bouton
  Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger What is the What by Dave Eggers
  Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
  
  Senior Search for Values Honors Level Reading List
  
  An excerpt journal is required for each novel. Everyone will first read How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster. Then each student selects either choice A or choice B.
  
  A.
  The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
  Gift of Fear by Gaven de Becker
  
  OR
  
  B.
  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  
  
  Senior Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Reading List
  
  Please see the website if you did not receive the assignments for Mrs Duffy's course. An excerpt journal is required for each novel. The AP Literature assignment is DUE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011. Please drop the assignment off in the Main Office at PHS.
  
  How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster
  All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
  The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
  
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• AP Biology
  
  Additional reading is required from a reading list of teacher and student chosen books. Two total books are to be read: one by the start of class in September, one by the mid-year exam in January. Most of these books were chosen because they highlight and integrate the eight major themes of AP biology but especially the process of science, evolution, societal issues, technology, personal health, and natural history. In September, you will investigate and discuss how these aspects of biology are incorporated into a specific topic of interest to you. All books are available at the PHS library, Pittsfield Public Library or through inter-library loan.
  
  Partial list of titles:
  
  A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
  +Being Caribou by Karsten Heuer
  *Body of Knowledge by Steve Giegerich
  +The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner
  The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
  The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
  The Demon Under the Microscope by Thomas Hager
  The Monk in the Garden by Robin Marantz Henig
  The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson
  The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
  *+The Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch
  Vaccine by Arthur Allen
  
  * Student favorites
  + Teacher favorites
  
  If you choose a book not on this list please email me with the title and author. Enjoy.
  
  Jeff Lacatell
  jlacatell@pittsfield.net
  

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