11th Grade – Summer Reading List 2010

Austen, Jane. Emma. A novel about a self-assured young lady whose capricious behavior is dictated by romantic fancy.

Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Mists of Avalon. To quote Amazon.com, “Even readers who don’t normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne.”

Connolly, John. The Book of Lost Things. A dark and triumphantly creative novel dealing with the end of innocence.

Cook, Robin. Mutation. On the forefront of surrogate parenting and genetic research, a brilliant doctor seeks to create the son of his dreams.

Cook, Robin. Seizure. To help save himself from a debilitating disease, Senator Butler undergoes a controversial stem-cell operation to which he is politically opposed.

Cussler, Clive. Dragon. Japanese fanatics have developed a chilling plan to devastate and destroy the Western powers.

Heinlein, Robert. Stranger in a Strange Land. A boy raised on Mars must adjust to life on Earth.
                                   
Hilton, James. Lost Horizon. When a plane lands under mysterious circumstances, four people find themselves in a hidden valley in Tibet where people do not age.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Jonah’s Gourd Vine. An African-American male struggles with his identity within his family, his community, and his nation.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Namesake. An illuminating and poignant story that describes the experiences of a South Asian immigrant in the United States.
           
Oates, Joyce Carol. We Were the Mulvaneys. The life of a family that seemed to “have it all” is forever disrupted by an act of violence.

Setterfield, Diane. The Thirteenth Tale. Vida Winter, a great English novelist, asks a young woman, Margaret Lea, to write her definitive biography. Winter’s life is very different from what has been written on her dust jackets.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. A horror story set in 19th century Europe, which recounts the exploits of the vampire.

Warren, Robert Penn. All the King’s Men. A political boss becomes powerful in his state and then abuses his position.

Willis, Connie. The Doomsday Book. A time-traveling female history student is trapped in the Middle Ages, dangerously close to the Black Plague.

Wright, Richard. Native Son. One of the most unrelenting, and finest written, accounts of growing up as an African-American. As Amazon.com puts it, “A more compelling story than Native Son has not been written in the 20th century by an American writer.”

Required reading for Honors English III:

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. The horror story of the creation of a monster and the curse of destruction and death as a result. Frankenstein is part of the CP English III/English III curriculum and will not fulfill the summer reading requirement for CP English III/English III.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. A story of a hero’s outward innocence that conceals corruption.