The 2007 Required Summer Reading List for Honors Ninth and Tenth Grade Students

Available for All Ninth and Tenth Grade Students

Do Not Read Any Book That You Have Read Previously in Summer Reading

 PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS LIST IS NOT THE SAME AS LAST YEAR’S LIST! 

BE CERTAIN TO READ BOOKS FROM THE 2007 LIST.

Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (R. L. 8.8). Sentenced to life for a crime he did not commit, the hero escapes determined to exact revenge from his enemies. BE CERTAIN TO READ THE UNABRIDGED VERSION OF THIS BOOK.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (R. L. 7.9).  Set in the mid-nineteenth century, this is the story of a priest who sets out to win the Southwest for Catholicism.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini (R.L. 7.0). This second volume in the Inheritance trilogy finds the land of Alagaesia suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope.

Exodus by Leon Uris (R. L. 6.7).  An American nurse and an Israeli freedom fighter caught in the 20^th century’s most dramatic event, rebirth of Israel.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (R. L. 9.7).  The drab existence of country people made vivid with the love of Gabriel and Bathsheba.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (R. L. 5.8).  A timeless epic of Spanish Civil War portraying every facet of human emotions.

Future Shock by Alvin Toffler (R. L. 11.6).  Outlines survival strategies for dealing with social and technological change.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (R.L. 4.9).  Powerful, social document of the plight of “Okies” during 1930’s.

Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (R. L. 8).  Classic tale of heroism and adventure set amidst the riot, intrigue and pageantry of medieval Paris.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (R. L. 6.7).  Sensitive autobiography of a Black woman who retains her personal “human dignity.”

Jungle by Upton Sinclair (R.L. 8).  Poverty, disease, and despair depicted in this story of the barbarous working conditions in the slaughter houses of Chicago in 1900.

Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond  (R. L.3.7).  Thirteen year old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past.

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (R. L. 9.1).  Mark Twain’s autobiographical account of river life.

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (R. L. 9.1).  Haunted sailor, driven from port to port, from island to island, Lord Jim is a man trying to hide from his past.

Memoirs of a Bookbat by Kathryn Lasky (R. L. 5.0).  Harper realizes her parents’ efforts at educational censorship have developed into a quest for control of her life.

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (R. L. 6.7). The classic story of the heroic Swedish pioneers in the Nebraska country in the 1880’s.

Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (R. L. 5.9).  A suspenseful story about a hunted, driven desperate priest in Mexico.

Roots by Alex Haley (R. L. 7.4).  Magnificent saga tracing the heritage of an American family from 18^th century Africa to the present.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (R. L. 4.5).  A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.

Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (R.L. 5.9). A must read for anyone who has ever been a teacher or thought of becoming one. The true story of McCourt's 30 years as an educator in the New York public schools.

Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart (R. L. 6). The autobiography of a teacher who began in a Kentucky one-room school.

War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk (R. L. 8.4).  Historical novel about the experiences of an American military family during World War II.

Winds of War by Herman Wouk (R. L. 6.6).  Experiences of an American military family during World War II