Summer Assignments

English 9 

Throughout the English 9 course, we will learn to “read like a writer” and develop our own voices in our writing. During the year, we will read a variety of mentor texts that will help us practice and develop analysis skills, as well as understand and emulate examples of effective writing. As we begin the year by reading narrative essays and working to develop our own narrative writing style, we will read a selection of essays that will help us to identify specific writing skills and techniques. 

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Parts I–III) 

In English 9, we’ll read a wide range of stories—fiction and nonfiction—that will help you become a stronger reader, writer, and thinker. One of our first goals will be learning how to look closely at the choices writers make when telling a story and how these choices impact the reader’s experience.  

This summer, please read the first three chapters (1664, 1665, and 1666) of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. There is no formal writing assignment due in August, but you should be prepared to discuss the story when we return. We will read the remainder of the text (the fourth chapter, 1676) together in the beginning weeks of the school year. As you read, think about the following questions. You may want to jot down a few notes to bring with you in the fall: 

1. What do you notice about Griet as a character? What kind of person is she and how do you learn that? Make note of specific passages that highlight her character. 

2. Since the story is told from Griet’s point of view, how does that shape the way we understand what’s happening? Make note of specific passages that show narrator bias. 

3. What stands out to you about the setting? How does the world Griet lives in shape her experiences? Make note of specific passages that vividly describe the setting. 

Throughout the Honors English 9 course, we will learn to “read like a writer” and develop our own voices in our writing. During the year, we will read a variety of mentor texts that will help us practice and develop analysis skills, as well as understand and emulate examples of effective writing. Over the summer, please read parts one and two of Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House.  As you read, annotate your text and consider the following questions.  There is no formal writing assignment due upon arrival in August, but we will use your notes and answers to these questions as the basis for a writing assignment shortly after you return to school:  

1. Consider how Maeve and Danny are characterized through their physical description, behavior, and dialogue.   

2. How is the Dutch House itself a source of both comfort and conflict for Maeve and Danny? 

3. In what way does The Dutch House resemble Fairy Tales you may have read or seen?   

4. Why is Danny an effective narrator for The Dutch House?  How might the novel change if it were narrated by Maeve or Andrea?   

English 10

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Student Purchase)

As you read, please consider the following questions. These questions will be used in class discussion and for a baseline writing assessment.

1. Looking at Keiko and Herny, explain how family influences each of their identities. Support your response using specific examples and quotes from the text.

2. Language is foundational in communication but can also act as a barrier to understanding. How does language act as a barrier in these works? How does it act as a unifier? Support your response using specific examples and quotes from the text.

Honors English 10

The Awakening by Kate Chopin (Student Purchase)

As you read, please consider the following questions. These questions will be used in class discussion and for a baseline writing assessment.

1. In what ways does Edna Pontellier's awakening challenge traditional gender roles and expectations in the society depicted in the novella? Support your response using specific examples and quotes from the text.

2. In what ways does Edna’s journey reflect the theme of self-discovery? Support your response using specific examples and quotes from the text.

3. Discuss the significance of the ocean as a symbol in the novella and how it reflects Edna’s inner desires and struggles. Support your response using specific examples and quotes from the text.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (Student purchase)

Before we turn to a 19th century novel, we’ll settle into discussion and analysis of Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn. As you read Brooklyn over the summer, take note of Tóibín’s style. This novel will serve as the basis for discussing character, setting, and plot and, eventually, our exploration of a markedly different novel.

We’ll also do some writing about Tóibín’s characterization of Eilis so take notes on her character as it is shaped by her circumstances. Under what circumstances is Eilis shaped? Does she change over the course of the novel? Or does she stay relatively the same? These are the kinds of questions—and more—we’ll explore in the first couple of weeks of the school year.

Honors English 11 

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (Student purchase)  

Before we turn to two representative novels of the early 19th century and early 21st century, we’ll settle into discussion and analysis of Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn. As you read Brooklyn over the summer, take note of Tóibín’s style.  This novel will serve as the basis for discussing character, setting, and plot and, eventually, our exploration of two markedly different novels.   

We’ll also do some writing about Tóibín’s characterization of Eilis so take notes on her character as it is shaped by her circumstances.  Under what circumstances is Eilis shaped?  Does she change over the course of the novel?  Or does she stay relatively the same?  These are the kinds of questions—and more—we’ll explore in the first couple of weeks of the school year. 

AP English Language and Composition 

Please note that the summer reading assignment for this course has been updated. Students who have already begun or completed the previously listed assignment are not required to start over but should contact Mr. Hopkins to confirm what they have read. Those who have not yet started should follow the updated reading list below.

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (Student purchase) 

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (Student purchase) 

In these unique works of Orwell and Ehrenreich, you will discover life at or below the poverty line through the eyes of two writers who lived it.  Orwell’s book, published in 1933, takes you to the dregs of Paris and London and drags you through the desperate world of many people he encounters there. Ehrenreich’s book, published in 2001, is a kind of Down and Out update, exposing life in America for house cleaners, retail workers, and restaurant servers who work long, stressful hours for minimum wage pay.  Both books are not strictly exercises in journalism, but rather expositions of deeply personal convictions about the state of welfare that permeates their respective societies during their respective historical periods.   

As you read, consider the language (the actual choice of words themselves) that each author uses to reconstruct episodes of strife, despair, and suffering. How would you describe Orwell’s and Ehrenreich’s writing styles in these moments? Select a few passages from Orwell that complement a few passages from Ehrenreich. We’ll use these passages as jumping-off points when you return in September. 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (ISBN: 1400052181) (Student Purchase)

Over the summer, please read Parts One and Two of Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks—we will write about these sections soon after the school year begins. While reading be mindful that Skloot utilizes techniques from science writing and creative nonfiction, wherein the facts are true, but the storytelling and dialogue take some liberties.

We will read the remainder of the text together in the beginning weeks of the school year.

Honors English 12 

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (ISBN: 0679745580) (Student Purchase) 

Capote’s In Cold Blood was the first of a genre, the “non-fiction novel.” Its composition brought into question the veracity of this type of text, but it serves as a great foundation for the fiction and non-fiction we will read during the year.   

When we return in the Fall, please read the first three sections: “The Last to See Them Alive,” “Persons Unknown,” and “The Answer.” We will begin by writing about these sections, but also finish the text soon thereafter.  

I highly recommend reading Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, too. This text is optional, but it is an easy and compelling read that will help contextualize other works we will encounter during the year.  

AP English Literature and Composition 

Please note that the summer reading assignment for this course has been updated. Students who have already begun or completed the previously listed assignment are not required to start over but should contact Mr. Hopkins to confirm what they have read. Those who have not yet started should follow the updated reading list below.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (ISBN: 9780141439518) (Student Purchase) 

Over the summer, read Volumes I and II in Pride and Prejudice. While reading, make sure you have a working understanding of the Regency period in England. Take the time to research the importance of primogeniture, entailment, and preferment. Pay close attention to how Austen utilizes setting and characterization in the novel, too.  

We will start with Volume III when school begins and write about the novel shortly thereafter.   

Also, please choose one of the following novels to read individually. When we return, we will crowd source information for these texts (since there are many possible titles on the AP exam):  

All the Pretty Horses, Demon Copperhead, Frankenstein, The Goldfinch, Howards End, Jane Eyre, Mrs. Dalloway, The Nickel Boys, Swing Time, Wuthering Heights