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North Branford High School
Summer Reading Lists &
Reading Journal Requirements


Book Lists: 9th Grade | 10th Grade | 11th Grade | 12th Grade

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Requirements for All Students Grade 9 - 12

Students must read one (1) book from the following list. As you read, you must keep a reading journal which must be handed to your English teacher on Friday, August 31, 2001. This will be counted as a test grade for the first marking period.

Journal requirements:

1. All responses must be neatly handwritten or typed.
2. All journals must contain the title and author of the book.
3. All responses must contain accurate character and place names.
4. Responses regarding quotes must give the accurate page number on which the quote can be found.

Following are the questions and point values to be awarded:

1. -- Describe how the main character changes from the beginning of the book to the end. (5 points)
-- Include three specific examples - one from the beginning, one from the middle, and one from the end. (5 points each)

2. -- Select and copy two significant quotes crucial to an understanding of the book. One quote must be from the first half of the book and the other from the second half.
For each quote -
-- a. Give the page number. (5 pts)
-- b. Explain the circumstances surrounding the quote including the speaker if there is one. (5 pts)
-- c. Discuss the importance/significance of the quote to the book. (10 pts)

3. -- Identify an important turning point or event in the book. (4 pts)
-- Give two reasons why it is significant to either the characters or the plot. (8 pts each reason)

4. -- How did the book end? (5 pts)
-- Cite three specific ways in which the outcome was either surprising or predictable. (5 pts each)


Books for Students Entering Grade 9

Reading Journal Requirements

* Denotes easier reading

Piers Anthony -- Any title

Asimov, Isaac -- Any title

Blume, Judy --* Tiger Eyes

Buck, Pearl -- The Good Earth

Crichton, Michael -- Any title except Jurassic Park

Dickey, James -- Deliverance

Eddings, David -- Any title

Hays, David -- My Old Man and the Sea

Keyes, Daniel -- * Flowers for Algernon

McCullers, Carson -- * The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Morris, J. -- Brian Piccolo: A Short Season

Myers, Walter Dean -- Any title

Remarque, Erich Maria -- All Quiet on the Western Front

The Rock -- The Story of the People's Champion

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Treasure Island

Stone, Irving -- Any title

Vonnegut, Kurt -- * Any title


Books for Students Entering Grade 10

Reading Journal Requirements

* Denotes easier reading

Blume, Judy -- Summer Sisters

Brooks, Terry -- Any title

Brown, Dee -- Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

Clark, Mary Higgins -- * Any title

Clark, Walter -- The Oxbow Incident

Foley, Mick -- Have a Nice Day

Grisham, John -- Any title except Pelican Brief

Gunther, John -- * Death Be Not Proud

Hemingway, Ernest -- For Whom the Bell Tolls or The Sun Also Rises

Koontz, Dean -- Any title

Lawrence, Jerome -- Inherit the Wind

Ludlum, Robert -- Any title

Morrison, Toni -- Any title

Plath, Sylvia -- The Bell Jar

Shaara, Michael -- Killer Angels

Tan, Amy -- Kitchen God's Wife

Wilder, Thornton -- The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Wilson, August -- Fences: A Play

Wouk, Herman -- Any title

Wright, Richard -- Native Son


Books for Students Entering Grade 11

Reading Journal Requirements

* Denotes easier reading

Adams, Richard -- * Watership Down

Austen, Jane -- Sense and Sensibility

Barker, Clive -- Any title except The Thief of Always and short story collections

Binchy, Maeve -- Any title

Burgess, Anthony -- A Clockwork Orange

Buskin, Richard -- Princess Diana: Her Life Story, 1961-1977

Conrad, Joseph -- Lord Jim

Crichton, Michael -- Eaters of the Dead

Fields, Danny -- Linda McCartney: A Portrait

Greene, Graham -- Any title

Hardy, Thomas -- Any title

Holt, Victoria -- * Any title

James, P. D. -- * Any title

Lawrence, D. H. -- Sons and Lovers

leCarre, John -- Any title

McCourt, Frank -- Any title

Maugham, Somerset -- Any title except Up at the Villa

Orczy, Baroness -- The Scarlet Pimpernell

Paton, Alan -- Cry the Beloved Country

Pilcher, Rosamund -- Any title except Shell Seekers

Seton, Ann -- * Any title

Stewart, Mary -- * Any title

Tolkien, J. R. R. -- Any title in the trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King)


Books for Students Entering Grade 12

Reading Journal Requirements

* Denotes easier reading

Angelou, Maya -- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Ashe, Arthur -- Days of Grace: A Memoir

Baldwin, James -- Go Tell It on the Mountain

Brin, David -- * The Postman

Courtenay, Bryce -- Power of One

Gaiman, Neil -- Angels and Visitations: a Miscellany

Green, Hanna -- * I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Harris, Thomas -- Red Dragon

Heller, Joseph -- Catch 22

Herbert, Frank -- Any title

Heyerdahl, Thor -- * Kon-Tiki

Jordan, Robert -- Any title

King, Stephen -- Any title except Pet Sematery, no short story collections

Michener, James -- Any title

Preston, Richard -- The Hot Zone

Rice, Ann -- Any title except Interview with the Vampire

Smiley, Jane -- Any title

Stanislavski, Constantin -- An Actor Prepares

Steinbeck, John -- East of Eden

Updike, John -- Any title

Uris, Leon -- Any title

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