English I & English I Seminar assignment
Downriver by Will Hobbs

No adults, no permit, no river map. Just some "borrowed" gear from Discovery Unlimited, the outdoor education program Jessie and her new companions have just ditched. Jessie and the others are having the time of their lives floating beneath sheer red walls, exploring unknown caves and dangerous waterfalls, and plunging through the Grand Canyon's roaring rapids, No one, including Troy, who emerges as the group's magnetic and ultimately frightening leader, can foresee the challenges and conflicts. What will be the consequences of their reckless adventure?

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter (English I Seminar: click here).
For more about the book and its author, click here.

English I Honors assignment
Claws by Will Weaver

For Jed Berg, life is good: He's landed a major girlfriend, made number one singles in varsity tennis, and his father lets him drive his 1969 Camaro. Sweet. Then a punk chick with pink hair enters Jed's life. She calls herself Gertrude, but something about that doesn't sound quite right. She begins to tell Jed things -- things about himself, about his father -- that make him very uneasy. He tries to ignore her, but she won't go away. Neither will the thoughts she's put into his head. As Jed searches for the truth about Gertrude, he begins to question the reality of his own life. The truth just might drive him mad.

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter.
For more about the book and its author, click here.

English II & English II Seminar assignment
The Book of Fred by Abby Bardi

Raised in an isolated fundamentalist sect, fifteen-year-old Mary Fred Anderson has never watched TV, been to a supermarket, or read anything beyond the inscrutable dogma of the prophet Fred. But when her brothers, Fred and Freddie, die of curable illnesses, their parents are jailed and Mary Fred goes into foster care in a Washington, D.C., suburb. As she struggles to understand everything from sordid daytime television to aromatherapy, Mary Fred begins to positively influence her troubled housemates. But when violence shakes this fragile new family, Mary Fred must confront the past in order to determine her own future.

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter.
For more about the book and its author, click here.

English II Honors assignment
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town – and the family – Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter.
For more about the book’s author, click here.

English III & English III Honors assignment
It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong

People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong — a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions — every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike.

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter (English III Honors: click here).
For more about the author, click here.

English III Seminar assignment
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the “lowliest” occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. Nickel and Dimed is changing the way America perceives its working poor.

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter.
For more about the book and its author, click here.

World Literature & Modern Literature assignment
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the Taliban regime.

World Lit. – Click here for the assignment letter.
Modern Lit. – Click here for the assignment letter.
For more about the book and its author, click here.

English AP assignment
The Awakening by Kate Chopin, plus one selection from the reading list

The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier and the changes that occur in her thinking and lifestyle as the result of a summer romance. At the start of the story, Edna is a young mother of two and the life of a successful New Orleans businessman. While the family is vacationing at a seaside resort, Edna becomes acquainted with Robert Lebrun, a younger man who pays special attention to her. Moonlit walks and intimate conversations with Robert spark feelings that Edna has forgotten. When she returns to the city, Edna throws off the trappings of her old life—devotion to family, attention to societal expectations, and adherence to tradition—to explore independence in love, life, and sexual fulfillment.

Click here for the summer reading assignment letter.
For more about the book and its author, click here.