World Literature

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS

The Titles for the summer of 2015

For incoming freshmen (Coming Of Age)

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Connections to freshmen curriculum / Rationale: A recurring theme in the freshmen year is the “Coming of Age” story, which we feel is well suited to students who are embarking on their first high school experience. Freshmen will see characters in modes of deep self-discovery in To Kill a Mockingbird, The House on Mango Street, Lord of the Flies, and Romeo and Juliet. The protagonists in these stories end their journeys with a much greater self-awareness than they had on the first page. The protagonists in our summer reading selections gain a similar self-awareness as do Scout Finch, Esperanza, Romeo Montague, or Ralph and Piggy.

To find out more about each title, click on the links below
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger
Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan
Reality Boy by A. S. King

For incoming sophomores (Mystery)

Connections to sophomore curriculum / Rationale: The emerging theme in our sophomore curriculum is variety in perspective and style. Our sophomore year covers the greatest range in the chronology of its core texts, going from classical Greek plays up to 21st century fiction. We have also enhanced the number of cultural perspectives with the addition of novels such as The Kite Runner, The Interpreter of Maladies, Life of Pi, The Metamorphosis, and Persepolis. The sophomore year also includes the greatest variety in the ways that writers write, ranging from traditional novels and plays to short story and poetry units, graphic novels, and what are arguably our most experimental works. This selection of titles include an autistic narrator, a 19th-century novel, a 21st-century novel, and a gritty crime novel, and the settings span three continents and over 100 years. Also, several of our core texts in the sophomore year present the question of the reliability of the first-person narrator, and so we have selected mysteries, since that genre lends itself incredibly well to the discussion of the unreliable narrator.

To find out more about each title, click on the links below
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

For incoming juniors (American Literature)

Connections to junior curriculum / Rationale: With these titles, we aimed to find some important American voices and styles that have not found a home in our American Literature class. These books include three non-fiction titles, including what might be the lone book in our four years that you might properly classify as comedy. Our two fiction titles feature two of the most distinct American voices of the last 100 years.

To find out more about each title, click on the links below
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Naked by David Sedaris