ENGLISH

English 160 (AP) Grade 12 (Click here for specific assignments related to these books.)

REQUIRED — Read TWO:

• A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini — A novel set against the three decades of Afghanistan's history shaped by Soviet occupation, civil war, and the Taliban. The stories of two women, Mariam and Laila, come together as they share a common enemies: their abusive husband and a restrictive society.
• Life of Pi, Yann Martel — Pi Patel is the son of a zookeeper. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. When disaster strikes and he finds himself alone in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger, Pi’s faith and ability to survive is tested.
• White Oleander, Janet Fitch — When her passionate poet mother, Ingrid, is jailed for killing her ex-lover, Astrid Magnussen must learn how to navigate her way to adulthood through a series of Los Angeles foster families and juvenile homes. Astrid's strength and resilience makes this compelling novel an inspiration. Fitch writes with breathtaking beauty about the central theme of our age: the search for self.
• The Road, Cormac McCarthy — A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the post-apocalyptic, ravaged landscape except the ash on the wind. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have only a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road. A moving story of a journey and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation. Pulitzer Prize winner.
• The Secret History, Donna Tartt — Six students, at a wealthy Vermont school, immerse themselves in the study of the Classics with an idiosyncratic, morally fraudulent professor. They become involved in two murders, one supposedly accidental and one deliberate. A psychological suspense thriller with many literary and classical allusions.
• My Ántonia, Willa Cather — Set in Nebraska in the late 19th century, this is the tale of a spirited daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family who try to farm on untamed land. Seen through the eyes of narrator Jim Burden, we learn of Ántonia, who even though downtrodden by circumstance and hard work, has “not lost the fire of life.” A moving, well-written story that explores the desires for love, family, and companionship, and the great perseverance that marked the earliest settlers on the frontier.
• Catch 22, Joseph Heller — First published in 1961, this book is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it. It is a tale of the dangerously sane Captain Yossarian, who spends his time in Italy plotting to survive in the insane world of war.

English 161 — Grade 12 (Honors), REQUIRED — Read ONE of the following books:

• A Thousand Splendid Suns,  Khaled Hosseini — A novel set against the three decades of Afghanistan's history shaped by Soviet occupation, civil war, and the Taliban, which tells the stories of two women, Mariam and Laila, who grow close despite their nineteen-year age difference and initial rivalry as they suffer at the hand of a common enemy: their abusive husband.
• Life of Pi, Yann Martel — This brilliant fabulist novel combines the delight of Kipling's "JustSo Stories" with the metaphysical adventure of "Jonah and the Whale, " as Pi, the son of a zookeeper, is marooned aboard a lifeboat with a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan, and a tiger.
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith — The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.
• The Secret History, Donna Tartt — Six students, at a wealthy Vermont school, immerse themselves in the study of the Classics with an idiosyncratic, morally fraudulent professor. They become involved in two murders, one supposedly accidental and one deliberate. A psychological suspense thriller with many literary and classical allusions.
• My Ántonia, Willa Cather — Set in Nebraska in the late 19th century, this is the tale of a spirited daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family who try to farm on untamed land. Seen through the eyes of narrator Jim Burden, we learn of Ántonia, who even though downtrodden by circumstance and hard work, has “not lost the fire of life.” A moving, well-written story that explores the desires for love, family, and companionship, and the great perseverance that marked the earliest settlers on the frontier.
• Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson — The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, led Union cavalry and detectives on a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia, while the nation, still reeling from the just-ended Civil War, watched in horror and sadness. James L. Swanson's Manhunt is a fascinating tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters, this is history as you've never read it before.
• A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah — This absorbing account by a young man who, as a boy of 12, gets swept up in Sierra Leone's civil war goes beyond even the best journalistic efforts in revealing the life and mind of a child abducted into the horrors of warfare. Beah's harrowing journey transforms him overnight from a child enthralled by American hip-hop music and dance to an internal refugee bereft of family, wandering from village to village in a country grown deeply divided by the indiscriminate atrocities of unruly, sociopathic rebel and army forces. Beah then finds himself in the army—in a drug-filled life of casual mass slaughter that lasts until he is 15, when he's brought to a rehabilitation center sponsored by UNICEF and partnering NGOs. The process marks out Beah as a gifted spokesman for the center's work after his "repatriation" to civilian life in the capital, where he lives with his family and a distant uncle. When the war finally engulfs the capital, it sends 17-year-old Beah fleeing again, this time to the U.S., where he now lives. (Beah graduated from Oberlin College in 2004.) Told in clear, accessible language by a young writer with a gifted literary voice, this memoir seems destined to become a classic firsthand account of war and the ongoing plight of child soldiers in conflicts worldwide. From Publishers Weekly, Starred Review.

English 163 — Grade 12, REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• Nothing to Lose, Alex Finn — A year has passed since Michael fled his impossible home life to join a traveling carnival. Now the 17-year-old runaway has returned to Miami to find his mother going on trial for the murder of his savagely abusive stepfather. What really happened? Only Michael knows the whole truth, but will he come forward?  An award-winning book with great reviews.
• Inexcusable, Chris Lynch — Told in flashbacks and present-day narrative, this novel from Printz Honor winner Lynch is a riveting tale of guilt, innocence, and responsibility. When his childhood friend--and love of his life--accuses him of rape, a young man is convinced he's innocent.
• The Truth About Forever, Sarah Dessen — With her sixth novel, award-winning author Sarah Dessen offers up another generous helping of finely crafted storytelling about real teens dealing with real life. In The Truth About Forever, when asked how she is coping with her father's death, invariably seventeen year old Macy Queen's answer is "fine," when nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, she is drowning in grief while maintaining a flawless façade of good grades and unblemished behavior. Though she feels lost when her boyfriend heads to "Brain Camp" for the summer, she finds herself a job with the quirky Wish Catering crew, and meets "sa-woon"-worthy Wes, whose chaotic lifestyle is in direct opposition to her own. As the two share their stories over the summer, Macy realizes she can no longer keep her feelings on ice. Though it feels like her future endedwith her dad's death, Macy's learns that forever is all about beginnings. Dessen charts Macy's navigation of grief in such an honest way it will touch every reader who meets her.
• Catalyst, Laurie Halse Anderson — Meet Kate Malone -- straight-A science and math geek, minister's daughter, ace long-distance runner, new girlfriend (to Mitchell "Early Decision Harvard" Pangborn III), unwilling family caretaker, and emotional avoidance champion. Kate manages her life by organizing it as logically as the periodic table. She can handle it all-or so she thinks. Then, things change as suddenly as a string of chemical reactions; first, the Malones' neighbors get burned out of their own home and move in. Kate has to share her room with her nemesis, Teri Litch, and Teri's little brother. The days are ticking down and she's still waiting to hear from the only college she applied to: MIT. Kate feels that her life is spinning out of her control -- and then, something happens that truly blows it all apart. Set in the same community as the remarkable Speak, Catalyst is a novel that will change the way you look at the world.
• A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah — This absorbing account by a young man who, as a boy of 12, gets swept up in Sierra Leone's civil war goes beyond even the best journalistic efforts in revealing the life and mind of a child abducted into the horrors of warfare. Beah's harrowing journey transforms him overnight from a child enthralled by American hip-hop music and dance to an internal refugee bereft of family, wandering from village to village in a country grown deeply divided by the indiscriminate atrocities of unruly, sociopathic rebel and army forces. Beah then finds himself in the army—in a drug-filled life of casual mass slaughter that lasts until he is 15, when he's brought to a rehabilitation center sponsored by UNICEF and partnering NGOs. The process marks out Beah as a gifted spokesman for the center's work after his "repatriation" to civilian life in the capital, where he lives with his family and a distant uncle. When the war finally engulfs the capital, it sends 17-year-old Beah fleeing again, this time to the U.S., where he now lives. (Beah graduated from Oberlin College in 2004.) Told in clear, accessible language by a young writer with a gifted literary voice, this memoir seems destined to become a classic firsthand account of war and the ongoing plight of child soldiers in conflicts worldwide. From Publishers Weekly, Starred Review.
• OR any book from the Eng 161 list.

English 151 — Grade 11 (Honors)/English 154 — American Studies (Honors), REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• Peace Like a River, Leif Enger — Hailed as one of the year's top five novels by Time, and selected as one of the best books of the year by nearly all major newspapers, national bestseller Peace Like a River captured the hearts of a nation in need of comfort. "A rich mixture of adventure, tragedy, and healing," Peace Like a River is "a collage of legends from sources sacred and profane -- from the Old Testament to the Old West, from the Gospels to police dramas" (Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor). In "lyrical, openhearted prose" (Michael Glitz, The New York Post), Enger tells the story of eleven-year-old Reuben Land, an asthmatic boy who has reason to believe in miracles. Along with his sister and father, Reuben finds himself on a cross-country search for his outlaw older brother who has been controversially charged with murder. Their journey is touched by serendipity and the kindness of strangers, and its remarkable conclusion shows how family, love, and faith can stand up to the most terrifying of enemies, the most tragic of fates. Leif Enger's "miraculous" (Valerie Ryan, The Seattle Times) novel is a "perfect book for an anxious time ... of great literary merit that nonetheless restores readers' faith in the kindness of stories" (Marta Salij, Detroit Free Press).
• Native Son, Richard Wright — Widely acclaimed as one of the finest books ever written on race and class divisions in America, this powerful novel reflects the forces of poverty, injustice, and hopelessness that continue to shape society.
• O Pioneers!, Willa Cather  — O Pioneers!, Willa Cather's second novel, tells the story of an immigrant family's struggle to save their Nebraska farm. Cather's placement of a strong and capable woman at the center of the story, her realistic depiction of life on the Midwestern prairie, and her vivid portrayal of the immigrant experience at the turn of the century make O Pioneers! a true American classic.
• Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult — Set in a small town in the wake of a horrific school shooting, Nineteen Minutes brings together lawyer Jordan McAfee, who represents a boy who desperately needs someone on his side, and Patrick Ducharme, the intrepid detective whose best witness is the daughter of the superior court judge assigned to the case. As the story unfolds, layer upon layer is peeled back to reveal some hard-hitting questions about the nature of justice, the balance of power, and what it means to be different.
• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson — Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

English 153 — Grade 11, REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult — Set in a small town in the wake of a horrific school shooting, Nineteen Minutes brings together lawyer Jordan McAfee, who represents a boy who desperately needs someone on his side, and Patrick Ducharme, the intrepid detective whose best witness is the daughter of the superior court judge assigned to the case. As the story unfolds, layer upon layer is peeled back to reveal some hard-hitting questions about the nature of justice, the balance of power, and what it means to be different.
• Dreamland, Sarah Dessen — After her older sister runs away, sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs to make a major change in her own life. Her new boyfriend, Rogerson, seems like a dream come true. However, it doesn't take long for the dream to become a nightmare when she discovers that mysterious and brillant Rogerson has an abusive and dangerous side. The latest book by an award-winning writer.
• Forged by Fire, Sharon Draper — This book is a prequel to Draper's Tears of a Tiger, which was on the list last year. As a neglected toddler of a drug-addict mother, Gerald almost burns to death in his apartment. Rescued by his loving aunt, Gerald enjoys a warm secure life for a few years until his mother and a cruel, abusive stepfather enter his life. His new goal is to protect his half-sister from becoming a victim.
• Stuck in Neutral, Terry Trueman — Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and cannot function, relates his perceptions of his life, his family, and his condition, especially as he believes his father is planning to kill him. In this powerful first novel, the reader learns to look beyond the obvious and finds a character whose spirit is rich beyond imagining.
• Eagle Strike: An Alex Rider Adventure, Anthony Horowitz — Teen spy Alex Rider survives a bullfight, a high-speed bicycle chase through Amsterdam, and even being the target in a human video-game, only to face his most disturbing challenge yet: when the best of intentions are driven by insanity, how do you reason with a madman?
• Acceleration, Graham McNamee— It’s a hot, hot summer, and in the depths of the Toronto Transit Authority’s Lost and Found, 17-year-old Duncan is cataloging lost things and sifting through accumulated junk. And between Jacob, the cranky old man who runs the place, and the endless dusty boxes overflowing with stuff no one will ever claim, Duncan’s just about had enough. Then he finds a little leather book. It’s a diary filled with the dark and dirty secrets of a twisted mind, a serial killer stalking his prey in the subway. And Duncan can’t make himself stop reading. What would you do with a book like that? How far would you go to catch a madman? And what if time was running out?
• OR any book from the Eng 151/154 list.

English 141 — Grade 10 (Honors), REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• The Color of Water, James McBride — Around the narrative of Ruth McBride Jordan, a.k.a. Rachel Deborah Shilsky, the daughter of an angry, failed Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the South, her son James writes of the inner confusions he felt as a black child of a white mother and of the love and faith with which his mother surrounded their large family. The result is a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.
• My Sister's Keeper, Jodi  Picoult — Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate — a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister — and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.
• The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak — Liesel Meminger, a foster child living outside Munich during World War II, scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist--books--in this unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
• A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah — This absorbing account by a young man who, as a boy of 12, gets swept up in Sierra Leone's civil war goes beyond even the best journalistic efforts in revealing the life and mind of a child abducted into the horrors of warfare. Beah's harrowing journey transforms him overnight from a child enthralled by American hip-hop music and dance to an internal refugee bereft of family, wandering from village to village in a country grown deeply divided by the indiscriminate atrocities of unruly, sociopathic rebel and army forces. Beah then finds himself in the army—in a drug-filled life of casual mass slaughter that lasts until he is 15, when he's brought to a rehabilitation center sponsored by UNICEF and partnering NGOs. The process marks out Beah as a gifted spokesman for the center's work after his "repatriation" to civilian life in the capital, where he lives with his family and a distant uncle. When the war finally engulfs the capital, it sends 17-year-old Beah fleeing again, this time to the U.S., where he now lives. (Beah graduated from Oberlin College in 2004.) Told in clear, accessible language by a young writer with a gifted literary voice, this memoir seems destined to become a classic firsthand account of war and the ongoing plight of child soldiers in conflicts worldwide. From Publishers Weekly, Starred Review.

English 143 — Grade 10, REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky — Tenth-grader Charlie writes letters that shows the difficulties of high school and growing up. He is aught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie’s letters are both hilarious and devastating, revealing the world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends as well as the complex world of sex, drugs, and suicide. An unforgettable and powerful coming-of-age story.
• Whaletalk, Chris Crutcher — There’s bad news and good news about the Cutter High School swim team. The bad news is that they don’t have a pool. The good news is that only one of them can swim anyway. A group of misfits brought together by T. J. Jones (the J is redundant), the Cutter All Night Mermen struggle to find their places in a school that has no place for them. T.J. is convinced that a varsity letter jacket—exclusive, revered, the symbol (as far as T.J. is concerned) of all that is screwed up at Cutter High—will also be an effective tool. He’s right. He’s also wrong. Still, it’s always the quest that counts. And the bus on which the Mermen travel to swim meets soon becomes the space where they gradually allow themselves to talk, to fit, to grow. Together they’ll fight for dignity in a world where tragedy and comedy dance side by side, where a moment’s inattention can bring lifelong heartache, and where true acceptance is the only prescription for what ails us.
• Tears of a Tiger, Sharon M. Draper — After a car accident kills Robert, Andy’s best friend and teammate on the Hazelwood High Tigers, Andy doesn’t know if he can go on. He’s consumed with guilt for driving the night of the accident after a long evening of drinking and partying. With perceptiveness and compassion, Draper portrays a teenager who must deal with a devastating tragedy.
• Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz — Fourteen-year-old Alex doubts his uncle died in an accident after finding bullet holes in the windshield of his uncle's car. He discovers his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission for the British government. Alex then finds himself in the middle of terrorists. Now he must outsmart the people who want him dead or every child in England will be murdered.
• Big Mouth & Ugly Girl, Joyce Carol Oates — Matt Donaghy's big mouth gets him a three-day suspension when "unnamed witnesses" allege that the Rocky River High School junior has threatened to bomb the school if his play isn't accepted for the Spring Arts Festival. Fortunately, his classmate Ursula Rigg, who calls herself "Ugly Girl," heard what he really said, and despite her parents' reservations, demonstrates the courage to come to his defense. An awkward friendship between the two self-styled misfits begins to develop but is threatened when Matt's parents sue the school system for slander. Distinguished novelist Oates' first young adult novel is a thought-provoking, character-driven drama about the climate of hysteria created by school violence in America, and how two teenagers find the courage to fight it and to find themselves in the process.
• A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah — This absorbing account by a young man who, as a boy of 12, gets swept up in Sierra Leone's civil war goes beyond even the best journalistic efforts in revealing the life and mind of a child abducted into the horrors of warfare. Beah's harrowing journey transforms him overnight from a child enthralled by American hip-hop music and dance to an internal refugee bereft of family, wandering from village to village in a country grown deeply divided by the indiscriminate atrocities of unruly, sociopathic rebel and army forces. Beah then finds himself in the army—in a drug-filled life of casual mass slaughter that lasts until he is 15, when he's brought to a rehabilitation center sponsored by UNICEF and partnering NGOs. The process marks out Beah as a gifted spokesman for the center's work after his "repatriation" to civilian life in the capital, where he lives with his family and a distant uncle. When the war finally engulfs the capital, it sends 17-year-old Beah fleeing again, this time to the U.S., where he now lives. (Beah graduated from Oberlin College in 2004.) Told in clear, accessible language by a young writer with a gifted literary voice, this memoir seems destined to become a classic firsthand account of war and the ongoing plight of child soldiers in conflicts worldwide. From Publishers Weekly, Starred Review.
• OR any book from the Eng 141 list.

English 130/Humanities — Grade 9 (Honors English/Social Studies) — See Ms. Martin's and Mrs. Stefanakos's Memo

• REQUIRED — Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, Edith Hamilton — (selections noted on handout)
• REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:
  • Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson — Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.
  • The Chosen, Chaim Potok — In 1940s Brooklyn, New York, an accident throws Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders together. Despite their differences (Reuven is a Modern Orthodox Jew with an intellectual, Zionist father; Danny is the brilliant son and rightful heir to a Hasidic rebbe), the young men form a deep, if unlikely, friendship. Together they negotiate adolescence, family conflicts, the crisis of faith engendered when Holocaust stories begin to emerge in the U.S., loss, love, and the journey to adulthood. The intellectual and spiritual clashes between fathers, between each son and his own father, and between the two young men, provide a unique backdrop for this exploration of fathers, sons, faith, loyalty, and, ultimately, the power of love.
  • 1984, George Orwell — Novel by George Orwell, published in 1949 as a warning about the menaces of totalitarianism. The novel is set in an imaginary future world that is dominated by three perpetually warring totalitarian police states. The book's hero, Winston Smith, is a minor party functionary in one of these states. His longing for truth and decency leads him to secretly rebel against the government. Smith has a love affair with a like-minded woman, but they are both arrested by the Thought Police. The ensuing imprisonment, torture, and reeducation of Smith are intended not merely to break him physically or make him submit but to root out his independent mental existence and his spiritual dignity. Orwell's warning of the dangers of totalitarianism made a deep impression on his contemporaries and upon subsequent readers, and the book's title and many of its coinages, such as NEWSPEAK, became bywords for modern political abuses.
  • The Body of Christopher Creed, Carol Plum-Ucci — Chris Creed grew up as the class freak—the bullies’ punching bag. After he vanished, the weirdness that had once surrounded him began spreading. And it tore the town apart. Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams’s search for answers opens his eyes to the lies, the pain, and the need to blame someone when tragedy strikes, and his once-safe world comes crashing down around him.
  • Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, David Lubar — Starting high school is never easy. Seniors take your lunch money. Girls you’ve known forever are suddenly beautiful and unattainable. And you can never get enough sleep. Could there be a worse time for Scott’s mother to announce she’s pregnant? Scott decides high school would be a lot less overwhelming if it came with a survival manual, so he begins to write down tips for his new sibling. Meanwhile, he’s trying his best to capture the attention of Julia, the freshman goddess. In the process, Scott manages to become involved in nearly everything the school has to offer. So while he tries to find his place in the confusing world of high school, win Julia’s heart, and keep his sanity, Scott will be recording all the details for his sibling’s—and your—enjoyment.

English 131 — Grade 9 (Honors), REQUIRED — Any book from the 130 (Humanities) list.

English 133 — Grade 9, REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• Hoops, Walter Dean Myers — A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player who, after being forced to quit because of a point shaving scandal, hopes to prevent other young athletes from repeating his mistake.
• Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson — Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.
• Define "Normal", Julie Anne Peters — This is a thoughtful, wry story about two girls-a 'punk' and a 'priss'-who find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program, and discover that they have some surprising things in common.
• Scorpions, Walter Dean Myers — Jamal, who is pressured to become leader of the Scorpions gang, worries about school, family, and the rough kids on the street. When a fellow gang member gives him a gun, Jamal suddenly gains a new level of respect from his enemies. A realistic look at a boy who wants to do the right thing but gets caught up in the culture of violence. A Newbery Honor selection.
• The Body of Christopher Creed, Carol Plum-Ucci — Chris Creed grew up as the class freak—the bullies’ punching bag. After he vanished, the weirdness that had once surrounded him began spreading. And it tore the town apart. Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams’s search for answers opens his eyes to the lies, the pain, and the need to blame someone when tragedy strikes, and his once-safe world comes crashing down around him.
• Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, David Lubar — Starting high school is never easy. Seniors take your lunch money. Girls you’ve known forever are suddenly beautiful and unattainable. And you can never get enough sleep. Could there be a worse time for Scott’s mother to announce she’s pregnant? Scott decides high school would be a lot less overwhelming if it came with a survival manual, so he begins to write down tips for his new sibling. Meanwhile, he’s trying his best to capture the attention of Julia, the freshman goddess. In the process, Scott manages to become involved in nearly everything the school has to offer. So while he tries to find his place in the confusing world of high school, win Julia’s heart, and keep his sanity, Scott will be recording all the details for his sibling’s—and your—enjoyment.
• OR any book from the Eng 130/131 list.

Practical English/Foundations in Reading — Grade 9, REQUIRED — ONE of the following books:

• Locomotion, Jacqueline Woodson — Through his own poetry, 11-year-old Lonnie Collins shares his heartbreak over his late parents and his love for his younger sister Lili, separated from him when they were placed in foster care. A 2003 National Book Award Finalist and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book.
• Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilly Giff — Hollis Woods has run away from almost every foster home she's ever been placed in. When she is sent to live with Josie, a quirky but elderly artist, Hollis wants to stay. But Josie grows more forgetful, and Hollis fears Social Services may take her away and move Josie to a home. Hollis won't let anyone separate them--she's escaped the system before; this time, she'll take Josie with her.
• Whirligig, Paul Fleischman — In this acclaimed novel, a dejected boy tries to kill himself in a car crash and ends up killing an innocent teen. The victim's mother asks that the boy create four whirligigs from a picture of the girl and set them up at the four corners of the United States to keep her spirit alive.
• Heaven, Angela Johnson — Marley Carroll's life turns upside-down the day a letter arrives requesting her baptismal record from a pastor in Alabama whose church has burned. For the first time Marley realizes that the people who have raised her are really her aunt and uncle and her father is Uncle Jack. Anger is the first emotion she feels: anger that no one ever told her about her real mother and father, anger that she's been deluded all these years. Gradually reason returns and she begins to sort out what and who make a family. As she looks around her neighborhood, the pluses pile up from her best friend Shoogy to the owner of the general store, and finally to her aunt and uncle and the wonderful parenting job they've done along with the love they have for her. Maybe it really is heaven to live in Heaven.
• Loch, Paul Zindel — Fifteen-year-old Loch and his younger sister join their father on a scientific expedition searching for prehistoric creatures sighted in a Vermont lake, but soon discover that the expedition's leaders aren't interested in preserving the creatures.
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien — When mouse widow Mrs. Frisby needs advice on how to move her children safely, she consults the rats who live under the rosebush. Not only do they help her, they tell her of their escape from a laboratory where experimentation had made them literate, and of the brave death of her husband.
• OR any book from English 131, 133

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