Rome High School
Summer Reading 2009-2010
Rome High School’s summer reading program aims to encourage a lifelong habit of reading for enrichment. Book selections are based on literary merit, the new state standards and teacher recommendations. Students at all levels will complete an ABC book project over one book selected from a choice of two lists. Students must read at least one book for each English course in which they are enrolled and complete a project for each book, even for classes which are being repeated. The grading rubric may be accessed here.
**11th and 12th grade AP students must read two books. One book must be the contemporary selection for their grade level and the second selection is a book of their choice from the grade level list or the faculty recommendation list. AP students will be evaluated with written and alternative assignments.**
This project is worth one test grade and is due the first Wednesday after returning to school. Additional activities such as writing assignments, presentations, group discussions, etc. may be required by individual instructors as differentiation between diploma types.
Local bookstores and the public library have received copies of the summer reading list, which can also be accessed from the RHS Website: www.rcs.rome.ga.us/rhs. Please call the high school if you have any questions at (706) 235-9653.
ALL STUDENTS IN ALL GRADES AND LEVELS MUST READ ONE BOOK PER ENGLISH CLASS IN WHICH THEY ARE ENROLLED!!!
**Parents, although all of the books on the list below have literary merit, some may be suitable for more mature students. We urge you, therefore, to carefully review the list and help your son or daughter make a selection that is appropriate for his or her interests, age, reading level, and maturity. For your convenience, you can find a short summary of each book below.
Rome High School---Summer Reading List 2009-10
NinthGradeRecommended Novels:
| Contemporary: | Izzy, Willy and Nilly by Cynthia Voight |
| Classic: | Call of the Wild by Jack London |
| Others: | Warriors Don’t Cry: Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals |
The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander |
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Buried Onions by Gary Soto |
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90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey |
Also See Faculty Recommendation List
Tenth GradeRecommended Novels:
| Contemporary: | Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card |
| Classic: | A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines |
| Others: | Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson |
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi |
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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak |
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Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon |
Also See Faculty Recommendation List
Eleventh GradeRecommended Novels:
| Contemporary: | *March by Geraldine Brooks (11th grade AP requirement) |
| Classic: | *As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (11th grade AP requirement) |
| Others: | Who Killed My Daughter? by Lois Duncan |
September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City by Wilborn Hampton |
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The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier Collegeby Jacques Steinberg |
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Any novel by Tom Clancy |
Also See Faculty Recommendation List
Twelfth GradeRecommended Novels:
| Contemporary: | *The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri |
| Classic: | Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen |
| Others: | My Losing Season by Pat Conroy |
Last Lecture by Randy Pausch |
|
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach |
Also See Faculty Recommendation List
Ninth Grade Summaries:
Call of the Wild by Jack London - The story of Buck, a half-St. Bernard/half-Scotch shepherd that is abducted and taken to the Klondike where it reverts to the wild and becomes a leader of a pack of wolves.
The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander - In August 1914, the renown explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 set sail for Antarctica, hoping to be the first to cross its icy vastness on foot. Eighty miles short of their destination, their ship, Endurance, was trapped then crushed in the freezing Weddell Sea. The party makes two near-death attempts to escape by open boat during their 20 months of being stranded.
Izzy, Willy, Nilly by Cynthia Voight - A young girl has to face physical and emotional challenges as she adapts to the amputation of a leg following a serious car accident.
Warriors Don’t Cry: Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals - Using the diary she kept as a teenager and through news accounts, Melba Pattillo Beals relives the harrowing year when she was selected as one of the first nine students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life by Don Piper, With Cecil B. Murphey - Ninety minutes after a semi-truck crashed into his vehicle, while a minister prayed for him, Piper miraculously returned to life on earth with only the memory of inexpressible heavenly bliss.
Buried Onions by Gary Soto - When nine-teen-year-old Eddie drops out of college, he struggles to find a place for himself as a mexican American living in a violence-infested neighborhood of Fresno, California.
Tenth Grade Summaries:
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card - An expert at winning games, young Andrew “Ender” Wiggins is recruited for Battle School, not realizing that his simulated encounters with invading aliens have turned real.
A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gaines - A disillusioned teacher helps a prisoner gain dignity before his execution.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Death, a character, relates the horrors of WWII through the eyes of Liesel, a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi - In graphic novel format, the author describes her youth in revolutionary Iran. From the overthrow of the Shah to the establishment of the new regime, she witnesses heartbreak and struggle as life changes in her country.
Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson - The author reveals the life of her legendary father, explaining how historical events shaped the life of one of baseball’s greatest players.
Riding the Bus With My Sister byRachel Simon - Rachel explains how she was challenged by her mentally disabled sister to accompany her on the “short bus” for a year. During that time, Rachel came to see her sister as an individual with strong feelings about how she wanted to live her life.
Eleventh Grade Summaries:
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - A family’s struggle to fulfill its matriarch’s last wishes.
The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College by Jacques Steinberg – The book follows a diverse group of prospective students as they compete for places in the nation’s most elite colleges.
March by Geraldine Brooks – A man leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs.
September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City - Wilborn Hampton - Describes the September 11 attacks in the United States and presents several personal stories of tragedy told by New Yorkers who lived through the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Who Killed My Daughter? by Lois Duncan - A riveting, gut-wrenching story of Duncan’s search for her daughter’s killer.
Twelfth Grade Summaries
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri - A novel relating the immigrant experience and the clash of cultures as the Ganguli family from India settles in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
My Losing Season by Pat Conroy - An American tale about young men and the bonds they form, about losing and the lessons it imparts, about finding one’s voice and one’s self in the midst of defeat.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – A typically British story of five daughters and the amazing romances they encounter on the way to “the proper” marriage.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach – This book is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies, postmortem.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - means What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacies? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying.
**Students from any grade may read a book from this list as their summer reading selection.
*An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina – A former hotel manager deals with Rwandan genocide in the spring of 1994. This inspiring story was the basis for the movie, Hotel Rwanda. (Mrs. Dawn Faulkner) (12 th grade AP requirement) *This year’s One book, Many Voices choice.
The Greatest: Muhammed Ali by Walter Dean Myers – About Ali’s life from childhood to present day focusing on his boxing career and the controversies surrounding him. (Coach Franco Perkins)
Wilma Rudolph: A Biography by Maureen M. Smith – This biography traces Rudolph’s early childhood and bout with polio, her Olympic medals in track, and her influence on other female athletes. (Ms. Patricia Smathers)
Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon - An episodic tale about Cory Mackinson’s hair-raising dangers as he seeks to find the secret of the dead man in the lake near Zephyr, Alabama. (Mrs. Rochelle Myers)
Stolen Voices by Ellen Dee Davidson – In the same vein as The Giver, Miri, a 15 year-old girl, runs from her puppet-mastered Utopia and encounters a society unrestrained by rules and ritual. (Mrs. Karen Ehrler)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - A novel about a teenager named Melinda Sordino who struggles to fit in as she enters high school. One phone call from a party during summer vacation has her branded an outcast. What really happened that night? (Coach Jennifer Dougherty)
Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy – The inspiring and reflective memoir of Tony Dungy, the first African-Amercian head football coach to win the Superbowl. Dungy tells his story of a life lived for God and family. He challenges readers to redefine what it means to succeed. (Coach Sid Fritts)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers – Real or spoof? Eggers’ seemingly flippant, but piercingly observant style allows humor to lead the way in a very personal and revealing recounting of the loss of his parents. Eggers voices the classic youthful assumption that the world belongs (or should belong) to him. (Dr. Chris Hodges)
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people. Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. (Ms. Tara O’Neal)
Feed by M.T. Anderson – In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble. (Mrs. Erin Strickland)
ABC Book Instructions
You will create a book with one page for each letter of the alphabet. From the book that you read, you will choose an element that represents each letter and explain the element on the page for that letter. Elements include, but are not limited to: character, setting, events/plot elements, imagery, historical significance, author, etc. You will illustrate each letter as well as explain the significance of each representation to the rest of the novel.
Each project must have:
On each page:
*You may choose to leave out the letters X, Y and Z; however, you will receive bonus points for using these letters.
*Using more than 10 quotes may earn bonus points. Please include page numbers for each of the quotes that you use.
**ABC books may be created in media which is hand-crafted, or electronic (a WORD document, or POWER-POINT). Final submissions must be in paper format.