Summer Reading Choices. for next year s RAHS 12 th graders

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Elaine Hunter
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1 Summer Reading Choices for next year s RAHS 12 th graders

Why read on summer break? A 2010 study of ACT results showed that what makes some students ready for college (and others not ready) is an ability to understand difficult literature.

2 Why read on summer break? A 2010 study of ACT results showed that what makes some students ready for college (and others not ready) is an ability to understand difficult literature. At RAHS, we want all of our students to be ready for college! Therefore, ALL RAHS STUDENTS need to pick at least TWO books from the summer reading lists to stay in the practice of academic reading!

There will be opportunities throughout your 12 th grade English class to use

3 How do I choose? It doesn t matter which two titles you pick. Ask your English teacher what might be good choices for you. There will be opportunities throughout your 12 th grade English class to use this in writing and analysis work. Talk to an English teacher about which choices might be best suited for you.

It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark.

4 The Road By Cormac McCarthy A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food and each other.

Believing that he is above the law, and convinced that humanitarian ends justify vile means, he brutally

5 Crime and Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevski This is the story of Raskolnikov, an impoverished student tormented by his own nihilism, and the struggle between good and evil. Believing that he is above the law, and convinced that humanitarian ends justify vile means, he brutally murders an old woman a pawnbroker whom he regards as worthless. What follows is his personal journey of dealing with the consequences of his crime.

His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization.

6 The Left Hand of Darkness By Ursula LeGuin This is the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

7 Love Poems By Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda's love poems are the most celebrated of the Nobel Prize winner's work, captivating readers with earthbound images and reveling in a fiery re-imagining of the world. Mostly written on the island paradise of Capri (the idyllic setting of the Oscar-winning movie Il Postino), Love Poems embraces the seascapes surrounding the poet and his love for Matilde Urrutia.

Sophie s World By Jostein Gaarder One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are

Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde?

8 Sophie s World By Jostein Gaarder One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from? Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning--but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more.

9 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells taken without her knowledge in 1951 became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.

10 Arab in America By Toufic El Rassi El Rassi portrays an existence harried by name-calling, threats of bodily harm, pervasive ignorance about Arabs and the Middle East, and such casual insults as being asked whether he speaks English after having spoken it first. Brought to the U.S. by Lebanese immigrant parents when an infant, he appreciates the injustice of that bigotry more keenly than older immigrants perhaps could, for, raised entirely in the U.S., he was able to presume normalcy until, in eighth grade, his typically Arab dark beard grew in.

Salvage the Bones By Jesmyn Ward A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father

Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant.

11 Salvage the Bones By Jesmyn Ward A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn't show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting.

decided to open up our options this year.

12 Novel of your choice This is a new option for Summer Reading. Since so many students reported reading and enjoying books that are not on this list, we decided to open up our options this year. Talk to friends, family, librarians, or go online and read some book reviews to find a book you are interested in reading. Use the same 5 prompts to keep track of what you have read.

As you read, please consider (and take notes on) the following: What repetitions or patterns can you find in the book? What life lessons does the book teach?

13 As you read, please consider (and take notes on) the following: What repetitions or patterns can you find in the book? What life lessons does the book teach? What motivates the specific characters? Choose a passage (2-10 pages) you think is significant and explain its importance. Keep track of questions you have as you read.

14 Summer Book Club Opportunity Join the Roseville Human Rights, Inclusion, and Engagement Commission for a discussion of...

15 Synopsis The war on drugs has brought a new form of systemadc racism which dispropordonately targets young black men and relegates them to permanent life as second-class cidzens MeeDng Info June 19 th 4:00 to 5:30 and/or June 22 nd 3:00 to 4:30 Held at Ramsey County Library in the Boardroom Light snacks and refreshments will be provided!

Free Will and Determinism

Free Will and Determinism Welcome to A2 Ethics. The first topic we will be studying is Free Will and Determinism and the key questions are, are we free and how do you know and should we be held morally