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Summer Reading List

Summer is a fantastic time to fall in love with a great work of literature and to sharpen the mind. Therefore, Island School requires all students, grades 6-12, to read at least one book over the summer. Below is a grade-by-grade book list and the requirements for that grade and level.

List of 6 items.

  • English 6

    All students are required to read Holes by Louis Sachar. Reading at least one other book from the list below is recommended.
    Among the HiddenMargaret Peterson Haddix
    Bridge to TerabithiaKatherine Paterson
    Charlotte's Web
    		E.B. White
    From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. FrankweilerE.L. Konigsburg
    HolesLouis Sachar (Required)
    I Heard the Owl Call My NameMargaret Craven                                 
    Little House on the Prairie             Laura Ingalls Wilder 
    MatildaRoald Dahl 
    Where the Red Fern GrowsWilson Rawls     

  • English 7

    All students are required to read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.  Reading at least one other book from the list below is recommended.
    A Separate PieceJohn Knowles
    A Wrinkle in TimeMadeleine L'Engle (Required)
    Absolutely Normal ChaosSharon Creech
    In the Footsteps of Crazy HorseJoseph Marshall
    FeedMatthew Tobin Anderson
    The Chocolate WarRobert Cormier
    The Golden CompassPhilip Pullman
    The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeC.S. Lewis
    The Phantom TollboothNorton Juster
    To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee        

  • English 8

    All students are required to read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  Reading at least one other book from the list below is recommended.
    A Wizard of EarthseaUrsula LeGuin
    As Brave as YouJason Reynolds
    BookedKwame Alexander
    Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury (Required)
    Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid MaryGail Jarrow
    I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)Malala Yousafzai
    Samurai RisingPamela S. Turner
    The Girl Who Drank the MoonKelly Barnhill
    The Golden CompassPhilip Pullman
    The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeC.S. Lewis

  • English 9

    All 9th grade students are required to read at least two books from the list below and to be ready to write about them on the first day of class.
    Born a Crime: Stories from a South African ChildhoodTrevor Noah
    East of EdenJohn Steinbeck
    Harry Potter SeriesJK Rowling
    Little BrotherCory Doctorow
    Lunar Chronicles Series
    		Marissa Meyer
    Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel SeriesMichael Scott
    The Book ThiefMarkus Zusak
    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeMark Haddon
    The Kane Chronicles SeriesRick Riordan
    The Omnivore's Dilemma (Young Readers Edition)Michael Pollan

  • English 10

    All 10th grade students are required to read Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans and Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Reading at least one other book from the list below is recommended.

    A Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty Smith
    Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut (Required)
    Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful LifeBill Burnett and Dave Evans (Required)
    Ender's GameOrson Scott Card
    Ethan FromeEdith Wharton
    Flowers of AlgernonDaniel Keys
    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
    		Benjamin Franklin
    The Joy Luck ClubAmy Tan
    The Red Badge of Courage
    		Stephen Crane
    The Things They CarriedTim O'Brien
    Tuesday with MorrieMitch Albom

  • English 11 & 12

    AP students are required to read at least three books from the list below and to be ready to write about them on the first day of class

    College prep students are required to read at least two books from the list below and to be ready to write about them on the first day of class.
    All the Pretty HorsesCormac McCarthy
    Anna KareninaLeo Tolstoy
    BelovedToni Morrison
    CeremonyLeslie Marmon Silko
    Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky
    Democracy in AmericaAlexis de Tocqueville
    EducatedTara Westover
    Go Tell it on the MountainJames Baldwin
    Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens
    Invisible ManRalph Ellison
    Jane EyreCharlotte Bronte
    Light in AugustWilliam Faulkner
    Moby DickHerman Melville
    Moonwalking with EinsteinJoshua Foer
    Nickel and DimedBarbara Ehrenreich
    OutliersMalcolm Gladwell
    Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJames Joyce
    Slouching Toward BethlehemJoan Didion
    Speak, MemoryVladimir Nabokov