Summer Reading entering Grade 12
Students: Print Summer Reading Log 
and SCHOOL-WIDE SUMMER READING LIST
June 2009
Dear parents:
As the end of the school year approaches and we begin to make plans for the summer, we want to take this time to talk about summer reading. The summer presents a unique opportunity to help get students excited about reading. It is a time, unlike the required reading of the English curriculum, for your child to make his or her own choices in reading. This is important because we know that summer reading is more like the reading we will do the rest of our lives.
To achieve our goal of getting students excited about reading, we are requiring that all students entering grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 be expected to read many books this summer, but as a minimum, students will be asked to read at least three books. As with last year, we are providing a list of recommended titles for students. We know that choice is very important because students are able to pursue their own interests and read at their own comfort level, and we want to communicate that we value the power of responsible decision-making.
It is expected that all titles chosen are new for the reader; that is, they have not been read independently or as part of an in-school reading from previous grades. We are asking students to keep a log of the books read () and give a brief explanation of why the book was chosen. Each student will hand in the summer reading log to their teacher at the start of school in September. Students can also expect their teacher to assess summer reading in further detail at the beginning of the year.
As always, we encourage you to read along with your son or daughter and enjoy the selections on the list. For your convenience, most of the books may be purchased at the following bookstores, websites, or borrowed from the Waltham Public Library.
| Barnes and Noble – 170 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill 617-965-7621 |
| Barnes and Noble – 98 Middlesex Parkway (Rte 95), Burlington 781-273-3871 |
| Borders Books – The Atrium Mall, 300 Boylston Street (Rte 9), Newton 617-630-1120 |
| New England Mobile Book Fair – 82 Needham Avenue, Newton 617-527-5817 |
| www.barnesandnoble.com |
| www.bordersbooks.com |
| www.nebookfair.com |
| www.amazon.com |
We hope you have a restful and enjoyable summer.
| Waltham High School English Department |
| Thomas O'Toole, Director of English |
| Kendall Boninti, Waltham High School Library Teacher |
SCHOOL-WIDE SUMMER READING LIST – 2009
WALTHAM HIGH SCHOOL
For Students Entering Grade 12
Waltham High School students should plan on reading many books this summer, but as a minimum, students will be asked to read at least three books. Of course, we encourage students to read beyond three books if they choose. The recommended titles below are books that are of high interest to high school students. Students may choose from any of the works listed below, any work by that author, or any work by author or type suggested below. In keeping with our summer reading rationale, students are also welcome to choose an author or a book that is not on this list.
Across the GreatRiver by Irene Beltran Hernandez
Irene Beltran Hernandez's first novel chronicles, through the eyes of a young girl, a Mexican family's illegal entry into the United States.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
The absorbing personal story of the man who rose from a life of poverty and disadvantage to become the most dynamic leader of the Black Revolution, only to have his life cut short by an assassin's bullets.
Blessings by Anna Quindlen
Richly written, deeply moving, beautifully crafted, Blessings tells the story of Skip Cuddy, caretaker of the estate, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him.
Elephant Man by Christine Sparks
John Merrick had lived for more than twenty years imprisoned in a body that condemned him to a miserable life in the workhouse and to humiliation as a circus sideshow freak. But beneath that tragic exterior, within that enormous and deformed head, thrived the soul of a poet, the heart of a dreamer, the longings of a man.
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
Mildly eccentric English couple Harriet and David Lovatt are the contented parents of four healthy children. Suddenly, their peace is forever shattered by their fifth child, Ben, a fiercely malevolent goblin-child with a penchant for violence.
Grendel retold by John Champlin Gardner
The first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic Beowulf, tells his side of the story.
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
After starting to publish his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The novel tells the story of Marlow, a seaman, who undertakes his own journey into the African jungle to find the tormented white trader Kurtz.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
In early nineteenth-century England, an orphaned young woman accepts employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall, a country estate owned by the mysteriously remote Mr. Rochester.
Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe
Sillitoe's autobiographical novel about a rebellious 18-year-old living in dreary Lancashire, England.
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
The Oakland Athletics have a secret: a winning baseball team is made, not bought. In major league baseball the biggest wallet is supposed to win: rich teams spend four times as much on talent as poor teams. But over the past four years, the Oakland Athletics, a major league team with a minor league payroll, have had one of the best records.
The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas by Paul Theroux
Starting with a rush-hour subway ride to South Station in Boston to catch Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, Theroux takes readers on a train journey from Massachusetts to Patagonia in southernmost Argentina.
Poetry: A selected volume by T.S. Eliot, Seamus Heaney, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Sylvia Plath, W.B. Yeats
Drama: Any work by Aristophanes, Sophocles, Sean O'Casey, Henrik Ibsen, or Anton Checkov
Nonfiction: Any nonfiction work of your choice
Suggested author list: Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Michael Crichton, Michael Dorris, Dick Francis, William Faulkner, Tony Hillerman, Franz Kafka, William Manchester, Amy Tan, or Harry Turtledove