Monday, July 10, 2017

What The Kids at My Old High School Are Reading This Summer

 
I remember having to do summer reading when I was a teenager, so I thought it would be fun to take a look at the current summer reading list for my old high school!

I personally think summer reading is a good idea (admittedly, I'm not a parent who is fighting with a kid the day before school starts to finish said reading).  It keeps kids in the mindset of learning and critical thinking.  It gives them something to focus on.  Maybe they'll realize that reading isn't so bad, after all!  I like when the schools give kids a wide range of books to choose from - the students can pick for themselves if they want something in their comfort zone or maybe out of it if they're feeling adventurous.

So, now for the specifics at the high school I attended (longer ago than I would care to admit to!): except for the AP students, who get a separate assignment, each student has to read two books this summer: one required book for each grade and an additional book from a list of suggestions, which are different for each grade.  Sounds pretty reasonable to me, for both students (who only have to read 2 books) and teachers - the teachers get the benefit of being able to discuss one book that everyone has read and then maybe everyone can be more creative for another assignment based on the suggested reading.

Here are the required books for each grade:
Of these, the only one I've heard of is The Kite Runner.  I'm kind of surprised that all of these are relatively recent books, and from my perusal of Goodreads, they sound really good.  Has anyone read any of these?

The lists of suggested titles for each grade offer anywhere between 26 and 29 choices, with at least a couple non-fiction titles, and this is where things get really interesting, at least from my perspective (I'm not going to list all the books, since I haven't even heard of a lot of them, just ones that stand out to me). 
  • The 9th grade suggested list includes Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  With the Netflix series being so controversial, I'm surprised yet not surprised to see this one.  I bet a lot of kids will be reading this and maybe it will spark some deep discussions.
  • Looking for Alaska by John Green and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky are just a couple of the YA titles on the 10th grade list, which I think is really fun!  There's even some fantasy YA with a book by Maggie Steifvater.  Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes and John Krakauer's non-fiction Into Thin Air (both of which I enjoyed) are some of the more adult titles on the list.
  • The 11th grade list starts adding in more classics, with titles by John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I thought a nice inclusion on the non-fiction side was The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story, since the movie version is coming out this year.
  • The 12th grade list also features popular classics like Emma by Jane Austen.  This list had quite a few titles that I recognized, like Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper.  Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone is also on the list, and I'm pretty sure the copy I have at home is the one I bought for my own summer reading a million years ago!

What do you think of required summer reading?  Did you have required reading when you were in school?  What types of books did you have to read?  If you have kids, what kinds of summer reading are they doing?

20 comments:

  1. Oh what a fun idea for a post! I wouldn't even know how to find this info about my old high school. But the only book I've read on this list is The Kite Runner, in 10th grade. And that's cool that the school gives choices too. I wouldn't even know what to suggest to high schoolers though since I haven't been reading much YA lately and don't read contemp or a lot of classics, but I do remember that I loved Catch-22 in 12th grade.

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    1. I actually just found the list on the school's website; they do so much online these days. I haven't read The Kite Runner, but I have read a bunch of the suggested reading. Yeah, I wonder who chooses the books!

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  2. What a fun post!! 2 books being required isn't bad at all. I think we had like 4 or 5 and they were all assigned. I have to say the choices seem pretty good! I would have loved to be able to pick some of those books in school.

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    1. I know, I don't remember having fun YA choices like these. Maybe because YA wasn't as big when I was in high school? Or maybe I just didn't notice.

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  3. The Kite Runner is amazing!

    I gave your blog a follow, and I would truly appreciate it if you could check out my book reviews blog located at https://elsbookreviews.blogspot.ca/ and possibly give it a follow as well! Looking forward to reading more of your reviews!

    - El

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    1. I haven't read The Kite Runner yet, maybe someday!

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  4. I read The Kite Runner and thought it was amazing. I've not read the others though. I remember having required summer reading the summer before I took AP English but that was the only time. I remember having to read Gulliver's Travels and A Tale of Two Cities for that, not the most fun summer choices, lol.

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    1. Haha, well, the classics are always good, but I like that they have some fun titles mixed in there, too!

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  5. I didn't have required summer reading in high school, but I always read anyway. I read a lot of the classics as a teenager. I think summer reading is an excellent idea and I am impressed by the choice of titles to challenge teens.

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    1. I read a lot of classics when I was younger, too. I was happily surprised at the range of titles that the students are offered.

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  6. Great idea for a post! I have to say I'm really surprised 13 Reasons Why would be suggested for 9th graders, given the controversial aspects of it. I'm not passing judgment on the book itself, since I haven't read it, but I did watch the Netflix series and if I had a 9th grader reading it I think I might want to touch base with them and discuss it, given the material. I know some bloggers have said it might glorify suicide, although I'm not sure about- I did think after watching the show it addressed some important high school issues, and like you I think it's a good discussion starter w/ teens.

    I haven't read any of the others, although I think Emma is a fun choice for seniors.

    Great post!

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    1. Thanks! I actually haven't read or watched 13 Reasons Why, but I've been reading a lot about the Netflix show, and so I hope that if the students read it, a dialogue is happening to discuss the issues.

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  7. I love this idea! I think it's interesting that the school is recommending Nineteen Minutes, considering the subject matter. Kudos to them for not shying away from it though.

    We actually didn't have any required summer reading when I was in school. There was a recommended book list that you could get from the school library, but you had to seek it out. As far as I can remember, we only read books during term time, and even then it was one fiction book per year!

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    1. Yeah, I thought that was a bit of an odd choice, too, but unfortunately it's a topic that's on people's minds.

      That's too bad that they didn't make the recommended list more readily available to you, like give everyone a copy before break or something.

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  8. They are certainly a lot different than the books I read when I was at school, we read Tolkien and Dickens! It was while ago!! My kids don't have any required reading this summer but they are taking part in the summer reading program which gives them prizes for every so many books they read.

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    1. Yeah, I also don't remember having so many choices! I remember reading a lot of classics. That's great that your kids are doing a summer reading program!

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  9. Oh, what an awesome post! I only recognize Kite Runner from the list as well. I'll have to check out the others!

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    1. Thank you! I know, I might check some of these out, too!

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  10. I never had required reading over the summer when I was in school, but if I did I would have loved it!! There are some really cool books on those lists as well!! I was super surprised they had 13 Reasons Why on the 9th grade list. I mean, I don't think that is too young for them to read it or anything, but I know nowadays people are all about "protecting the teens" and whatnot. Also, I LOVED Looking for Alaska and both of those Jodi Piccoult books. Nineteen Minutes was a big fave. I read She's Come Undone a WHILE ago and it was weird, but also SO different and I couldn't put it down. Thanks for sharing this!!

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    1. Yeah, there is definitely a trend toward overprotectiveness these days, so I was kind of surprised at 13 Reasons Why, too. I love the diversity of these lists, though.

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!