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Summer Reading for Honors Seniors:
1. "A Distant Mirror," Barbara Tuchman
2. "The Prioress' Tale."Maragaret Frazer
Both books are available through Amazon.com, often at significant reduction below retail and at Borders
Asimov - The Foundation Trilogy
"Future history" - ground breaking SF classic by this most prolific of authors. (SF)
Bessenger, Friday Night Lights
The true story of Odessa, TX, where social and racial tensions seem to disappear during the Friday night football games. (NF)
Binchy, Circle of Friends
The unshakable friendship between two Irish girls from very different walks of life. (F)
Binchy, Firefly Summer
Tells the story of the changes that take place in a charming Irish village when a stranger turns a local man's house into a luxury hotel. (F)
Binchy, Light a Penny Candle
The chaotic events of World War II find a shy English girl in Ireland under the care of the boisterous O'Connor family. (F)
Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
The story of a fireman in the future whose duty is not to put out fires. Deals with issues of book-burning and censorship. (SF)
Bronte, Jane Eyre
Young impoverished girl's virtue leads to success and happiness. Love story/murder mystery complete with mad woman in the attic. (F)
Bronte, Wuthering Heights
Gothic tale of love and revenge set on the English moors. (F)
Buck, The Good Earth
The author traces the whole cycle of life - love, marriage, duty, betrayal, death, and redemption - through the experiences of one Chinese peasant and his family. (F)
Burns, Cold Sassy Tree
When the preacher elopes with a Yankee woman half his age, the little southern town of Cold Sassy Tree comes alive. (F)
Chevalier, Girl With A Pearl Earring
Set in mid-17th Holland, the novel tells the story of the housemaid who inspired Johannes Vermeer to create his masterpiece of the same name. A fascinating look at life during that time. (F)
Christy, And Then There Were None
Ten strangers meet on Indian Island as the prey of a diabolical killer who has marked them as prisoners and prey. (F)
Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
This greatly admired and best-selling book explores the life of a young girl, Esperanza, as she grows up in the Latino section of Chicago. Presented in a series of brief and richly constructed vignettes, this novel portrays a new American landscape through the eyes of its multi-faceted characters. (F)
Clancy, The Hunt for Red October
Action-packed thriller about the Soviet Navy's search for a renegade submarine as its commander and crew attempt to seek asylum in the United States. (F)
Clark, 2001: A Space Odyssey
Two frightened navigators and a talkative computer named Hal ride on the spacecraft Discovery, hoping to solve the mystery of a huge crystal object left on the moon by aliens. (SF)
Crichton, Timelines
A thriller about historians and a high-tech billionaire genius. (SF)
Conroy, Prince of Tides
Set in South Carolina and New York City, the story of twin brother and sister and the extraordinary past into which they were born. (F)
Davis, Last Act in Palmyra
murder mystery/love story set in the Roman Empire of the first century AD. (F)
Denison, Out of Africa
A memoir about one woman's experience in colonial East Africa. (Later made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep) (A)
Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo A dark tale of revenge set in 19th century France detailing the adventures of Edmund Dantes, a young sailor, falsely accused of and imprisoned for treason. (F)
Fowler, Before Women Had Wings
The author tells of growing up in rural Florida in the 1960's as the poor daughter of alcoholic and physically abused parents. (F)
Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank
A classic, this diary was written by a young Jewish girl, detailing her experiences and thoughts as she and her family hide from the Nazis during WWII. (A)
Frazier's, Cold Mountain
- set during the waning days of the Civil War, the novel traces a man and women's journey to reunite in the back country of North Carolina. A great read!
Gibbons, Ellen Foster
Cast adrift after the death of her drunken father and abused mother, Ellen moves from one sad situation to another until she finally finds a friend.
Guterson, Snow Falling On Cedars
set on the island of San Piedro off the coast of Washington State, this lyric tale of love and murder delves into the topics of adolescent love, war, bigotry and, ultimately, forgiveness and healing. (F)
Gaardner, Sophie's World
Originally written by a high school teacher for use in his philosophy class, this novel explores the fundamental tenets of Western philosophy through a series of letters exchanged between a 15-year old girl, Sophie, and her nameless correspondent. (F)
Herbert, Dune
A science fiction classic describing a planet of harsh deserts, where water is more precious than jewels. Presents a contemporary message about ecology. (SF)
Hesse, Siddhartha
A young man leaves his family to pursue a life of contemplation and meditation. (F)
Horr, A Civil Action
A lawyer fights for victims of a polluted region in Woburn, MA (Later made into a movie staring John Travolta. (NF)
Irving, The World According to Garp
Rich with moments of humorous lunacy and elements of heartbreaking sorrow, this novel explores the life and times of its hero - T.S. Garp - his outspoken feminist mother - Jenny Fields - and the countless colorful characters who fill the novel's pages. (F)
Keyes, Watermelon
Clair has everything, including a new baby. When her husband leaves her, she returns home to Dublin, sheltered by the love of a quirky family, she gets better. When James sliters back into her life, he is in for a surprise.
King, The Eyes of the Dragon
A horror fantasy featuring dragons, princes, evil wizards, an enchanted castle and a terrible secret. (SF)
King, Salem's Lot
A Maine town is possessed by unspeakable evil. (SF)
King, The Stand
Horrific disaster as plague sweeps U.S., leaving only a handful of survivors. (SF)
Kingsolver, The Bean Trees
Set against the backdrop of the American Midwest, the headstrong and independent heroine of this tale, Taylor, sets out in her 1955 Volkswagen Beetle and decides to go as far west from her homestate of Kentucky as her meager savings will take her. Her adventures are many, including having a small baby unexpectedly thrust upon her at a rest stop. (F)
Knowles, A Separate Peace
The story of the friendship between two very different teenage boys, one a quiet introvert and the other a daredevil athlete. What happened between them while attending a New England boarding school sheds light on the dark forces that sometimes invade the world of adolescent friendships. (F)
Lamb, She's Come Undone
Dolores Price is a smart-mouthed 257 pound adult. Price's trials and misadventures, which range across almost every form of abuse and familial travesty that exists, are recounted in this captivating tale rife with compassion, insight and a refreshing sense of humor. (F)
Le Guin, The Wizard of Earth Sea
Similar in many ways to Tolkein's The Hobbit, this novel tells the tale of a young boy who becomes a wizard's apprentice. (SF)
MacLean, A River Runs Through It
Beginning with the memorable line, "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing," MacLean paints an evocative portrait of the sons of a small-town Montana minister, two brothers headed in markedly different directions. Fly-fishing for trout is one experience that unites father and sons, and, in the end, it is the language and beauty of the river that provides understanding and acceptance in the most difficult of times. Part fishing tale, part coming-of-age story, this memoir details the author's formative years in rural Montana. (A)
Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Alex Haley)
Written by the man who rose from the poverty to become a leader of the Black Power Movement, this memoir details Malcom's life from its deprived beginning to his eventual triumph as an articulate spokesman for black unity and civil rights.
Maraniss, When Pride Still Mattered
biography of Vince Lombardi, who excelled in pursuit of athletic excellence but struggled with devotion to family. (B)
Marquez, 100 Years of Solitude
Set in a country on the Caribbean coast of South America, this is the lush and wondrous story of an unrequited love so strong that it binds three people together for the span of more than fifty years. (F)
McCain, Faith of My Fathers
This candid, moving and hugely entertaining memoir by the U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate explores issues of family and war and details his personal trials and tribulations as a former POW for several years in North Vietnam. (A)
McBride, The Color of Water
A black man's tribute to his white mother. The inspiring story of Ruth McBride Jordan, a Polish Jewish immigrant, and her struggles to raise her 12 children as narrated by her son. (A)
McCourt, Angela's Ashes
A memoir of an Irish Catholic childhood of poverty and despair that is also a mesmerizing tale of love and forgiveness. (A)
McCullers, vThe Heart is a Lonely Hunter
A cross-sectional view of life and loneliness in a small southern town, focusing on a deaf-mute and his effect on the people who confide in him. (F)
McKinnon, Candles on Bay Street
K. C. McKinnon, pen name of the respected novelist Cathie Pelletier, weaves a poignant tale of lifelong friendship, golden memories, forgotten dreams, and love in all of its many forms in this novel. Years after leaving his childhood home of Fort Kent, Maine, veterinarian Sam Thibodeau returns with his wife and veterinary partner to open a practice.
Morrison, Jazz
set in Harlem of the1920's this is a novel of "murder, hard lives and broken dreams" by this popular Pulitzer Prize winning author. (F)
O'Brien, The Things They Carried
Fictional episodes, taking place in the childhoods of the characters, the jungles of Vietnam, and back in the United States twenty years later. (F)
Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion
Bristling with intelligence and romance, this novel tests the boundary between history and myth. Patrick Lewis arrives in Toronto, Canada in the 1920's and earns his living searching for a vanished millionaire and tunneling beneath Lake Ontario. Patrick's life intersects with those of characters who reappear in Ondaatje's second book in the series, the critically-acclaimed The English Patient. (F)
Paulsen, Hatchet After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends 54 days in the wilderness, surviving only by his wits and the hatchet given him by his mother. (F)
Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Highly unusual story of a man taking a transcontinental motorcycle trip. He attempts to solve the riddles of the Universe and save the life of his son. (A)
Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows
Ten-year-old Billy trains his two coon-hound pups, and they win the gold cup in a contest. The story focuses on the relationship between the boy and his dogs, and on his becoming a man as he deals with adversity. (F)
Salinger, Catcher In the Rye
A perceptive story about teenager Holden Caulfield, and his struggles to find happiness and to fit in. (F)
Shaara, The Killer Angels
This novel reveals more about the Battle of Gettysburg than any piece of learned nonfiction on the subject. This riveting account of the three most important days of the Civil Wars features amazing characterization of all of the primary "actors" ranging from Lee to Buford. The most inspiring figure in the book, however, is Col. Joshua Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment of volunteers held the Union's position on the second day of the battle. (NF)
Sinclair, Upton The Jungle
This novel describes the horrible working conditions, poverty, disease and despair among the workers at a slaughterhouse in Chicago in 1900. (NF)
Smiley's, A Thousand Acres
Family conflict begins when the aging Larry Cook divides his Iowa farm among his 3 daughters. B.E. students who have read this have given it rave reviews. (F)
Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
The true story of life in a man-made hell, a Soviet slave-labor work camp. (F)
Starks, The Notebook
A love story set amid the beauty of North Carolina in 1946. This is a story in which the beautiful Allison Nelson must choose between her respectable fiance or a flame from the past she is reunited with after WWII. (F)
Tan, The Joy Luck Club
Chronicles the lives of four Chinese women. Deals with their friendship and problems.
Tan, The Kitchen God's Wife
Set in San Francisco, this novel depicts a young woman's attempt to truly understand her mother, an emigrant from China. (F)
Tolkien, The Hobbit
The story of those charming creatures, the Hobbits, and their world of fantasy called Middle Earth. (SF)
Tyler, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
With her grown children gathered around her, the dying Pearl Tull recalls the difficult years she spent raising them after their father's abrupt departure. (F)
Voigt, Homecoming
Four abandoned children set out on a journey from Connecticut to Maryland in search of love. (F)
Voigt, Dicey's Song
(sequel to Homecoming) With her grandmother's help, Dicey
learns to cope with life's problems. (F)
Winchester, The Professor and the Madman
A strange but true tale about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and the role played by Major D.C. Minor, an American Army surgeon confined in an English asylum for the crime of murder. (NF)
Yourcenor, Oriental Tales From China to Japan
, the Balkans to India, Oriental Tales consists of a series of mythical short pieces of fiction that address love, conquest, betrayal, murder, religion and passion on all levels. (F)