ENGLISH I – HONORS SUMMER READING LIST Lafayette High School English teachers would like ALL incoming freshmen to read during the summer. Summer reading is important in maintaining students’ fluency in reading. Plus, reading is the best way to prepare for success in high school and on standardized tests like the ACT. Students in Honors English are required to read one (1) book from the list below and will be tested on the reading during the first week of school. These students are also encouraged to read additional novels from this list for additional grades or from the Choice Reading Page for extra recognition.  If you read from the Choice Reading Page, you will need to keep a reading log for credit.  See the pull down menu for the questions you will consider in this log.  Keeping a handwritten (no typed or computer generated allowed) reading journal as you read is highly recommended as you may use these notes for the reading evaluation during the first weeks of school. Following each choice is at least one website that offers background information and discussion questions for review.  You will need to access the reader's guides by using the pull down menus on the site.   If you Google the author and/or the title, other sites will appear.   Need help with your reading - background information or guides to understanding?  Try the EBSCO data bank LITERARY REFERENCE CENTER.   This is provided free of charge for you by the Laf. Parish School System.  Link - http://search.ebscohost.com/    User ID = student   Password = ebsco     Christy by Catherine Marshall                                                            At nineteen, Christy Huddleston leaves home to teach school in the Smokies – coming to know and care for the wild mountain people with their fierce pride, terrible poverty, dark superstitions, and yearning for beauty and truth. In these primitive surrounding,Christy’s faith is severely tested by the unique strengths and needs of two remarkable young men. www.harperacademic.com/catalogue/instructors_guide_xml.asp The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon                                                                               Although gifted with a logical brain, Christopher has Asperger’s, a form of autism, and has no understanding of human emotions. When he is fifteen, Christopher’s world falls apart when he discovers his neighbor’s dog impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.  Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. His investigation leads him to an unexpected quest for the truth about his mother and his father. Told in first person. (** PARENTAL NOTE: As the narrator has no understanding of human emotions, he occasionally uses profanity.) www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/curious_incident_dog1.asp www.randomhouse.com/vintage/catalogue/display.pperl The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas ** unabridged text only! Based on the true story of a man engaged to marry a wealthy, beautiful woman, whose jealous friends falsely accuse him of being a spy. When he spends many years in prison, a dying fellow prisoner bequeaths him a hidden treasure. After a daring escape, the man takes possession of the treasure and spends years plotting revenge. Themes include betrayal, revenge, justice, forgiveness,and redemption. This novel is frequently included on lists of the best novels of all times.  It is long, but well worth the read! http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/countofmontecristo/ Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card                  In a world decimated by alien attacks, the government trains young geniuses like Ender Wiggin in military strategy with increasingly complex computer games.   Ender must learn to maintain his humanity in the face of great obstacles. www.ender.com (or just Google the title....amazing!) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini                                    The novel moves from the final days of the monarchy in Afghanistan to the present. It is the story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and  Hassan grow up in different worlds. Their intertwined lives and  fates reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them.. The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But through the devastation, Hosseini offers hope and the possibility of redemption. (**PARENTAL NOTE: a story set before, during, and after war, The Kite Runner contains some scenes of violence.) www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/kite_runner1.asp The Life of Pi by YannMartel  A young Indian boy survives for 227 days on a life raft with a huge Bengal tiger.  A classic survival story that tests the readers’ credibility and provides thought provoking twists, while  questioning what fiction is all about. www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/life_of_pi1.asp Little Women by Louisa MayAlcott   **Be certain to read the unabridged text! Written from Alcott’s own experience, Little Women is a coming of age story tracing the lives of four sisters during the Civil War.  http://www.bookrags.com/notes/lw/ The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd  Set in SouthCarolina in1964, this novel tells the story of LilyOwens, a young girl whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When  Lily’s fierce-hearted stand-in mother, Rosaleen, insults three of the town’s fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina, where a trio of black beekeeping sisters introduce Lily to a world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is the story about divine female power and the transforming of love. www.suemonkkidd.com www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/secret_life_of_bees1.asp