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 weeks 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 use the links on the Choice Reading Page to choose one of the many suggested books, you will need to submit a reading log for credit.   See the menu above for the Reading Log page and the questions you may choose from for the Reading Log. For your chosen book, 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 - Research options open to you - go to the Laf. Parish School System search page - http://www.lpssonline.com/site113.php Also - see research links below to the EBSCO home data bank online (not the World Wide Web - a databank of magazines, enclycopedias, etc.) & the Worldbook online. These are purchased for you by the state & parish. EBSCO - login: lpssschools Password: gumbo Website - http://search.ebscohost.com Worldbook - longin: lpssschools password: gumbo www.worldbookonline.com   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 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/ 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  A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, a well known, acclaimed writer from Louisiana. 1997. Knopf/Vintage . When Jefferson's attorney states, "I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this," disillusioned teacher Grant Wiggins is sent into the penitentiary to help Jefferson gain a sense of dignity and self-esteem before his execution.  [parental caution - mature subject matter]  Running Loose by Chris Crutcher.   Louie seems to have the world at his finger tips when his life suddenly changes. His fall from the varsity football team is as sudden as the death of his girlfriend. Dealing with life's difficulties with honor even when others over him don't is a major lesson of this book.