BHS Summer Reading 2010
LC ENGLISH 9

Students should have read one of the following books by the first day of classes.  YOU MUST READ SOMETHING YOU HAVE NEVER READ BEFORE.

Friend, Natasha.  Perfect.    “Eighth-grader Isabelle Lee describes her not-so-perfect life. She is dealing with her father's death and her grieving mother by bingeing and purging. On the surface, everything is fine until Isabelle's younger sister catches her in the bathroom making herself throw up. "Eating Disorder and Body Image Therapy Group" is the consequence. Isabelle is amazed when she discovers that the most popular girl in her grade is also at the first session.”

Grogan, John.  Marley and Me.  “The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life.”

Hyde, Catherine Ryan.  The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance.  “Cynnie can take care of herself.  So it doesn’t matter that her mom is drunk all the time.  But when things start to fall apart, Cynnie finds a way to dull the pain.”

Pausch, Randy.  The Last Lecture.  “A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?   When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment…”

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The 7th and final book in the series.

Williams, Stanley.  Life in Prison.  “As a boy, Williams heard the older kids who'd served time tell stories that made prison sound glamorous and fun, a place to hang out with your friends and prove how tough you were. But now, after 16 years on San Quentin's death row for the murders of four people, Williams (Gangs and Violence), co-founder of the notorious Los Angeles Crips gang, knows that prison "is no place you'd ever want to be."”

OR

Students may choose a biography or autobiography of someone who interests them.

•  Audio Books are fine, but students should follow along with a printed copy of the text.