Summer Reading (freshman)

[lindalinda]

Anyone have any suggestions for summer reading (requirement) for an incoming freshman boy? He will be in advanced english and the only requirement given was at least 125 pages. He really doesnt like my suggestions (on anything really) so any help would be appreciated!

 

[Sparx]

maybe To Kill A Mocking Bird?

 

[Marseeya]

What activities is he interested in?

What genre has he enjoyed in the past?

What are 3 of his favorite books?

(I took a young adult literature class, and we had this great assignment. We had to give a reading survey to an 8th grade class, and then figure out what books these kids would like best. It was a huge hit! The 3 questions I ask are what guided my choices on that survey.)

 

[zurgswife]

If he is interested in US history.... Killer Angels or Gods and Generals

Novels but historically accurate

 

[mmeb144]

How about some fantasy, like Eragon by Christopher Paolini or The Hungry City Chronicles by Reeve (There are 3 books in the series, so far.)?

Eragon will be released as a movie this coming November/December. It's about a 15 year old boy who finds a strange blue stone, which turns out to be a dragon's egg. Totally cool story! My DS (14) really likes this series. There is a sequel, Eldest.

The Hungry City Chronicles is about a post apocalptic world where all the cities are on wheels. The big cities eat the little cities. Urban Darwinism. You really care about the characters, but technology has a part in the stories, too.

Marie

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Harry Potter or LOTR because of the films?

 

[NikiM20]

Lord of the Flies by William Golding I read it in highschool and it is still a favorite book of mine and read it from time to time

 

[Allie322]

My daughter's required summer reading for 9th grade honors English are "Childhood's End" by Arthur Clarke and "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Patterson. And for what it's worth, she also has to view "2001 a Space Odyssey", listen to "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd, and view 5 pieces of art that the faculty has selected ( From da Vinci to Christo). The theme is Visions and Mysteries. We never had homework like that when we were kids!

 

[Cool-Beans]

Cold Sassy Tree. It is a lovely story and an easy read.

I saw in Borders the other day that schools are starting to require it! Good for them! High time they replaced things like The Scarlett Letter.

 

[chrrycolalola]

without a doubt...catcher in the rye. it was the first and most memorable book read during my freshman year of highschool. it is a timeless coming of age story that i know a lot of young boys can relate to.

 

[smilingmouse]

How about Phantom of the Opera? I read it my fresman year in HS and really enjoyed it.

 

[DisneyMim]

Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird come to mind first. Both must reads. Also if he hasn't read The Giver, it's one of my favorite books. Both my kids had it as required reading in middle school, although they both read it first in fifth grade. It's not a book for freshman Honors, but IMHO a book everyone should read.

Happy Reading!!

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

Where the Red Fern Grows is one of my all time favorite books. I cry like a baby every time!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

maybe To Kill A Mocking Bird?

My dd will be a sophmore next year and is going to be in AP english!
She has to read To Kill A Mockingbird & A Seperate Peace.
She has to write essay's on them and they have to be turned in the first day of school next year.

 

[Snow Brite]

A lot of great suggestions! Here are a few more:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
Hoot by Carl Hiassen
Flush by Carl Hiassen
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Stowaway by Karen Hesse
The Endurance by Caroline Alexander
Night by Elie Wiesel (the Oprah specials this week on this are amazing)
Adventure of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

 

[Megster]

Of Mice and Men, Into Thin Air, 1984, Great Gatsby
Maybe try looking at Amazon or something to see what the bestsellers of the moment are and pick something off of that list?

 

[lindalinda]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! To answer the 3 questions listed he has interests in sports and drums, the genre he has enjoyed in the past is military or spy adventure type novels, and I cant think of 3 favorites off the top of my head (I mean I cant remember the titles right now, tho the harry potter books would probably be in there.

Just looking at the suggestions, I know he has read To Kill a Mockingbird, but he might want to read it again, also Hoot, I made him read Where the Red Fern Grows a couple of years ago because he absolutely loved My side of the Mountain, and I thought he would enjoy it (he did). I'm not sure but I think he has Gods and Generals but not sure if he has read it yet.

Thanks for all the suggestions, many bring back memories

 

[Briarprincess]

I'm a sophomore in College, but I remember every book I was required to read in high school. Granted my school had MAJOR issues with their summer reading requirements that I won't even go into, but there were some great books.
You mentioned he liked military related stuff- have him read:
-The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. It's a book on Vietnam that, as Amazon described, "is neither memoir nor novel nor collection of short stories but rather an artful combination of all three." It's really good, and I've read it at least three times and HATE most military books. It's a really good read.
-The Good War by Studs Terkel. This one is a collection of stories from soldiers in WWII, from both sides of it, men and women, famous and not. We read pieces in my senior year history class and after the first one, ran out and bought it.

 

[Marseeya]

Since he likes military themes, how about Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game? It's a good read, sci fi/fantasy genre, with philosophical themes. My DS started that series in 8th grade, but he's working his way through it again now.

 

[Quinn222]

The Chosen - Chiam Potok
The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy (this was a way better book than it was as a movie)