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My students recommended this dystopian book and series to me, and it did not disappoint. In the futuristic society, teenage protagonist, Juliette, has been imprisoned by The Reestablishment because of her powers: she has a lethal touch. Fans of Divergent, Hunger Games, and Delirium will love this series. 

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This is nonfiction that tells the history of the 1960's from inside the White House as well as an emotional love story between Doris and Dick Goodwin.

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Not only is it about basketball, but talks about life lessons you can relate to. 

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Related to basketball and shares a story about fighting and not giving up. Hard times don't last forever and you can overcome difficult times. 

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Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall

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A novel about a 9-year-old white girl in Mississippi who runs away from her strict grandmother and is taken in by a poor black woman. The girl sees for the first time life as it really is.

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A novella about a young girl living in rural Ireland. Beautifully written.

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Football themed and connects to your team, coach, and life lessons. 

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1. It involved basketball!! 2. It's really easy and fun to read. 

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The psychological thrillers engage me. Marrs, McFadden, Patterson. They challenge the reader to figure out what the ending is!

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

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harry potter and the sorcerer's stone book

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"Lose Well' is one of the banners on my classroom wall - a that you're going to lose sometimes and that's okay. But in doing so, you can still surround yourself with community and find meaning and growth in adversity, all while being true to yourself.

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A somewhat fictional wartime experience that is very accessible and powerful. It will certainly impact your perspective on what it must be like to serve in a war.

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AP Literature and Composition

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Summer Assignment for AP Literature and Composition 

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AP Language and Composition

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Summer Assignment for AP Language and Composition

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Grades 9-12 (rising) ACP, Honors

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Summer Assignment for Rising 9th - 12th Grade ACP, Honors

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You will read at least two books in the summer, but you can read as many books as you like, and you are not required to select one from the 🕶️THS Summer 2025 Reading List—it is just a suggested list to inspire you. https://sites.google.com/trumbullps.net/ths-english-department/summer-reading

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2025 Summer Reading Letter

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Read for yourself, not just the assignment. #readlikeyourfav

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Great writer, non-fiction but a very interested and unknown story, the author incorporates some very thorough research to support the information and story he tells.  One of, if not my favorite, book of all time!

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"It's a biographic story where the author discovers the beauty of learning during his senior year after hating school for all his life. He had dyslexia but it was not diagnosed (back in the days it was totally different). This book changed my point of view about school and also encouraged my son in a particular moment of his life when he was a teenager and all was dark. I think that it's a book that every student and teacher should read. 
if you don't know, the author became a famous writer of childhood books (and they are very funny!)"

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This book is a perfect blend of personal, historical and comical content that will keep you intrigued and entertained throughout. 

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Given to me as a gift by my Ethics Debate Club, this book is raw and startling and showcases how education can change a life.

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This book has great character development, ability to evoke emotions and surprises along the way

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The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

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I read this book and listened to the audiobook several years ago and it still resonates with me.  Within the really enjoyable story, it has SO MANY messages and reflections of the human condition and philosophies of life, without hitting you over the head. Each story within the story is a microcosm of past and current events.  The way the author pulls everything together at the end of her stories is amazing and beautiful, and makes me cry.  I can't wait to read it again - I think that's going to be my summer read!

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It was the first fantasy book I've read. Very different from any other books I've ever read! 

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“Handle with Care” is one of my favorite books because it’s a story I read in high school that really stuck with me. It explores the complexities of family and the unconditional love we have for each other. The story of Willow, a child with a rare condition, made me reflect on what it means to care for someone, especially when life doesn’t go as planned.

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I loved reading about of her childhood which to most was not ideal and full of hardship.  She was resilient and achieved success as she took learned valuable lessons while growing up. Beyond that she was able to heal and come to peace what she had gone through.

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This is a modern war story about an American battle in Somalia.  I relate to this because I remember where I was when this was actually happening, it wasn't from a long time ago before I was born.  I liked it because it gave an in-depth account of what happened from both sides.

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Wizard and Glass: Part IV of The Dark Tower by Stephen King

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This book can stand alone in The Dark Tower series. The story of 14-year-olds Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain and their adventures in Mejis draw the reader in, as the boys, young heroes, discover a plot by the Big Coffin Hunters to destroy the Affiliation of Mid-World. This book deserves to be made into an epic movie. I love the backstory of Roland, the heroic central figure of the entire series. I am sure this book will have you wanting to go back and start from page one of the series.

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

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Growing up I was first introduced to it in 5th grade. I remember the lines out the door trying to get a copy of it and when I first got my copy I could not put it down. IT has had an impact on my life to the point where I take part in Harry Potter Trivia all across CT to test my knowledge of the book. 

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“A year ago today, I was undoing my husband. Now I am almost done reassembling him.”

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I really enjoyed The Song of Achilles because I’ve always been captivated by Greek mythology. It's a great book to show how love can cut through even the darkest and hardest moments. By the end, you feel deeply connected to the characters and their journey. One of my favorite quotes is, "'Go,' she says. 'He waits for you.' In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out the sun". This line captures the heart of the story, the way love brings light in the midst of darkness, making everything feel so powerful and real.

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This is a great fantasy book and as you read the books that come later it gets more complex.

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This book helped me grow as a writer perhaps more than any other book I've read on this subject. I love how it's not only a book about how to improve as a writer but also serves as Stephen King's memoir.

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The Poet X (hard to choose one) by Elizabeth Acevedo 

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The Poet X is one of my favorite books because of the many ways the story resonates with teens: navigating internal conflicts, determining the role of religion in one's life, societal and peer pressure (conformity), but most importantly, learning the importance of self-love and finding an outlet to express that love. 

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A fantastically well-written novel (set in Connecticut!) that helps explore different perspectives and allows you to see inside the minds of people you might have no insight into otherwise. 

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To me it shows a fascinating side of the human spirit. It is a compelling read because it combines gripping true survival stories with insights from psychology and neuroscience to reveal why some people survive against all odds—and what we can learn from them.

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I thoroughly enjoyed its realistic portrayal of the struggles of Appalachian life.

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Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

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I was gifted "Danny" for my 8th birthday. It was the first chapter book I remember reading, and it is the reason I fell in love with words and with stories. The story of Danny growing up with his father warms my heart. Reading "Danny" is like cuddling up with your favorite blanket. Father and son go on several exciting adventures and, ultimately, save the day. I highly recommend reading "Danny the Champion of the World" this summer. Tell me how your liked the book when we get back in the fall.

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<img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81vzUanehpL.jpg" alt="Amazon.com: Danny the Champion of the World: 9780142410332: Dahl, Roald,  Blake, Quentin: Books">

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A young woman approached me while I read this on vacation and said, "I love that book. You will need a box of tissues for the final chapters." She was accurate! This work of historical fiction highlights the women who served as nurses in Vietnam and their lives post war. 

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The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

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Books written BY women ABOUT women are typically my favorites, and this one features two strong female characters whose unlikely friendship endures the challenges of a turbulent political time in Iran and whose story is one of courage, strength, and empowerment. Definitely one of the best I've read this year!

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It’s a brilliant, funny, extraordinarily well written novel about the disintegration of a seemingly idyllic American family in the wake of the cultural shockwaves of the 1960s. It even makes a chapter about manufacturing leather gloves wildly interesting. One of the greatest contemporary American novels of our time by one of America’s best novelists. 

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This book was the final book of the Throne of Glass series. I am OBSESSED with this series, and it shaped my entire reading personality. If you're just starting the series, you will want to start with Throne of Glass. 

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This debut novel is emotionally compelling and written in an accessible, engaging style, making it a good fit for a wide range of readers, including those looking for a page-turner on vacation or by the beach.

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I always recommend the Night Circus because it's uniquely and beautifully written...and I always love the idea that magic exists! Picking one book is too hard so I will also throw in here that along the same lines of the possibility of magic in our lives...I also loved the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. This is a lighter read but equally as enjoyable.

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If you love true crime and richly written characters, In Cold Blood is a must-read. Truman Capote takes the brutal 1959 murder of the Clutter family in rural Kansas and turns it into a chilling narrative that reads like a novel. Fun fact- Capote spent almost six years interviewing townspeople, investigators, and even the killers themselves as part of his research. His commitment to detail captures every nuance of the story with unsettling accuracy. If you’re looking for psychologically complex characters… This is your book!

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Crichton does an amazing job of balancing really intelligent, thorough science with a thrilling action story. The book is MUCH more horrifying than the movie (in the best way possible).

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The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

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"Our skin, our hair, and our eyes are simply the shell that surrounds our soul, and our soul is who we are. What counts is on the inside." I loved this book and I think the message of acceptance, and overcoming prejudice will resonate with high school students. 

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Deals with time travel and the story is really interesting. 

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Growing up, I was drawn to the trope of a person hidden away from society. Stemming from my love of mysteries, classic literature, and my love for the 90s movies The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, when I picked a text for my senior year AP Lit thesis project, I landed on Jane Eyre. I later found out that Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of The Secret Garden, also admired Jane Eyre and the novel was an inspiration for her text as a children's version of portions of the story. For a future read, check out Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys which is written as a prequel from the vantage point of Mr. Rochester's first wife.

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Life, On the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat by Grant Achatz & Nick Kokonas

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A little biased because Achatz is my favorite chef of all time, but this book explains a lot about why. Achatz is well known for his molecular gastronomy at Alinea, his restaurant in Chicago, which pushes food beyond even science to true works of art. When he develops tongue and throat cancer, he needs to find ways to maintain his increasingly high standards, deal with the emotional toll of the realization, and continue to push the industry in new, exciting directions. 

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Life, On the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat

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It explores a friendship over several decades and shows how true friends are there for each other despite distance, life's challenges, and other relationships.

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An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.

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<img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ANaVZk5LL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" alt="Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones">

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The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud

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This is a great book that takes a creative take on Camus' best seller "The Stranger". It asks the question of who is the arab that Meursault killed in the Stranger. This book was mind blowing to me when I first read it after having read "The Stranger" several times in school over different classes. Daoud actually won the le prix Goncourt in 2015 which is an amazing accolade.

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Zauner, a musician for the band Japanese Breakfast, is half-Korean and half-white. When her Korean mother gets sick and dies, she realizes how disconnected she is from her culture and seeks to learn more. The writing is raw with emotion as she struggles with losing a parent, but uplifting as she seeks ways to find peace of mind, sometimes through cooking and eating traditional Korean food.

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Great modern sci-fi that explores big ideas about physics, space, and human culture. 

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The characters are relatable for teens. 

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Moses loves poetry and food equally, so the writing is absolutely beautiful, particularly if you have a passion for eating and time spent baking in your kitchen. Her at-times troubling childhood was relatable, emotional, and entertaining. I never felt more connected to a stranger than I did reading this memoir!

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I first read this book in high school.  I love this book because it the first in the Dark Tower series written by Stephen King.  The series is great but as you read more and more of Kings books you begin to realize that King makes references to items/characters in other books.  All of the references tie back to the Dark Tower and/or characters/places in other books.  I just love the added complexity.  

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"I loved this novel because it tells a the story of Second World War from a women point view and the atrocities of this time period; especially at the women’s concentration camp in Ravensbruck. 
It’s a platform to showcase the strength of women and the beauty in their spirit. Sometimes it was really hard to read ( for me) and I saw myself crying but that made love this book. I felt so connected to one of the characters ( the lilac girl)"

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Beautifully written coming of age story (male perspective) that captures what it was like going to high school in our area during the Vietnam War era.

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Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

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I'm a huge sci fi fan, and this collection of stories was fantastic - it's not the stereotypical futuristic space war between intergalactic species. It's more speculative and realistic, and my favorite of the short stories in this collection is the basis for the movie Arrival.

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This book is heartbreaking in the most beautiful way. Some of my favorite quotes are: “and perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone” and “he is half of my soul, as the poets say".

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I love the way Reichl writes about food, the recipes she shares at the end of each chapter, and getting an inside look at what it takes to be a restaurant critic. 

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I read this when I was in high school during the summer between my sophomore and junior years, and it was so good. It's about a family who moves to the jungle in Central America and tries to make a new civilization. You won't be able to put it down! 

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I loved the story of this boy from a world that i knew nothing about. He was inspiring and I think about him still even though I read the book a year ago .Made me see that part of the country differently.

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Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) by Brian Michael Bendis

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I was 16 when this Spider-Man series started, so this version of Peter Parker was about the same age as me when I was reading these comics.

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Watership Down is seemingly a story about rabbits, plain and simple.  According to author Richard Adams, that is exactly what the book is about.  A book about rabbits to entertain children on car rides...However, one only needs to read a few pages to understand there is much more to the story than that.  It is a book stuffed with beauty, fear, passion and excitement...all of the emotions a human feels...especially as a teenager!

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I love the friendships and the choices the characters have to make. I always say ''make good choices'', as life is all about the choices you make. 

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I read this in high school. I loved the characters and how everything tied together in the big culminating event in the end. I didn't want the story to end and was so sad when it did. I loved it so much, I named one of my son's Owen.

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When I get a chance to read for pleasure, I'm looking for a book to pull me into another world and keep my attention. A world of magic and intrigue, but also consequence more than sparkles. A fun beach read, or an up-all-nighter; a book that plays to the imagination as a nice escape from reality.

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Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

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I probably read this series a half dozen times! If you like fantasy, world-building, magic, or dungeons and dragons, then you'll love this series. My favorite character? Raistlin. He might be overly cranky or whiny, but I just gravitate to darker characters!

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Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings

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This book was my entrance into the world of geography. Ken Jennings writes in an approachable way, with great anecdotes, how geography influences everything we do. 

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"Highly recommend The Women by Kristin Hannah - it details the often untold story of the female veterans of the Vietnam War.  Beautifully done.  This book will stay with me for a long time.
“Some said women had not been in combat, did not suffer, and were too few in number to be honored.""
- Diane Carlson Evans, founder of the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project"

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The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

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This book was the first book I was absolutely fascinated by. It has everything: Adventure, Friendship, Love, Betrayal, Revenge, Justice and Hope

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This book is a 21st century response to Mark Twain's Huck Finn, but you don't need to have read Huck Finn to love it. The story is simple and powerful, narrating the unlikely friendship between a black man running from enslavement and a young white boy running from his unfortunate life. It's a great exploration of what happens when you change the POV on any story. It's the current winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for fiction. 

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I read Fitzgerald when I was in 10th grade and fell in love with his stories, reading everything he wrote, learning about The Lost Generation on my own. Then, I moved onto Hemingway and saw the beauty in his natural, seemingly simple, and direct way of writing, creating characters who are so complicated, so flawed and realistic. No one is grand, and there is great beauty in that--the beauty and the tragedy in the mundane. Hemingway became my obsession, leading me to climb Kilimanjaro, to travel to Hemingway's House in Cuba, and to get married at the Hemingway House in Key West. It was this novel where that love of Hemingway as a writer began when I was a teenager, and it is this novel where I fall in love with his writing as I read it every summer as an adult.

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All-Star Superman is the perfect stand alone Superman story that boils down the essence of the character for those who have never read a Superman comic book.  Hopeful and fun. 

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It resonated with me because it was the observation of human behavior from an Aliens perspective.  The story encompasses earthly experiences from love, family, abandonment and friendships to name a few.   Worth the read!  I read this book in February of 2025, it was the Town of Fairfield One Book One Town , book choice that also includes an author talk. 

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Just Mercy is a nonfiction text that follows Bryan Stevenson's development as a young lawyer as he worked with a wrongly condemned prisoner. His narrative spans his development of the Equal Justice Initiative which aims to serve people marginalized and underserved within the the broken justice system. I've seen Bryan Stevenson speak twice, and I find his writing just as engaging as his speech delivery. 

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The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church

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It's a story of love that was surprising and effortless versus a love that was expected, all set in the times and secrecy of the Manhattan Project.  It includes drama, science, and profound wisdom about being a woman in the world.  This is a GREAT book for anyone who enjoyed "Lessons in Chemistry". Favorite quote - “We have to take flight. It's not given to us, served up on a pretty, parsley-bordered platter. We have to take wing. Was I brave enough to do that? Or would I be content to remain earthbound?”  

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This selection offers an incredible opportunity for readers to familiarize themselves with the works of the shortlisted authors for the NEHS Common Readers.

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This selection offers an incredible opportunity for readers to familiarize themselves with the works of the shortlisted authors, which may be useful for in-class reading or NEHS book clubs.

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Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library is a thought-provoking novel about a woman, caught between life and death, who discovers a magical library that allows her to explore the infinite lives she could have lived, ultimately leading her to a deeper understanding of regret, possibility, and the value of her own existence. Chapter Advisors felt that this text “is a beautiful look at what success means in life—how we all need to appreciate the good and bad” and “is an inspiring and uplifting text that comforts readers: It pushes them toward a bright future regardless of their circumstances.”The Midnight Library was released in 2020 and immediately became a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. Indeed, the Sunday Times described it as “a beguiling read, filled with warmth and humor, and a vibrant celebration of the power of books to change lives.” The Guardian suggests that “contrary to the fantastical premise, the novel turns out to be a celebration of the ordinary: ordinary revelations, ordinary people, and the infinity of worlds seeded in ordinary choices.” It is an excellent introduction to the world of speculative fiction.The Midnight Library‘s accessible yet thought-provoking narrative will encourage critical discussions on choice, resilience, and the philosophical question of what makes a life meaningful, all of which aligns with NEHS’ mission to promote deep literary analysis and personal growth through literature.  

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How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

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Cruz’s How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water was chosen as one of the Common Reader texts because of its delivery of “a sense of the enduring worth of relationships, life experiences and determination” (Washington Post). The text, which won the Latino Book Award (2022) is the first NEHS Common Reader authored by a Latina author and provides much overdue recognition of the Latinx community.  The novel follows Cara Romero, a Dominican woman in her mid-fifties navigating job loss and personal hardships during the Great Recession of 2007 – 2009. Told through a series of government-mandated job counseling sessions, the novel unfolds as Cara recounts her life story with wit, resilience, and unfiltered honesty. Through Cara’s voice, Cruz explores themes of immigration, displacement, economic struggle, and the pursuit of dignity in an unforgiving system.How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water received rave reviews upon publication. Kirkus said it was “a poignant portrayal of one fallible, wise woman, and a corner of one of New York’s most vibrant immigrant communities.” Often compared to NEHS Honorary Member, Elizabeth Acevedo, because of their shared use of vibrant, voice-driven narratives to explore the complexities of Latinx identity and womanhood, in How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water, Cruz makes good use of humor and oral storytelling traditions.With its unique structure and deeply human storytelling, the NEHS Advisory Council hopes that How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water will offer students a powerful meditation on survival, identity, and the strength found in community.

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I have always found comfort in stories of faith and personal sacrifice.  I also have always been a history fan and the period the book covers has been something I have been interested in for our country 

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Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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In this coming of age story, Adichie empowers young African women. Through the protagonist, Kambili, she highlights how survival for a young African woman requires her to overcome the colonial and traditional structures that restrict the female voice and point of view. 

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I first read this book in high school and as I re-read it at different times in life, my take aways are different. Not better or worse, just different. 

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I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

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Honestly, I just finished this book, but I can't stop thinking about it.  The novel is gross, gory, and Jones upends and re-interprets the slasher genre and horror-at-large in interesting ways.  Read it if you dare!

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Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

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Fun!  When I had trouble getting through a book without falling asleep (I read before bed), and was feeling overwhelmed with the heaviness of life, this book kept me awake, lightened the load, and left me smiling and laughing.  It's an easy read, highly entertaining, and then you can enjoy the movie version when you're done! (...not to mention the sequels :) )

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First of all, how can I pick just one?  Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Macbeth, just too many to choose from.  But at the moment it would have to be Dune. ______________________ "My life is guided by the Bene Gesserit litany against fear: 'I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.'" ______________________ This kind of philosophical thinking is throughout the text along with critiques of politics, religion, commerce, class, and culture.  it is adventurous and exciting as well as introspective and brooding.  It's not for everyone but it will leave an imprint on anyone who reads it.

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Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

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Big Lies in a Small Town is one of my favorite reads because I loved how the historical storyline and the present-day mystery are woven together through the lives of two strong women. Their intertwined stories of hardship, resilience, and ultimately healing really resonated with me. It’s a great book for teens or anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a powerful message about overcoming the past and finding your voice.

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Diane Chamberlain big lies in a small town

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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The book is witty, sharp, and full of great quotes.  It takes the reader on a zany sci-fi adventure of improbability that never takes itself too seriously.

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From this book I learned the importance of the present moment, which is an important skill that this age group should be starting to understand. The only way to be at your very best during important moments in life is to be Present and Ready for solving problems and challenges life will throw at you. Past, Future, Phones all distract us from the ability to live in this moment and enjoy things that are taking place right in front of us. It can be challenging for kids to get away, from stressful thoughts and things that are going on in their lives to the impending doom of becoming an adult. Kids have a lot of thoughts running through their minds. This book teaches you to declutter those thoughts and focus on what is important. 

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The Women, while focused on the experience of women in the Vietnam War, reflects how women have bravely stepped into harm's way but have been dismissed by history. It's also a book about friendship forged through the most difficult of experiences and the courage to fight for yourself.

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A young man, who has experienced tragedy, navigates his new life in NYC and Las Vegas, while in possession of a stolen painting. Everyone should have a best friend like Boris.

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The Girls is one of my favorite recent books. Cline crafted a beautifully written book about an ugly historical event--the murders orchestrated by Charles Manson in 1969. The novel is about a young girl who gets caught up with a fictionalized version of the Manson Girls. It's a dark and twisted story of adolescence--good for fans of true-crime and cults.

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It is great book with a lot of action.  I am able to make the point that the book is always better than the movie.  This movie has led to a sequel and a series on television many years later.

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There is something magical in the way Bradbury writes and the struggles for human life on other planets has always enthralled me. 

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This book took me on a journey! It was an emotional trip into our true identity and how to find our way to it. There are so many topics intertwined beautifully and tragically also. Loved it!

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You'll never see the end coming and you won't be able to put this book down. This story employs all of the twists and turns as the reader follows multiple narrators who are trying to solve the murder of a teenager in a small town. This book really has it all: love, betrayal, intrigue, murder, and recipes. Yes, recipes. They're at the end. Let me know if you try your hand at one.