Skip to Main Content

Randolph Upper School Summer Reading 2021: Home

Summer Reading choice books for rising 9th -12th grade.

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – Harper Lee

Randolph Upper School - Summer Reading 2021

The purpose of Summer Reading at Randolph is two-fold. First, we strive to encourage the habit of reading for pure enjoyment. By having students select something they want to read over the summer and then discussing it as a group in August, we hope to engender a community of intellectual exchange and dialogue.

 

Secondly, we endeavor to link students’ reading experiences to their fall learning activities. Students are encouraged to take notes or journal about their reading.

 

Students will have one (1) required title for their English class. Those titles are listed below. Additionally, they are to pick a title from the “choice” list to read. After reviewing titles, please go to https://tinyurl.com/czj9ckds to sign up for ONE (1) title of your choice. Please do not choose more than one.

 

Required Summer Reading - English Class Assignments

English 9: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck                              English 10: Lord of the Flies​ by William Golding

English 11: This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women edited by Allison and Gediman

AP English Language: This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women edited by Allison and Gediman AND The New York Times Summer Writing Contest. (see information PDF below)

English 12: Personal Narrative packet to be provided to students (see below - both files are required)

AP English Literature: Personal Narrative packet to be provided to students (see below - both files are required) AND Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The assignment for Hamlet is below.

 

The school believes every student is honor-bound to refrain from lying, cheating, plagiarizing, and stealing” (Randolph School Student-Parent Handbook).  The English Department does not permit the use of print or electronic study guides (for example, SparkNotes, Pink Monkey, or Cliffs Notes). These types of guides may NEVER be used as a substitute for the assigned reading. Use of such study aids is considered “unauthorized assistance” and therefore an Honor Code violation. Maintain your academic integrity by doing your own work --- read the assigned text and generate original ideas about the reading. 

Additional Summer Reading

In addition to your REQUIRED reading for English, please select a title from the list below. We will gather as groups in August to discuss the reading.

Enjoy!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (Grades 11 and 12 only)

The Trial of Lizzie Bordon by Cara Robertson

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Cousins by Karen McManus

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Operation Paperclip : The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America by Annie Jacobsen

The Boy and His Dog a the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Key Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krasoczka

Know My Name by Chanel Miller (Grades 11 and 12 only)

The Happy Runner by David Roche

Dune by Frank Herbert

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Dean of Student Research and Experiential Learning

Lock In by John Scalzi

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna (Grades 11 and 12 only).

The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession and Death on Mount Everest by Mark Synnott

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan