Summer Reading Books

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Summer Reading FAQ

I’m an incoming freshman. What do I read?
All incoming freshmen read Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez. You will be expected to have this book completed by the time school begins. You will discuss it in class as well as use it as a basis for an all freshman activity on Reading Day on Friday, September 4th. If you are in honors English, you will also need to read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and you need to have a subscription to The Week Magazine for the upcoming 2009/2010 school year. Be sure to have your subscription start by the beginning of August and to get the discounted student rate.

I was a student at BG during the 08-09 school year, but I forgot what book I chose. What do I do?
Check at the bottom of this page for the list of book choices by ID number.

Can I read a different book than the one I chose?
You will be required to go the book group for the book you chose. Your summer reading completion will be based on that book. However, you can read as many off of the list as you would like!

I didn’t choose a book. What do I do?
No problem. We chose a book for you! You are required to read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. You will not be joining a group, but you will be taking a test on that book to indicate you have completed your summer reading.

I am signed up for an honors or AP English class next year. What additional summer reading do I have?
Honors and AP students were given a letter with the summer reading expectations. Please contact the EFA division head at Sandra.beguin@d214.org if you need the letter.

Freshmen: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and a subscription to the The Week Magazine (see first question).

Sophomores: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. There is also an accompanying packet from Narrative in Rhetoric which should be annotated for main ideas and definitions. This packet can be picked up in the main office at BGHS.

Juniors: Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture by Juliet Schor The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager by Thomas Hine
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan – to be read the first weeks of the fall semester.
Subscribe to The Week magazine (be sure to get the student rate)

Seniors: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Chapters 7-9) by Thomas C. Foster
Assigned selections from Greek mythology
Assigned selections from The Bible

Where I can get these books?
All local bookstores have been made aware of our summer reading titles. Feel free to buy them
there or on line. The local libraries also know of our summer reading requirement, so you may
borrow the book from one of them.

What book am I supposed to read this summer?
This is the list, by ID number, of the books you signed up to read: