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I am looking for books to suggest to my DS for his summer reading. Because of changes in the law, my son's school no longer tells the students WHAT to read for there summer reading. (Otherwise they would have to provide the books.) Instead they ask that they read ONE book of their choice that fits the theme of the class they will be taking next year. They do provide a "suggestions" list from some of the teachers, but I am very unimpressed with their list. Some of these are books my DS read in both 6th & 8th grade FOR school.

My son will be taking American Literature next year. I am looking for further suggestions partially because most of what we have in the house is scifi/fantasy, British mysteries, math and art books. And I am looking to give him my own list of suggestions. I am looking for something that a teenager would have fun reading yet still be considered "American Literature". Tricky part is finding books that my son either hasn't read or isn't going to read this year. My son loved reading To Kill a Mockingbird for school this past year, but otherwise mostly reads books like Lord of the Rings or other fantasy.

Books idea's I have come up with:

Catch-22 by Josehph Heller
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
American Gods by Neil Gaimen. (Not sure if this American literature?)
Piano Player by Curt Vonnegut.

Any other idea's?


I know we have a sticky post recommended reading posts but there really isn't much up there for 13+.

I would search for summer reading lists from schools that still have lists. Here is a link to a list from a private school in our area -

http://inside.episcopalacademy.org/...pper/readinglistspages/usrecreadhome.htm

There is some classic stuff, some newer stuff on the list.

I don't understand the school district needing to provide the books. Choose some for which the school (or the local library) has plenty of copies or choose ones for which there is a free digital download. I just purchased my rising junior's required books, but I think we could have borrowed them from the library (hard copy or digital). In any case, the school always works with families if there is a financial problem. However, it is an area where even the "poor kids" (in a relative sense) are from families with an income well above the US average.

And here is a link to our county library "lists of summer reading lists" - it includes private, parochial and public schools.

http://www.delcolibraries.org/summerreading13.htm

Thanks for the links. This is because of my districts interpretation of a 2012 CA law that stating.

"AB 1575 reaffirms that students may not be charged fees to participate in any activity that is “educational in character,” though it does allow schools and districts to request voluntary donations to maintain programs and services."

My district is taking literally to mean they can't charge for summer school if the student is getting H.S. credit. Teachers can't ask students to purchase books during the school year or for summer reading. Honestly I don't mind that the student can read any book they really want this way. I just wish the teacher recommended list had been better.

When my son was in high school, he took a class called "coming-of-age novel". Here is the reading list for his class, maybe you'll find it useful.

A Portrait of the artist as a young man by Joyce
The catcher in the rye by Salinger
Black swan green by Mitchell
The Bell Jar by Plath
Sag Harbor by Whitehead
Housekeeping by Robinson
Girl in landscape by Lethem

Also, what about Gone with the wind?

This is the kind of thing I'm looking for, "coming-of-age" novels. Never heard of Sage Harbor but it looks good.

The Red Badge of Courage is another classic novel in this genre.

If he hasn't read them already, Okay for Now and The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt are both very good books. Okay for Now is quite a bit grittier.

My 14 y.o. read THE CATCHER IN THE RYE and CATCH-22 in the last year or two, and he found them fresh and appealing, even though he was skeptical, given their iconic status. Also Vonnegut's WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE (short stories, wackily smart and challenging).

A very new option: Phil Klay, REDEPLOYMENT (short stories, heart-rendingly done, by an Iraq veteran who is a stunning writer) (if your DC is up for a serious treatment of a serious situation).

THE KITE RUNNER (Khaled Hosseini) is American literature. Again, a serious treatment of serious (adult) issues, so it depends on the teen.

This list reminded me of

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

I tried reading this book once but I didn't really care for it, though I'm not sure why since it seems like the type of book I would like. Any kids out there who read this and liked it?

It fits in the coming of age genre, but as the author is British I guess it doesn't qualify as American Literature? Not quite sure how to define American Literature. If the author is American? That the book is set in America? Either? Not sure this even matters as at least half of the teacher recommendations were books I wouldn't classify as American Literature.

You could try something from the list of Great Books - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books

or Greater Books - http://www.greaterbooks.com/ and the master list here - http://www.greaterbooks.com/master.html

Or this listing from the National Association of Scholars - http://www.nas.org/resources/recommended_books

I think the author should be American.
For the class "American novel" our school has novels by M.Twain, J.F.Cooper, N. Hawthorne, H.James, S.Crane, W. Faulkner, and E.Hemingway.

Two quite opposite suggestions:

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (coming to the big screen soon I think)

One is a luminously written beautiful tragedy of social manners and mores and the other is fanstastical screwball black comedy. Both have young men narrators who are outsiders trying to make their way in a hostile world.

Others that may appeal to young men (and young women, as well-- though the protagonists tend to be male):

Invisible Man or The Jungle, though both are probably more properly collegiate level than secondary.

Jack London's short stories (Call of the Wild for example).

Steinbeck-- which I am assured is an acquired taste. Of Mice and Men is a classic for a good reason, however.

Twain-- there is much to choose from there. Huck Finn would be the classic coming-of-age novel.

Ray Bradbury-- again, loads to choose from. Start with short stories, then move into Martian Chronicles or Something Wicked.

Lots of times, the "journey/quest" novel format is a metaphor and vehicle for a coming-of-age story.

If your ds is a science fiction fan, I'd let him pick a science fiction book by an American author. My 15 yr old ds recommends Robert Heinlein - his adult sci fi might not be what you'd want your ds reading, but he wrote several novels for teens, and my ds enjoyed them (ds is also a huge fan of Lord of the Rings etc).

polarbear

How about Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)?

Or Night of Power or Telempath (Spider Robinson)?

I don't have a problem with him reading adult fiction. It's more a matter what he is interested in. Although given that this is a school assignment and he will probably have to write a short essay about it when he gets back to school, it probably shouldn't be about sometime too adult say "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" or "Lolita".

How about Pearl Buck? First American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. If he hasn't read The Good Earth, that's her most acclaimed novel, but there are lots and lots of good ones.

I read a lot of literature when I was in HS, and I could not slog through The Good Earth. Granted, I am an engineer, but I still enjoyed plenty of classic books. Pearl S. Buck International is a terrific organization and I have been to the HQ in Bucks County...just can't get through the book.

The Good Earth was one of my favorites in high school.

Other American Lit I read freshman & junior year in HS that I loved:

High Tide in Tuscon, Kingsolver
Joy Luck Club, Tan
The Chosen, Potok
Ferenheit 451, Bradbury
Huck Finn, Twain
The Red Pony, Steinbeck
Black Boy, Wright
Black Like Me, Griffin
The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne
The Beet Queen, Erdrich

Plus several of the above. I left off the stuff I hated (Faulkner, Uncle Tom's Cabin)

While Spider Robinson is a great choice for a high schooler, I wouldn't recommend Night of Power. At least, preread it yourself. The race relations stuff that is at the core of the book is someone outdated now (unfortunately not enough, but somewhat), and the sexual content is somewhat disturbing (at least to me). I would recommend Stardance or Callahan's Crosstime Saloon instead.

Oh, how about The Handmaid's Tale?

These were some of my favourites in high school. Unfortunately, not a single one is American, but I thought I'd include them anyway in case he's an avid reader.

Joseph Conrad- Heart of Darkness
Graham Green - Travels with my Aunt
Oscar Wilde- Anything, really!
Dante Alighieri- Divine Comedy
Goethe- Faust
Rohinton Mistry- A Fine Balance
Moliere- Ecole des Femmes
Voltaire- Candide
Homer- The Odyssey
Monty Python transcripts (for pop culture)

Atwood is Canadian, but it's a great dystopian novel.

aquinas' list and my DD's look quite similar-- she'd sub Chekhov for the Conrad any day of the week, though.



She also really enjoyed the contrast between French and British/Irish satirists and the American tradition in the 19th century-- Twain being the most obvious, there. Something to think about; world lit is a pretty rich thing, and it can inform deeper analysis of American Lit, too.

What about Murakami? He's not American but he is highly influenced by American authors, especially by Raymond Chandler and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I find many of his recent work to be too disturbing and exploitive but his earlier books are wonderfully quirky and strangely life-altering. I'd want my DD to read them when she is 14+.

Blasphemy! I listed him first for a reason.

But seriously, atta girl.

Thanks. Lots of good books to try and choose from. Many are not American, but that is probably OK. I'm going to take a few of these out of the library and see if he can get interested in one(or more) that will stick. It is so much easier to get him to read if he liked the book and there is no reason for summer reading not to be fun.