Raider Reading Directory

■ The Raider Reading Requirement at Nathan Hale offers a broad range of books, commonly read and enjoyed by teenagers like you!
■ The goal here, first, is to find literature of personal interest to you. That’s why there are categories from which to choose your book.
■ Additionally, the aim is to support a building-wide culture where reading and discussing literature is a regular practice that students and staff enjoy together.
■ The Nathan Hale Language Arts Department, students and staff at our school have put together the following list of approved outside reading based on student interests and staff/faculty suggestions.

The qualifications of the books and authors on this list are as follows:

1. The book is of literary merit:

• It is a challenging, thought-provoking piece of literature with a purpose that is not primarily entertainment
• It provides opportunities for scholarly reflection

2. The literary work is appropriate for the Nathan Hale student body:

• It relates to and/or evokes interests of teen readers
• Its subject matter can generate scholarly discussion among staff and students

3. It may have won a major book award (i.e. Pulitzer, Nobel, Booker, Nebula, National Book

Award, Alex, and Printz).

HOW DO I USE THIS LIST?

A) Choose a work from the list below (books read in class don’t count!)

B) Read and enjoy the book and

consider which aspects of the book make for great discussion

C) Set up a book talk date with

any faculty or staff at least a week in advance. (9th graders make appointments with mentorship teacher.)

D) Show up for your book talk on

time with the book and with plenty of discussion prepared!

E) Give a completed Book Talk form to your CURRENT LA teacher!

If you would like to add an author or a book to the approved list:

1. See 1, 2, & 3 (under “The qualifications…”) above. If your book doesn’t seem to “Pass” these criteria, it probably won’t pass the next step.
2. See your Language Arts teacher for approval; we encourage it!
3. You’ll be asked to bring the book in and defend it in writing based on the three qualifications above.

Need help deciding on a book?

■ Ask your mentorship teacher, librarian or Language Arts teacher for recommendations from the list.
■ Also, go to amazon.com for summariesand

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." — Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."

— Frederick Douglass

Choose any book from the following list to fulfill your Raider Reading Requirement. In addition, any book that has won the following awards is also acceptable: Pulitzer, Nobel, Booker, Nebula, National Book Award, Alex, and Printz).

RAIDER READING REQUIREMENT

Outside Reading Requirement

Required Pages Per Semester

9th Grade: 300 pages (reg. credit) 11th Grade:600 pages (reg. credit)

600 pages (honors credit) 800 pages (honors credit)

10th Grade: 400 pages (reg. credit) 12th Grade: 600 pages (reg. credit)

800 pages (honors credit) 800 pages (honors credit)

• The book talk is oral. The student’s job is to knowledgeably and thoughtfully answer the questions and to convince the teacher that s/he read the book.
• Students must have the book with them when they do a book talk. No book= no conference.
• The deadline for all booktalks is ONE FULL WEEK BEFORE THE END OF THE SEMESTER. (This excludes freshmen).
• Students may take notes while they read and use those notes during the book conference.
• Teachers will only do one book conference per day per student – students will NOT bring more than one book to a book conference.
• Book conferences should take 10+ minutes.
• Outside Reading counts for 10% of students’ grades with variable credit for more and fewer pages read than the required amount.
• A book does not have to be completed to receive credit for pages read. Students must read at least 25 pages.

Abuse and Recovery

Alexi, Sherman Toughest Indian in the World

Dorris, Michael, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Sapphire Push

Adventure

Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe

Krakauer, Jon Into the Wild

Into Thin Air

Martel, Yann The Life of Pi

McMurtry, Larry Lonesome Dove

Patchett, Ann Bel Canto

Stevenson, Robert Louis Treasure Island

Swift, Jonathan Gulliver’s Travels

Van Der Post, Laurens A Story Like the Wind

Africa

Achebe, Chinua Man of the People

No Longer at Ease

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi Half a Yellow Sun

Courtenay, Bryce The Power of One

Gourevitchk, Philip We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed

with Our Families

Kinsolver, Barbara The Poisonwood Bible

Melville, Herman Benito Sereno

Smith, Alexander McCall No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Paton, Alan Cry the Beloved Country

African American

Angelou, Maya I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Baldwin, James Go Tell It On the Mountain

Bambara, Toni Cade Gorilla, My Love

Chestnut, Charles W. The Marrow of Tradition

Delany, Martin R. Blake, or The Huts of America Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man

Gaines, Ernest J. Gathering of Old Men

A Lesson Before Dying

Hughes, Langston Short Stories

The Ways of White Folks

Jones, Edward P. The Known World

Malcom X, Attallah

Shabazz, Alex Haley Autobiography of Malcom X

McBride, James The Color of Water

Morrison, Toni Jazz

Love, A Novel

Song of Solomon

Sula

Sapphire Push

Twain, Mark Puddin’ Head Wilson

Walker, Alice The Color Purple

Wright, Richard Black Boy

Native Son

The Asian and Asian-American Experience

Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth

Clavel, James Shogun

Fadiman, Ann The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Ghosh, Amitav The Glass Palace

Golden, Arthur Memoirs of a Geisha

Jen, Gish Typical American

Jin, Ha Waiting

Lee, Chang-Rae Native Speaker

Lee, Helie Still Life with Rice

Mishima, Yukio The Sound of Waves

Tan, Amy The Hundred Secret Senses

The Kitchen God’s Wife

Sijie, Dai Balzac and the Little Chinese

Seamstress

Silko, Leslie Marmon Ceremony

Watanabe, Sylvia Talking to the Dead

Childhood Stories

Allison, Dorothy Bastard Out of Carolina

Lee, Harper To Kill a Mockingbird

McCourt, Frank Angela’s Ashes

Classic

Austen, Jane Emma

Pride and Prejudice

Baldwin, James Go Tell It On the Mountain

Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre

Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights

Carroll, Lewis Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Through the Looking Glass

Cervantes Don Quixote

Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage

Fitzgerald, F. Scott Tender is the Night

Hardy, Thomas Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Hemingway, Ernest The Sun Also Rises

Kafka, Franz The Trial

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia One Hundred Years of Solitude

Love in the Time of Cholera

Melville, Herman Moby Dick

Remarque, Erich Maria All Quiet on the Western Front

Swift, Jonathan Gulliver’s Travels

Twain, Mark Puddin’head Wilson

Verne, Jules Around the World in Eighty Days

Wharton, Edith The House of Mirth

Wilde, Oscar The Picture of Dorian Gray

Coming of Age OR Smells Like Teen Angst

Allison, Dorothy Bastard Out of Carolina

Alvarez, Julia How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Anderson, Sherwood Winesburg, Ohio

Carroll, Jim Basketball Diaries

Chabon, Michael The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Coelo, Paulo The Alchemist

Courtenay, Bryce The Power of One

Dorris, Michael A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Duncan, David James The Brothers K

Eugenides, Jeffrey Middlesex

Finch, Janet White Oleander

Goldberg, Myla Bee Season

Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Irving, John Cider House Rules

A Prayer for Owen Meany

Joravsky, Ben Hoop Dreams

Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Life of Bees

Lamb, Wally I Know This Much Is True

She’s Come Undone

Mahfuz, Najib Fountain and Tomb

Martel, Yann The Life of Pi

McBride, James The Color of Water

McCourt, Frank Angela’s Ashes

‘Tis

McEwan, Ian Atonement

Morrison, Toni Sula

Salinger, JD Franny & Zooey

Sebold, Alice The Lovely Bones

Shriver, Lionel We Need to Talk About Kevin

Silko, Leslie Marmon Ceremony

Smith, Betty A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Steinbeck, John East of Eden

Female Protagonist

Allison, Dorothy Bastard Out of Carolina

Atwood, Margaret The Blind Assassin

The Handmaid’s Tale

Alvarez, Julia How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Bambara, Toni Cade Gorilla, My Love

Austin, Jane Emma

Pride and Prejudice

Chopin, Kate The Awakening

Diamant, Anita The Red Tent

Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate

Finch, Janet White Oleander

Golden, Arthur Memoirs of a Geisha

Hemingway, Ernest A Farewell to Arms

Kingston, Maxine Hong Woman Warrior

Kincaid, Jamaica Annie John

Lucy

Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Life of Bees

Lamb, Wally I Know This Much Is True

She’s Come Undone

Lee, Helie Still Life with Rice

Markandaya,Kamala Nectar in a Sieve

Morrison, Toni Sula

Robbins, Tom Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Sapphire Push

Sebold, Alice The Lovely Bones

Smith, Betty A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Tan, Amy The Hundred Secret Senses

Walker, Alice The Color Purple

Wharton, Edith The House of Mirth

Historical Novels

Alvarez, Julia In the Time of the Butterfiles

Chabon, Michael The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Chestnut, Charles W. The Marrow of Tradition

Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage

Esquivel , Laura Like Water for Chocolate

Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain

Ghosh, Amitav The Glass Palace

Hegi, Ursulu Stones from the River

Hemingway, Ernest A Farewell to Arms

The Sun Also Rises

The Old Man and the Sea

Jin, Ha Waiting

Kinsolver, Barbara The Poisonwood Bible

McMurtry, Larry Lonesome Dove

Shaara, Michael Killer Angels

Latino/Chicano and Latin American Experience

Allende, Isabele The House of the Spirits

Eva Luna

Alvarez, Julia How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Anaya, Rudolfo Bless Me, Ultima

Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia One Hundred Years of Solitude

Love in the Time of Cholera

LOVE

Alexie, Sherman Reservation Blues

The Toughest Indian in the World

Alvarez, Julia How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Atwood, Margaret The Blind Assassin

Austen, Jane Emma

Pride and Prejudice

Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre

Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights

Esquivel, Laura Like Water for Chocolate

Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain

Harrix, Joanne The Five Quarters of the Orange

Helprin, Mark Winter’s Tale

Hemingway, Ernest The Sun Also Rises

Irving, John Cider House Rules

Krauss, Nicole The History of Love

McBride, James The Color of Water

McMurtry, Larry Lonesome Dove

Morrison, Toni Sula

Mishima, Yukio The Sound of Waves

Patchett, Ann Bel Canto

Robbins, Tom Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Male Protagonist

Anaya, Rudolfo Bless Me, Ultima

Boyden, Joseph Three Day Road

Carroll, Jim Basketball Diaries

Chabon, Michael The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Dickey, James Deliverance

Duncan, David James The Brothers K

Gaiman, Neil American Gods

Kesey, Ken One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Sometimes a Great Notion

Joravsky, Ben Hoop Dreams

L’Amour, Louis The Lonesome Gods

The Walking Drum

Lethem, Jonathan Motherless Brooklyn

McCarthy,Cormac The Road

Obama, Barak Dreams of My Father

Puzo, Mario The Godfather

Roth, Phillip The Plot Against Amerca

Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr One Day in the Life of Ivan

Denisovich

Steinbeck, John East of Eden

The Pearl

Tortilla Flat

Middle East and Indian

Lapierre, Dominique The City of Joy

Lahiri, Jhumpa The Interpreter of Maladies

Mahfuz, Najib Fountain and Tomb

Markandaya,Kamala Nectar in a Sieve

Roy, Arundhati The God of Small Things

Rushdie, Salman Midnight’s Children

Suli, Manil The Death of Vishnu

Mystery

Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Lethem, Jonathan Motherless Brooklyn

Native American Lit.

Alexie, Sherman Reservation Blues

The Toughest Indian in the World

Boyden, Joseph Three Day Road

Dorris, Michael A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Erdrich, Louise Love Medicine

Tracks

Silko, Leslie Marmon Ceremony

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Adams, Richard Watership Down

Asimov, Isaac Foundation

Atwood, Margaret The Handmaid’s Tale

Oryx and Crake

Bradbury, Ray Fahrenheit 451

Burgess, Anthony A Clockwork Orange

Card, Orson Scott Enders Game

Carroll, Lewis Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Through the Looking Glass

Cervantes Don Quixote

Clarke, Arthur C. 2001 A Space Odyssey

Childhood’s End

DeLillo, Don White Noise

Dick, Philip Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Gibson, William Neuromancer

Heinlein, Robert Starship Troopers

Helprin, Mark Winter’s Tale

Herbert, Frank Dune

LeGuinn, Ursula The Left Hand of Darkness

Maguire, Gregory Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

McCarthy,Cormac The Road

Niven, Larry Ringworld

Orwell, George 1984

Rand, Ayn Anthem

Russel, Mary Doria The Sparrow

Tolkein, JRR The Fellowship of the Ring

Two Towers

The Return of the King

Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse 5

Wells, H.G. The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Time Machine

White, T.H. The Sword in the Stone

Zimmer Bradley, Marion The Mists of Avalon

Thriller/Macabre/Monsters

Burgess, Anthony A Clockwork Orange

Stoker, Bram Dracula

Wilde, Oscar The Picture of Dorian Gray

War

Bowden, Mark Blackhawk Down

Boyden, Joseph Three Day Road

Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain

Gourevitchk, Philip We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed

with Our Families

Hegi, Ursulu Stones from the River

Remarque, Erich Maria All Quiet on the Western Front

Shaara, Michael Killer Angels

Turkel, Studs The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two

Non-Fiction

Bowden, Mark Blackhawk Down

Carroll, Jim Basketball Diaries

Fadiman, Ann The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Gourevitchk, Philip We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed

with Our Families

Joravsky, Ben Hoop Dreams

Krakauer, Jon Into the Wild

Into Thin Air

Malcom X, Attallah Autobiography of Malcom X

Shabazz, Alex Haley

McBride, James The Color of Water

Obama, Barak Dreams of My Father

Plotkin, Mark Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice

Saks, Oliver Awakenings

The Man who Mistook His Wife

for a Hat

Uncle Tungsten

Turkel, Studs The Good War: An Oral History of

World War Two

(Thanks to:

Great Books for High School Kids: A Teachers’ Guide to Books That Can Change Teens’ Lives

Ayers, Rich & Crawford, Amy)