ALA's Best Books for Young Adults
Outstanding Books for the College Bound
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2011 Kennedy 12th Grade Summer Reading List:
The Bellmore-Merrick
Public Libraries have copies of all of these books, & all of the
books are available for purchase in paperback editions.
New York State English Language Arts Literature Suggestions (.pdf file)
Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. c. 2007
Fiction
Overweight and nerdy Oscar lives with his Dominican American mother and sister in New Jersey and dreams of becoming a renowned author and finding true love, but unfortunately, a family curse stands in the way of his wishes.
Pulitzer Prize
Reviews
from Amazon.com
Gruen, Sara. Water for Elephants. c.2006.
Fiction. Adult.
Ninety-year-old Jacob Jankowski finds himself haunted by memories of his past in the circus and the freaks, exotic animals, and other people he encountered as a performer.
Haruf,
Kent. Eventide. c. 2004.Set in the cattle country of the high plains, just outside of Holt, Colorado, Eventide follows the challenges, tragedies, and emotional upheavals of the McPheron brothers, two elderly bachelor-ranchers, and the rich cast of characters who surround them.
Reviews from Amazon.com
Heller, Joseph. Catch 22. First published 1961.
Fiction, Classic. Adult.
Captain Yossarian, a paranoid bomber pilot stationed in the Italian theater during World War II, faces a "catch-22" in this comic novel when he wants to fly fewer combat missions.
Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American Legend. c.2001.
Nonfiction. Adult.
Describes how three men worked together to turn a rough-hewn, undersized horse into one of the fastest horses in racing history.
Kushner, Tony. Angels in America. c.1995
Drama. Adult.
Pulitzer Prize winning drama follows the thread of AIDS through the lives of several gay men.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. c.2010
Nonfiction. Adult.
Examines the experiences of the children and husband of Henrietta Lacks, who, twenty years after her death from cervical cancer in 1951, learned doctors and researchers took cells from her cervix without consent which were used to create the immortal cell line known as the HeLa cell; provides an overview of Henrietta's life; and explores issues of experimentation on African-Americans and bioethics.
Best Books of 2010
Winterston,
Jeanette. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit. c. 1985.Fiction Adult.
Jeanette, a rebellious orphan who is adopted into an evangelical household, has trouble coming to terms with her unorthodox sexuality and non-traditional religious beliefs.
Reviews from Amazon.com
*Required for students entering English 4AP:
*Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. First published in 1813.
Fiction, Classic. Adult.
A spirited young woman in early nineteenth-century England must cope with the courtship of a snobbish gentleman, as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.
*
James, Henry. Washington Square. First published in 1880.
Fiction, Classic. Adult
Catherine Sloper, an heiress favored by neither beauty nor brilliance, finds herself torn between an attractive suitor and her adored father who believes the young man to be a fortune hunter.
**This selection must be read last.
Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran** c.2003.
Nonfiction. Adult.
The author presents a memoir of her life in post-revolutionary Iran, focusing on her organization of a group of young women in 1997 who met secretly once a week to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature.
Bellmore Memorial Library Merrick Public Library North Bellmore Public Library North Merrick Public Library
