Summer Reading List

2016-2017 EAPrep Summer Reading List
Posted on 06/07/2016

books

Prospective 6
th-8th grade 2016-2017 EAPrep Summer Reading List
All students are encouraged to read two books off their designated Summer Reading List.

"Ungifted" by Gordon Korman
The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It's usually more like Don't try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students.It wasn't exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything).

"Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he’s not so blind that he can’t see there are some very unusual things about his family’s new home in Tangerine County, Florida. Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and lightning strike at the same time every day? The chaos is compounded by constant harassment from his football–star brother, and adjusting to life in Tangerine isn’t easy for Paul—until he joins the soccer team at his middle school. With the help of his new teammates, Paul begins to discover what lies beneath the surface of his strange new hometown. And he also gains the courage to face up to some secrets his family has been keeping from him for far too long. In Tangerine, it seems, anything is possible.

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry
Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

"I Lived on Butterfly Hill" by Agosin, Marjorie
Celeste lives happily in Valparaiso, Chile, dreaming of the day when she will be a writer. But when a cruel dictator takes over the government, everything begins to change. People disappear. Her family must go into hiding. And Celeste is sent away to live with an aunt in Maine, which seems to her to be a very strange and cold world.



Prospective 9th -12th Graders
2016-2017 EAPrep Summer Reading List
All students are encouraged to read two books off their designated Summer Reading List.

"Ender’s Game" by Orson Scott Card
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Is Ender the general Earth needs? The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives…

"Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima enters his life. She is a curandera, one who heals with herbs and magic. 'We cannot let her live her last days in loneliness,' says Antonio's mother. 'It is not the way of our people,' agrees his father. And so Ultima comes to live with Antonio's family in New Mexico. Soon Tony will journey to the threshold of manhood. Always, Ultima watches over him. She graces him with the courage to face childhood bigotry, diabolical possession, the moral collapse of his brother, and too many violent deaths. Under her wise guidance, Tony will probe the family ties that bind him, and he will find in himself the magical secrets of the pagan past. At each turn in his life there is Ultima who will nurture the birth of his soul.

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashums. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had. A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.  

"The Color of Water" by James McBride
The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism.

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

"Spare Parts" by Joshua Davis
Four Latino teenagers, brought into the US illegally and attending an underfunded public school, enter a robotics competition and win, against all odds – and even against MIT engineering students. But even that victory isn’t enough to guarantee a bright future in the face of poverty and the fear of deportation. This is a true story.

"Challenger Deep" by Neil Shusterman
Caden Bosch is at sea on a pirate ship, sailing toward the deepest place in the ocean – or is he? His increasingly surreal fantasies eventually lead to his hospitalization for schizophrenia, where his fantasy world intertwines with reality in a powerful way. The author based this story on the experiences of his own son who provided the illustrations for the book.

"Girl in Translation" by Jean Kwok
Kim and her mother come from China to Brooklyn, where Kim goes to school by day and works in a garment factory at night. She wins a scholarship to an elite private high school and excels academically, but struggles with social pressures, jealous classmates, two boyfriends, and a sometimes embarrassing old-school mother.

"Legend" by Marie Lu
In a dark future where North American is split into two warring nations, two fifteen-year olds – a wanted criminal and the rising-star soldier on a mission to kill him – discover that they may not be on opposite sides after all. Fastpaced and filled with action, romance, and intrigue. (Sequels: "Prodigy" and "Champion")