College Bound Reading List

****Adams, Watership Down, FIC ADA 
What happens when you need a better place to live? The story follows a warren of rabbits fleeing the destruction of their home by a land developer. As they search for a safe haven, skirting danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the group and the individual rabbits. Like Animal Farm, this novel is as much about freedom, ethics, and human nature as it is about a bunch of animals.

Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Got Their Accents, FIC ALV 
The Garcias -- Dr. Carlos (Papi), his wife Laura (Mami), and their four daughters, Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia -- belong to the uppermost echelon of Spanish Caribbean society. This is the chronicle of that family in exile. For the Garcia girls, it is exhilarating and terrifying, liberating and excruciating trying to live up to Papa's version of honor while accommodating the expectations of their American boyfriends.

Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 921 ANG  
In this first of five volumes of autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence. Sent at a young age to live with her grandmother in Arkansas, Angelou learned a great deal from this exceptional woman and the tightly knit black community there. These very lessons carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life, including a tragic occurrence while visiting her mother in St. Louis and her formative years spent in California--where an unwanted pregnancy changed her life forever.

Asimov, I, Robot, FIC ASI
They mustn’t harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence.. but only so long as that doesn’t violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics humanity embarked on a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities— An unforeseen risks. For the scientists who invented the earliest robots weren’t content that their creations should remain programmed helpers, companions, and semisentient worker-machines. And soon the robots themselves, aware of their own intelligence, power, and humanity, aren’t either. As humans and robots struggle to survive together—and sometimes against each other—on earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Here human men and women confront robots gone mad telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligences that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?

Borland, When the Legends Die, FIC BOR
Here is an extraordinary novel about man, nature, and courage; if you liked "The Call of the Wild" or "The Light in the Forest," try this story. Thomas Black Bull's family returned to the old Indian ways when they went into hiding after his father killed another brave, but soon his parents die and he is left to get by on his own.

Bradbury, Dandelion Wine, FIC BRA  
Unknown, supernatural events transformed into everyday occurrences. The summer of 1928 was a vintage season for a growing boy. A summer of green apples, moved lawns, and new sneakers. Here is the magical summer of Douglas Spaulding.

****Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, SC BRA
Montag, a fireman in charge of burning the forbidden volumes, finds himself a hunted fugitive, forced to choose not only between two women, but between personal safety and intellectual freedom.

Bradbury, The Illustrated Man, SC BRA 
The tattooed man moves and the designs scrawled upon his skin swirl tales beyond imagining: tales of love and laughter, darkness and death, of mankind's glowing, golden past and its dim, haunted future. Here are eighteen stories that blend magic and truth in a kaleidoscopic tapestry of wonder.

Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, FIC BRA
From "Rocket Summer" to "The Million-Year Picnic," Ray Bradbury's stories of the colonization of Mars form an eerie mesh of past and future. Written in the 1940s, the chronicles drip with nostalgic atmosphere--shady porches with tinkling pitchers of lemonade, grandfather clocks, chintz-covered sofas. But longing for this comfortable past proves dangerous in every way to Bradbury's characters--the golden-eyed Martians as well as the humans. Starting in the far-flung future of 1999, expedition after expedition leaves Earth to investigate Mars. The Martians guard their mysteries well, but they are decimated by the diseases that arrive with the rockets. Colonists appear, most with ideas no more lofty than starting a hot-dog stand, and with no respect for the culture they've displaced.

Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy, FIC BUR
It is quite a shock for a seven-year-old to be whisked away from the New York streets to an English stately home and be told he is to inherit a title and a fortune. When young Cedric Errol learns that he is actually a British lord and heir to an estate, his life is transformed. He leaves Boston for Dorincourt Castle to live with his uncle, the Earl -- a tyrant who’s loathed by one and all. Will Cedric succeed in melting his cold, cruel uncle’s heart?

Carroll, Lewis, Alice in Wonderland, FIC CAR
Bored on a hot afternoon, Alice follows a White Rabbit down a rabbit-hole without giving a thought about how she might get out. And so she tumbles into Wonderland: where animals answer back, a baby turns into a pig, time stands still at a disorderly tea party, croquet is played with hedgehogs and flamingos, and the Mock Turtle and Gryphon dance the Lobster Quadrille. In a land in which nothing is as it seems and cakes, potions and mushrooms can make her shrink to ten inches or grow to the size of a house, will Alice be able to find her way home again?

Coman, Carolyn, Many Stones, FIC COM
Coman adopts some conventions of the problem novel in this ambitious work about forgiveness. Berry's sister, Laura, has been murdered in South Africa, where she was volunteering at a school, and Berry, still smarting from her divorced father's perceived rejection of the family, is becoming angry and isolated. Early on she explains that she collects stones and stacks them on her chest so that she can feel their heft and "know there's something there to be weighted." Obliged to accompany her loathed father to South Africa for a memorial service, Berry, who narrates, is sure so much time with her father will be disastrous. But when they meet South Africans searching for ways to forgive after apartheid, Berry and her father realize they must begin their own reconciliation. As Berry confronts the devastation of a race of people subjected to degradation, imprisonment and torture, her own experiences come to seem almost trivial by comparison: "I feel smaller and smaller.... It's like big, important history drapes over everything here in South Africa.... Nothing I know comes close to being a matter of life and death," she realizes. The implied parallel, however, is frequently jarring -- exactly what has Berry suffered at the hands of her father, and how unforgivable is it?

Crichton, Andromeda Strain, FIC CRI
The United States government is given a warning by the pre-eminent biophysicists in the country: current sterilization procedures applied to returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere.  Two years later, seventeen satellites are sent into the outer fringes of space to "collect organisms and dust for study." One of them falls to earth, landing in a desolate area of Arizona.  Twelve miles from the landing site, in the town of Piedmont, a shocking discovery is made: the streets are littered with the dead bodies of the town's inhabitants, as if they dropped dead in their tracks.

****Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, FIC DIC 
Dickens' novel of the French Revolution. They fled to London seeking safety, and found each other--Dr. Manette, falsely imprisoned for decades; his daughter, Lucie, whose stunning beauty was matched by her loyalty and grace; and Charles Darnay, who abandoned a royal title to risk being called a traitor in France, a spy in England.

Doerr, H., Stones for Ibarra, FIC DOE
This is the story of an anglo married couple, Richard and Sara Everton, who, in a burst of idealism, move from San Francisco to an old family home and abandoned mine in Mexico. Why, in the face of objections and concern from all their friends, would they move to a house they know has no electricity or water and aren't even sure is still standing? Richard and Sara go "in order to extend the family's Mexican history and patch the present onto the past. To find out if there was still copper underground and how much of the rest of it was true, the width of sky, the depth of stars, the air like new wine, the harsh noons and long, slow dusks. To weave chance and hope into a fabric that would clothe them as long as they lived." Their years as Ibarra's only foreigners - Richard's work, his illness, Sara's work, her care of Richard, their neighbors and friends, the constantly surprising landscape, the stones - is a story told with affectionate and patient wisdom.

****Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, FIC DOY 
Here are twelve tales by the father of detective fiction: "A scandal in Bohemia" -- "The Red-headed League" -- "A case of identity" -- "The Boscombe Valley mystery" -- "The five orange pips" -- "The man with the twisted lip" -- "The adventure of the blue carbuncle" -- "The adventure of the speckled band" -- "The adventure of the engineer's thumb" -- "The adventure of the noble bachelor" -- "The adventure of the beryl coronet" -- "The adventure of the copper beaches".  

Doyle, The Extraordinary Cases of Sherlock Holmes, FIC DOY
Through the foggy streets of Victorian London to the deepest countryside, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson embark on eight thrilling investigations.

Fredriksson, Marianne, Simon's Family, FIC FRE
This quietly moving story of family, friendship, and love, by the author of Hanna's Daughters , has already become an international best-seller and will no doubt capture the hearts of American readers as well. Simon Larsson is a pensive and thoughtful boy growing up in Sweden during World War II, fortunate to be safe within a remarkably loving and cohesive community. Half Jewish, he is being raised by his Scandinavian aunt and uncle, who adopted him as their own at birth. In a novel rich in mystical overtones, his adoptive parents take on truly archetypal dimensions. Karin's deep love and compassion is matched by Erik's understated strength and stoicism, and together they create a firm family base from which 11 year-old Simon can grow and dream. But Simon, who doesn't know the story of his birth and adoption, seems set apart from his Scandinavian world by his dark hair and olive complexion, and he often retreats into fantasies to alleviate his feelings of disconnection. When he befriends Isak Lentov, a young Jewish boy from Germany, their families become close in spite of the contrast between Isak's father's religious faith and the Larssons' strictly secular Swedish socialism.

Fritz, Homesick, my own story, FIC FRI

Gardner, Grendel, FIC GAR
The first and most terrifying monster in English literature tells his own side of the story. Here is the Beowulf legend retold from the monster's point of view. Grendel, the monster, watches humans from a revealing and telling vantage point just like a bully in the schoolyard. Grendel picks up certain curse words and takes joy in repeating them. And when he picks a victim, watch out!.

Greenberg, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, FIC GRE 
This novel chronicles the three-year battle of a mentally ill, but perceptive, teenage girl against a world of her own creation. Aided by a brilliant psychiatrist, and accompanied by her deeply concerned-and terrified-parents, Deborah must undertake a three-year struggle to resist the allure of madness, and rejoin the real world.

Gunther, Death Be Not Proud, 921 GUN
Johnny Gunther was only seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his illness, everyone near him was impressed by his courage, wit and quiet friendliness in the face of despair. Here is his father's memoir of his son's brave fight for life after his brain tumor is diagnosed.

Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-time, FIC HAD
Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.

*****Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, FIC HEM
Can man win in an overwhelming struggle?  Here is the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss.  This tale of an aged Cuban fisherman going head-to-head (or hand-to-fin) with a magnificent marlin encapsulates Hemingway's favorite motifs of physical and moral challenge.  Here, for a change, is a fish tale that actually does honor to the author. In fact The Old Man and the Sea revived Ernest Hemingway's career and also led directly to his receipt of the Nobel Prize in 1954.

Hersey, Bell for Adano, FIC HER
An Italian-American major wins the love and admiration of the natives of the small Sicilian village when he tries to replace the 700-year-old town bell that was melted down by the Fascists. This story speaks of an unflinching patriotism and humanity. 

*****Hersey, Hiroshima, 940.54 HER
Learn about the atomic age. On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city. This journalistic masterpiece tells what happened on that day. Told through powerful memories of survivors, this powerful piece of prose will stir your conscience.

Heyerdahl, Kon Tiki, 910.4 HEY  
This is the record of an astonishing adventure -- a journey 4300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousand of miles to the east. Here is the experiment that proved it was possible!.

Hickam, October Sky, 629.1 HIC
It was 1957, the year Sputnik raced across the Appalachian sky, and the small town of Coalwood, West Virginia, was slowly dying. Faced with an uncertain future, Homer Hickam nurtured a dream: to send rockets into outer space. The introspective son of the mine’s superintendent and a mother determined to get him out of Coalwood forever, Homer fell in with a group of misfits who learned not only how to turn scraps of metal into sophisticated rockets but how to sustain their hope in a town that swallowed its men alive. As the boys began to light up the tarry skies with their flaming projectiles and dreams of glory, Coalwood, and the Hickams, would never be the same.

Hopkinson, Nalo, Brown Girl in the Ring, FIC HOP
In a city that has been forgotten by its wealthy residents, a young woman turns to ancient truths and eternal powers to help her understand the family mystery that was hidden by her mother and grandmother.

Irving, John, A Prayer for Owen Meany, FIC IRV
Owen Meany is a dwarfish boy with a strange voice who accidentally kills his best friend's mom with a baseball and believes--accurately--that he is an instrument of God, to be redeemed by martyrdom. The story focuses on his friendship with John Wheelwright; beginning at age eleven when Owen hits a foul ball that kills John's mother during a Little League game in 1953.

Keneally, Schindler's List, FIC KEN 
Here is the stunning novel based on the true story of how German war profiteer and prison camp Director Oskar Schindler came to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other single person during World War II. In this milestone of Holocaust literature, the author uses the actual testimony of Schindler's Jews to brilliantly portray the courage and cunning of a good man in the midst of unspeakable evil.
 
King, Stephen, Christine, FIC KIN
Arnie Cunningham, a bookish and bullied high school senior, becomes obsessed with a 1958 Plymouth he is restoring named Christine.
 

Kingsolver, Animal Dreams, FIC KIN
Codi Noline returns to the sleepy mining town of Grace, Arizona, to care for her father, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It is a bad time for her: disappointed in her personal life, she has closed down her emotions in defense against a heart that cares too easily. "I had quietly begun to hope for nothing at all in the way of love, so as not to be disappointed," she muses. In Arizona, she finds friends, allies, and a love that endures. Kingsolver's characters are winners, especially the women, who take charge of life without fuss or complaint.

Kipling, Kim, FIC KIP 
One of the great adventure books of all time, Kim is the story of the orphaned son of an Irish soldier. A secret mission for the British and a bond with a Tibetan lama in search of a sacred river soon lead Kim into a life of spies and secrets, danger and high excitement. It is also a profound look at the differences between the East and West.

Le Guin, Ursula, The Left Hand of Darkness, FIC LEG 
Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are of no gender--or both--this is a broad gulf indeed. The inventiveness and delicacy with which Le Guin portrays her alien world are not only unusual and inspiring. In the end, this individual attempts to bring the peoples of Grthen into the Ekumen.

******London, The Call of the Wild,  FIC LON 
Kidnapped form his safe California home. Thrown into a life-and-death struggle on the frozen Artic wilderness. Half St. Bernard, half shepherd, Buck learns many hard lessons as a sled dog: the lesson of the leash, of the cold, of near-starvation and cruelty. And the greatest lesson he learns from his last owner, John Thornton: the power of love and loyalty. Yet always, even at the side of the human he loves, Buck feels the pull in his bones, an urge to answer his wolf ancestors as they howl to him. Will he return to the call of the wild?.

London, The Sea Wolf, FIC LON 
The story concerns Humphrey Van Weyden, a refined castaway who is put to work on the motley schooner Ghost. The ship is run by brutal Wolf Larsen, who, despite his intelligence and strength, is antisocial and self-destructive. Hardened by his arduous experiences at sea, Humphrey develops strength of both body and will, protecting another castaway, Maud Brewster, and facing down the increasingly deranged Larsen.

McCullers,  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,  FIC MCC  
At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for all various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music. Wonderfully attune to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated -- and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

McCullers, The Member of the Wedding, FIC MCC
Frankie is a motherless 12-year-old growing up, with difficulty, in a town in Georgia in the 1930s. She is lonely, awkward, bored, alienated from most of the people around her. When her brother returns from military service and announces he's getting married, Frankie hits on the desperate scheme of living with the couple after the wedding, in a childish attempt to belong to something, even if it's where she's not wanted. This desire blooms into a full-fledged fantasy that almost gets out of control, until Frankie is brought painfully back to earth--maybe a little wiser.

McKinley, Robin, Beauty, FIC McK
This much-loved retelling of the classic French tale Beauty and the Beast elicits the familiar magical charm, but is more believable and complex than the traditional story. In this version, Beauty is not as beautiful as her older sisters, who are both lovely and kind. Here, in fact, Beauty has no confidence in her appearance but takes pride in her own intelligence, her love of learning and books, and her talent in riding. She is the most competent of the three sisters, which proves essential when they are forced to retire to the country because of their father's financial ruin. The plot follows that of the renowned legend: Beauty selflessly agrees to inhabit the Beast's castle to spare her father's life. Beauty's gradual acceptance of the Beast and the couple's deepening trust and affection are amplified in novel form.

Momaday, House Made of Dawn, FIC MOM  
This widely acclaimed novel tells the story of a young Indian American struggling to reconcile the traditional ways of his people with the demands of the 20th century. Abel was raised to heed the voice of the land, the changes of the seasons, and the lessons taught by peyote. But once he returned from a foreign war and became exposed to the temptations of the wider world, Abel became a man lost to himself.

Newth, Mette, The Abduction, 839.8 NEW
Christine watches everyone treat Osuqo and Poq like animals and realizes they are as human as she and in need of aid. She and her mother are forced into servitude in the Mowinkel household, where Christine is made to guard the foreigners. With nothing (except her life) to lose, Christine finds freedom in her decision to help Henrik, Mowinkel's son, in his plan to help the two Inuit escape. Newth has utilized ships' logs and the centuries-old oral tradition of the Inuit in creating a chilling tale of xenophobia and its cruel cost to humanity. Yet this ably translated, thoughtful work is also inspiring: the stain of slavery blots the history of many nations, and Newth provides a fresh perspective from which to consider the "clash of cultures." This story is based on the actual kidnapping of Inuit Eskimos by European traders in the 17th century.

Olsen, Tillie, Tell Me a Riddle, SC OLS
This collection of four stories , "Here I Stand," "Hey Sailor," "What Ship," and "Tell Me a Riddle," has become an American classic. These stories explore the deep pain and real promise of a fundamental American experience. Once you read these stories, they will live in your heart forever.

Orwell, George, 1984
The future government makes great use of propaganda, rewrites history, and keeps a watchful eye on everyone’s deeds and thoughts.

Rand, Ayn, Anthem, FIC RAN
In a future world, only one man dares to think, strive, and love as an individual in the midst of a paralyzing collective humanity. Equality 7-2521 lives in the Dark Ages of the future, when all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Equality 7-2521 is punished for being better than his brothers. After he finds a tunnel from ancient times where he can be by himself to think and write, he discovers electricity and falls in love. What are the consequences? (The book was published in 1938, a decade before Orwell's 1984.) Anthem provides a good introduction to Rand's philosophy of "objectivism," which is built on individuality, freedom, and reason.

Rawlings, The Yearling, FIC RAW 
Fighting off a pack of starving wolves, wrestling alligators in the swamp, romping with bear cubs, drawing off the venom of a giant rattlesnake bite with the heart of a fresh-killed deer--it's all in a day's work for the Baxter family of the Florida scrublands. But young Jody Baxter is not content with these electrifying escapades, or even with the cozy comfort of home with Pa and Ma. He wants a pet, a friend with whom he can share his quiet cogitations and his corn pone. Jody gets his pet, a frisky fawn he calls Flag, but that's not all. With Flag comes a year of life lessons, frolicking times, and achingly hard decisions. This powerful book is as compelling now as when it was written over 60 years ago. Read simply as a naturalist study of the Florida interior, it fascinates and entices. Add the heart-stopping adventure and heart-wrenching human elements, and this is a classic well worth its Pulitzer Prize.
Schaefer, Jack, Shane, FIC SCH
A mysterious stranger rode into the small Wyoming valley in the summer of 1889. His name was Shane and he became a friend and guardian to the Starrett family at a time when people on the frontier battled for survival. The story of this quiet gunfighter is told through the eyes of a young boy.

Shange, Ntozake.  Betsey Brown: a novel, FIC SHA 
This novel about a black family living in St. Louis in 1957 centers on Betsey, 13, who is restless, wants to "be somebody" and is being bused to a white school. Her mother and grandmother oppose and her father supports integration. When the father plans to take Betsey and her siblings to demonstrate against a racist hotel, the mother leaves home. Shange has set her story in the autumn of 1959, the year St. Louis started to desegregate its schools. In May of 1954, in its ruling on Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka—a verdict now seen by many as the origin of the Civil Rights movement—the United States Supreme Court outlawed school segregation. The novel is firmly located in the wake of this landmark ruling; the plot of Shange’s novel and the history of America’s quest for integration during the Civil Rights era are fundamentally entwined.

Shulman, Irving, West Side Story:  a novelization, FIC SHU
Maria, a young Puerto Rican girl living in New York, and sister to Sharks gang leader Bernardo, falls in love with Tony, former leader of the rival gang, the Jets, setting the stage for tragedy.

Shute, Nevil, On the Beach, FIC SHU
A novel about the survivors of an atomic war, who face an inevitable end as radiation poisoning moves toward Australia from the north. They are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days, making do with what they have, hoping for a miracle. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end..

Stegner, Wallace, Angle of Repose, FIC STE
Story of four generations in the life of the Ward family, from America's western frontier to today. This thoughtful novel about a retired historian who researches and writes about his pioneer grandparents garnered Stegner a Pulitzer Prize.

Steinbeck, Cup of Gold, FIC STE
In the 1670s Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanish Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. Morgan was obsessive. He had two driving ambitions: one to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja, the other, to conquer Panama, the "cup of gold.".

*****Steinbeck, The Pearl, FIC STE
Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the Gulf beds and getting by. Then he emerges from a dive with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, and with the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and a better life. This is a story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folktale. It explores the secrets of man's nature, the depths of evil, and the possibilities of love.

*****Stevenson,  Kidnapped, FIC STE  
The story of young David Balfour, an orphan, whose miserly uncle cheats him out of his inheritance and schemes to have him kidnapped, shanghaied, and sold into slavery.

*****Stevenson, Treasure Island, FIC STE
Treasure Island is one of the most famous books in English. A young boy, Jim Hawkins, lives quietly by the sea with mother and father. One day, Billy Bones comes to live with them and from that day everything is different. Jim meets Long John Silver, a man with one leg, and Jim and Long John Silver go far across the sea in a ship called the Hispaniola to Treasure Island.

Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun, FIC TRU 
This is no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe for democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered--not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined lives. This is the novel that never takes the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible, uncompromising, brutal and gruesome...but so is war.

*****Twain, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, FIC TWA 
The story of a young boy's adventures in a nineteenth-century Mississippi River town. Schoolboy, prankster, lover, con artist, adventurer, pirate, dreamer, hero--Tom Sawyer is all of these and much more.

Tyler, Anne, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, FIC TYL
Anne Tyler is known for her ability to explore and make real the ways in which "unexceptional" people create families out of what might be seen as a hopeless muddle of failed or failing relationships. The Tull family - frazzled and sometimes abusive mother Pearl, missing father Beck, jealous and manipulative son Cody, troubled but finally contented daughter Jenny, and loving, placid baby Ezra - resembles families most of us know. We first witness Pearl's memories as she wanders back through her life while lying on her deathbed; next, Cody takes over, and by the end of the book we have experienced each family member's perspective. Out of their often differing stories a picture emerges of Pearl: of how her travelling salesman husband left her with three children to care for, how she tried to provide both emotional and financial support, and how she failed (more or less, depending upon the perspective) to give them a loving and secure home. Her children create families for themselves with varying degrees of success - Cody with his brother's girlfriend, Jenny with a second husband and built-in family, Ezra with his restaurant - but never seem able to make it through a single dinner together without conflict. Lovable in the complicated way only family members are.
*****Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days, FIC VER 
Around the World in Eighty Days is one of the most exciting tales of adventure ever written. Accompanied by his faithful valet, Phileas Fogg has vowed to make his way across the globe in a mere 80 days. A breathless series of triumphs, mishaps, and near disasters strike the daring duo as they make use of every form of transportation to bring them closer to their travel goal.

Vreeland, Susan, Girl in Hyacinth Blue, FIC VRE
A professor reveals to a collegue a painting he has kept secret for years, which he believes is a Vermeer, and which has a history from the time of inception through World War II. The story of the painting begins to unfold in a series of events as it moves through each owner's hands and the secrets quietly surfaces, illumintaing poignant moments in multiple lives.

Wartski, Mureen Crane, Boat to Nowhere, FIC WAR
Fleeing from agents of the new communist government in Vietnam, an old man and three children begin an endless and seemingly hopeless struggle for survival as boat people.

Watson, L., Montana 1948, FIC WAT
Could your family survive a scandal? In this historical novel, the events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden's view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge; his clear sighted mother; his uncle, a charming war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden's lively, statuesque Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story. It is a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty and justice.

Wells, H.G., War of the Worlds, FIC WEL 
In this book, H. G. Wells invented the myth of invasion from outer space. Martians land near London, conquering all before them, and ruin the metropolis; the fate of civilization and even of the human race remains in doubt until the very last. The book is disturbingly realistic both because of its setting and because of its characters.

Wiesel, Elie, Dawn, FIC WIE
Elisha is a young Jewish man, a Holocaust survivor, and an Israeli freedom fighter in British-controlled Palestine; John Dawson is the captured English officer he will murder at dawn in retribution for the British execution of a fellow freedom fighter. The night-long wait for morning and death provides Dawn, Elie Wiesel’s ever more timely novel, with its harrowingly taut, hour-by-hour narrative. Caught between the manifold horrors of the past and the troubling dilemmas of the present, Elisha wrestles with guilt, ghosts, and ultimately God as he waits for the appointed hour and his act of assassination. Dawn is an eloquent meditation on the compromises, justifications, and sacrifices that human beings make when they murder other human beings.

http://www.ouhsd.k12.ca.us/lmc/ohs/read/Engl1.htm

College Bound Reading List

Compiled by Arrowhead Library System (some additions and deletions)

 American Literature 

Agee, James--A Death in the Family: Story of loss and heartbreak felt when a young father dies.

Baldwin, James --Go Tell It On the Mountain : Semi-autobiographical novel about a 14-year-old black youth's religious conversion.

Bellow, Saul --Seize the Day : A son grapples with his love and hate for an unworthy father.

Cather, Willa--***My Antonia: Immigrant pioneers strive to adapt to the Nebraska prairies.

Chopin, Kate--The Awakening: The story of a New Orleans woman who abandons her husband and children to search for love and self-understanding.

Clark, Walter Van Tilburg --The Ox-Bow Incident: When a group of citizens discovers one of their members has been murdered by cattle rustlers, they form an illegal posse, pursue the murderers, and lynch them.

Crane, Stephen--The Red Badge of Courage: During the Civil War, Henry Fleming joins the army full of romantic visions of battle which are shattered by combat.

Dorris, Michael --A Yellow Raft in Blue Water: Three generations of Native American women recount their searches for identity and love.

Ellison, Ralph --Invisible Man: A black man's search for himself as an individual and as a member of his race and his society.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott--***The Great Gatsby: A young man corrupts himself and the American Dream to regain a lost love.

Gaines, Ernest--The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman: In her 100 years, Miss Jane Pittman experiences it all, from slavery to the civil rights movement.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel--The Scarlet Letter: ***An adulterous Puritan woman keeps secret the identity of the father of her illegitimate child.

Heller, Joseph--Catch-22: A broad comedy about a WWII bombardier based in Italy and his efforts to avoid bombing missions.

Hemingway, Ernest--***A Farewell to Arms: During World War I, an American lieutenant runs away with the woman who nurses him back to health.

Hurston, Zora Neal--Their Eyes Were Watching God: Janie repudiates many roles in her quest for self-fulfillment.

Kesey, Ken--One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A novel about a power struggle between the head nurse and one of the male patients in a mental institution.

McCullers, Carson--The Member of the Wedding: A young southern girl is determined to be the third party on a honeymoon, despite all the advice against it from friends and family.

Melville, Herman--Moby-Dick: A complex novel about a mad sea captain's pursuit of the White Whale.

Morrison, Toni--Sula: The lifelong friendship of two women becomes strained when one causes the other's husband to abandon her.

Potok, Chaim--The Chosen:  Friendship between two Jewish boys, one Hasidic and the other Orthodox, begins at a baseball game and flourishes despite their different backgrounds and beliefs.

Sinclair, Upton--The Jungle: The deplorable conditions of the Chicago stockyards are exposed in this turn-of-the-century novel.

Steinbeck, John--***The Grapes of Wrath: The desperate flight of tenant farmers from Oklahoma during the Depression.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher--Uncle Tom's Cabin: The classic tale that awakened a nation about the slave system.

Twain, Mark--***The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Huck and Jim, a runaway slave, travel down the Mississippi in search of freedom.

Vonnegut, Kurt--Slaughterhouse-Five: Billy Pilgrim, an optometrist from Ilium, New York, shuttles between World War II Dresden and a luxurious zoo on the planet Tralfamadore.

Walker, Alice--***The Color Purple: A young woman sees herself as property until another woman teaches her to value herself.

Wells, H.G.--***The Time Machine: A scientist invents a machine that transports him into the future.

Wright, Richard--***Native Son: Bigger Thomas, a young man from the Chicago slums, lashes out against a hostile society by committing two murders.  

World Literature 

Achebe, Chinua--Things Fall Apart: Okonkwo, a proud village leader, is driven to murder and suicide by European changes to his traditional Ibo society.

Allende, Isabel--House of the Spirits: The story of the Trueba family in Chile, from the turn of the century to the violent days of the overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in 1973.

Austen, Jane--***Pride and Prejudice: Love and marriage among the English country gentry of Austen's day.

Balzac, Honore de--Pere Goriot: A father is reduced to poverty after giving money to his daughters.

Borges, Jorge Luis--Labyrinths--An anthology of literary fireworks based on Borges' favorite symbol.

Boom, Corrie Ten--The Hiding Place: A family hides Jews and is taken away to a concentration camp.  A story of faith and forgiveness. 

Bronte, Charlotte--***Jane Eyre: An intelligent and passionate governess falls in love with a strange, moody man tormented by dark secrets.

Bronte, Emily--***Wuthering Heights: One of the masterpieces of English romanticism, this is a novel of Heathcliff and Catherine, love and revenge.

Camus, Albert--The Stranger: A man who is virtually unknown to both himself and others commits a pointless murder for which he has no explanation.

Cervantes, Miguel de--Don Quixote: An eccentric old gentleman sets out as a knight "tilting at windmills" to right the wrongs of the world.

Defoe, Daniel--Robinson Crusoe: The adventures of a man who spends 24 years on an isolated island.

Dickens, Charles--***David Copperfield: An orphaned boy grows into a fine young man.

Dostoevski, Feodor--Crime and Punishment: A psychological novel about a poor student who murders an old woman pawnbroker and her sister. (difficult)

Esquivel, Laura--Like Water for Chocolate: As the youngest of three daughters in a turn-of-the-century Mexican family, Tita may not marry but must remain at home to care for her mother.

Forster, E.M.--A Passage to India: A young English woman in British-ruled India accuses an Indian doctor of sexual assault.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel--One Hundred Years of Solitude: A technique called magical realism is used in this portrait of seven generations in the lives of the Buendia family.

Golding, William--***Lord of the Flies: English schoolboys marooned on an uninhabited island test the values of civilization when they attempt to set up a society of their own.

Hardy, Thomas--***Tess of the D'Urbervilles: The happiness of Tess and her husband is destroyed when she confesses that she bore a child as the result of a forced sexual relationship with her employer's son.

Hesse, Hermann--Siddhartha: Emerging from a kaleidoscope of experiences and pleasures, a young Brahmin ascends to a state of peace and mystic holiness.

Huxley, Aldous--***Brave New World: A bitter satire of the future, in which the world is controlled by advances in science and social changes.

Joyce, James--A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: A novel about a young man growing up in Ireland and rebelling against family, country, and religion.

Melville, Herman--Billy Budd: Falsely accused of mutiny, Billy kills his accuser and a court-martial is convened to judge him.

Pasternak, Boris--Doctor Zhivago: An epic novel of Russia before and after the Bolshevik revolution.

Paton, Alan--Cry, the Beloved Country: A country Zulu pastor searches for his sick sister in Johannesburg, and discovers that she has become a prostitute and his son a murderer.

Remarque, Erich Maria--All Quiet on the Western Front: A young German soldier in World War I experiences pounding shellfire, hunger, sickness, and death.

Shelley, Mary W.--***Frankenstein: A gothic tale of terror in which Franken-stein creates a monster from corpses.

Solzhenitsyn, Aleksander--One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: Ivan Denisovich Shukhov endures one more day in a Siberian prison camp and finds joy in survival.

Swift, Jonathan--Gulliver's Travels: Gulliver encounters dwarfs and giants and has other strange adventures when his ship is wrecked in distant lands.

Tan, Amy--***The Joy Luck Club: After her mother's death, a young Chinese-American woman learns of her mother's tragic early life in China.

Tolstoy, Leo--Anna Karenina: Anna forsakes her husband for the dashing Count Vronsky and brief happiness.

Weisel, Elie--***Night: A searing account of the Holocaust as experienced by a 15-year-old boy.

Biography/History

Angelou, Maya--I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: An African-American writer traces her coming of age.

Ashe, Arthur and Arnold Rampersad--Days of Grace: Biography of a highly respected tennis star and citizen of the world who dies of AIDS.

Baker, Russell--Growing Up: A columnist with a sense of humor takes a gentle look at his childhood in Baltimore during the Depression.

Brown, Dee--***Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: A narrative of the white man's conquest of the American land as the Indian victims experienced it.

Franklin, Benjamin--The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Considered one of the most interesting autobiographies in English.

Haley, Alex--Roots: Traces Haley's search for the history of his family, from Africa through the era of slavery to the 20th century.

Hersey, John--Hiroshima: Six Hiroshima survivors reflect on the aftermath of the first atomic bomb.

Keller, Helen--The Story of My Life: The story of Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, and her relationship with her devoted teacher Anne Sullivan. 

Kennedy, John F.--Profiles in Courage: A series of profiles of Americans who took courageous stands in public life.

Mathabane, Mark--Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa: A tennis player breaks down racial barriers and escape to a better life in America.

Thoreau, Henry David--Walden: In the mid-19th century, Thoreau spends 26 months alone in the woods to "front the essential facts of life."

Tocqueville, Alexis de--Democracy in America: This classic in political literature examines American society from the viewpoint of a leading French magistrate who visited the U.S. in 1831. 

Drama 

Ibsen, Henrik--A Doll's House: A woman leaves her family to pursue personal freedom.

Miller, Arthur--***The Crucible: Depicts the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.  Published during the time of McCarthyism.

 Shaw, George Bernard--Pygmalion: Henry Higgins takes on the daunting task of training a common woman to pass for a high society lady.  Will he fall in love with the lovely lady he “creates”?

Williams, Tennessee--The Glass Menagerie: A young man feels he must abandon his family in order to follow his dreams.

 Source: http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html