Humanities 10
Students in Humanities 10 can pick any one (1) of the following five options for their summer reading book:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
… a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. This story, set in the Jazz age on Long Island follows the Nick’s adventures amidst the wealthy, jet-set life of his neighbor, Gatsby. Daisy is the main focus of attention for several men. The ride through prohibition is itself a trip. With the lives of all these vivid characters coming together, this is a page-turner. 200 pages
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
Sent in the 1960s in Portland and Chicago, the story follows the tragic challenges of Rachel, whose family is torn apart when she is a young girl. Her "new life” with her grandmother and aunt shows her growth and then her sadness, and all-the-while she struggles to deal with the secret of her mother’s and siblings’ death. Rachel’s parents’ mixed marriage is the backdrop for this engaging story, and her personal history is both heroic and gut-wrenching. 240 pages

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Teenage boys are cajoled into enlisting in the army by a “patriotic” teacher who constantly praises the former students who gave up their studies to step up to protect the Fatherland. Paul Bonner and his comrades soon end up on the front lines of WWI facing unimaginable horror. Their sergeant and big brother Katczinsky helps them deal with the terror, but they soon begin to lose friends one-by-one. This is an excellent story of growing up, and dealing with the reality of war. 200 pages

What is the What by Dave Eggers
At times harrowing, at times uplifting, this is the story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan. Achak is a young boy in a village in South Sudan when the marauding tribesmen of Northern Sudan attack his village. He is forced to flee to Kenya, where he lives in a refugee camp until he receives a Visa to travel to the United States. This "autobiographical" novel (I say "autobiographical," because while it is Achak's oral history, it is written by Dave Eggers) will have you on the edge of your seat as Achak escapes one danger after another. While you will feel the tension of his peril, you will be warmed by the strength of his spirit and the generosity of others. Multiple universities made this their required reading for incoming students between 2008 and 2010, and I can see why. Note: it is not short, but it is not overly long.

The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
How would you like to live in an attic for months on end? Anne Frank and her family had to do just that, to escape the Nazis during World War II. She kept a diary of her experience that survived the Holocaust. It is both a warning of the depths of depravity humankind can sink to under the spell of an evil leader, and a celebration of the endurance of the human spirit. You can still visit the attic to this day (have you seen "The Fault in Our Stars?"). Note: this is a relatively short book, but it is packed with substance.
Honors Humanities 10
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (selections)
We will be grappling with the question, “Why have some societies been able to conquer others?” There are many potential answers to this question, which many thinkers across numerous disciplines have pondered. In the early part of our course we will be examining how the Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond went about answering this provocative question. Diamond’s theories are particularly alluring (and not without controversy).
Download the document below for your summer reading assignments, based on reading and annotating the prologue and two chapters of the book.
Hon Hum10 summer reading 2021.docx