Dear Parents/Guardians and Students, June 11, 2003

In an effort to prepare for the 2003-2004 academic year, the English department is requiring all APR students to read at least one book over the summer vacation. Summer reading has been proven to help students approach the new school year in a better state of academic readiness. Outside reading is valuable; it keeps the mind active and is one of the most effective ways to expand one's vocabulary and develop strong language skills. We encourage parents and guardians to pursue outside reading with their students.

The English department has generated a summer reading list for each grade level. Students must pick at least one book from this list. These books can be checked out at your neighborhood Boston Public Library Branch or purchased at your local bookstore. On return to school in August, students will be tested on the content of the book they have chosen.

Keep on Reading!
The English Department

Students Entering the 7th Grade

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers
Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Students Entering the 8th Grade

Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block
The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Age 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi

Students Entering the 9th Grade

A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
The Invisible Thread by Yoshiko Uchida
Hoops by Walter Dean Myers
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Students Entering the 10th Grade

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
China Boy by Gus Lee
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia
Black Ice by Lorene Cary
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiessen

Students Entering the 11th Grade

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Students Entering the 12th Grade

Typical American by Gish Jen
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Sula by Toni Morrison
Native Son by James Baldwin