Suggested Summer Reading 2016: Suggested Summer Reading Home

Suggested Summer Reading 2016

 

Weston High School Library

Alida Hanson, Librarian

June 13, 2016

 

I compiled this list from books I’ve read recently that students at Weston High School will likely enjoy. I tried to hit all different types of literature, including poetry, science fiction, realistic fiction, and nonfiction. Many of these skew to the weighty, serious side, so please feel free to round out with fun bestsellers you find in bookstores and online. Enjoy and have a great summer.

 

Belding Brown, Amy. The Flight of the Sparrow. (Historical Fiction)

Well written historical fiction set in 1600s New England during King Phillip's War between the Puritans and the Indians. The main characters are based on real characters -- chiefly Mary Rowlandson who was taken captive and returned after 4 months. Mary questions Puritan values and becomes an independent woman. There's some love and romance. Themes of race, slavery, and religion are explored. I read it in two sittings! (Mrs. Hanson)

 

Chang, Leslie T. Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China (Nonfiction)

I loved this! Chang weaves her family story between those of the young working women with whom she made relationships, so I finished the book with an understanding of migrant workers in China, how different kinds of families operate in China, Chinese lifestyles and beliefs, as well as the complex relationship Chinese Americans have with China.

 

But most of all I loved getting to know the women Chang highlights. Min and Chunming, like thousands of young women, left their rural villages and families as teenagers after graduating middle school and found work in the factories of Dongguan in southern China. The refrain of the books is "I am just like you" and I feel like I too am like Min and Chunming. (Ms. Hanson)

 

Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One. (Science Fiction)

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. (Goodreads)

 

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. (Nonfiction)

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? (Goodreads)

 

Day, Felicia. You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost). (Memoir)

After growing up in the south where she was "home-schooled for hippie reasons", Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia’s misadventures in Hollywood led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and become an Internet star.

 

Felicia’s short-ish life and her rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Now, Felicia’s strange world is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism—just like her memoir. Hilarious and inspirational, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit. (Goodreads)

 

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickeled and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America. (Non-Fiction)

Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors. (from Goodreads)

 

Henriquez, Christina. The Book of Unknown Americans. (Realistic Fiction)

An absolutely beautiful and moving novel (I cried after I finished it) about the lives of Latino people who emigrate to the United States. The Riveras have moved from Mexico to Delaware to get high quality special education for their fifteen year old daughter Maribel. The Toros moved from Panama and have a teenaged son, Mayor. He and Maribel fall in love. Neither family is supportive of the relationship: Mayor's family can't understand how he can love a girl with brain damage. Maribel's parents worry she isn't capable of protecting herself.

 

The book invites us to think about marriage, parenthood, personhood, fear, guilt, blame, joy and gratitude.

A great choice for teens. Clear and beautiful language communicate a powerful message. (Mrs. Hanson)

 

Jandy, Nelson. I’ll Give You The Sun. (Realistic Fiction)

Jude (girl) and Noah (boy) are quirky twins, children of academics who live in a coastal community in Northern California. Their mother is an eccentric art scholar who decides the children should apply to a prestigious and highly competitive local arts academy for high school. Not only are they competing for admission to the school, they are also competing for their mother's favor, which drives them apart in a ferocious and tragic way.

 

A fun, compelling, and imaginative read especially suited kids interested in art. The message of this book is: do the hard and scary work of being yourself and you will be rewarded. (Mrs. Hanson)

 

Johnson, Denis. Train Dreams. (Historical Fiction)

Denis Johnson's Train Dreams is an epic in miniature, one of his most evocative and poignant fictions. It is the story of Robert Grainier, a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century---an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime. Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West, this novella by the National Book Award--winning author of Tree of Smoke captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life. (Goodreads)

 

Kaufmann, Amy and Jay Kristof.  Illuminae #1 (Science Fiction)

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. (Goodreads)

 

A fantastic sci fi zombie love story thriller. Compelling story, humor, and creative use of type and different kinds of documents make this an outstanding read. Looking forward to the next book in the series. (Mrs. Hanson)

 

Lee, Erika. The Making of Asian America. (Nonfiction)

An epic history of global journeys and new beginnings, this book shows how generations of Asian immigrants and their American-born descendants have made and remade Asian American life in the United States: sailors who came on the first trans-Pacific ships in the 1500s; indentured “coolies” who worked alongside African slaves in the Caribbean; and Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and South Asian immigrants who were recruited to work in the United States only to face massive racial discrimination, Asian exclusion laws, and for Japanese Americans, incarceration during World War II. Over the past fifty years, a new Asian America has emerged out of community activism and the arrival of new immigrants and refugees. No longer a “despised minority,” Asian Americans are now held up as America’s “model minorities” in ways that reveal the complicated role that race still plays in the United States. (Goodreads)

 

Okparanta, Chinelo. Under the Udala Trees (Historical Fiction)

If you enjoyed Things Fall Apart, you will love this beautifully written coming of age story set in Africa’s largest country, Nigeria.The story is illuminated by African folktales incorporated into the text.

 

Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child and they fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls. When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself. We watch Ijeoma reunite with her mother, get an education, and form a life for herself as an adult.

 

Pitre, Michael. Fives and Twenty-Fives. (Historical Fiction)

Every year literary publications publish their best books of the year lists, and every year I wonder why certain books are nowhere to be found. This is one of those books.

 

Our main character is an officer in Iraq. He leads a unit that clears roads. This means they clear every square inch in and around the road of bombs while trying not to get shot at. Their track record is 100%--every time they suspect a bomb, there is a bomb. They operate under the fives and twenty fives rule: first secure the first five feet of perimeter around the vehicle (secure means make sure there are no concealed bombs waiting to trip and no one trying to shoot at you). After the first five feet is secured, you fan out and secure the surrounding twenty five feet. Super suspenseful and metaphoric, and relates to the narrative and structure of the book.

 

With themes of leadership, class, and a 360 view of all the participants in the Iraqi war, this is a fantastic read for anyone.  (Mrs. Hanson)​

 

Prince, Liz. Tomboy. (Graphic Novel)

This is special because it quietly changed the way I view the world. It took me an hour to read this gentle, uplifting, to the point, graphic novel memoir about growing up and gender expression.

 

As long as Liz Prince could remember, she wanted to dress and act like a boy. When her mom put a dress on her when she was four, Liz cried. She liked boy toys like Power Rangers and Transformers. Kids made fun of her sometimes, but she accepted it as part of the general confusion of growing up. As she grew older, she couldn't deny the biological fact that she was a girl, yet the only way she felt comfortable was dressed as a boy. She wasn't a lesbian--she just wasn't a "girly girl." How would she ever find a boyfriend? Where did she fit in the world?

 

The ultimate message here is "be yourself." I recommend this book to almost anyone--keep in mind it's short and accessible to a wide range of readers. Ages 12 and up, probably. (Mrs. Hanson)

 

Rakine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric (Nonfiction; Poetry)

Claudia Rakine's bold new book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rakine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society. (Goodreads)

 

Reynolds, Jason. The Boy in the Black Suit. (Realistic Fiction)

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down.

 

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.  (Goodreads)

 

Samaramci, Ozge. Dare to Disappoint. (Graphic Novel)

Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress? Would it be possible to please everyone including herself?

 

In her unpredictable and funny graphic memoir, Ozge recounts her story using inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship. (Goodreads)

 

Septys, Ruta. Salt to the Sea. (Historical Fiction)

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

 

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

 

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

 

Yet not all promises can be kept.

 

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope. (Goodreads)

 

Wilson, G. Willow. The Butterfly Mosque. (Memoir)

There are so many amazing memoirs being written now, and this one will join the ranks of the best. G. Willow Wilson tells the story of her conversion to Islam while at Boston University, her experience working in Egypt, falling in love, discovering what being a Muslim in a Muslim land is like, and "coming out" to her friends and family during the time period following 9/11 when anti-Islamic fervor was stronger than usual. She describes what it's like to balance Islamic and Western cultures, and sheds light on Western prejudices and assumptions through her experiences with friends and family.

 

I really enjoyed learning about the life of a Muslim women in Egypt, and am impressed by Wilson's powers of analysis. The book kept my interest throughout. I recommend this to readers who enjoy memoir, like to learn about different cultures, or who are interested Egypt and the Islamic world. (Ms. Hanson)

 

Special Mentions

 

I loved these books this year, but they probably will not appeal to most teen readers. However, they are so wonderful and important that I have to mention them.

 

Knausgaard, Karl Ove. My Struggle (Books 1-5)

 

 

Ferrante, Elena. The Neapolitan Novels (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, The Story of the Lost Child)

A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.

 

The story begins in the 1950s, in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow, as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge, Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other. They are likewise the embodiments of a nation undergoing momentous change. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists, the unforgettable Elena and Lila. (Goodreads)

Open these PDF files to find lists of suggested titles. Each title has a brief description to help you browse.

You can get the books from us before school ends, or the Weston Public Library and the Boston Public Library.