Summer Reading List 2026/2027

Post RSS Feeds Subscribe to Post Alerts
Student reading on school steps

All students have required reading over the summer.

Students must have a copy of the text(s) for the first two weeks of school. Students will be held accountable for completing their assigned book(s) when school resumes in August. This assessment will go into the grade book. Contact English Department Chairperson, Mrs. Kam, with questions. mallory.kam@holyfamilyhs.com

English Foundations (9), (10), (11), (12):

  1. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

English Literature and Comp (9):

  1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Honors English Literature and Comp (9):

  1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  2. Novel of student's choice (please see the choice reading guideposts below for guidance)

      Guideposts for Choice Reading:

  • Family approved
  • Of interest to the student
  • Both length and content ensure completion of the book
  • While there are wonderful graphic and comic books, please choose a traditional book
  • Age and reading level appropriate: Your choice needs to be at or slightly above your reading level. 

A quick internet search can also help to determine the intended audience and reading level of a book. You can 
also use this website to see if the book is appropriate for a high school reader: https://bookwizard.scholastic.com


British Literature (10):

  1. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Honors British Literature (10):

  1. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
  2. Student’s choice of an Agatha Christie novel, EXCEPT Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express

AP Seminar (fulfills the English (10) Graduation Requirement):

  1. Animal Farm by George Orwell

American Literature (11):
Read one (1) of the following novels:

  1. Hiroshima by John Hersey
  2. When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka


AP English Language and Composition (11):

  1. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
  2. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us about the Art of Persuasion, 4th Edition by Jay Heinrichs

At the start of summer, students will be invited to a Google Classroom with information about additional summer 
reading requirements. Please check your HF email.


Literature and Composition (12):
Choose one novel from the list below:

  1. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer 
  2. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 
  3. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
  4. The Stranger by Albert Camus

AP English Literature (12):

  1. Medea by Euripides
  2. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles