Grade Eleven English Summer Reading List

Students are to choose one book from the list to read. All students will be tested on their choice at the start of the school year in their English classes. Books may be borrowed from the state library system or purchased from the local bookstores. New and used paperback books may be purchased online. Two such sites are http://www.campusi.com and Amazon.com

The Bean Tree, Barbara Kingsolver. [Amazon]
Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity of putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.

Color of Water by James McBride [Amazon]
Author James McBride narrates the story about his white mother, a Polish Orthodox Jew, who married an African American man. She is truly a remarkable woman who outlived both husbands, raised a dozen children, and today, still actively contributes to both the American and European communities. McBride shares his mixed ethnic life along with his mother and family’s life in an interesting and positive tone. This is a refreshing story to read.

Home Killings, Marcos McPeek Villatoro[Amazon]
Romilia Chacón, a rookie in the Nashville police force, finds herself thrown immediately in her first big case on her new beat. Are the ceremonially slaughtered cadavers popping up around town the product of ancient ritual, a serial killer, or a campaign to shock rival drug lords into compliance? Can the recently arrived detective prove herself on her first assignment while juggling her work and her home, where her mother and child are both so dependent on her? Combating the machismo of the police force and the challenges of being an outsider within the Latino community, Chacón follows the trail of murder in this fully textured and well-developed whodunit.

Lanikai, Mahealani Harris Shellabarger [Amazon]
A book written by a native Hawaiian woman about Hawai?i, Lanikai, is a light, pleasurable romance written in memoir style by a Kamehameha Kapalama graduate from the class of 1962. Particularly interesting is the opening of the story at Kamehameha Schools in the ?60s with an expression of the values of the times as displayed by several high school chums. Innocence and the development of their relationships in the subtle movement of the plot makes for an interesting story. Brief explanations of cultural practices and history give the reader some insight into the Hawaiian in the 20th Century. Mahealani may be reached at lanishell@aol.com.