Summer Reading 2020-2021
Requirement: Students should read ONE book from the list for their grade in the 2020-21 school year. Books are available at Batavia Public and other area libraries. Audiobooks and e-books are also available for many of the selections. The books are high-interest titles and were selected with input from staff and students. Students can access e-books and audiobooks from the BHS LRC webpage. There are instructions on the page about how to set up a free Axis 360 account.
Incentives: Students are also encouraged but not required to read TWO more books of their choice and to earn incentive prizes through the Teen Summer Reading at Batavia Public Library or the student’s public library.
School year follow-up: Teachers in the following courses will involve the books in at least one classroom activity. Students in Honors/AP classes will be emailed directly by their teacher with the assignment.
Why read during the summer? Reading during the summer helps students prevent the “summer slide” of skills, and it encourages the habit of reading. Like athletes, musicians, and artists, readers need to practice to maintain and improve their skills. Also, summer is a great time to discover new books, perhaps the book behind a movie blockbuster or the book that everyone is discussing. Participation in a public library’s Teen Summer Reading program helps students develop lifelong learning skills!
Questions? Contact BHS-LRC@bps101.net
FRESHMEN
Freshmen taking English I (Choose 1)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| A List of Cages | Robin Roe |
| Illegal | Eoin Colfer |
| Positive | Paige Rawl |
| Lockdown | Alexander Gordon Smith |
Freshmen taking English I Honors (Choose 1) Click here for information about the books.
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Life of Pi | Yann Martel |
| House on Mango Street | Sandra Cisneros |
| The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho |
| Children of Blood and Bone | Tomi Adeyemi |
| With the Fire on High | Elizabeth Acevedo |
SOPHOMORES
Sophomores taking English II (Choose 1)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| A Long Way Down | Jason Reynolds |
| Scythe | Neal Shusterman |
| Between Shades of Gray | Ruta Sepetys |
| Laughing at My Nightmare | Shane Burcaw |
Sophomores taking English II Honors (All Read)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini |
JUNIORS
Juniors taking American History or APUSH (AP US History) (Choose 1)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Chasing Lincoln’s Killer | James L. Swanson |
| Mr. Lincoln’s High Tech War | Thomas B. Allen |
| Photo By Brady | Jennifer Armstrong |
Juniors (or Seniors) taking AP Language (Choose One)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| American Sniper | Kyle McEwen |
| The Forbidden Schoolhouse | Suzanne Jumaine |
| The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History | John M. Barry |
| The Pursuit of Happyness | Chris Gardner |
| Unbroken | Laura Hillenbrand |
| Midnight in Cherynobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster | Adam Higginbotham |
| Wild | Cheryl Strayed |
| The Demon in the Freezer | Richard Preston |
| Into Thin Air | Jon Krakauer |
| No Time to Lose | Peter Piot |
| The Perfect Storm | Sebastian Junger |
| 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz | Heather Dune Macadam |
| Stiff | Mary Roach |
| Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever | Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard |
| The Tipping Point | Malcolm Gladwell |
| Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell |
| Moneyball | Michael Lewis |
| Branded | Alissa Quart |
| The Innovators | Walter Isaacson |
| 1421 | Gavin Menzies |
| Argo | Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio |
| Behind Rebel Lines | Seymour Reit |
| A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II | Sonia Purnell |
| City of Scoundrels | Gary Krist |
| Devil in the White City | Erik Larson |
| Eight Men Out | Eliot Asinof |
| Flags of our Fathers | James Bradley and Ron Powers |
| Parkland: Birth of a Movement | Dave Cullen |
| The Beauty Myth | Naomi Wolf |
| The Cheating Culture | David Calhoun |
| Columbine | Dave Cullen |
| Invisible Man | Ralph Ellison |
| Life, Animated | Ron Suskind |
| The Paradox of Choice | Barry Schwartz |
| When March Went Mad | Seth Davis |
| Bad Or, The Dumbing Down of America | Paul Fussell |
| Becoming | Michelle Obama |
| Educated : A Memoir | Tara Westover |
| Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage |
Dan Crenshaw |
| Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption |
Bryan Stevenson |
SENIORS
Seniors taking Government or AP Government (All Read)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation | Jonathan Hennessey |
Seniors (or juniors) taking AP Literature (All Read)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| How to Read Literature Like a Professor | Thomas Foster |
Seniors (or juniors) taking AP Literature (Choose One)
| Book Title | Author |
|---|---|
| The Nickel Boys | Colin Whitehead |
| The Sympathizer | Viet Thanh Nguyen |
| All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr |
| The Narrow Road to the Deep North | Richard Flanagan |
| Sing Unburied Sing | Jesmyn Ward |
| The Round House | Louise Erdirch |
