Grade 12 Summer Reading Program: 2016 Philosophy and Requirements Woodward Academy English Department Woodward Academy’s English Department believes that the Summer Reading Assignment is a valuable pursuit for the student for several reasons. Colleges expect students to have read widely in the classics of literature, and all high school teachers believe that students need to exercise their independent reading skills over the summer months. In addition, familiarity with specific pieces of literature allows the student to start the school year with a literary foundation on which to reflect and compose. Basing their choices on college English department lists of books which well-prepared students should have read and on the curriculum which the student will study during the year, teachers at every grade level select books that should prove interesting and valuable. For these reasons, rising freshmen read mythology and works with a tragic theme or heroic archetype. Rising sophomores read old or new classics of American Literature. Rising juniors read works by British authors. Seniors select from world authors. This year, students will also select a book and meet in small groups for a discussion on the first Monday of class, August 15th. . Led by a teacher or staff member, the groups will be composed of students in all four grade levels. Students will select their book for the discussion group beginning in April of 2016. Information will be on their English teacher’s Edline page. Students may be asked or allowed to write on this book during the first eight weeks of school. New to Woodward students are not required to read a book of choice, only the required books. Teachers approved student placement in April of 2016 for the appropriate level of English study (CP, EP, HP, or AP), and students should read the books assigned to that level. New students will find out their levels when they meet in June with Dr. Freer or Dean McNash. During the first eight weeks of school, each English teacher will assign papers based on the works, give an objective test over the required books, and make other assignments as necessary. At least three evaluations of the works will occur, including objective, subjective, and creative assessments which will constitute a major portion of the first 8 week grade. Students enrolled in the Upper School by August 1, 2016, must complete all the assigned books by the start of school, August 10, 2016. New students enrolled in the Upper School after August 1, 2016, should begin the required books at their level immediately upon acceptance and then consult with their English teachers on the first day of class. All evaluations of summer reading will be completed by October 7, 2016. The English Department requires new and returning students to complete the assignment over the summer in order not to double the homework load in English during the first grading period. Following are a list of key questions to ask yourself as you read a novel, work of nonfiction, or play. You can aid your long-term retention of these works by taking notes which answer each of the following questions. Include a page reference as often as possible. This effort will help as you review for your tests and projects in the fall.

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Identify the narrative hook, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. If the novel is structured more loosely, what does each episode add to the story, and how does each build on the preceding ones? 2. What types of conflict are present? 3. Who are the main characters? 4. Are these characters round or flat, static, or dynamic? 5. Why do you sympathize or not sympathize with each character? 6. What is the effect of the point of view that the author uses: first person, limited third person, or omniscient? Does the point of view ever change? 7. What tone does the author express through the work’s events and characters? 8. What objects, persons, places, or events are given symbolic meaning? What do they symbolize? Does the meaning of any symbol change? 9. If the work uses irony, what is its effect and why is it used? 10. Identify the novel’s major theme or themes. 11. How do the plot, setting, point of view, symbols, and irony express the novel’s theme or themes?

2016-17 Senior Summer Reading SUMMER READING: TWELFTH GRADE 2016-2017

Since students will be discussing and writing with the summer reading texts, it is beneficial if students purchase the edition noted by ISBN numbers. The campus store carries these books; students will purchase them from the store during the last weeks of May. After MAY 20, 2016, students may access brief descriptions of all books as well as study questions on the required books from the Woodward website. REQUIRED OF ALL AP LITERATURE (AP LIT 12) STUDENTS: (1) All the King's Men, Warren (ISBN: 13- 9780156012959) (2) In Cold Blood, Capote (ISBN: 13-9780679745587) (3) The Turn of the Screw, James (ISBN: 13-9780486266848) (4) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward seniors in the fall of 2016 are excused from the Book of Choice program.) REQUIRED OF ALL AP LANGUAGE 12 (AP LAN 12) STUDENTS: (1) Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston (ISBN: 13: 9780061120060) (2) Unaccustomed Earth: Stories, Lahirǐ (ISBN: 13: 9780307278258) (3) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward seniors in the fall of 2016 are excused from the Book of Choice program.) REQUIRED OF ALL CONTEMPORARY DRAMA HONORS (DRAMA HP) STUDENTS: (1) A Doll’s House, Ibsen ( ISBN: 13- 9780486270623) (2) Doctor Faustus, Marlowe (ISBN-13: 9780486282084) (3) The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde (ISBN: 13-9781593080259) (4) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward seniors in the fall of 2016 are excused from the Book of Choice program.) REQUIRED OF ALL ENRICHED COLLEGE PREPARATORY (EP) STUDENTS: (1) Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston (ISBN: 13- 9780061120060) (2) The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck (ISBN: 13-9780143039488) (3) One selection from the Book Discussion list. (New-to-Woodward seniors in the fall of 2016 are excused from the Book of Choice program.) . REQUIRED OF ALL COLLEGE PREP (CP) STUDENTS: (1) Tuesdays With Morrie, Albom (ISBN: 13- 9780767905923) (2) One selection from the Book Discussion list (new-to-Woodward seniors in the fall of 2016 are excused from the Book of Choice program) Brief Notes on Summer Reading Texts - Grade 12 Tuesdays With Morrie, Albom—Mitch Album has found financial success and popularity as a sports writer, yet something is missing from his life. Due to a twist of fate, Mitch reconnects with his former college professor, Morrie Swartz, who has been diagnosed with and is dying of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). In this book, which is based on a true story, Mitch rediscovers what is important about life during the Tuesday meetings that he has with his mentor. (Required for CP)

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston—This masterfully written novel is both a poignant love story and a mystery. Zora Neale Hurston’s work presents a remarkable heroine, given the setting, and fascinating insights into black Southern culture in the early 1900s. (Required for EP and AP LAN 12) The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck—A novel which tells of the moral crisis of a good man who wants to satisfy his discontented wife and teenaged children. (Required for CP and EP) A Doll’s House, Ibsen—A Doll House, written in 1879, concerns Nora Helmer, who has always been comfortable in her roles as a daughter, a wife, and a mother- ruled by either a father or a husband throughout her life. In this plot she asserts her strong will and, consequently, must question the foundation of everything she has been taught to believe is true concerning the roles of men and women. (Required DRAMA HP) Unaccustomed Earth: Stories, Lahirǐ—“Lahiri's stories of exile, identity, disappointment and maturation evince a spare and subtle mastery that has few contemporary equals” (amazon.com). (Required for AP LAN 12) Dr. Faustus, Marlowe—Christopher Marlowe’s (Rupert Everett plays Marlowe in the film Shakespeare in Love) most famous play. This tragedy probably inspired Shakespeare. And who knows, but maybe Charlie Daniels had this work in mind when he wrote “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”! (Required for DRAMA HP) All the King’s Men, Warren—A novel about politics and power in the South; history buffs might recognize traits of a Louisiana politician in a main character. (Required for AP LIT 12) Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde—Oscar Wilde attacks the hypocrisy of his own Victorian England. In this controversial murder mystery, Wilde’s protagonist sells his soul and commits unspeakable evil for the promise of eternal youth and beauty. (Required for DRAMA HP)

The Turn of the Screw, James—A Victorian-era governess moves to an isolated country estate to care for a young boy and his sister. Soon after her arrival, she begins to see a man and a woman, whom she does not recognize, lurking around the estate; however, other members of the household claim not to see them come and go. Are these actual supernatural figures? Or are they hallucinations suffered by a woman who is losing her mind? This brilliant gothic ghost story contains many “turns of the screw” which keep readers in suspense until the last page—and beyond. (Required for AP LIT 12) In Cold Blood, Capote—Just before Thanksgiving 1959, in a sleepy Kansas town, local rancher Herb Clutter, his wife, and two of his children were brutally murdered. Upon hearing of the crime, and before the identity of the murderers was known, Truman Capote traveled to Holcomb, Kansas, and set up residence there in order to write about the crime. He ultimately spent six years writing about the crime and its aftermath, documenting especially the complex psychological relationship between the two murderers. Critics have often considered this book to be the first of an oxymoronic new genre: the non-fiction novel. (Required for AP LIT 12)

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading Study Questions for Twelfth Grade - Required Books While no student is required to complete these questions, the English Department provides them for those students who like to reinforce independent reading with notes to study prior to taking the fall assessment. Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (Required for EP, and AP Lang 12) 1. Pay close attention to the dual point-of-view in this novel. Note the contrast between the poetic omniscient voice and the dialect of the first-person narrator. 2. If the dialect of the black rural South gives you difficulty, read it out loud. Be sure to highlight passages you don’t understand. Also highlight passages, expressions, that you like and find effective or important. 3. Pay attention to Janie’s family background. Try making a timeline or a family tree. There is sufficient information in the early chapters for you to do so. 4. Be able to discuss Janie’s romantic history, although some of it is not so romantic. 5. Hurston employs several symbols effectively throughout the novel. Identify and be prepared to discuss four or five potential symbols. Remember, if a physical item is referred to often in the novel, that might be a hint. 6. What is the primary motivation in the protagonist’s life? Does she or does she not achieve her goal? The Winter Of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck (Required for EP) 1. What are the major plot events that shape the novel? 2. Identify the following characters in the novel (who they are and what their functions seem to be in the plot): Ethan Allen Hawley; Mary Hawley; Allen Hawley; Ellen Hawley; Marullo; Mr. Baker; Margie Young-Hunt; Joey Morphy; Danny Taylor; Mr. Biggers; and Great Aunt Deborah. 3. The novel concerns the moral nature of man and the failure of ethics in the modern world. To what degree do the following characters possess honest ethical standards of behavior? To what degree do they not? Ethan; Marullo; Allen; Ellen; Joey; and Mr. Baker. 4. Identify and discuss the biblical/religious allusions that thread through the novel. 5. What is the significance of the 1960 New England setting for the work? 6. Steinbeck once said that the American generations of the last half of the 20th century were in danger of becoming the "beginning of our [America's] end." Considering both the character of Allen Hawley and his sister Ellen, decide whether morality or immorality prevails in America's youth. Defend your answer. 7. In what ways is The Winter of Our Discontent an allegory? 8. What symbolically does the family talisman seem to represent? Explain. 9. Compare and contrast Margie Young-Hunt and Mary Hawley. What conclusions can the reader draw about the plight and status of the modern American woman?

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading 10. Discuss the importance of the American Dream in the novel. What repercussions seem to be tied to reaching for it? 11. Steinbeck feels that all humans are capable of both good and evil and that neither concept is truly an absolute. Since most of the conflict in the work is internal in Ethan, in what ways is he both good and evil? At the end of the work, where has Ethan morally traveled? 12. What thematic statements does Steinbeck want readers to take from this novel? In the forty-plus years from its publication, has American society changed from the picture you see in the novel? How or how not? Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (Required for CP) 1. Look at pages 34-36. Summarize what you think is important about Morrie’s series of questions and his views about “living unhappily” and how the culture teaches us. 2. Look at page 40. Summarize Morrie’s views on the “tension of opposites” and his solution for victory. 3. Look at pages 42-43 and page 52. Summarize Morrie’s views on distractions and on love. Discuss how effective these views are. Are they too cliché or are they true? 4. Look at pages 56-57. Discuss Morrie’s views on being “lucky.” How is he lucky? 5. Look at pages 60-61. What does this exercise teach about trust? Is Morrie’s explanation believable? 6. Look at pages 63-65. What does this section stress concerning “life from a happier place” and regret? Explain Morrie’s views. What is your opinion? 7. Look at pages 80-87. Summarize one important aphorism that Morrie establishes about death, dying, or grief. 8. Look at pages 91-94. What does Morrie mean when he uses the phrases “spiritual security” and “painful price?” 9. Look at pages 103-107. Describe Morrie’s philosophy about detachment. 10. Look at pages 117-121. What is Morrie’s attitude about getting older? 11. Look at pages 126-128. Write a direct quotation that reflects Morrie’s attitude about material possessions or status. 12. Look at pages 148-149. State one of Morrie’s rules concerning marriage. 13. Look at pages 152-154. What does Morrie mean when he says that our greatest defect is our “shortsightedness?” 14. Look at pages 164-168. What is the importance of not only forgiving others but forgiving ourselves? 15. Be sure to be able to identify all characters and the background and basis of why Mitch writes this book.

Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (Required for DRAMA HP) 1. We get the term “Faustian tragedy” primarily from this play. Review elements of a tragedy. Research what the term “Faustian” has come to mean. 2. Be sure to know the role played by these characters in the tragedy: Benvolio, Valdes, Pope Adrian, Bruno, Duchess of Vanholt, Lucifer, Wagner, Alexander the Great, Robin, Helen of Troy, Good Angel, Mephostophilis.

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading 3. What is the setting of the story? Know the family background of Dr. Faustus. What is his academic specialty? What has become his new intellectual interest? 4. For what does Dr. Faustus bargain his soul? What are the terms of the bargain? How does he originally intend to use his newfound skills? How does he end up using what he has sold his soul for? 5. Does Dr. Faustus have a loophole in his bargain? Does he exercise it? Why or why not? The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Required for DRAMA HP) 1. Consider how Dr. Faustus influences The Picture of Dorian Gray. How is this novel a prose Faustian tragedy? 2. Know the setting of the novel and targets of Oscar Wilde’s cultural satire. 3. Look for one of Wilde’s trademarks: witty epigrams. 4. Know these characters and how they factor into the novel: Dorian Gray, Lord Henyr Wotton, Basil Hallward, Sibyl Vane, James Vane, Allan Campbell, Hetty Merton, Adrian Singleton. 5. Look for foreshadowing throughout the novel especially pointing to the last chapter. 6. Chapters 3 and 11 are particularly important sections. Why? 7. Why does Wilde choose physical beauty as the trait that Dorian barters his life for? A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen (Required for DRAMA HP) 1. What information are we given which clearly indicates that Nora is a typical Victorian wife, limited in her interests and dominated by her husband? 2. Describe the circumstances under which Nora married Helmer and briefly relate the “secret” which she has been keeping from him. 3. Briefly relate the touching subplot concerning Mrs. Linde and Krogstad. 4. Briefly describe Dr. Rank and Nora’s feelings for one another. How does poor Dr. Rank announce his own death? 5. How does Torvald react when he learns Nora’s secret? How do his feelings change when he thinks that Krogstad “repents”?

Unaccustomed Earth by Lahirǐ (Required for AP LAN 12) from http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_U/unaccustomed_earth1.asp 1. In “Unaccustomed Earth,” what underlies the tension in the relationship between Ruma and her father as the story opens? What aspects of the family’s history inhibit their ability to communicate with each other? How do their memories of Ruma’s mother and the life she led influence the paths they choose for the next stages in their lives? Do you feel more sympathy for either character’s point of view?

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading 2. What is the significance of the title “A Choice of Accommodations”? What does it imply about Amit and Megan’s marriage? Why do you think Lahiri chose to set the story at Amit’s old prep school? Do you think the events of the weekend bring Amit a better sense of who he is, what he wants and needs from Megan, and his role as a husband and father? Will the weekend change anything for Amit and Megan and their relationship? 3. “Only Goodness” traces the impact of parental expectations on a sister and brother. Why did Sudha and Rahul develop in such different ways? Discuss such factors as the circumstances surrounding their births and earliest years; the obligations Sudha takes on both as the “perfect daughter” and in response to the combination of love, envy, and resentment Rahul’s attitudes and behavior arouse in her; and the siblings’ awareness of and reactions to the “perplexing fact of [their] parents’ marriage” [p. 137]. Compare and contrast the siblings’ choice of partners. What attracts Sudha to Roger, and Rahul to Elena? 4. Why does Paul, the American graduate student in “Nobody’s Business,” find his roommate, Sang, the recipient of frequent marriage proposals, so intriguing? Does Paul really want to help Sang, or does he get involved in her relationship with Farouk for more selfish reasons? Why do you think Lahiri titled this story “Nobody’s Business”–and what does the title mean to you? 5. In “Once in a Lifetime,” Hema addresses Kaushik directly as she recalls the time they spent together as teenagers. How does this twist on the first-person narration change your experience as a reader? Does it establish a greater intimacy between you and the narrator? Does it have an effect on the flow of the narrative? On the way Hema presents her memories? Is it comparable, for example, to reading a private letter or diary? Are the same things true of Kaushik’s narrative in “Year’s End”? 6. How would you describe the tone and style of Kaushik’s account of his father’s remarriage in “Year’s End”? Does his conversation with his father [pp. 253-255] reveal similarities between them? Why does Kaushik say, “I didn’t know which was worse–the idea of my father remarrying for love, or of his actively seeking out a stranger for companionship” [p.255]? Does the time he spends with his father’s new family offer an alternate, more complex, explanation for his father’s decision? 7. What role do his stepsisters play in Kaushik’s willingness to accept his father’s marriage? Why is he so outraged by their fascination with the pictures of his mother? He later reflects, “in their silence they continued to both protect and punish me” [p.293]. In what ways does their silence and the reasons for it mirror Kaushik’s own behavior, both here and in “Once in a Lifetime”? 8. How do “Once in a Lifetime” and “Year’s End” set the stage for “Going Ashore,” the final story in the trilogy? What traces of their younger selves are visible in both Hema and Kaushik? In what ways do the paths they’ve chosen reflect or oppose the journeys their parents made as immigrants? 9. Why does Hema find the idea of an arranged marriage appealing? How has her affair with Julian affected her ideas about romantic love? What does her description of her relationship with Navin [pp. 296-298] reveal about what she thinks she wants and needs in a relationship? What role do her memories of her parents’ marriage play in her vision of married life?

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading 10. What motivates Kaushik’s decision to become a photojournalist? In what ways does the peripatetic life of a photojournalist suit his idea of himself? In addition to the many moves his family made, what other experiences make him grow up to be an outsider, “away from the private detritus of life” [p. 309]? 11. What does the reunion in Rome reveal about the ties that bind Hema and Kaushik despite their many years of separation? What does it illustrate about their attempts to escape from the past and their parents’ way of life? What do they come to realize about themselves and the plans they have made as the intimacy between them escalates? Why does Lahiri introduce Hema’s voice as the narrator of the final pages?

In Cold Blood by Capote (Required for AP Lit) (Questions by LitLovers) 1. Start with the victims. What kind of family is the Clutter household? In what way does Capote create sympathy for them? Do you feel they represented the American Dream? 2. How does Capote, as a writer, handle the actual murder of the Clutter family. Or is it too gruesome, too heartbreaking to discuss? 3. Discuss the killers, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. What kind of men were they? What were their motives in committing murder? Talk about their backgrounds and psychological make-ups? Think, for instance, about Perry Smith's chilling comment: "I thought he was a very nice gentleman.... I thought so right up to the moment I cut this throat." 4. In many ways, In Cold Blood is about the murderers. Do you feel they deserve such attention? Do you think that Capote pulls off the near impossible—does he build sympathy, in your mind, for the killers? Does he endow them—Perry Smith, in particular—with any kind of humanity? Or does he depict them as savage animals, devoid of human redemption? 5. What was the impact of the murders on the Holcomb community? How did it alter the residents' perceptions of the natural order of things, of life? 6. With this book, Truman has been credited with developing a new genre of writing: "literary nonfiction." What might that term mean, and how does In Cold Blood differ from straight crime reporting? Why did Capote create the kind of story he did, and what is its impact on the reader of this new approach? 7. Suggestion: Watch the 2005 film, Capote, with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the role of Truman Capote. Does the film affect your view of Capote and his motives in writing his book? The Turn of the Screw by James (Required for AP Lit) (Questions by LitLovers) 1. In The Turn of the Screw, the misbehavior of the children, Miles and Flora, as the story progresses makes us suspect that they are not as innocent as they seem. And yet the source of their misbehavior is left ambiguous: Is it natural mischievousness or has it been instigated by an evil, corrupting force in the form of the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel? Trace through the story the changes in the way the governess views the children and their misbehaviors. How does the uncertainty about the children, and their possible awareness of the ghosts, intensify the governess's predicament?

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading 2. In the beginning chapters of the story, the governess recounts several unsettling events: The children's uncle insists that he not be bothered with anything relating to the children's care; we learn of the death of the governess's predecessor, Miss Jessel; and we learn that sweet and charming Miles has been expelled from school. These are just some of the forebodings that set the stage for the supernatural events that soon follow, and so when the governess first relates the appearance of a ghost it doesn't seem entirely unexpected. To what degree is the governess a force of sense and reason in these unsettling surroundings, and to what degree does she become a destabilizing force herself as the story progresses? How does our answer to this question affect our understanding of the story's ending? 3. Any interpretation of The Turn of the Screw hinges on the question, debated vociferously by critics, of whether the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel are real or whether they are figments of the governess's imagination.* What are the implications of the governess's imagining them? If we read this not as an actual ghost story but as a story about the governess's perceptions of ghosts, what sort of psychological underpinnings are suggested? Could it be in these dimensions that the real horror of the story may lie? All the King’s Men by Warren (Required for AP Lit) (Questions from gradesaver.com) 1. Consider as "all the king's men" all those who were closest to Governor Willie Stark: Jack Burden, Sadie Burke, Tiny Duffy, Sugar-Boy, and Willie's family and mistresses. How do these characters interact to support Willie or cause Willie's downfall? 2. Who is the main character in the novel: Jack Burden or Willie Stark? That is, who is the real focus--the "king" or his "man," Jack? What criteria should we use to determine who the main character is? 3. How does the Cass Mastern story relate to the novel as a whole? What does it do, if anything, to bolster the book's drama and meaning? Is this tale necessary or worthwhile, or does it detract from the overall narrative? 4. As narrator, Jack mentions the notion of time frequently. Consider the meaning of "time" how it relates to both the plot and the symbolic language of the novel. How is time used to express Jack's feelings and to influence the narrative? 5. As governor, Willie Stark runs his administration ferociously, using dirty tricks, blackmail, and sometimes bribery to keep his opponents in line. Are such tactics always necessary in politics, sometimes necessary in bad circumstances, or never necessary or justified? Consider today's political situation for comparison. Similar topics might include the use of media, oratory, graft, handouts, and digging up dirt.

6. The three leading women--Anne Stanton, Sadie Burke, and Lucy Stark--are all involved romantically with Willie Stark. Additionally, all three find difficulty in the male world of 1930s politics; women's suffrage, for instance, was relatively new. Do the women have the same range of moral and political differentiation as the men, from strongly moral to pragmatically semi-moral to strongly immoral, and from strong leadership roles all the way down?

7. How apt are the lines, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, / Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, / All the king's horses and all the king's men, / Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again"?

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2016-17 Senior Summer Reading AP LITERATURE NOTES: AP students must read four books over the summer: In Cold Blood (Capote), The Turn of the Screw (James), and All the King’s Men (Warren), and a selection for the book discussion group (as you did last year). While other students complete most of their discussions and evaluations of summer reading by the end of the first eight weeks, AP students continue to write about their summer reading throughout the school year and may choose one of these works for their free-response question on the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Examination in May of their senior year. As with summer reading exams for all grade levels, the initial tests are objective and specific. Obviously, the AP student will read his assigned novels, but an essential aspect of preparing for critical discussion is to go beyond mere plot summary to an awareness that each character, each action, each shift in setting, etc., are choices of a master craftsman. In the initial reading of these works, therefore, the student must be alert to these choices as they contribute to the tone, theme, and overall effect of the work. Even minor characters exist for a purpose. Note, for instance, the significance of each of the following major and minor characters in All the King’s Men: Willie Stark, Lucy Stark, Tom Stark, Jack Burden, Anne Stanton, Adam Stanton, Sadie Burke, Sugar Boy, Tiny Duffy, Hugh Miller, Judge Irwin, Mrs. Murrell, Theodore Murrell, Ellie Burden, Count Covelli, Daddy Ross, Lois Seager, Miss Dumonde, Lilly Mae Littlepaugh, Caresse Jones, Sibyl Frey, Marvin Frey, Malaciah Wynn, Cass Mastern, and Gummy Larson. In short, pay attention to details as you read. Underline quotations that seem significant because they characterize individuals or situations. Pay attention to tone. On the inside front cover of the book, you might want to jot down a phrase description and page number of something that seems important. This technique can help you to trace themes, images, symbols, etc. throughout the work. People who love to read (and you won’t choose AP Literature if you don’t) usually like to discuss their reading with others. Near the end of the summer try to get together with friends around the pool maybe and have fun reviewing these novels together. Try to be completely finished with all novels considerably before the beginning of school to allow time for review. Since your reading is extensive, begin as soon as possible. If you like to start with the most accessible reading (and who doesn’t enjoy true crime?), you may wish to read In Cold Blood first. Any student who is interested in politics or simply likes to study human nature and the effects that power or parents have on people will find All the King’s Men a favorite. Don’t be put off by its length. You might save The Turn of the Screw for a rainy evening when you’re alone in the house. But beware! IT will have you peeking around the corners! You are going to be in good company this summer. Happy reading!

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