Honors English 10
Summer Reading
Theme: Compassion and Forgiveness
Welcome to Honors English 10! I am looking forward to learning with you next year. Over the
summer, if you have any questions or concerns, you can email me at ​eketch@cjeagles.org​. If you
have questions before the school year ends, you can come and see me in room 300.
This summer, we will be reading three separate novels on the topic of compassion and forgiveness.
One is a classic novel, one is a non-fiction novel that touches upon the same topic, and one is a
fiction novel that also touches on the same topic. All three are high-interest novels aimed at a young
adult audience so my hope is that you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Our theme for summer reading is the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur hallmark of “We honor the
dignity and sacredness of each person.” In these readings, we will be exploring the themes of
compassion and forgiveness that lead to us honoring this dignity and sacredness inherent in all.
These novels will lead us to an understanding of what it means to find compassion and forgiveness
even in the face of crime, discrimination, racism, and imprisonment.
As we are reading through these novels, I would like for you to find five quotes from each book that
you feel are reflective of the overall theme of the novel and that relate to the SND hallmark (they
can be from any part of the novel, not just from dialogue). When we begin the school year, we will
work on an essay that uses these quotes as a way to compare/contrast the three stories. The essay
will relate to the SND hallmark that will be the basis for our unit. You can use the attached pages to
jot down thoughts and quotes as you read.
Here are the titles of the books along with a quick synopsis. All books should be available at your
local library; I also included prices on Amazon.com if you wish to purchase. You do not need to
purchase these books unless you want to. You can read the books in any order you wish. You can
also read them whenever you’d like as long as you have them all finished by the start of the school
year. If you have already read ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ within the last two years, you can, alternately,
view the movie and use this instead of reading the novel. Your activity of pulling five lines will
remain the same except you will obviously be using dialogue instead.
Classic: ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ by Harper Lee ($6.11 on Amazon.com)
Description: ​Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, ​To Kill a
Mockingbird​ follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their
father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man
accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell
it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the
pain of growing up. -​Alix Wilber
Non-fiction:​ ​No Choirboy​ by Susan Kuklin ($11.36 on Amazon.com)
Description: ​No Choirboy ​takes readers inside America's prisons and allows inmates sentenced to
death as teenagers to speak for themselves. In their own voices―raw and uncensored―they talk
about their lives in prison and share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up there.
Susan Kuklin also gets inside the system, exploring capital punishment itself and the intricacies and
inequities of criminal justice in the United States. This is a searing, unforgettable read, and one that
could change the way we think about crime and punishment. This book is a 2009 Bank Street Best
Children's Book of the Year. -​Amazon Reviews
Fiction:​ ​Monster​ by Walter Dean Myers ($7.69 on Amazon.com)
Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The
owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells
about his case and his incarceration. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's
character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve
searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor
presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral
awareness that he had lost. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there
are no definitive answers. It's an emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and
disturbing. This book is a National Book Award finalist and and ALA Best Book Pick for Young
Adults. ​-​School Library Journal
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