MARKHAM DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
GRADE 12 SUGGESTED READING LIST
(Categorized by Settings/Themes/Genres)
Afghanistan:
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khadra, Yasmina. The Swallows of Kabul
Africa:
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Half of a Yellow Sun (the Nigerian Civil War/Nigerian-Biafran War, 1967-1970)
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Purple Hibiscus (Nigeria)
Habila, Helon. Measuring Time. (Nigeria, 1960’s)
Habila, Helon. Waiting for an Angel (Nigeria)
Wiwa, Ken. In the Shadow of a Saint: A Son's Journey to Understand His Father's Legacy (A memoir. Nigeria)
Kingsolver, Barbara. Poisonwood Bible
Smith, Wilbur. A Falcon Flies. (Good description of slavery.)
African American:
Angelou, Maya. The Heart of a Woman
Baldwin, James. Another Country
Baldwin, James. Go Tell it on the Mountain
Baldwin, James. No Name in the Street
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man A classic.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying
Hughes, Langston. Not Without Laughter
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God
McBride, James. The Color of Water. (An autobiography)
Morrison, Toni. Beloved
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye (Identity, self-esteem issues.)
Morrison, Toni. Jazz
Morrison, Toni. Love
Morrison, Toni. Paradise
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon
Morrison, Toni. Tar Baby
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple
Walker, Alice. Possessing the Secret of Joy
African Canadian Authors:
Brand, Dionne. In Another Place, Not Here
Brand, Dionne. What We All Long For
Clarke, Austin. The Bigger Light. Set in Toronto.
Clarke, Austin. The Meeting Point. Set in Toronto.
Clarke, Austin. Nine Men Who Laughed. Set in Toronto.
Clarke, Austin. The Origin of Waves.
Clarke, Austin. The Polished Hoe (Set in Barbados.)
Hill, Lawrence. The Book of Negroes
Hill, Lawrence. Any Known Blood. Excellent description of the slave trade in Africa and the United States.
Sarsfield, Mairuth. No Crystal Stair (Set in Montreal.)
Alienation:
Clarke, Austin. The Bigger Light
Clarke, Austin. The Meeting Point
Clarke, Austin. Nine Men Who Laughed
Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars
Levy, Andrea. Never Far From Nowhere
Memmi, Albert. The Pillar of Salt. Tunisia.
The American Dream:
Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck, John. The Pearl
The Arthurian Legend:
Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Mists of Avalon
Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Lady of Avalon
White, T. H. The Once and Future King
Autobiographical/Memoir:
Allende, Isabel. My Invented Country
Angelou, Maya. The Heart of a Woman
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Chen, Nien. Life and Death in Shanghai
Danticat, Edwidge. Brother, I am Dying
Gates, H.L. Colored People
Manley, Rachel. Drumblair
McBride, James. The Color of Water
McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes
Memmi, Albert. The Pillar of Salt
Walker, Rebecca. Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self
Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery
Wiesel, Elie. Night
Canadian East Coast:
Johnston, Wayne. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
MacDonald. Ann Marie. Fall on Your Knees
MacLeod, Alistair. No Great Mischief
Morgan, Bernice. Random Passage
Morgan, Bernice. Waiting for Time
Morrissey, Donna. Kit’s Law
Proulx, Annie. The Shipping News
Richards, David Adams. Bay of Love and Sorrows
Richards, David Adams. Mercy Among the Children
Canadian Literature:
Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace
Atwood, Margaret. Cat’s Eye
Atwood, Margaret. The Robber Bride
Cohen, Matt. Elizabeth and After
Davies, Robertson. The Lyre of Orpheus
Davies, Robertson. The Manticore
Davies, Robertson. A Mixture of Frailties
Davies, Robertson. The Rebel Angel
Davies, Robertson. What’s Bred in the Bone
Findley, Timothy. Famous Last Words
Findley, Timothy. Headhunter
Findley, Timothy. Not Wanted on the Voyage
Findley, Tomothy. The Piano Man’s Daughter
Findley, Timothy. Pilgrim
Findley, Timothy. The Telling of Lies
Findley, Timothy. You Went Away
Highway, Tomson. Kiss of the Fur Queen
Lawson, Mary. Crow Lake: A Novel
MacDonald, Ann-Marie. Fall on Your Knees
MacLeod. Alastair. No Great Mischief
Shields, Carol. The Stone Diaries
Shields, Carol. Unless
Toews, Miriam. A Complicated Kindness
Urquhart, Jane. The Stone Carvers
Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Englishman’s Boy
Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Last Crossing
Wiebe, Rudy. Sweeter than all the World. A saga of the Mennonite people
Wright, Richard B. Clara Callan
China:
Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth. Before the Revolution. Written by a Noble Prize winner.
Shi Nai’an and Luo Guanzhong. Outlaws of the Marsh. Volumes 1, 2 and 3. A Chinese Classic.
Sijie, Dai. Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress.
Classics: American Literature:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter
Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. (Love and war on the Italian Front during World War I.)
Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. (Themes: loyalty, courage, love and defeat. The death of an ideal. Period: the Civil War in Spain.)
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. (Classic theme of courage in the face of defeat.)
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. (The Quest)
Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind. (Historical Romance. The American Civil War and its aftermath.)
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck, John. The Winter of Our Discontent (Issues of right and wrong, moral dilemma.)
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. (Theme: the injustices of slavery.)
Styron, William. The Confessions of Nat Turner. (Historical Fiction. 1830’s slave rebellion.)
Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Classics:
Austen, Jane. Emma. (Historical romance.)
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park (Historical romance.)
Austen, Jane. Persuasion. (Historical romance.)
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. (Historical romance.)
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. (Historical romance.)
Bronte, Anne. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. (Romance.)
Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights
Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times
Dickens, Charles. Nicholas Nickleby
Dickens, Charles. Pickwick Papers.
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure
Hugo, Victor. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hugo, Victor. Les Misérables
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels
Thackeray, William. Vanity Fair
Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina
Coming of Age (Female):
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Purple Hibiscus
Anderson-Dargatz, Gail. The Cure for Death by Lightning
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Atwood, Margaret. Cat’s Eye
Azzopardi, Trezza. The Hiding Place
Blais, Marie Claire. St. Lawrence Blues
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees
Lamb, Wally. She’s Come Undone
Letts, Billie. Where the Heart is
Levy, Andrea. Never Far From Nowhere
McCullough, Colleen. Angel
O’Neill, Heather. Lullabies for Little Criminals
Toews, Miriam. A Complicated Kindness
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple
Azzopardi, Trezza. The Hiding Place
Grossman, David. See under: love
Matar, Hisham. In the Country of Men (Set in Libya.)
Coming of Age (Male):
Buckler, Ernest. The Mountain and the Valley
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations
Matar, Hishan. In the Country of Men
Mitchell, David. Black Swan Green
Ondaatje, Michael. The Cat’s Table.
Richler, Mordecai. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Englishman’s Boy
Contemporary American Fiction:
Delillo, Don. White Noise
Irving, John. Cider House Rules
Irving, John. The World According to Garp
Lamb, Wally. I Know this Much is True
Lamb, Wally. She’s Come Undone
Oates, Joyce Carol. Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang
Oates, Joyce Carol. I'll Take You There
Oates, Joyce Carol. The Falls
Oates, Joyce Carol. We Were the Mulvaneys
Stockett, Kathryn. The Help
Crime/Mystery:
Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace
Callaghan, Morley. More Joy in Heaven
Findley, Timothy. The Telling of Lies
Hébert, Anne. In the Shadow of the Wind
Moore, Brian. No Other Life
Pessl, Marisha. Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Richards, David Adams. Bay of Love and Sorrows
Death:
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie
Cohen, Matt. Elizabeth and After
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying
Gaines, Ernest. A Lesson Before Dying
Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones
The Depression: (1930’s):
Atwood, Margaret. The Blind Assassin
Callaghan, Morley. More Joy in Heaven
Callaghan, Morley. Such is My Beloved
Callaghan, Morley. They Shall Inherit the Earth
MacLennan, Hugh. The Watch that Ends the Night (Montreal)
Potok, Chaim. Davita’s Harp
Ross, Sinclair. As For Me and My House
Roy, Gabrielle. The Tin Flute
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath
Discrimination:
Clarke, Austin. The Bigger Light
Clarke, Austin. The Meeting Point
Clarke, Austin. Nine Men Who Laughed
Callaghan, Morley. The Loved and the Lost
Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars
Kogawa, Joy. Itsuka
Kogawa, Joy. Obasan
Domestic Abuse:
Doyle, Roddy. The Woman Who Walked into Doors
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple
Dystopia/Utopia:
Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange
Hilton, James. Lost Horizon
James, P.D. The Children of Men
Lessing, Doris. Memoirs of a Survivor
Skinner, B.F. Walden Two
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels
Theroux, Paul. Mosquito Coast
Vonnegut, Kurt. Player Piano
Zamiatin, Yevgeny. We
Existentialism:
Camus, Albert. The Plague
Saramago, J. Blindness
Exploitation and Victimization:
Atwood, Margaret. The Edible Woman
Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing
Atwood, Margaret. Lady Oracle.
Atwood, Margaret. Life Before Man
Atwood, Margaret. Bodily Harm
Atwood, Margaret. Cat’s Eye
Atwood, Margaret. Unearthing Suite
Atwood, Margaret. Encounters with the Element Man
Family Relationships:
Anderson-Dargatz, Gail. A Recipe for Bees
Atwood, Margaret. The Blind Assassin
Azzoparadi, Trezza. The Hiding Place
Badami, Anita Rau. The Hero’s Walk. (Family, complexity of family relationships, India primarily, Canada/India connections.)
Badami, Anita Rau. Tamarind Mem
Bissoondath, Neil. The Innocence of Age
Blais, Marie Claire. Mad Shadows
Burnard, Bonnie. A Good House
Cohen, Matt. Elizabeth and After
MacLeod, Alistair. No Great Mischief
McDonald, Ann Marie. Fall On Your Knees
Mistry, Rohinton. Family Matters
Oates, Joyce Carol. We Were the Mulvaneys
Proulx, Annie. The Shipping News
Ricci, Nino. Lives of the Saints
Ricci, Nino. Where She Has Gone
Richards, David Adams. Mercy Among the Children
Richler, Mordecai. Barney’s Version
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things
Fantasy:
Card, Orson Scott. Enchantment
Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game
Card, Orson Scott. Xenocide
Jordan, Robert. The Great Hunt
Jordan, Robert. The Shadow Rising
Stoker, Bram. Dracula
Fathers and Sons:
Callaghan, Morley. They Shall Inherit the Earth
MacFarlane, David. Summer Gone
Female Quest:
Atwood, Margaret. The Edible Woman
Atwood, Margaret. The Robber Bride
Laurence, Margaret. The Fire Dwellers
Friendship:
Atwood, Margaret. The Robber Bride
Historical Fiction:
Allende, Isabel. Portrait in Sepia
Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace
Auel, Jean M. Clan of the Cave Bear (Pre-historic)
Auel, Jean M. The Mammoth Hunters (Pre-historic.)
Auel, Jean M. The Valley of Horses (Pre-historic.)
Auel, Jean M. The Plains of Passage (Pre-historic.)
Buck, Pearl S. Imperial Woman
Buck, Pearl S. Peony. (China. Nineteenth Century.)
Clavel, James. Shogun. (17th century Japan.)
Clavel, James. Gai-Jin. (Nineteenth Century Japan.)
Campion, Jane. The Piano. (Nineteenth Century New Zealand.)
Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. (Biblical.)
Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo (A classic of historical fiction.)
Dumas, Alexandre. The Man in the Iron Mask (Classic.)
Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers. (Classic.)
Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo
Eco, Umberto. The Island of the Day Before. (17th century Europe.)
Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose (14th century Italy.)
Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain (Civil War, United States)
Gedge, Pauline. House of Dreams (Egypt.)
Gedge, Pauline. House of Illusions (Egypt.)
Graves, Robert. I, Claudius (Rome. Classic historical fiction.)
Graves, Robert. Claudius, the God
Heyer, Georgette. The Spanish Bride
Johnston, Wayne. Johnston, Wayne. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Newfoundland during the days of Joey Smallwood.)
Johnston, Wayne. The Navigator of New York
McCullough, Colleen. The First Man in Rome
McCullough, Colleen. Morgan’s Run (The Settling of Australia.)
McCullough, Colleen. The Thorn Birds (Australia)
McCullough, Colleen. The Touch (Australia)
Michener, James. Hawaii.
Michener, James. The Covenant (South Africa.)
Orczy, Baroness. The Scarlet Pimpernel
Plaidy, Jean. The Widow of Windsor
Scott, Sir Walter. Ivanhoe
Smith, Wilbur. As the Falcon Flies
Smith, Wilbur. Golden Fox (Africa.)
Scott, Sir Walter. Ivanhoe
Smith, Wilbur. The River God (Ancient Egypt.)
Smith, Wilbur. The Seventh Scroll (Ancient Egypt.)
Smith, Wilbur. Rage (Africa)
Smith, Wilbur. Flight of the Falcon
Stone, Irving. The Agony and the Ecstasy. (Fictionalized biography of Michelangelo.)
Sundaresan, Indu. The Twentieth Wife
Unsworth, Barry. Sacred Hunger. (Subject: the slave trade. Themes: Human rivalry, greed. Period: 1752-1765.)
Wallace, Randall. Braveheart. (Medieval Scotland.)
Holocaust:
Bock, Dennis. The Ash Garden.
Keneally, Thomas. Schindler’s Ark
Michaels, Anne. Fugitive Pieces
Sebald, W.G. Austerlitz
Styron, William. Sophie’s Choice
Horror:
Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Inheritor
King, Stephen. The Shining
Stevenson, Robert. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stoker, Bram. Dracula
Immigrant Experiences:
Alvarez, Julia. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
Brand, Dionne. What We All Long For
Clarke, Austin. More
Clarke, Austin. The Origin of Waves. Barbados/Toronto
Clarke, Austin. The Question.
Espinet, Ramabai. The Swinging Bridge. Trinidad/Canada
Hegi, Ursula. The Vision of Emma Blau. German immigrants to the U.S.
Junot, Díaz. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Levy, Andrea. Every Light in the House Burnin'. Jamaican immigrants in England.
Levy, Andrea. Never Far From Nowhere. Jamaican immigrants in England.
Levy, Andrea. Small Island. Jamaican immigrants in England.
Moodie, Susanna. Roughing it in the Bush. Early Canadian settlers.
Proulx, Annie. Accordion Crimes
Ricci, Nino. In a Glass House (Italian Canadians. South Western Ontario.)
Ricci, Nino. Where She has Gone
Theroux, Paul. Kowloon Tong (This novel describes the period when the British are handing over Hong Kong to China.)
Urquhart, Jane. Away.
Immigrant Experiences, Asian Culture:
Ali, Monica. Brick Lane. Immigrants from Bangladesh in England.
Bannerjee, Anjali. Invisible Lives.
Chang, Lan Samantha. Inheritance. China/United States.
Chong, Denise. The Concubine’s Children.
Choy, Wayson. All that Matters.
Choy, Wayson. The Jade Peony. Growing up in Vancouver’s early Chinatown.
Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of a Geisha.
Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. (War. Japanese internment.)
Kogawa, Joy. Itsuka. (Contemporary Japanese Canadian story. Political theme.) Japanese Canadian fight for redress for losses experienced during war time internment.)
Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake
Lee, Chang-Rae. Native Speaker. (Story of a Korean American. Highlights alienation from American mainstream life, the straddling of two cultures.)
Mukherjee, Bharati. Wife.
Mukherjee, Bharati. Jasmine.
Mulladi, Amulya. Serving Crazy with Curry. Traditional Indian family in North America. Mental illness.
Nakano, Takeo Ujo. Within the Barbed Wire Fence.
Rushdie, Salman. East, West.
Tan, Amy. The Hundred Secret Senses. San Francisco and China.
Tan, Amy. The Kitchen God’s Wife (China and San Francisco. Chinese American families, mother and daughter theme.
Tan, Amy. Saving Fish from Drowning.
Vassanji, M. G. The In-Between World of Vikram Lall. Describes the world of South Asian immigrants in Kenya.
Vassanji, M.G. No New Land. (South Asian immigrants in Toronto.)
India:
Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger.
Badami, Anita Rau. Tamarind Mem (Mother/daughter theme.)
Badami, Anita Rau. The Hero’s Walk
Baldwin, Shauna Singh. What the Body Remembers (Family issues: traditional marriage. Political issues: Departure of the British, changes in Indian society, Sikhs caught in the crossfire of tensions between Hindus and Muslims.)
Davidar, David. The House of Blue Mangoes
Desai, Anita. Fasting, Feasting.
Desai, Kiran. The Inheritance of Loss.
Irani, Anosh. The Song of Kahunsha. Street children in Mumbai.
Kaye, M.M. The Far Pavilions.
Kirchner, Bharti. Darjeeling.
Ondaatje, Michael. Anil’s Ghost (Sri Lanka, political upheaval, main character who straddles two worlds --- Sri Lanka and the West, strong political, human rights theme.)
Mistry, Rohinton. A Fine Balance. (1970’s during Indira Gandhi’s leadership. Set in a time of political turmoil. State of Emergency.)
Mistry, Rohinton. Family Matters. Generational differences. Aging. The influence of the past on the present.