ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH GRADE OPTIONS LIST, 2011
(Blurbs have been provided in most cases by the students and teachers who recommended the books.)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Partly autobiographical, this is the funny and heart-breaking story of a Native American boy growing up on a reservation outside Spokane, Washington.
The Aeneid translated by Allen Mandelbaum (PLEASE NOTE TRANSLATION)
This national epic of the founding of Rome begins with the wanderings of Aeneas and his band of exiles after the fall of Troy. The second part tells of the wars and struggles in Italy to found a new nation. The poet Virgil explores the themes of destiny, leadership, and devotion to family, country, and gods.
Affluenza by John De Graaf
What are the cultural, ethical, and ecological implications of our consumerist society? Check out this very readable book, replete with cartoons, self-tests on consumerism, and some thoughtful commentary on the direction the modern world may be heading.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Set among the first families and old order of New York, this is the story of Newland Archer, a young man who falls impossibly in love with the cousin of his fiancée. This sumptuous novel shows wealth and illicit passion, cultural rigidity and the advent of modern open-mindedness. It is a welcome window into the world of old New York.
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
The recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for biography, this account of McCourt’s growing up in poverty in Limerick is at once tragic and funny. The book has been on the New YorkTimes Best-Seller List consistently since its publication.
Anna Karenina by LeoTolstoy
Although married to a powerful government official, the beautiful Anna falls in love with another man. In a shocking transgression of the code of nineteenth-century Russian society, Anna leaves her husband and son to live with her lover.
Atlas Shruggedby Ayn Rand
This one is very long, but very thought provoking and may change your way of thinking about economics and the world. The novel focuses on a fictional company’s struggle to survive in a world with increasing governmental restrictions. It challenges the reader to question what is noble and right and to examine the successes and failures of current economic and political systems.
Atonement by Ian McEwan (Ex Libris Selection)
A novel of great scope, Atonement takes in the intrigue of a jealous little sister, a tragic love affair, the human costs of World War II, and the power of forgiveness.
The Audacity of Hopeby Barack Obama
Barack Obama says that the primary goal for this book is to show "how we might begin the process of changing our politics and our civil life." He describes "a new kind of politics" that he hopes will bring the country together.
Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
This is the story of one of the remarkable lives of the twentieth century. Malcolm X, as presented in this as-told-to autobiography, is a figure of almost mythic proportions: a man who sunk to the greatest depths of depravity and rose to become a man whose life's mission was to lead his people to freedom and strength. It provides a searing depiction of the deeply rooted issues of race and class in America and remains relevant and inspiring today. (Publisher’s synopsis)
The Awakening and Selected Stories by Kate Chopin
Originally published in 1899, The Awakening is a stirring account of a woman’s growing awareness of her own needs and desires. A pivotal work in the emergence of a woman’s voice in American fiction, it is a classic a century later because it deals with issues that are still difficult for women today. Of the short stories, “A Story of an Hour” is a startling one that you’ll never forget.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (Ex Libris selection)
A “little gem of a book” set in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, this is the story of two teenage boys who are sent to live in a peasant village for “re-education.” They discover a hidden stash of Western literary classics in Chinese translation and use the stories of Balzac to capture the attention of the beautiful daughter of the local tailor.
Ball Four by Jim Bouton
As a player, former hurler Jim Bouton did nothing half-way; he threw so hard he'd lose his cap on almost every pitch. In the early '70s, he tossed off one of the funniest, most revealing, insider's takes on baseball life in Ball Four, his diary of the season he tried to pitch his way back from oblivion on the strength of a knuckler. The real curve, though, is Bouton's honesty. He carves humans out of heroes and shines a light into the game's corners. A quarter century later, Bouton's unique baseball voice can still bring the heat.
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen (Ex Libris selection)
A woman and her young son, victims of domestic violence, are forced to flee their home and assume new identities while always fearing that their abusive husband /father may find them.
Black Boy by Richard Wright
This autobiography, published in 1945, gives graphic and sometimes horrifying details of Richard Wright’s childhood and youth in the Jim Crow South.
Black Ice by Lorene Cary (Ex Libris selection)
Imagine it is 1971 and you are a minority student at an upper-class, prestigious New Hampshire prep school. You are among the first blacks and the first females to attend the previously all-male St. Paul’s School. How much of your former self, your racial and cultural identity, must you sacrifice in order to be successful in this new environment? Lorene Cary eloquently tackles these questions in her autobiography.
Black Mutiny: The Revolt on the Schooner Amistad by William A. Owens
Written in 1953 as a historical novel, Black Mutiny is a moving historical treatise examining the key figures involved in the escape and subsequent trials of the enslaved Africans--from Cinque, the leader of the slaves, to the Spanish sovereign to the American President. The courage and convictions of all characters are brought into focus in this riveting tale of human dignity.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Whether she’s mystical healer or witch--una curandera o una bruja--a wise widow named Ultima guides young Antonio Marez on a haunting, disturbing journey to self-identity. This classic Chicano novel set in New Mexico immerses Anglos in the clashing worlds of priest and pagan, vaquero and farmer, good and evil. Its compelling language makes it clear why Anaya has earned the title “poet of the barrio.”
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan (Ex Librisselection)
A new novel by Tan about mothers and daughters and family secrets, this one poignantly touches on the mother’s developing Alzheimer’s and the daughter’s attempts to deal with that and with her own personal life. As a critic says, it is “a book to read, to cherish, to remember.”
The Bridge on the Drinaby IvanAndric
This novel by Bosnian-born Nobel Prize winner Ivan Andric provides a vivid depiction of the suffering that history has imposed upon the people of Bosnia from the late
sixteenth century to the beginning of World War I. He poignantly describes the lives of everyday people who gather on the bridge, attempt to halt the devastating waves of their conquerors on the bridge, and attempt to stay connected with life on both sides of the river. The book will provide you with many insights about the courageous and enduring people of this region.
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
This masterful novel is a brilliant satire of modern man and the insanity that surrounds him. Imagine a new religion based entirely on lies; this is what one must resolve himself to before becoming a Bokonist. In fact, the opening sentence in the Book of Bokonon is this: “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.” Don’t pick up this book unless you have several hours to spend in captivity.
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
This book is an autobiographical account of the life of a fictional female contemporary artist. Through funny and sometimes poignant childhood memories and flashbacks to moments in the main character’s middle and early adulthood, the reader learns what it might take to become an artistic force.
The Chaneysville Incident by David Bradley
The Chaneysville Incident is about an African-American historian’s confrontation with his personal past, family history, and the living legacies of racism and slavery. This is a novel, but it addresses the real mystery of the runaway slaves whose graves are located near the southern Bedford County town of Chaneysville, Pennsylvania.
The Children of Men by P.D. James (Ex Librisselection)
Women push dolls in carriages through the park. Schools fade from existence and instruct only an aging society. There are no children. This futuristic tale is not a typical P.D. James mystery. In a world that has lost its ability to reproduce, a middle-aged professor questions his society’s values. An unlikely heroic figure, he leaves his sheltered life and openly defies his dictatorial government.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
This chilling tale involves a corrupt teacher, an insidious underground society, and one teenage boy who attempts to stand up to them.
A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr
Jonathan Harr chronicles the true story of a lawsuit involving two of the nation's largest corporations. He turns a complicated nine-year case into one of intrigue and compassion for the victims of environmental pollution. The young personal injury lawyer, Jan Schlichtmann, transforms from a self-absorbed individual to a dedicated advocate who sacrifices everything--home, friends, and reputation--not for money, but for what he believes in.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
In a series of letters to God and her sister Nettie, Celie reveals why she is a survivor. A contemporary classic, this novel focuses on the tensions between men and women as well as blacks and whites.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
This is the story of twin boys who come of age as their native Ethiopia is embroiled in political upheaval. When passion for the same woman pulls them apart, one travels to America, where he finds work as a medical intern in a woefully inadequate New York City hospital. Readers will be absorbed in the plot twists that lead the protagonist to confront his past: his estranged brother and the father who had abandoned his family years before.
Disturbing the Universe by Freeman Dyson
Dyson evocatively conveys the thrill of a deep engagement with the world – be it as a scientist, citizen, student, or parent. Detailing a unique career not limited to his groundbreaking work in physics, Dyson discusses his interest in disarmament and even in thought experiments on the expansion of our frontiers into the galaxies.
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
Little does Torvald know that his seemingly naïve and capricious little wife has been harboring a dark secret since the early days of their marriage. Considered controversial in its day, this drama reveals much about gender roles and social inequities in the late nineteenth century.
Don QuixotebyMiguel deCervantes Saavedra
Although written over four hundred years ago, this Spanish classic still has enormous appeal. It is the story of a charming gentleman who is so obsessed with tales of knightly chivalry that he sets out to find dragons to slay and lovely damsels to defend. Although his companion, the practical Sancho Panza, knows full well that Quixote’s quest is but a fantasy, he faithfully accompanies his lord on his grand adventure.
Eagle Blue by Michael D’Orso
This is the story of a small-town Alaskan basketball team which gained distinction for winning six regional championships in a row. View a winning season and championship tournament from the perspective of the players, their families, and their coach as they follow their dreams across the frozen tundra in the near-total darkness of an Alaskan winter.
Eleni by Nicholas Gage
Gage, a reporter for the New York Times, tells the story of his mother Eleni, who was arrested, tortured, and shot in 1948 in her Greek mountain village. Her crime was that she had helped her children escape from the Communist guerillas during the Greek civil war.
Emma by Jane Austen
A young woman of wealth and social status, Emma can be admired for her wit, generosity, and compassion. However, her propensity for playing matchmaker creates a series of sometimes serious, sometimes comic complications.
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne
Inspired by Walter Prescott Webb’s legendary book The Great Plains, Gwynne, a writer for The Dallas Morning News, has created a fascinating story of Texas history. No one who claims to be a Texan can miss this outstanding account of the Spanish (later Mexican), French, and American frontiers as all three of these forces ran headlong into the insurmountable object known as the Comanche. Tracing the origins of the nation and focusing on both the people as a broad group and as individuals (particularly the Parker family), the book examines how the Comanches completely halted the advance of European colonial empires while creating an empire based on the greatest horse culture in American, if not world, history. As the title indicates, the book explores the growth and ultimate failure of the Comanche way of life, and it concludes with a convincing argument that Quanah Parker is the first authentic American (a true original).
The English Teacher by R. K. Narayan
Written by an Indian author who is widely read at our new sister school in Hyderabad, this is a story of a teacher who has a change of heart about the meaning of teaching after he suffers a personal tragedy.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
This follow-up to Foer's extremely good and incredibly successful Everything Is Illuminated (2002) stars one Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old amateur inventor and Shakespearean actor. But Oskar's boots, as he likes to say, are very heavy--his father, whom he worshiped, perished in the World Trade Center on 9/11. In his dad's closet a year later, Oskar finds a key in mysteriously labeled "Black." So he goes searching after the lock it opens, visiting (alphabetically) everyone listed in the phone book with the surname Black.
The End of the Hunt by Thomas Flanagan
This historical novel is set in Ireland just after the turn of the twentieth century. It deals with exciting events leading up to the separation of Ireland from Britain and the ensuing Civil War in the 1920s. The central character is “the Big Fellow”--Michael Collins-- the hero of a recent film starring Liam Neeson.
The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
This first novel by a Yale law professor has been described as “a first-rate legal thriller” and a “stunning” work of literature. It is dense with subplots that provide an inside view of Washington politics and the privileged upper-crust of Northeast African-American society.
Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario
This is the true story of a young Honduran boy who rides the rails through dangerous territory to join his mother in the United States. The author offers a different perspective on the question of immigration to this country.
Executive Orders by Tom Clancy
Clancy’s latest thriller is a continuation of Debt of Honor. A Japanese airliner has crashed into the Capitol, killing the President, his cabinet, and most members of Congress and the Senate. Having just been confirmed Vice-President, Jack Ryan immediately inherits a nation, a crippled government, and the threat of a third world war.
Foe by J. M. Coetzee
Nobel Prize winner J. M. Coetzee reshapes the story of Robinson Crusoe into a complex parable about the harsh realities of life and the transformative power of the story teller’s imagination.
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
An American professor of Spanish, Robert Jordan leaves the safety and security of his teaching job for the Spanish Civil War. He volunteers his services and his expertise with explosives to a group of guerillas, who are holding out against the fascists in the mountains of Spain. The book has everything one could hope for in a novel--adventure, intrigue, insight into human nature, and one of the most famous love stories in American literature.
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This is the classic tale of a man who sells his soul to thedevil.
The Fountainhead by AynRand
The protagonist is an unconventional architect whose ideology and architectural vision run contrary to the society in which he lives. The woman who loves him is one of his harshest critics. A fascinating statement on social standards, integrity, and rebellion, the novel has sparked much debate since its appearance in 1943.