Lemont High School Releases Summer Reading Requirements

Lemont High School has announced its “Our Books, Our School” selections for the 2014-15 school year. Over the summer, students will have their choice of four young adult novels selected by a committee of the school’s faculty and staff. In addition to choosing from the “Our Books, Our School” list, students in Honors and Advanced Placement level English courses will be responsible for additional summer reading assignments.

Previously, the school required its students to read one designated book over the summer through the “One Book, One School” program. This year, the “Our Books, Our School” program has selected the following four titles to expose students to a variety of works. Students are required to read at least one of the following works, but may of course read as many as they would like!

Nine Days (by Fred Hiatt; presale $9): Tenth-graders Ethan and Ti-Anna go to Hong Kong seeking her father, an exiled Chinese democracy activist who has disappeared. They uncover illegal activity while following his trail.

The 5th Wave (by Rick Yancey; presale $20): Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them.

Thirteen Reasons Why (by Jay Asher; presale $12): When high schooler Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing 13 cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah’s voice while recounting the events leading up to her death.

The Fault in Our Stars (by John Green; presale $14): Hazel, a 16-year-old stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a boy at a cancer support group makes her reexamine her perspective on love, loss and life.

On Haiku - the school’s online course management system - the LRC has posted a variety of supplemental materials dedicated to the “Our Books, Our School” selections, including reviews of each book.

On May 12-13, Anderson’s Bookshop of Downers Grove will be on campus to pre-sell copies of each of the “Our Books, Our School” and English summer reading selections. In order to purchase copies, students and their parents/guardians must return a pre-order form (available on the school’s Web site) to the school no later than Friday, April 25. This pre-order opportunity is available for all returning students, as well as members of the incoming freshman class. No money will be due at the time of the pre-order.

A complete list of summer reading assignments for Lemont High School students may be found on the following page. For questions concerning the “Our Books, Our School” program, contact Learning Resource Center Director Cathy Mayer (cathym@lemont.k12.il.us) at (630) 243-3248.

2014–2015 Summer Reading Requirements

Students enrolled in any level of “Preparatory” or “Academic” courses are required only to read at least one “Our Books, Our School” selection. In addition to their “Our Books, Our School” choice, students in Honors and Advanced Placement level classes have additional summer reading assignments that must be completed.

English I Honors – The Children’s Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy (Padraic Colum; Aladdin - $8 presale) and How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster; Harper - Intro-Chapter 5 only - $12.80 presale)

English II Honors – The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka - $9.60 presale) and How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster; Harper - $12.80 presale)

English III: AP Language & Composition – Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit (Daniel Quinn; Bantam/Turner - $14.40 presale)

English IV: AP Literature & Composition – Oedipus Rex (Sophocles; Dover Thrift Edition - $3.20 presale) and All the Pretty Horses (Cormac McCarthy; Vintage International - $12 presale)