Summer Reading Lists are Posted!

Remember summer reading lists from when you were in school? Well, the new lists for high school students across the country are being posted now and it's amazing how similar they are to reading group lists. Can teenage book clubs be far behind? Why not check them out for your next great read, or why not pick a book to read along with your son or daughter this summer -- maybe even turn one of your summer book club sessions into a bring your teen night!

Every year there are some choices that cause some controversy and this year it's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (find out why at the link). The lists include classics like Rebecca, To Kill a Mockingbird and Their Eyes Were Watching God, they also include contemporary books like Marley & Me, My Sister's Keeper, The Glass Castle and The Alchemist.

Here are a whole bunch of links to lists:
Archbishop Mitty High School, Santa Clara, CA
Joliet Township High Schools, Joliet, IL - Freshmen and Upper Classmen
St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Kennesaw Mountain High School, Kennesaw, GA
Wren High School, Piedmont, SC
Coral Springs High School, Coral Springs, FL
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Fairbanks, AL
Winston Churchill High School, San Antonio, TX
East Rochester School District, East Rochester, NY
Dennis-Yarmouth High School, South Yarmouth, MA
St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, OH
Opelousas High School, Opelousas, LA

Comments

[Ti]

I really enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower. A friend of mine, who is also a children's librarian, had been suggesting it to me for years. Then one day I was in between reads and picked it up. I was sorry that I had waited so long to read it. I highly recommend it.

Now I'll check out the others lists.

Ti

[Stephanie C]

I first read The Perks of Being a Wallflower as a teenager (on my own) and really enjoyed it. It is a book that, 10 years later, I have read over and over again every few years. It really bothers we when parent protest books like this one because they must be extremely naive as to what their children experience in middle school and high school. The things that Charlie goes through offer great discussion and should make kids a little more thoughtful. I am sorry that some of these parents are too blinded to see that.

[Lisa]

This is great. I've been looking for something just like this. Our community college will be starting a partnership with our local school system for an Early College program. Our library is looking to make sure that we have the required reading to support these new students.