English I Seminar
Down River, by Will Hobbs

No adults, no permit, no river map. 15-year-old Jessie and her six companions from Discovery Unlimited, an outdoor ed program she's been sent to by her father, "borrow" the company's rafting gear and take off down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon on their own. Floating beneath sheer red walls, camping on white sand beaches, exploring caves and waterfalls, Jessie and the others are at first having the time of their lives. Pursued by helicopters, they boldly push on into the black-walled inner gorge, the heart of the Grand Canyon, only to encounter huge rapids, bone-chilling rain, injuries, and conflict within the group. What will be the consequences of their reckless adventure?

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English I
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

The action of the novel occurs over the course of three days. Steinbeck created the novel's two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, to portray victims of forces beyond their control. George and Lennie are two migrant agricultural workers on a California ranch who share a dream of owning their own farm someday. They take jobs at a ranch where their hopes are at first raised but then destroyed by a tragic accident. Steinbeck depicts George and Lennie as two innocents whose dream conflicts with the realities of a world dominated by materialism and greed. Their extraordinary friendship distinguishes them from other hopeless and lonely migrant farm workers. The novel portrays a class of ranch workers in California whose plight had been previously ignored in the early decades of the twentieth century. In fact, George and Lennie are like mice in the maze of modem life. The great friendship they share does not prove sufficient to allow them to realize their dream.

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English I Honors
The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver

Taylor (whose real name is Marietta) decides that it’s time to leave Pittman, Kentucky and make something of herself. She embarks on a personal journey of self-discovery, leaving everything behind, including her name. When her car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Illinois, she decides that her new name will be Taylor. In the middle of Oklahoma, on land owned by the Cherokee Nation, Taylor’s car breaks down. Taylor stops to have it repaired and to get something to eat at a restaurant. Her life changes dramatically when a Cherokee woman puts a child wrapped in a blanket on the front seat of Taylor’s car. The woman asks Taylor to take the child and then disappears in a pickup truck. Taylor suspects that the child, who doesn’t speak, has been physically and sexually abused. Kingsolver introduces the perils of single motherhood as Taylor accepts her newfound responsibilities and makes a commitment—although Taylor is not fully aware that she has made such a commitment—to care for another human being.

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English II & English II Seminar
Night, by Elie Wiesel

Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie’s wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author’s original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie Wiesel reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forget man’s capacity for inhumanity to man.

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English II Honors
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien's fantastic novel The Hobbit; or There and Back Again was first published in 1937. The enchanting story of tiny, furry-footed Bilbo Baggins and his adventures in Middle-earth ultimately served as the prelude to Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings, which was published in three volumes during the 1950s. These novels are perhaps the most beloved works of fantasy in the twentieth century.

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English III & English III Seminar
The Dream, by Harry Bernstein

During the hard and bitter years of his youth in England, Harry Bernstein's selfless mother struggles to keep her six children fed and clothed. But she never stops dreaming of a better life in America, no matter how unlikely. Then, one miraculous day when Harry is twelve years old, steamships tickets arrive in the mail, sent by an anonymous benefactor. Suddenly, a new life full of the promise of prosperity seems possible--and the family sets sail for America, meeting relatives in Chicago. Harry is mesmerized by the city: the cars, the skyscrapers, and the gorgeous vistas of Lake Michigan. For a time, the family gets a taste of the good life: electric lights, a bathtub, a telephone. But soon the harsh realities of the Great Depression envelop them. Skeletons in the family closet come to light, mafiosi darken their doorstep, family members are lost, and dreams are shattered.

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English III Honors
Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn

Ishmael is a half-ton silverback gorilla. He is a student of ecology, life, freedom, and the human condition. He is also a teacher. He teaches that which all humans need to learn -- must learn -- if our species, and the rest of life on Earth as we know it, is to survive.

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World Literature and Modern Literature
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

Amir tells us about the unique relationship he has with Hassan, a Hazara boy who is the victim of discrimination, but ironically is the half-brother of Amir, a Pashtun. Amir is overwhelmed with guilt when he allows Hassan to be beaten and raped on the day Amir wins the kite flying tournament. He lies to have Hassan accused of theft so he will leave their home and Amir can try to forget his guilt. Eventually, Amir and his father flee Afghanistan after the Russians invade and Amir takes his tragic memories to America to start a new life.

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English AP
The Awakening by Kate Chopin, plus one selection from the reading list

The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier and the changes that occur in her thinking and lifestyle as the result of a summer romance. At the start of the story, Edna is a young mother of two and the life of a successful New Orleans businessman. While the family is vacationing at a seaside resort, Edna becomes acquainted with Robert Lebrun, a younger man who pays special attention to her. Moonlit walks and intimate conversations with Robert spark feelings that Edna has forgotten. When she returns to the city, Edna throws off the trappings of her old life—devotion to family, attention to societal expectations, and adherence to tradition—to explore independence in love, life, and sexual fulfillment.

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