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Grades 9 - 12 PWCS Summer Reading Program
Colgan High School
The purpose of the PWCS Summer Reading Program is to encourage students to enjoy quality literature and to continue developing their independent reading skills. Student participation in the program is voluntary. Students who choose to participate in the program are required to complete a minimum number of two books. Students participating in the program in Grades 9 -12 will complete a list of books read. The documentation is to include the name of the author, the title of the book, publishing information, an explanation of the topic or plot of the book, and a parent or guardian statement that the student has completed the reading. Students in Grades 9 -12 who participate in Prince William County Public Library's Summer Reading Program, the Public Library documentation will apply. Students will receive an extra percentage point, added at the end of the first quarter, for each book completed, for a total of two. The summer reading documentation will be submitted by the student by the end of the first week of school. The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian may be used. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also acceptable.
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PWCS Ninth Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also acceptable.
Author Title Pub. Date Annotation
Brewer, Heather 9th Grade
Slays 2008
While half-vampire Vlad, his best friend Henry, and Henry's cousin Joss make their way through their freshman year at Bathory High, a hired vampire slayer seeks to destroy Vlad.
Alexander, Kwame
The Crossover
2014 Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Anderson, Laurie Halse
Speak 2006 A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.
Booth, Coe Tyrell 2007
Fifteen-year-old Tyrell, who is living in a Bronx homeless shelter with his spaced-out mother and his younger brother, tries to avoid temptation so he does not end up in jail like his father
Card, Orson Scott
Ender’s Game
2002 Ender, who is the result of genetic experimentation, may be the military genius Earth needs in its war against an alien enemy.
Collins, Suzanne
Hunger Games
2009
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death.
Condie, Allyson B.
Matched 2010
Cassia has always had complete trust in the Society to make decisions for her, but when she is being paired with her ideal mate, a second face flashes on the screen, and Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility as she tries to decide which man she truly loves.
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Meyers, Walter Dean
Lockdown 2010
Adam races to help a friend when a shooter opens fire at the school, but despite his efforts, his life is forever changed.
Paolini, Christopher
Eragon 2005
In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.
Pfeffer, Susan Beth
Life as We Knew It
2008
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
Quick, Matthew Boy 21 2012
Finley, an unnaturally quiet boy who is the only white player on his high school's varsity basketball team, lives in a dismal Pennsylvania town that is ruled by the Irish mob, and when his coach asks him to mentor a troubled African American student who has transferred there from an elite private school in California, he finds that they have a lot in common in spite of their apparent differences.
Riordan, Rick Sword of Summer
2015
Magnus Chase has always been troubled. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits. One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows-a man his mother claimed was dangerous, who tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god and trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. When an attack forces him to choose between his safety and hundreds of lives, Magnus makes a fatal decision. Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die …
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Roth, Veronica Divergent 2011
In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomoly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.
Ally, Carter Gallagher
Girls Series 2009
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.
Ally, Carter Heist Society
Series 2010
Fifteen-year-old Kat schemes her way into the best boarding school, hoping to leave the thieving antics of her family behind her, but Hal, a former co-conspirator, appears on campus to tell Kat that a powerful mobster believes her father stole art from a priceless collection, and in order to save him, Kat will have to recover the paintings.
Zusak, Markus The Book
Thief 2006
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
Grant, Michael Gone Series 2009
In a small town on the coast California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have “The Power” and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.
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PWCS Tenth Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also acceptable.
Author Title Pub. Date
Annotation
Bacigalupi, Paolo Ship Breaker 2010
In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
Green, John The Fault in Our
Stars 2012
Sixteen year old Hazel, who has cancer, meets Augustus at a kids-with-cancer support group and as they fall in love they both wonder how they will be remembered.
Supplee, Suzanne
Artichoke’s Heart 2009
When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at Heavenly Hair--her mother's beauty salon--and feeling out of control, and as she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother's cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people's lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.
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McNamee,
Graham
Bonechiller
2008
Four high school students face off against a soul-stealing beast that has been making young people disappear in their small Ontario, Canada, town for centuries.
Myers, Walter Dean
Sunrise over Fallujah
2009 Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his timer there profoundly changes him.
Voorhees, Coert The Brothers
Torres 2009
Sophomore Frankie finally finds the courage to ask his long-term friend, Julianne, to the Homecoming dance, which ultimately leads to a face-off between a tough senior whose family owns most of their small, New Mexico town, and Frankie's soccer-star older brother and his gang-member friends.
Flanagan, John Ranger’s Apprentice Series
2010 When fifteen-year old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
Lu, Marie Legend (Bk. 1) 2011
Fifteen-year-old June, a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles, and fifteen-year-old Day, born into the slums, are brought together when June's brother, Metias, is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect. June seeks to avenge Metias' death, but he soon uncovers the truth about his country and the lengths it will go to keep its secrets.
Coelho, Paul
The Alchemist
1998
Allegorical tale of a young shepherd boy who searches across two continents for lost treasure and riches, but also finds spiritual enlightenment.
Various authors: Langan, Paul;
Schraff,
Bluford Series
2007
Set in urban America and featuring adolescent characters, this series addresses topics and themes relevant to today's teenagers.
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Pelzer, Dave
A Child Called It and/or The Lost
Boy
1995
This autobiographical account charts the abuse of a young boy as his alcoholic mother first isolates him from the rest of the family; then torments him; and finally nearly kills him through starvation, poisoning, and one dramatic stabbing.
Johnson, Angela
First Part Last
2005
A 16-year-old's life goals must be reversed when he commits to raising his and his girlfriend's baby.
Dokey, Camer,
Suzanne.
Holder, Nancy
Once Upon a Time Series
2009
Fresh retellings of well known and lesser known fairytales.
Spiegelman, Art
Maus I and Maus II
1991
Told with chilling realism in a comic-book format, this is more than a tale
of surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effects of those events
on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following
generations.
Patterson, James
Maximum Ride Series
2012
Bird kids, who have wings as a result of genetic experimentation, struggle
to understand their own origins and purpose.
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PWCS Eleventh Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also acceptable.
Author Title Pub. Date Annotation
Taylor, Laini.
Smoke and Bones
2011
Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.
Myers, Walter Dean
Bad Boy: A Memoir
2001
Myers describes his life growing up in Harlem and his problematic behavior as a teen. It was not until his adult years that he became a very successful writer.
Various authors: Langan, Paul; Schraff, Anne;
Kern, Peggy, and others
Bluford Series
2007
Set in urban America and featuring adolescent characters, this series addresses topics and themes relevant to today's teenagers.
Canfield, Jack and others
Chicken Soup for
the Teenage Soul (I
and/or II)
2000
A collection of fifteen essays that offer inspirational lessons to teens about relationships, friendship, family, love, kindness, learning, success, courage, and determination.
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Stiefvater, Maggie
Wolves of Mercy Falls Series
2011
In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity.
McCormick, Patricia
Sold
2006
Told in a series of poetic vignettes, this story gives voice to Lakshmi, a thirteen-year- old girl from Nepal who is forced into prostitution in India. Lakshmi's education at the hands of Happiness House's cruel madam is brutal. Readers will admire Lakshmi's bravery and be relieved when she risks trusting the American man who promises to take her to a clean, safe place.
Cast, P.C. & Kristin Cast
The House of Night Series
2011
After being accepted as a fledgling vampire at the House of Night prep school and receiving special powers by a goddess, sixteen-year-old Zoey Montgomery discovers one of her peers is misusing her powers and must decide what the right thing to do is.
Garcia, Kami
Beautiful Creatures
2009
In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
Hopkins, Ellen
Crank, Tricks,
Identity, & Glass
2004
Kristina Georgia Snow's life is turned upside-down, when she visits her absentee father, gets turned on to the drug "crank", becomes addicted, and is led down a desperate path that threatens her mind, soul, and her life.
Marr, Melissa
Wicked Lovely
Series
2008
Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see fairies, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle by Keenan, the terrifying but alluring Summer King, who determines that she must become his queen and save summer from perishing.
Griffin, Paul
The Orange
Houses
2009
Tamika, a fifteen-year-old hearing-impaired girl, Jimmi, an eighteen-year-old veteran who stopped taking his antipsychotic medication, and sixteen-year-old Fatima, an illegal immigrant from Africa, meet and connect in their Bronx, New York, neighborhood, with devastating results.
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Black, Holly
Tithe, Ironside, & Valiant
2008
Sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny.
Caletti, Deb
The Fortunes of
Indigo Skye
2009
Eighteen-year-old Indigo is looking forward to becoming a full-time waitress after high school graduation, but her life is turned upside down by a large check given to her by a customer who appreciates that she cares enough to scold him about smoking.
Shan, Darren
Demonata Series
2008
Presumably the only witness to the horrific and bloody murder of his entire family, a teenage boy must outwit not only the mental health professionals determined to cure his delusion, but also the demonic forces only he can see.
Young, Karen Romano
Cobwebs
2004
Sixteen-year-old Nancy enjoys the colorful ethnic mix of her heritage in several different Brooklyn households, not suspecting how very strange that heritage is.
See, Lisa
Snow Flowers & The Secret Fan
2005
Friends Snow Flower and Lily find solace in their bond as they face isolation, arranged marriages, loss, and motherhood in nineteenth-century China.
Brooks, Kevin
Candy
2006
Joe, an English boy from the right side of the tracks, is poised to get everything he has ever wanted, but he risks it all when he falls for Candy, and is drawn into her seedy, dangerous world.
Zulkey, Claire
An Off Year
2009
Upon arriving at her dorm room, eighteen-year-old Cecily decides to postpone her freshman year of college and return to her Chicago home, where she spends time thinking about her options and what she really wants to do with her life.
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PWCS Twelfth Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also acceptable.
Author Title Pub. Date Annotation
Grant, Michael
Gone & Hunger
2012
In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.
Farmer, Nancy
House of the Scorpion
2002
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Meyers, Stephanie
Twilight Series
2005
Seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, where she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.
Stockett, Kathryn
The Help
2009
Skeeter returns home to Mississippi from college in 1962 and begins to write stories about the African-American women that are found working in white households, which includes Aibileen, who grieves for the loss of her son while caring for her seventeenth white child, and Minny, Aibileen's sassy friend, the hired cook for a secretive woman who is new to town.
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Stolarz, Laurie Faria
Blue is
Nightmare Series
2003
Sixteen-year-old hereditary witch Stacey Brown has nightmares of her roommate being murdered and hopes that her magic will be enough to protect Drea--unlike the last person whose death Stacey dreamed.
Lynch, Chris Inexcusable 2007
High school senior and football player Keir analyzes how his bad boy behavior has been accepted but has led to violence and an accusation of rape on graduation night.
McEwan, Ian Atonement 2003
Imaginative thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis, misinterpreting a scene between her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, the housekeeper's son, later accuses Robbie of a crime she has no proof he committed and spends years trying to atone for her actions.
Oliver, Lauren Before I Fall 2010
After she dies in a car crash, teenage Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again until, on the seventh day, she finally discovers a way to save herself.
Griffin, Paul The Orange
Houses 2009
Tamika, a fifteen-year-old hearing-impaired girl, Jimmi, an eighteen-year-old veteran who stopped taking his antipsychotic medication, and sixteen-year-old Fatima, an illegal immigrant from Africa, meet and connect in their Bronx, New York, neighborhood, with devastating results.
Walls, Jeannette The Glass
Castle 2006
This memoir revolves around her parents, who give the concept of bad parenting a whole new meaning. They virtually ignored their four kids, except when they were giving them shoplifting lessons or stealing their money for alcohol.
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Levithan, David Every Day 2012
Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.
Hosseini, Khaled A Thousand
Splendid Suns 2008
Afghan women Mariam and Laila grow close, despite their nearly twenty-year age difference and initial rivalry, as they suffer at the hands of a common enemy--their abusive, much-older husband, Rasheed.
Marr, Melissa Wicked Lovely
Series
2008 Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see fairies, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle by Keenan, the terrifying but alluring Summer King, who determines that she must become his queen and save summer from perishing.
Stork, Francisco X.
Marcelo in the Real World
2011
Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm.