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Summer Reading Program

On behalf of the Hinsdale Central English department, I would like to introduce you to the 2023 Summer Reading Program. Our hope is that students can take some time over the summer to recapture the pleasure of losing themselves in a book.  

We encourage students to read one book of their choice from the designated level, and, if inspired, keep reading from all the lists. When school starts in the fall, students should expect to take a survey in class about their summer reading experience.  

If you have any questions, please contact David Lange, English Department Chair, at dlange@hinsdale86.org.  If you’re interested in learning about the benefits of reading for pleasure, check out this great research summary here.  Thank you and happy reading.

9th Grade Titles

 

The Running Dream

Wendelin Van Draanen

The Henna Artist 

Alka Joshi

I Must Betray You

Ruta Sepetys

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Laura Hillenbrand

Unsouled

Will Wight

Concrete Rose

Angie Thomas

Slay

Brittney Morris

Burn Baby Burn

Meg Medina

The Great Alone

Kristin Hannah

We Are Not From Here

Jenny Torres Sanchez

 

10th Grade Titles

 

The Poet X

Elizabeth Acevedo

The Children of Blood and Bone

Tomi Adeyemi

The Nightingale

Kristin Hannah

You Will Know Me

Megan Abbott

Beautiful Country

Qian Wang

All We Have Left

Wendy Mills

A Place for Us

Fatima Farheen Mirza

Call Us What We Carry

Amanda Gorman

Dry

Neil Shusterman

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Erika L. Sanchez

 

11th Grade Titles

 

Kindred

Octavia E. Butler

The Storyteller

Dave Grohl

The Lincoln Highway

Amor Towles

Such a Fun Age

Kiley Reid

The Book of Unknown Americans

Cristina Henriquez

Punching the Air

Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam

How the Word Is Passed

Clint Smith

Loneliest Americans

Jay Caspian Kang

Almost American Girl

Robin Ha

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry

Paula Yoo

 

12th Grade Titles

 

Talking to Strangers

Malcolm Gladwell

The Energy Bus

Jon Gordon

Founders

Jimi Soni

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennet

Homegoing

Yaa Gyasi

Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner

Quiet

Susan Cain

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

Williams Isaacson

Sea of Tranquility

Emily St. John Mandel

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

Jon Krakauer