Prep Talk
What’s on Your Teen’s Summer Reading List?
Posted June 14th, 2016
Does your teen love to read, or is it like pulling hens’ teeth to get them to crack a book (or a Kindle) during the summer? The Prep sent out its reading suggestions for classes earlier this year, which are outlined below:
St. Augustine Preparatory School Summer Reading 2016-2017
Class of 2020
Read one of the following: The Hunter by Richard Stark; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams
Honors Comp. & Lit. Students: Read both The Hunter (R. Stark) and Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Class of 2019
Honors American Literature and American Literature Students, read one of the following:
Golden Buddha by Clive Cussler, The Amulet of Samarkand (The Barimaeus Trilolgy-Book 1) by Jonathan Stroud, or The Getaway by Jim Thompson
Class of 2018
Read both books: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor, and The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Students are urged to take notes as they read the books on this reading list. Yes, it sounds like work, but it will help them retain the content better for class discussion. We also suggest looking beyond this list, and using the summer break to take in one or two additional titles just for fun. However, if your child is less-than-excited about choosing a book to read for fun, one way to motivate them might be to select some of the books upon which new movie releases are based. Challenge them to read the book before seeing the movie—and discuss with you the differences between the two (no notes required).
Not sure what topic your child might be interested in for this exercise? Teen NY’s Facebook page has some interesting summer reading lists worth checking out, including this link to 8 teen novels that are (or already have been) made into movies in 2016: https://media.bookbub.com/blog/2015/12/28/8-teen-novels-hitting-big-screen-2016/.
If your child leans toward the sciences, Bill Gates reveals his top picks here in this video as well. There are some great ones on scientific topics, human history, advancements in mathematics and even a cool science fiction novel that will make you think.
For those who love literature, Greatschools.org came up with a list of 101 books for college-bound students. You’ll find many of the classics here. Some your child may have already read, but we’re sure there are some gems in here that may not have been explored yet.
Think the classics might be too boring? In an article in U.S. News and World Report , the president of the Young Adult Library Services Association, Chris Shoemaker, suggests that teachers and parents find ways to connect the works to teen’s lives. Here again, movie adaptations can be helpful.
“For example,” Shoemaker states, “A student might not be excited about Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ but he or she might get excited about the 1999 modernization of the story in the film ‘10 Things I Hate About You.’”
While many students today prefer video content over reading, not every book is available in that format. However, most are available in audio. Virtually all of the titles in the Prep’s reading list are available on Amazon in Kindle’s “Audible Narration” format, which you can try out with a free trial of Whispersync for Voice. So even if your child really hates to read, there are other options to encourage them to pick it up.
Lots of things are going on in the summer, so making time to read may not be high on your teen’s priority list. However, being well read is an accomplishment that pays dividends well beyond high school and college. Help your child build that skill by encouraging them to make (and stick to) a reading list of books on topics they find interesting and making sure they have time dedicated to reading (or listening) at least a few hours a week. Summer is short—let’s make the most of it getting started early!