Summer Reading

MMS Summer Reading

Requirements

Students must read the designated text for their grade level (linked below) and at least two additional book selections of their choosing. There is no summer writing assignment that goes along with these readings; all summer reading tasks and activities will be assigned once the new school year begins.

6th grade (English A & English B)

7th grade

8th grade

If you are a rising eighth-grader, you are expected to read one (1) title from grade eight's collection of genres over the summer, as well as two (2) other titles of your choosing.

You are strongly encouraged to read a title below that speaks to you and your reading tastes.

Here are four titles-- books that represent some of the genres we will explore in grade eight-- that will serve as the first of your three summer reading texts:

The Testing (Joelle Charbonneau, Dystopian Fiction)
Chains (Laurie Halse Anderson, Historical Fiction)
Craig & Fred, Young Reader’s Edition (Craig Grossi, Memoir)
Unbroken, Young Reader's Edition (Laura Hillenbrand, Literary Nonfiction)

In addition, please choose two other texts in any style, genre, or level to round out your summer reading. If you need help in making selections, please consider consulting with the teen librarians at the Darien Library, the Middlesex library, your English teacher(s), or by utilizing online resources.

DHS Summer Reading

Requirements

All DHS students are expected to engage in summer reading for their English courses. For some courses, such as English 9 Honors, a single book is required (All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr). The department's other honors and AP offerings have specific titles as well as assignments, assessments, and units devoted to them. (Access the links below for books and assignments.) For other courses, students are expected to choose a book within a given genre. (Access the links below for the genres for each of the 300-level English courses.) NOTE: For advanced courses (honors/AP) with a single-book summer reading assignment, students should be prepared for an assessment on that book on the first day of school.

English 9 300

Honors 9

English 10

Grade 10 Summer Reading

(Summer 2026)

If you are a rising sophomore enrolled in English 10, you are expected to read one work of world literature over the summer. (Fiction is preferred; memoir is fine.) By “world literature,” you are asked to make a selection from which you will learn about “non-Western” cultures and explore varied, diverse perspectives.

You are strongly encouraged to read a book that speaks to you and your reading tastes. If you need help in making a selection, please consider consulting with the teen librarians at the Darien Public Library, using online resources, or investigating one of the titles listed below.

As you read your book, consider the following questions:

From whose perspective is the story told?
Are there any biases, either from the narrator’s point of view or the author’s? What shapes these biases?
In what ways does the story offer opportunities to see the world differently?

Please remember that in the summer you only need to read the book! In the fall, one of your first assessments will be based on this reading.

Here are eight titles, books that would work well as your summer reading choice, that the teachers of English 10 love:

Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimimanda Adichie)
Forgotten Fire (Adam Bagdasarian)
The Bandit Queens (Parini Shroff)
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
Q & A (Vikas Swarup)
The Light Between Oceans (M.L. Steadman)
Yellowface (R.F. Kuang)

English 10 Honors

American Literature STUDIES

Grade 11 Summer Reading

(Summer 2026)

If you are a rising junior enrolled in 300 American Literature, you will be studying American Literature alongside American history next fall, exploring time periods and topics at the same time in each class. So, to prepare you for thinking about the intersection of history and literature, we ask that you read one work of American historical fiction over the summer.

You want to find a novel that is historical (set in the actual past) but fiction (mostly invented by the writer). A great historical fiction novel transports you back in time!

The list below includes examples of well-regarded historical fiction set in America's past. You should feel free to choose one from the list, but you may want to find a book set in a time period in American history that interests you. Do you want to know more about Civil Rights? More about the Space Race? More about Westward Expansion? The librarians at school and at the Darien Public Litrary will have plenty of suggestions for you!

Please remember that during the summer you need only to read the books! In the fall, your teacher will provide you with specific assignments and activities.

Here are ten titles of novels that would work well as your American historical fiction choice that have been suggested by our teachers:

Manhattan Beach (Jennifer Egan)
The Round House (Louise Erdrich)
Dreaming in Cuban (Cristina Garcia)
Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson)
American Marriage (Tayari Jones)
Angels Down (Daniel Kraus)
The Summer Wives (Beatriz Williams)
The Plot Against America (Philip Roth)
Citizens Creek (Lalita Tademy)
Rules of Civility (Amor Towles)

American Literature STAND-ALONE

Grade 11 American Literature (Stand-Alone Course)

Summer Reading 2026

If you are a rising junior enrolled in 300 American Literature and APUSH, please review the list below and select one of the contemporary, carefully curated, award-winning works of American fiction and non-fiction. While you read, please be mindful of the themes present as they correlate well with the fiction we will be reading throughout the year.

The Idiot (Elif Batuman)
Headshot (Rita Bullwinkel)
Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler)
The Wilderness (Angela Flournoy)
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Amusing Ourselves to Death (Neil Postman)
Colored Television (Danzy Senna)
Uncanny Valley (Memoir) (Anna Wiener)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin)

AP English Language and Composition 11

Grade 12 Summer Reading (Capstone & 300 Level Choice Courses)

AP English Language and Composition 12

Darien High School English Department

AP English Language and Composition-Grade 12

Summer Reading Assignment 2026-2027

Congratulations on your decision to take the senior AP Language and Composition class. If you would like additional information on the Advanced Placement program, check this page of the College Board website.

To prepare for the course over the summer, please complete the following:

Read Thank You for Arguing (Jay Heinrichs, 2013). We suggest purchasing your own copy to annotate, as we will frequently refer to this text throughout the course. As you read, select 5 rhetorical strategies, methods, or ideas that Heinrichs addresses in the text (from a variety of chapters) that surprise you about argument, and help to reshape your thinking about argument. In about 100 words each (separate out each strategy and do not combine into one essay), explain why you found the strategy or idea compelling and describe an instance where you might use the ideas in the future. You may quote directly from the text, but do not copy and paste a quote- type it out. Avoid simply restating the meaning of the strategy. Be sure to follow MLA guidelines for formatting and citations. Trust your ability and skills in thinking and writing and avoid the temptation to use artificial intelligence to replace your own thoughts and ideas.

Read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (2009). Take notes as you read and focus on:
1. the claims Eggers makes in each section.
2. examples of bias Eggers has TOWARDS or AGAINST Zeitoun, Kathy, the New Orleans police department, the United States government, or another subject.
3. Proof of Eggers’ primary and secondary audience.
4. Eggers’ primary call to action.
5. Rhetorical choices Eggers’ makes to further his claims about the subjects listed in “b”. Refer to rhetorical choices discussed in Thank You for Arguing for inspiration.

Before the first day of class: Please share the google doc (in your DHS google account) of your writing process for Thank You for Arguing with me (jrecord@darienps.org) and give me editing rights. Your doc should reflect an authentic, humanistic development of writing, revision, and typing. Do not copy and paste anything. This will be a requirement for every writing assignment for the year.

On the first day of class: Bring your typed, printed responses to Thank You for Arguing to class for submission. Be sure to staple your work. Only submissions collected on the first day of class can receive full credit.

During the first day of class, you should expect an in-class written assessment on Zeitoun that will be the first major grade of the quarter. You will not be allowed to use your book nor your notes during the assessment.

Email Mrs. Record (jrecord@darienps.org) with any questions or concerns.

AP English Literature and Composition

Welcome to AP Lit and Composition!

We are looking forward to reading lots of great literature together and writing frequently as a means of interpreting what we read. If you choose to take this course, you must be willing to do the reading assigned and be open to developing your own interpretations of the texts we study. To that end DO NOT GOOGLE ANYTHING. Trust yourself. Trust the process.

We believe that language sustains us. So, we will spend the year looking at language and how it works to convey meaning. We hope that this experience will be challenging and fulfilling.

For your summer assignment, you will read Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf (including Heaney’s introduction) AND one of the novels from the AP Lit 2026 Summer Reading list.

Assignment:

As you read both Beowulf AND the novel you have chosen, please post-it note the following:

—3 moments that are central to the meaning of the work as a whole. These scenes or moments will be a few paragraphs/stanzas to 1-2 pages long; it makes sense to select these passages from different parts of the work. They should speak to you and to one another.

—3 lines/sentences that are quotable, memorable (unforgettable?!)

—3 words or word combinations that reflect the tone, style, feeling and meaning of the work

You will have 9 post-it notes for each book and 18 post-it notes in total! Jot some words on the notes that will remind you of the significance of your choices.

Included in this document are a one-page reading guide to consider as you begin Beowulf as well as some examples of the kind of moments, lines/sentences, and words/word combinations you might select for your post-it notes.

Beowulf Reading Guide

At the beginning of the English tradition is Beowulf, an epic poem, which we are asking you to read. The Anglo-Saxons having no tv, turned on the “scop” or the poet and listened to him recite a story. Since the listening warriors or “thanes” also were having several cups of mead, the story had to be good. So, read away! The story itself isn’t really hard; however, the names can get confusing.

Here are the big players:

Hrothgar: King of the Danes (Denmark)

Wealtheow: Queen of the Danes, wife of Hrothgar

Heorot: the hall that Hrothgar builds for his faithful warriors

Grendel: Monster who comes to Heorot from the moors (foggy, dark, heather filled place)

Beowulf: Geat warrior who comes to help out old Hrothgar

Unferth: a foil to Beowulf (check out how ugly he gets after the mead!!)

Wiglaf: loyal thane to Beowulf

Background

Like The Odyssey, Beowulf was likely passed down through the oral tradition.
The poem was first recorded between 800-1000 AD in what we now call “Old English.”
The author, referred to as “The Beowulf Poet” was a Christian living in what is now England, writing about pagan Anglo Saxons in the area now known as Denmark and Sweden (so expect the poem to be a bit “random” talking about gods and God)
Heroic narrative detailing the life of an Anglo Saxon leader.
The Anglo-Saxons are language lovers. See on the first page that the poet uses this compound word—whale road— which is a kenning, a metaphorical compound used in place of a noun. These kennings are part of the fabric of our language. I’m certain that you have heard of these: Sky tears: rain. Angel’s bowling: thunder. People mover: car

Features of the Seamus Heaney translation:

Italicized portions indicate digressions from the main story—don’t get too hung up on figuring out the connections…these are the side conversations that come up at the dinner table—giving context or straying at times. Just enjoy these.
Feel free to read Heaney’s introduction before or after you read the poem (or possibly before and after), but make sure to read it.

Examples of Post It selections

Consider these examples from The Great Gatsby. Hopefully, seeing these examples will help you to re-capture the essence of the novel and what makes it work. You should try to do the same with your choices.

—3 moments in the novel that are central to the meaning of the work as a whole. These scenes or moments will be a few paragraphs to 1-2 pages long; it makes sense to select these passages from different parts of the work. They should speak to you and to one another.

Nick in Daisy’s living room meeting Tom and Jordan (chapter 1)
Gatsby and Daisy reunited (chapter 5)
Tom and Daisy sitting at the table with Tom’s hand covering Daisy’s on the night of the car accident (chapter 8)
Gastby’s “schedule” in the fly leaf of the book (chapter 9)

—3 lines/sentences in the novel that are quotable, memorable (unforgettable?!)

“Her voice is full of money.”
“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…”