Summer Reading List for Teens

[abeaman]

What books are you including on your summer reading list for your students? How do you decide what makes the cut? I have a standard list that's a mix of YA titles, adult fiction and classics that I update every year. This year a few titles I added include:
The Nature of Jade by Deb Coletti
Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon
Played by Dana Davidson
Cupcake by Rachel Cohn
The Meq by Steve Cash
This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn by Aidan Chambers
Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis by Pete Nelson
Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde

I've attached the entire list, if you're interested. What titles would you add?

[bmayer]

I would add:
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
Anything by Francesca Lia Block
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Series
"Nausiccaa" Manga by Hayao MIYAZAKI
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco
"Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes" by Chris Crutcher

[Mae-Lynn Smith]

We (the English department, literacy coach, and I) are at the end of three-week long conversation to create this year's list. As I was just saying a few hours ago, my perspective as a librarian is not the same as the teachers', and I tend to lean towards books that may be easier to read but more compelling to the mind. One teacher in particluar was clinging to published book lists, insisting that every title be a Printz winner or a YALSA Quick Pick. I also continually check price and format availabilty, as titles in paperback are more accessible to our families.

One area I focused my energy on was the 10th grade fiction title, which had to fit the theme of heroism. I had to give up on "Martyn Pig" by Kevin Brooks since the offcial reading level was rather low. In this story, Martyn is the antihero, who acts cowardly in a time of crisis and finds himself thoroughly powerless by stories end. Instead, I was able to convince my colleagues to use "Rash" by Pete Hautman. There are many heroes in this story, both larger-than-life and everyday, as the characters manauver an overcommercialized future dystopia. Both titles are fun to read, leave an impression, and are probably not going to be the "must teach" title in English classes anytime soon.

[C]

I too create lists from a variety of places including other library's summer reading, suggestions from teachers, student's favorites, and some of my own choices. I make a list for each grade. I have attached the lists if anyone is interested.

[C]

Just the senior list left.

[Jeri Hurd]

These are all great:

Shabanu, Suzanne Staples
My Sister's Keeper Jodi Picoult
Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
Tangerine, Edward Bloor
Looking for Alaska, John Green
Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, McCall-Smith
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

[Bonnie Hauser]

This may be an old discussion thread, but it is that time of year again. The summer reading list we produce in my library is created by suggestions from students and staff. When I return to work next week after spring break, I will begin soliciting suggestions. In May, I compile the list including a brief description of each book (from our online catalog), the student or staff member who suggested it (if a name was given) and post it on the website and make a few paper copies to hand out. I also forward it to the middle schools who feed into our school, and the local public library branches that serve our students. This way the list is generally pretty current, but there are always a few classics added because someone has just rediscovered it. This method also makes for a very diverse list with something for every reader.

[bj neary]

Each year we add new titles that we have read during the year, Reading Olympic titles and titles from favorite authors found in Booklist and SLJ.