What to read next

2023 summer reading

Middle school summer reading
High school summer reading

High school summer reading

Our Summer Reading Program exists to promote the joy of reading, foster community, and extend the high school curriculum (which includes many classic and contemporary texts).

Grade 9:
Incoming Grade 9 students should read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. In addition, students should read a second novel or narrative nonfiction* book of their choice. We encourage students to consult this list of suggested titles and faculty and student recommendations, compiled by ASL’s Mellon Library.

Copies of The House on Mango Street will be available at ASL during the last week of classes in June. If students are unable to obtain a copy, they are welcome to procure their own (paperback preferred), or families can contact Karen Field or Christopher Moore if they would like to discuss free options for digital and e-texts.

Students should procure their independent reading book on their own.

In the opening days and weeks of the school year, we will be discussing The House on Mango Street and writing pieces of our own inspired by the text. This summer, while reading The House on Mango Street, students are encouraged to annotate their copies or make notes separately about lines and vignettes (short chapters) that they love; and lines and vignettes that are especially powerful for them. These annotations/notes will aid students’ participation in discussions during the first few weeks of the school year.

Students will also share reactions and passages from their independent reading books. While annotation is not required for their independently chosen book, students should be prepared to talk about elements of the text that were most meaningful or memorable to them.

*Narrative nonfiction refers to nonfiction that follows a storyline as opposed to an argument. Some high school level examples of narrative nonfiction include Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo and The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Books like Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink or Simon Kuper’s Soccernomics would not be suitable because they are focused on argument, data, and analysis.

Grade 10:

Incoming Grade 10 students should seek out a trusted teacher or faculty/staff member they know well, and then ask that adult for a personalized book recommendation. It can be a teacher in any subject, or even in any division at the school. It might also be an advisor, dean, or coach. It should be someone with whom you keep in contact, someone who will be able to recommend a good book for you. Students should ask for this recommendation before the end of the 2023-2023 school year, and the book should be something the student has not previously read. It can be fiction or nonfiction; what matters most is that it’s a good fit. Over the summer, students should procure the book and read it thoughtfully.

When classes resume in the fall, students will write about their reading experience to the adult who recommended the book.

New ASL students are welcome to ask a teacher or faculty member from their current school for a book recommendation. Please feel free to email Christopher Moore with any questions.

In addition, students are asked to read at least one other book of their own choice over the summer. Please consult the list still to come of suggested titles and faculty and student recommendations, compiled by ASL’s Mellon Library.

Grades 11 and 12:

We encourage all students to read extensively throughout the summer. We hope you will enjoy a few of the suggested titles on the ASL Mellon Library’s list of books recommended by faculty and students. Or, come up with selections of your own.