BOOK LIST - FRESHMEN

Abbey, Edward.  The Monkey Wrench Gang, 1975

(mature readers).  Throughout the America West bridges, dams, and concrete are destroying the natural environment.  A burned-out veteran, a mad doctor, a sexy revolutionary, and a polygamist outdoorsman have joined forces to dismantle the machinery of progress through peaceful means-or otherwise.

 

Alcott, Louisa May.  Little Women, 1868 (freshmen only). 

The touching story of four sisters growing up in New England while their father is away during the Civil War.  The girls' stories continue in Little Men and Jo's Boys. 

 

Allende, Isabel.  House of the Spirits, 1993.  The epic story of the passionate Trueba family in South America.   

 

Allison, Dorothy.  Bastard Out of Carolina, 1992.  (for mature readers)

Ruth Anne Boatwright ("Bone") confronts poverty, the troubled marriage of her mother and stepfather, and the stigma of being considered "white trash" as she comes of age in South Carolina.  

 

Alvarez, Julia.  How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, 1991.  Fifteen interconnected stories portray the immigrant experience with humor and insight as the four Garcia sisters and their family come to America in 1960 from the Dominican Republic. 

 

Anaya, Rudolfo.  Bless Me, Ultima, 1972.  Ultima, a wise old mystic, helps a young Hispanic boy resolve personal dilemmas caused by the differing backgrounds and aspirations of his parents and society.

 

Anderson, Laurie Halse.  Catalyst, 2002 (freshmen only).  Senior Kate Malone, straight-A student and science geek, has it all together until a series of events turns her world upside-down.  Set in the same town as Anderson's earlier book, Speak.

 

Angelou, Maya.  Why the Caged Bird Sings. 

 

Anonymous.  Go Ask Alice. 

 

Armstrong, Lance.  It's Not About the Bike.   

 

Asimov, Isaac.  Foundation, 1952.  The fall of the Galactic Empire impels a group of pyschohistorians to establish a hidden foundation for the development of a new society.  

 

Austen, Jane.  Pride and Prejudice, 1813.  "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife."  This witty comedy of manners explores the intricacies of courtship in 18th-century England.    

 

Baldwin, James.  If Beale Street Could Talk, 1974.  Twenty-two-year-old Fonny, wrongly imprisoned for rape, and 19-year-old Tish, pregnant with his child, support each other in the struggle against injustice and racial oppression in Harlem.  Also Go Tell It on the Mountain. 

 

Block, Francesca Lia.  All books (especially the Weetzie Bat series)

 

Bradbury, Ray.  The Martian Chronicles, 1950.  Chronicles the early attempts by humans to colonize an inhabited Mars by transforming the Red planet into a mirror image of the world they left behind.  

 

Bronte, Charlotte.  Jane Eyre, 1847.  Jane Eyre, a penniless English orphan, is engaged as a governess at Thornfield Hall by the mysterious Mr. Rochester. 

 

Bronte, Emily.  Wuthering Heights, 1847.  Passion, hate, and revenge abound in the turbulent story of Heathcliff and Catherine's obsessive love, set in the rugged moors to the north of England. 

 

Buck, Pearl. The Good Earth, 1931 (Pulitzer Prize).  The story of a Chinese peasant and his passionate, dogged accumulation of land during famine, drought, and revolution. 

 

Capote, Truman.  In Cold Blood.        

 

Card, Orson Scott.  Ender's Game, 1985.  In a world decimated by alien attacks, the government trains young geniuses like Ender Wiggin in military strategy with increasingly complex computer games.  Sequels are: Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon.    

 

Carroll, Lewis.  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, 1865.  Alice falls down a rabbit-hole and enters the whimsical nonsensical world of the Queen of Hearts, Cheshire cat, and Mat Hatter. 

 

Cather, Willa.  My Antonia, 1918.  A New York lawyer remembers his boyhood in Nebraska and his friendship with a simple Bohemian girl.

 

Chabon, Michael.  The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. Two Jewish cousins create a new superhero comic book series in WWII.    

 

Chandler, Raymond.  The Big Sleep, 1939.  When a dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than just extortion. 

 

Conroy, Pat.  The Great Santini, 1976.  Bull Meecham is all Marine--fighter pilot and the absolute ruler of his family.  Ben, the oldest son, struggles to stand up to his father, who never thinks his best is good enough. 

 

Cooper, James F.  The Last of the Mohicans, 1826.  Deep in the forests of upper New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye and his loyal Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas become embroiled in the bloody battles of the French and Indian War.   

 

Cormier, Robert.  The Chocolate War

 

Crane, Stephen.  The Red Badge of Courage, 1895.  During his service in the Civil War, a young Union soldier matures to manhood and finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war.

 

Craven, Margaret.  I Heard the Owl Call My Name, 1973.  Heartwarming novel about a young minister with two years to live who learns about the meaning of life when he is sent to an Indian parish in British Columbia.

 

Crichton, Michael.  Andromeda Strain, 1969.  Biological warfare kills the residents of a small American town.  A team of superscientists tries to isolate the deadly strain of virus from outer space.     

 

Defoe, Daniel.  Robinson Crusoe, 1719.  Robinson Crusoe, shipwrecked and marooned on a desert island, must rely on his wits to survive in this exotic tale of travel and adventure. 

 

Dickens, Charles.  A Tale of Two Cities, 1859.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"  The release of a prisoner from the Bastille during the French Revolution leads to the execution of an innocent Englishman.  Also Oliver Twist and David Copperfield. 

 

Dorris, Michael.  A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, 1987.  The powerful story of three generations of women: 15-year old Rayona, half Native American, half Black; her American Indian mother Christine; and the fierce and mysterious grandmother Ida whose haunting secrets echo silently through the years. 

 

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan.  Hound of the Bakservilles, 1902.  Sherlock Holms and Dr. Watson are faced with a terrifying mystery: Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead, and the footprints of a giant devil-beast said to haunt the lonely moors around the Baskerville ancestral home at night have been found near the body. 

 

Dumas, Alexandre.  The Count of Monte Cristo, 1888.  Sentenced to life for a crime he did not commit, Dantes escapes and is determined to exact revenge from his enemies.  Also The Three Musketeers.  

 

Esquivel, Laura.  Like Water for Chocolate, 1992.  In well-born Mexican families tradition dictates that the youngest daughter not marry, but remains at home to care for her mother.  Even though Tita has fallen in love, Mama chooses not to make an exception, and, instead, arranges for Tita's older sister to marry Tita's young man.  When Tita weeps bitter tears into the wedding cake batter, a remarkable reaction is provoked among the guests, and it becomes apparent that Tita's culinary talents are unique. 

 

Flagg, Fannie.  Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, 1987.  Cleo Threadgood and Evelyn Couch meet in the visitors' lounge of an Alabama nursing home, and before long, 86-year old Cleo is sharing her memories of Whistle Stop during the Great Depression.  Cleo's memories include hungry hobos, the Ku Klux Klan, a murder, and a special type of love. 

 

Frazier, Charles.  Cold Mountain, 1997.  Inman, a wounded Civil War soldier, endures the elements, The Guard, and his own weakness and infirmity to return to his sweetheart Ada, who is fighting her own battle to survive while farming the mountainous North Carolina terrain. 

 

Gaines, Ernest.  A Lesson Before Dying, 1993.  In a small Cajun community in the late 40s a young retarded black man is wrongly convicted of murder and condemned to death.  Also A Gathering of Old Men.

 

Golden, Arthur.  Memoirs of a Geisha, 1997.  Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who was taken from her home at the age of 9 and sold into slavery, recounts the secret training and life of a geisha in the early 20^th century.    

 

Goldman, William.  The Princess Bride, 1974.  In this fairytale / adventure Westley, a farm boy, goes off to seek his fortune shortly after declaring his love for the beautiful Buttercup.  Their relationship is put to the test when pirates capture his ship, and she is summoned to become the bride of the prince.

 

Green, Hannah.  I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, 1964.  A 16-year old schizophrenic girl struggles to leave her private fantasy world with the aid of a sympathetic psychiatrist who helps her accept the challenges of life. 

 

Greene, Bette.  The Summer of My German Soldier, 1973 (freshman only).  Sheltering an escaped German prisoner of war is the beginning of some shattering experiences for a 12-year old Jewish girl in Arkansas.

 

Grisham, John.  The Firm and The Client

 

Guterson, David.  Snow falling on Cedars, 1994.  In 1954 the murder of a local fisherman on an isolated island in Puget Sound stirs up memories of WWII and the internment of the island's Japanese population.  Ishmael Chambers is the reporter who covers the story of the accused, a man who married the Japanese girl Ishmael once loved.

 

Hammett, Dashiell.  The Maltese Falcon, 1929.  Private eye Sam Spade meets up with a drifter named Joel Cairo, a fat man named Gutman, and a beautiful but treacherous woman named Brigid O'Shaughnessy in trying to solve the mystery of his partner's death and the disappearance of a black falcon statue. 

 

Herbert, Frank.  Dune, 1965.  Young Paul Atreides, trained from birth in desert discipline, becomes the prophet Maud Dib, who leads the savage Fremen of Dune against the Empire.  First novel in a series.

 

Hesse, Hermann.  Siddhartha, 1951.  Siddhartha leaves his Brahmin family on a quest that takes him on a kaleidoscope of experiences before ultimately finding peace and tranquility.

 

Irving, John.  A Prayer for Owen Meany, 1989.   Johnny Wheelwright tells the story of the adolescent Owen, who accidentally kills Johnny's mother with a foul ball.  Owen believes he is an "instrument of God" and convinces Johnny of this idea.  Also The Cider House Rules.

 

Jordan, Robert.  The Eye of the World.

 

Kaysen, Susanna.  Girl Interrupted. 

 

Kerouac, Jack.  On the Road, 1957.  The book that defined the Beat Generation of the 50s.  Sal Paradise recounts his travels throughout North America in search of belief and meaning.

 

Kidd, Sue Monk.  The Secret Life of Bees, 2002.  Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.  With her black "stand-in-mother" Rosaleen, she begins a journey to discover the secret to her mother's past.

 

King, Stephen.  The Green Mile and Different Seasons. 

 

Kingsolver, Barbara.  The Bean Trees, 1989.  An abused Cherokee child becomes the ward of a young Southern girl who winds up in Tucson working for the God Is Love Tire Company, whose owner takes in refugees from El Salvador.  She learns many lessons about justice and friendship as she takes responsibility for the little girl she calls Turtle.  Their story is continued in Pigs in Heaven.  Also by Kingsolver, Animal Dreams.

 

Kingston, Maxine Hong.  Woman Warrior. 

 

Kinsella, W.P. Shoeless Joe, 1982.  A novel about myth, magic, the power of dreams, and baseball.  From the first time Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice whisper, "If you build it, he will come," his life is changed forever.

 

Knowles, John.  A Separate Peace, 1959.  In a New Hampshire boarding school during WWII, Gene causes an accident that cripples his handsome daredevil friend Finny.  Much later, Gene faces the ambivalence and rivalry in their friendship.

 

Lee, Gus.  China Boy, 1991.  A young Chinese-American boy loses his protective mother, whose ambition was for him to become a true Chinese scholar, then has to deal with an Anglo stepmother who would prefer him out of the picture and street bullies in his mostly Black neighborhood of San Francisco.  He reconciles the demands of the cultures impacting him with the help of his boxing instructors at the Y and a friendly neighborhood Chicano mechanic.

 

Leroux, Gaston.  Phantom of the Opera, 1911.  He lurks in the shadows of the Paris Opera House - a man with the voice of an angel but the face of a monster.  His only hope for love is a beautiful soprano.

 

Letts, Billie.  Where the Heart Is, 1995.  Pregnant, and abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart, Novalee Nation proves to be the ultimate survivor of poverty, bad relationships, and her own bad luck.  In a small Oklahoma town she finds friends, builds her trust in human nature, and renews her spirit.

 

London, Jack.  White Fang, 1906.  A classic adventure tale that tells the story of a ferocious and magnificent creature, half-dog and half-wolf, who is born in the Artic wilderness but eventually is brought into human society.

 

Maguire, Gregory.  Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, 1999.  Retelling of the Cinderella story, set in 18^th century Holland.  Also Wicked.

 

Markandaya, Kamala.  Nectar in a Sieve, 1954.  Natural disasters, an arranged marriage, and industrialization of her village are the challenges that a young girl, Rukmani, must face as the 12-year-old bride of a peasant farmer in southern India.

 

Mason, Bobbie Ann.  In Country, 1985.  After her father is killed in the Vietnam War, Sam Hughes lives with an uncle whom she suspects suffers from the effects of Agent Orange, and struggles to come to terms with the war's impact on her family.

 

McCunn, Ruthanne Lum.  1000 Pieces of Gold, 1988.  From Shanghai to San Francisco, Lalu Nathoy's courageous journey is the fascinating story of Chinese-American women who overcomes poverty, footbinding, and slavery to build a life of relative freedom on the frontier of the American Northwest.

 

McKinley, Robin.  Beauty, Rose Daughter, The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, Spindle's End, Deerskin

 

Mitchell, Margaret.  Gone with the Wind, 1936 (Pulitzer Prize).  An epic story filled with unforgettable characters and set against the backdrop of the Civil War and Reconstruction era.  Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled and selfish daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, sees her old life swept away.  After the fall of Atlanta she returns to the plantation, and by stubborn shrewdness saves her home and vows never to be hungry again.

 

Mori, Kyoko.  Shizuko's Daughter (freshman only), 1993.  In the years following her mother's suicide, 12-year old Yuki develops the inner strength to cope with her distant father, her resentful stepmother, and her haunting, painful memories.

 

Momaday, N. Scott.  House Made of Dawn (Pulitzer Prize, 1969).  The story of a young Native American named Abel, home from a foreign war and caught between the world of his father, with the rhythm of the seasons and the harsh beauty of the land, and the world of industrial America.

 

Myers, Walter Dean.  Fallen Angles, 1968.  17-year old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam.

 

Myers, Walter Dean.  Monster, 1999 (freshmen only; due to format, counts as 1/2 number of pages).  "Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie….I have seen movies of prisons but never one like this"  A riveting courtroom drama of a 16-year old African-American on trail for murder who is wrestling with his conscience.

 

Nix, Garth.  Sabriel. 

 

Orwell, George.  Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949.  Futuristic novel that depicts the grim existence of people living in the capital of an English-speaking totalitarian state in 1984 (35 years in the future from when the novel was written).  Having committed the crime of defying the system and falling in love, a young man and women are arrested and subjected to mental and physical tortures by ruthless party leaders.

 

Paton, Alan.  Cry, the Beloved Country, 1948.  Accused of murdering a white man, a young black South African turns to his minister father and a white attorney for help, but the racial problems of the country prevent justice from being served.

 

Plath, Sylvia.  The Bell Jar, 1963.  A semiautobiographical novel about a young girl-brilliant, beautiful, and successful but slowly breaking down-written by a famous poet who committed suicide later in life.

 

Potok, Chaim.  The Chosen, 1967.  A relationship that starts in the fierce rivalry of a baseball game grows to strong friendship between two Orthodox Jewish boys, Danny and Reuven.  Reuven becomes involved in the conflict between Danny and his austere Hasidic rabbi father.  The story continues in The Promise.

 

Pullman, Philip.  The Golden Compass.  Also The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. 

 

Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan.  The Yearling, 1938 (Pulitzer Prize).  Jody Baxter, living in the Florida backwoods with his pet fawn, experiences his joys and pains of growing up.

 

Rowling, J.K.  Harry Potter books 4-7. 

 

Salinger, J.D.  The Catcher in the Rye, 1951.  After 16-year old Holden Caulfield is expelled from his third private school, he runs away to New York City to find himself and confront the false values of the adult world.  Also Franny and Zooey.

 

Sebold, Alice.  The Lovely Bones, 2002.  "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie.  I was 14 when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."  So begins the poignant story of a girl who is adjusting to her new home in heaven as she watches life on earth continue without her-her friends, her grief-stricken family, and her killer trying to cover his tracks.

 

Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein, 1818. Obsessed with the secret of creating life, Victor Frankenstein brings to life an 8-foot fall Monster he assembles from cadavers.

 

Steinbeck, John. Cannery Row, 1945. Drawing on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, Steinbeck interweaves the humorous and poignant stories of Doc, Henri, Mack and his boys, and other colorful characters. their stories are continued in Sweet Thursday(1954). Also by Steinbeck, East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Pearl.

 

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886. Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with a drug which unleashes his alternate personality, the evil Mr. Hyde.

 

Stoker, Bram. Dracula, 1897. "There was on great tomb more lordly than all the rest; huge it was, and nobly proportioned. On it was but on word, DRACULA." Sinister blend of Transylvanian legend, personal experience, and imagination.

 

**Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels, 1726.

Timeless masterpiece of political satire that combines mind-bending adventure with devastating wit. Gulliver journeys to Lilliput, an imaginary land where the people are very tine, and Brobdingnag, a land where the people are giants.

 

Tan, Amy. The Kitchen God's Wife, 1991. A Chinese immigrant, convinced she is dying, wants to unburden herself of secrets she has kept for more than 50 years. When she reveals the story of her life, her American born daughter finally understands her mother's many quirks and superstitions. Also 100 Secret Senses and The Bonesetter's Daughter.

 

Taylord, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, 1976 (Freshmen only). A black family living in the South in the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination. The story of the Logan family continues in Let the Circle Be Unbroken and The Road to Memphis.

 

**Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit, 1937. Bilbo Baggins leaves his cozy hobbit hole in the Shire and ventures into Middle Earth to recover the stolen treasure hidden in Lonely Mountain.

 

**Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Rings, 1954. Frodo the hobbit and a band of warriors from the different kingdoms set out to destroy the Right of Power before the evil Sauron grasps control.

 

**Tolkien, J.R.R. The Two Towers, 1955. The second part of the classic fantasy series the Lord of the Rings, in which Frodo and Same journey down the River Anduin--followed by a mysterious creeping figure--on their quest to protect the Ruling Ring from the Dark Lord until it can be destroyed.

 

**Tolkien, J.R.R. The Return of the King, 1956. Part three of the Lord of the Rings series. As the Shadow of Mordor grows, the companions find their way through danger and mystery as they defeat the Dark Lord and celebrate Aragorn's ascent to become King of the West.

 

*Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun, 1939. Powerful anti-war novel about a soldier severely wounded during WWI.

 

*Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, 1889. Hank Morgan, cracked on the head by a crowbar in 19th century Connecticut, awakens to find himself in King Arthur's England in this satirical fantasy. Also The Prince and the Pauper.

 

Uchida, Yoshiko. Picture Bride, 1987. Taro journeys to America in the early 1900s to marry a man she has never met.

 

**Verne, Jules. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, 1870. A huge sea monster has attacked several ships from beneath the sea. Prof. Aronnax bravely joins a mission to hunt down the beast and goes aboard the Nautilus, a secret submarine helmed by the mysterious Capt. Nemo.

 

**Wells, H.G. The War of the Worlds, 1898. Martians land near London, conquering and ruining the city. The radio production of this story by Orson Wells in the 1940s was so realistic that it caused a near-panic in this country. Also by Wells, The Time Machine.

 

**White, T.H. The Once and Future King, 1958. Dramatic retelling of the Arthurian legend, following Arthur from his boyhood to the disintegration of Camelot. First part of the story may be read separately and is called The Sword in the Stone.