WHAT IS UP, rising 9th graders!

My name is Mr. Woeste, and I am your English 9 teacher. I am truly excited to embark on this new journey with you all as you transition into high school. We have a lot of interesting topics to explore together this year, and I cannot wait to jump in with you all!

Below, you'll find your summer reading assignments. I encourage you to choose a book that you're genuinely interested in and that you feel a connection to. When we read about topics that matter to us, not only does it help us learn more, but it also makes our reading time more enjoyable.

You will also find the projects that we'll be working on this summer linked below. These projects are designed to help you engage deeply with the material and offer you the opportunity to be creative with your exploration of the book(s) you chose. We'll start with a seminar in the first week of class, so be sure to annotate and take notes as you read.

I hope you all have an amazing, restful, and radical summer filled with lasting memories. I can't wait to start our school year together, and hear about what you read. If you have any questions or thoughts, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Stoked,

Mr. Woeste
adam.woeste@capefearacademy.org

English 9

Step 1: Choose 1 book to read from the list below and fill out the: "Seminar Annotation Template."

Step 2: Complete the: "Odyssey for Creativity: A Summer Reading Choice Board!"

Welcome, English 9 students! Below you will find links to materials to best assist you with your summer reading. You will first choose ONE book from the list below to read and annotate. As you read, it will be your responsibility to take notes on important events, topics, and themes explored in your book. The template is set up to help you organize your thoughts and keep track of "juicy" quotes that support your thoughts, opinions, and perspectives. You will then have the opportunity to creatively represent what you have experienced in your book. Use the second link to access the "Odyssey for Creativity: A Summer Reading Choice Board." 

•  Click here for the "Seminar Annotation Template." 

• Click here for "Odyssey for Creativity: A Summer Reading Choice Board"

Honors English 9

Step 1: Choose 2 books to read from the list below and fill out 2: "Seminar Annotation Templates."

Step 2: Complete, for each book, the: "Odyssey for Creativity: A Summer Reading Choice Board!" 

Welcome Honors English 9 students! Below you will find links to materials to best assist you with your summer reading. You will first choose TWO books from the list below to read and annotate. As you read, it will be your responsibility to take notes on important events, topics, and themes explored in EACH book. The template is set up to help you organize your thoughts and keep track of "juicy" quotes that support your thoughts, opinions, and perspectives. You will then have the opportunity to creatively represent what you have experienced in BOTH books. Use the second link to access the "Odyssey for Creativity: A Summer Reading Choice Board." 

•  Click here for the "Seminar Annotation Template." 

• Click here for "Odyssey for Creativity: A Summer Reading Choice Board"

1.  The Life Impossible by Matt Haig (ISBN: 978-1838855581)

When retired Maths teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the Balearics Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

2. I Must Betray You Ruta Sepetys (ISBN:  978-1984836045)

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. 

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe. 

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

3. The Alchemist Paulo Coelho (ISBN: 978-0062315007) 

Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom, and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery and spiritual healing, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, moving millions across the globe and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Helping them find inner peace, strength, gratitude, and a deeper, divine connection with themselves and the world around them.

This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself a king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery that the most valuable treasures are those found within.