**Please use this "Note-Taking Guide" for taking notes while reading.
Theme: Memoirs, Autobiographies, Biographies, life stories
non-fiction, not an event
All incoming twelfth graders are EXPECTED to read one book from the list below over the summer months. Teachers will begin the school year with lessons and assessments that will incorporate these texts.
*You are responsible for securing your own copy.
**Each title below is linked to a book summary on Goodreads
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by: Trevor Noah
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by: Marjane Satrapi *
The Glass Castle by: Jeannette Walls
Educated by: Tara Westover
She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders by: Jennifer Finney Boylan
Polar Explorer by: Jade Hameister
The Sun Does Shine: How I Find Life and Freedom on Death Row by: Anthony Ray Hinton
Just Mercy by: Bryan Stevenson *
Between the World and Me by: Ta-Nehisi Coates *
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
I Am a SEAL Team Six Warrior- Memoirs of an American Soldier by: Howard E. Wasdin
Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by: Scott Kelly
Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value Work by: Matthew B. Crawford
The Freedom Writers Diary by: Erin Gruwell
Into the Wild by: Jon Krakauer *
Sports themed titles:
Mamba Mentality: How I Play by: Kobe Bryant
The Closer: My Story by: Mariano Rivera
Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile by: Nate Jackson
Bruce Lee: A Life by: Matthew Polly
Undisputed Truth by: Mike Tyson
King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero by: David Remnick
Music themed titles:
Dolly Parton - Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by: Dolly Parton
Surrender, 40 Songs, One Story by: Bono
Home Work: A Memoir on My Hollywood Years by: Julie Andrews
* Note: These books contain explicit and/or profane language that parents may want to be aware of. Click on the linked book titles, and/or visit Common Sense Media, for more information to inform your reading decisions.