Sophomores 

All rising sophomores are required to read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Then pick one more title from either this list or any of the upperclassmen lists.

**You may pick books from reading lists that are higher than your grade list (ie. a sophomore may select a book from the senior list...just not vice versa).

**You may not select a book that you have already read. 

Mystery/Suspense

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This Present Darkness  by Frank Peretti

Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti

The Oath by Frank Peretti

Three by Ted Dekker

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke 

Adventure

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

The Iliad by Homer

“The siege of Troy, the beauty of Helen, the wrath of Achilles, the striving of mortals, the interventions of the gods, and the inevitability of fate are all famous themes and characters that continue to captivate the human imagination. Don't lose steam as you read extensive descriptions of war and gore, and don't miss the forest for the trees; rather, keep reading and try to capture the epic nature of the most famous poem ever written and drink in Homer's grand vision of the intertwining roles of the fates, the gods, and individual human lives. I am reading this book for the fifth time as I write this blurb, and I am struck more now by its thematic scope and descriptive power than ever before. Enjoy.”

~ Mr. Vandegriff

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

The Talking Earth by Jean Craighead George

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Fantasy

Anthem by Ayn Rand 

The Circle Trilogy (any one of the following)

            Black by Ted Dekker

            Red by Ted Dekker

            White by Ted Dekker

The Inheritance Cycle (any one of the following)

            Eragon by Christopher Paolini

            Eldest by Christopher Paolini

            Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

            Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

“This series is really good and exciting to read! It is about a teenaged boy and his adventures to save the world with his dragon. It consists of three books and I really suggest you read it!”

~ Jenna Snider, Class of 2015

Heroes of Olympus Series (any one of the following) by Rick Riordan 

            The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan 

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan 

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan 

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan 

The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan 

The Iron Heel by Jack London

“This book is a great dystopian book that deals with an incredibly complex story involving revolution and the power of individual thinking; plus there's a love story in the midst of all that. This book presents an awesome way of challenging your thinking and presents a very dark realistic take on a dystopian future that makes you want to learn how we got to this point and pulls you in deeper for the main story and characters.”

            ~Garrett Blevins, Class of 2018

Historical Fiction

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Ben Hur by Lew Wallace 

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Requiem for a Spanish Peasant by Ramón José Sender and Graham Whittaker

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Silas Marner by George Eliot

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (HONORS: This will be one of the Spring novels)

Biography/Autobiography/Memoir

Believe: My Faith and the Tackle That Changed My Life by Eric LeGrand

How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (semi-autobiographical novel) 

Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire

When I Was Puerto Rican: A Memoir by Esmeralda Santiago

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls around the World by Malala Yousafzai

General Fiction

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark 

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

“Speak is one of those powerful books that you will never regret reading. It is the powerful story of a teenage girl struggling to find the strength to speak up after being raped all while dealing with all the normal high school drama. Whether or not you have an interest in social psychology, you will love to read and learn from this book.”

~ Taylor Nicole Rogers, Class of 2015

Collections

A Haiku Menagerie: Living Creatures in Poems and Prints by Stephen Addiss

Under Water with Ogden Nash by Ogden Nash

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (vignettes)

Nonfiction

Hiroshima by John R. Hersey

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

The Classics: All You Need to Know, from Zeus's Throne to the Fall of Rome by Caroline Taggart

Drama

Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus