12th Grade AP English Literature & Composition

Welcome to summer!  Welcome to 12 AP Lit! 

Ever since I was a kid, I have associated summer vacation with the joy of reading. Come June 25th, there is a stack of books, both physical and digital, waiting for me. So many of these titles have been recommended to me by students, fellow teachers, friends, and family. The list of contemporary novels below has been compiled using the recommendations of so many wonderful readers, many of them in the LHS graduating class of 2023. 

For your summer assignment, you are required to read one novel from the following list: 

▪ The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

 ▪ All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

 ▪ The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

 ▪ Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 

▪ Dante and Aristotle Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

▪ The Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay 

▪ A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 

▪ Exit West by Mohsin Hamid 

▪ I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez 

▪ The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri 

▪ The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 

▪ A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 

In addition to the required reading, you are strongly encouraged to read as widely and deeply as you can. Seek out recommendations from friends and family. Visit the library or local bookstore. Try a new genre or fall back into a favorite one. When we return to LHS in September, you will be asked to share book recommendations with your classmates and me. 

While you are not required to annotate your selected novel, you will be required to complete an assignment called “Six Scenes to Theme” in early September. This assignment was designed and generously shared by A.P. teacher Brian Sztabnik. The assignment requires you to select six key scenes from the novel for further analysis. I will provide instruction and samples regarding this assignment in September. To prepare, I recommend that you mark or list key scenes in the novel and jot some notes about them as you read or once you have finished reading the novel you have selected from the above summer reading list. I wish you a safe and joyful summer and look forward to meeting you in September! 

Be well, 

Ms. Gallehugh 

christine.gallehugh@lynbrookschools.org