Bishop Conaty-Loretto High School

Summer 2008 Reading List for English 10 Honors

Welcome to English 10 honors!! Over the summer, you are required to read the following four books. At the beginning of the fall semester, you will be given some form of assessment for each one.

1) Read Almost a Woman by Esmeralda Santiago. You will need to write a paper to hand in on the first day of class in the fall semester. Use your MLA format set-up.

Write a letter to one of the characters in the book.
Begin with a salutation.
In the first paragraph, introduce yourself to the character. Tell what makes you special and talk about what you like to do.
In the second paragraph, explain to the character how you are similar to or different from him or her. Be sure to give examples from the story to illustrate your points.
In the third paragraph, describe a situation from the book and tell the character how you would have handled it differently. Give advice or admit your inexperience. It is important that you give some details from the story so that your reader understands how you reached your decisions.
In the last paragraph, tell the character what you think of him or her.
End the letter with a proper closing .
Sign your letter.
Remember, you are writing directly to the character, so address him or her as “you.”
Format: Reports must be typed and double-spaced. ( That means skip lines!) Use font size 12 in Courier, Arial, or Times New Roman. Teachers will not read italics or any other font styles. Do NOT attach any cover page.
Due date: First English class meeting in Semester I. This paper will be your first grade of the year :>)

2) Read The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. In September, you will write an essay in class based on the characters in this book.

3) Read Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. You will take a quiz and write a character evaluation at the beginning of September.

4) Read Beckett by Jean Anouilh. You will be assessed by a quiz given during the first week of classes. Other assignments will be determined by your teacher.