Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ......

16
1 Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program A summer reading program will help students move up not catch up. “The best predictor of summer learning loss or summer gains is whether or not a student reads during the summer.” (Anne McGill-Franzen and Richard Allington, Bridging the Summer Reading Gap.) Table of Contents Instruction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Evaluation .............................................................................................................................. 1 Incoming 7th Grade ............................................................................................................... 2 Incoming 8th Grade ............................................................................................................... 4 Incoming 9th Grade ............................................................................................................... 6 Incoming 10th Grade ............................................................................................................. 8 Incoming 11th Grade ........................................................................................................... 10 Incoming 12th Grade ........................................................................................................... 12 Philosophy/Rational ............................................................................................................. 14 Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................. 14 Instruction Students are required to read TWO books during the summer break. Note that there is one required (teacher’s choice) book for the grade level they will enter in August, and a second book (student’s choice) chosen from the list. Students should select a book based on personal interest and their family’s standards. Students are required to purchase a paper copy of the required teacher’s choice book and bring it to class on the second day of school. The student’s choice may be found in the public library. Evaluation Teacher’s Choice: Students should bring a paper copy of the teacher’s choice book and be ready to discuss it on the second day of school. The links to individual teacher’s instructions for the assignments are listed on the school web page. (MCA Family, Secondary, Summer Reading List, Grade 7 Reading Instructions) Incoming 7 th Grade Books Incoming 8 th Grade Books Incoming 9 th Grade Books Incoming 10 th Grade Books Incoming 11 th Grade Books Incoming 12 th Grade Books Student’s Choice: The student’s choice will be tested on the eighth full day of school. All English classes will have a culminating assessment worth fifty points. The assessment will cover the basic elements of the novel including the plot, characters, setting, themes, and biblical

Transcript of Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ......

Page 1: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

1

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

A summer reading program will help students move up not catch up ldquoThe best predictor of

summer learning loss or summer gains is whether or not a student reads during the summerrdquo (Anne McGill-Franzen and Richard Allington Bridging the Summer Reading Gap)

Table of Contents Instruction 1

Evaluation 1

Incoming 7th Grade 2

Incoming 8th Grade 4

Incoming 9th Grade 6

Incoming 10th Grade 8

Incoming 11th Grade 10

Incoming 12th Grade 12

PhilosophyRational 14

Disclaimer 14

Instruction

Students are required to read TWO books during the summer break Note that there is one

required (teacherrsquos choice) book for the grade level they will enter in August and a second book

(studentrsquos choice) chosen from the list Students should select a book based on personal interest

and their familyrsquos standards Students are required to purchase a paper copy of the required

teacherrsquos choice book and bring it to class on the second day of school The studentrsquos choice

may be found in the public library

Evaluation

Teacherrsquos Choice Students should bring a paper copy of the teacherrsquos choice book and be

ready to discuss it on the second day of school The links to individual teacherrsquos instructions for

the assignments are listed on the school web page (MCA Family Secondary Summer Reading

List Grade 7 Reading Instructions)

Incoming 7th

Grade Books

Incoming 8th

Grade Books

Incoming 9th

Grade Books

Incoming 10th

Grade Books

Incoming 11th

Grade Books

Incoming 12th

Grade Books

Studentrsquos Choice The studentrsquos choice will be tested on the eighth full day of school All

English classes will have a culminating assessment worth fifty points The assessment will

cover the basic elements of the novel including the plot characters setting themes and biblical

2

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

world view application Each student may be given an essay or writing assignment related to the

book There is no additional assignment for the student choice book ndash just read the book

Incoming 7th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

In this Newbery Medal-winning novel Daniel bar Jamin is fired by only one passion to

avenge his fathers death by crucifixion by driving the Roman legions from his land of

Israel He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying plotting and

impatiently waiting to seek revenge Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and

forgiveness heading down a destructive path toward disaster until he hears the lessons taught by

Jesus of Nazareth

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Cheaper by the Dozen by Ernestine Gilbreth

The biography of the Gilbreth family in Nineteenth Century America whose father a

time management expert died In order to make ends meet their mother went to work

in their fatherrsquos stead ndash unheard of in that time

Good Bye Mr Chips by James Hilton

In 1870 Charles Edward Chipping is engaged as the new Latin master at Brookfield

School where he leads a rather lackluster life Then his friend Staefel persuades

Chipping to accompany him on a walking tour of the Alps where he encounters

Katherine Bridges with whom he falls in love

Hounds of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The dramatic death of Sir Charles Baskerville brings Sherlock Holmes to the lonely

mysterious Devon moors to investigate the mystery He is asked to investigate the tale

of a hound that haunts the moors around the Baskervilles ancestral home

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Buck is a dog born to luxury but his life changes dramatically when he is sold to be a

sled dog in the Yukon Territory First published in 1903 this masterpiece of

adventure and survival continues to enthrall readers almost a century later

3

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 7th Grade (continued)

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

As the only passenger and the only female on a transatlantic voyage in 1832 thirteen-

year-old Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous

crew

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LrsquoEngle

Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry her little brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin

are guided by unearthly strangers as they go on a journey through space and time to

search for Megs and Charles scientist father who disappeared while experimenting with

a new form of space travel

Martin Luther by Mike Fearon

Another one-evening biography from the Men of Faith series During the more than 400

years since the death of Martin Luther more books have been written about him than

any other figure in history with the exception of Jesus A Catholic priest who became a

professor of theology at the University of Wittenber Luthers discovery that salvation is

received by faith alone as a gift of God transformed his life--and the world

In The Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnam

This is the story of Gracia and her husband Martin Burnham who were New Tribes

Missionaries captured by Abu Sayyaf - a group of Islamic Terrorists associated with

Osama Bin Laden - in the Philippines in May 2001

4

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

This is the story of a family hiding the Dutch Jews during WW II and how ldquoThe light

of Godrsquos love penetrates the darkest placesrdquo

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose one from the following list

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer When he

discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his unclersquos estate he finds himself

kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle Kidnapped deals with true historical events

relating to the Jacobite Rising and has won the admiration of an adult audience

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Jethro Creighton the protagonist is young and idealistic when the Civil War begins At

first he thinks the war will be exciting full of marching soldiers and demonstrative

patriotism Soon he learns the reality of war as he watches his three brothers his

cousin and his teacher go off to fight

White Fang by Jack London

The story takes place in the Yukon Territory Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush

It is a story about a wolf-dogrsquos journey to domestication White Fang is a companion to

The Call of the Wild is Londonrsquos best known work about a dogrsquos ability to survive and

thrive in the wild

Little Women or Meg Jo Beth and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

This is the story of the adventures of Meg Jo Beth and Amy as they grow into young

women in mid-nineteenth century New England

5

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade (continued)

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D Taylor

This is a story of a small Mississippi town in the 1930s and the troubles that plague its

black community Picking up where its precursor Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry leaves

off Mildred Taylor recounts the trials of this small community through the characters

of the Logan family

Up From Slavery an Autobiography by Booker T Washington

The son of a slave Booker Taliaferro Washington worked his way out the salt furnaces

and coal mines to develop the esteemed Tuskegee Institute This autobiographical work

demonstrates his forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality in

turn-of-the-century America

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didnt commit

We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations His bad luck

lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert The warden has

all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed The story weaves interesting tall tales

from local history and Stanleys family The relationships among the juveniles in the

camp are interesting to follow Stanley finds a good friend treasure and learns to like himself

The Magicianrsquos Nephew by C S Lewis

The novel is initially set in London in 1900 The principal characters are two pre-

adolescent children Digory Dirke and Polly Plummer Digory also appeared as

Professor Kirke from The Lion theWitch and the Wardrobe by which time he was a

grown man in his sixties The pair has adventures after being transported to other

worlds by the sorcerous experiments of Digorys Uncle Andrew

6

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What are your dreams What steps will you take to fulfill them Do you have fears

that will hinder you along the way What knowledge will you need What about

wisdom Where should that come from Santiago the main character in this novel

learns lessonsmdashsometimes in unlikely places

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Empty Land by Louis LrsquoAmour

Matt Coburn was a decent man and good with a gun He had cleaned up wild boom

towns before but he wanted to finish that chapter of his life However when he rode

through Confusion he felt himself being drawn into the drama unfolding there There

were good men in that town and a few beautiful women too Matt couldnt just turn his

back on them and watch Big Thompson and the others destroy everything with foolish violence

Could he fight the odds and bring the law to Confusion or was this end of the trail for Matt

Coburn

Farewell to Manzanar by Houston Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D Houston

In the morning of December 7 1941 Jeanne Wakatsuki says farewell to Paparsquos sardine

fleet at San Pedro Harbor in California But soon the boats return and news reaches the

family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Papa burns his Japanese

flag and identity papers but is arrested by the FBI Mama moves the family to the

Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles

The Giver by Lois Lowry

In a world with no poverty no crime no sickness and no unemployment and where

every family is happy 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the communitys Receiver of

Memories Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver he

discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight

of its hypocrisy Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up

their humanity in order to create a more stable society Gradually Jonas learns just how costly

this ordered and pain-free society can be and boldly decides he cannot pay the price

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

When a mysterious benefactor comes along Pip begins the transformation from a

blacksmiths son to society gentleman of great expectations

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 2: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

2

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

world view application Each student may be given an essay or writing assignment related to the

book There is no additional assignment for the student choice book ndash just read the book

Incoming 7th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

In this Newbery Medal-winning novel Daniel bar Jamin is fired by only one passion to

avenge his fathers death by crucifixion by driving the Roman legions from his land of

Israel He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying plotting and

impatiently waiting to seek revenge Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and

forgiveness heading down a destructive path toward disaster until he hears the lessons taught by

Jesus of Nazareth

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Cheaper by the Dozen by Ernestine Gilbreth

The biography of the Gilbreth family in Nineteenth Century America whose father a

time management expert died In order to make ends meet their mother went to work

in their fatherrsquos stead ndash unheard of in that time

Good Bye Mr Chips by James Hilton

In 1870 Charles Edward Chipping is engaged as the new Latin master at Brookfield

School where he leads a rather lackluster life Then his friend Staefel persuades

Chipping to accompany him on a walking tour of the Alps where he encounters

Katherine Bridges with whom he falls in love

Hounds of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The dramatic death of Sir Charles Baskerville brings Sherlock Holmes to the lonely

mysterious Devon moors to investigate the mystery He is asked to investigate the tale

of a hound that haunts the moors around the Baskervilles ancestral home

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Buck is a dog born to luxury but his life changes dramatically when he is sold to be a

sled dog in the Yukon Territory First published in 1903 this masterpiece of

adventure and survival continues to enthrall readers almost a century later

3

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 7th Grade (continued)

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

As the only passenger and the only female on a transatlantic voyage in 1832 thirteen-

year-old Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous

crew

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LrsquoEngle

Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry her little brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin

are guided by unearthly strangers as they go on a journey through space and time to

search for Megs and Charles scientist father who disappeared while experimenting with

a new form of space travel

Martin Luther by Mike Fearon

Another one-evening biography from the Men of Faith series During the more than 400

years since the death of Martin Luther more books have been written about him than

any other figure in history with the exception of Jesus A Catholic priest who became a

professor of theology at the University of Wittenber Luthers discovery that salvation is

received by faith alone as a gift of God transformed his life--and the world

In The Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnam

This is the story of Gracia and her husband Martin Burnham who were New Tribes

Missionaries captured by Abu Sayyaf - a group of Islamic Terrorists associated with

Osama Bin Laden - in the Philippines in May 2001

4

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

This is the story of a family hiding the Dutch Jews during WW II and how ldquoThe light

of Godrsquos love penetrates the darkest placesrdquo

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose one from the following list

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer When he

discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his unclersquos estate he finds himself

kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle Kidnapped deals with true historical events

relating to the Jacobite Rising and has won the admiration of an adult audience

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Jethro Creighton the protagonist is young and idealistic when the Civil War begins At

first he thinks the war will be exciting full of marching soldiers and demonstrative

patriotism Soon he learns the reality of war as he watches his three brothers his

cousin and his teacher go off to fight

White Fang by Jack London

The story takes place in the Yukon Territory Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush

It is a story about a wolf-dogrsquos journey to domestication White Fang is a companion to

The Call of the Wild is Londonrsquos best known work about a dogrsquos ability to survive and

thrive in the wild

Little Women or Meg Jo Beth and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

This is the story of the adventures of Meg Jo Beth and Amy as they grow into young

women in mid-nineteenth century New England

5

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade (continued)

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D Taylor

This is a story of a small Mississippi town in the 1930s and the troubles that plague its

black community Picking up where its precursor Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry leaves

off Mildred Taylor recounts the trials of this small community through the characters

of the Logan family

Up From Slavery an Autobiography by Booker T Washington

The son of a slave Booker Taliaferro Washington worked his way out the salt furnaces

and coal mines to develop the esteemed Tuskegee Institute This autobiographical work

demonstrates his forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality in

turn-of-the-century America

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didnt commit

We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations His bad luck

lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert The warden has

all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed The story weaves interesting tall tales

from local history and Stanleys family The relationships among the juveniles in the

camp are interesting to follow Stanley finds a good friend treasure and learns to like himself

The Magicianrsquos Nephew by C S Lewis

The novel is initially set in London in 1900 The principal characters are two pre-

adolescent children Digory Dirke and Polly Plummer Digory also appeared as

Professor Kirke from The Lion theWitch and the Wardrobe by which time he was a

grown man in his sixties The pair has adventures after being transported to other

worlds by the sorcerous experiments of Digorys Uncle Andrew

6

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What are your dreams What steps will you take to fulfill them Do you have fears

that will hinder you along the way What knowledge will you need What about

wisdom Where should that come from Santiago the main character in this novel

learns lessonsmdashsometimes in unlikely places

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Empty Land by Louis LrsquoAmour

Matt Coburn was a decent man and good with a gun He had cleaned up wild boom

towns before but he wanted to finish that chapter of his life However when he rode

through Confusion he felt himself being drawn into the drama unfolding there There

were good men in that town and a few beautiful women too Matt couldnt just turn his

back on them and watch Big Thompson and the others destroy everything with foolish violence

Could he fight the odds and bring the law to Confusion or was this end of the trail for Matt

Coburn

Farewell to Manzanar by Houston Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D Houston

In the morning of December 7 1941 Jeanne Wakatsuki says farewell to Paparsquos sardine

fleet at San Pedro Harbor in California But soon the boats return and news reaches the

family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Papa burns his Japanese

flag and identity papers but is arrested by the FBI Mama moves the family to the

Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles

The Giver by Lois Lowry

In a world with no poverty no crime no sickness and no unemployment and where

every family is happy 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the communitys Receiver of

Memories Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver he

discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight

of its hypocrisy Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up

their humanity in order to create a more stable society Gradually Jonas learns just how costly

this ordered and pain-free society can be and boldly decides he cannot pay the price

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

When a mysterious benefactor comes along Pip begins the transformation from a

blacksmiths son to society gentleman of great expectations

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 3: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

3

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 7th Grade (continued)

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

As the only passenger and the only female on a transatlantic voyage in 1832 thirteen-

year-old Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous

crew

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LrsquoEngle

Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry her little brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin

are guided by unearthly strangers as they go on a journey through space and time to

search for Megs and Charles scientist father who disappeared while experimenting with

a new form of space travel

Martin Luther by Mike Fearon

Another one-evening biography from the Men of Faith series During the more than 400

years since the death of Martin Luther more books have been written about him than

any other figure in history with the exception of Jesus A Catholic priest who became a

professor of theology at the University of Wittenber Luthers discovery that salvation is

received by faith alone as a gift of God transformed his life--and the world

In The Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnam

This is the story of Gracia and her husband Martin Burnham who were New Tribes

Missionaries captured by Abu Sayyaf - a group of Islamic Terrorists associated with

Osama Bin Laden - in the Philippines in May 2001

4

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

This is the story of a family hiding the Dutch Jews during WW II and how ldquoThe light

of Godrsquos love penetrates the darkest placesrdquo

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose one from the following list

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer When he

discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his unclersquos estate he finds himself

kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle Kidnapped deals with true historical events

relating to the Jacobite Rising and has won the admiration of an adult audience

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Jethro Creighton the protagonist is young and idealistic when the Civil War begins At

first he thinks the war will be exciting full of marching soldiers and demonstrative

patriotism Soon he learns the reality of war as he watches his three brothers his

cousin and his teacher go off to fight

White Fang by Jack London

The story takes place in the Yukon Territory Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush

It is a story about a wolf-dogrsquos journey to domestication White Fang is a companion to

The Call of the Wild is Londonrsquos best known work about a dogrsquos ability to survive and

thrive in the wild

Little Women or Meg Jo Beth and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

This is the story of the adventures of Meg Jo Beth and Amy as they grow into young

women in mid-nineteenth century New England

5

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade (continued)

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D Taylor

This is a story of a small Mississippi town in the 1930s and the troubles that plague its

black community Picking up where its precursor Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry leaves

off Mildred Taylor recounts the trials of this small community through the characters

of the Logan family

Up From Slavery an Autobiography by Booker T Washington

The son of a slave Booker Taliaferro Washington worked his way out the salt furnaces

and coal mines to develop the esteemed Tuskegee Institute This autobiographical work

demonstrates his forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality in

turn-of-the-century America

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didnt commit

We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations His bad luck

lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert The warden has

all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed The story weaves interesting tall tales

from local history and Stanleys family The relationships among the juveniles in the

camp are interesting to follow Stanley finds a good friend treasure and learns to like himself

The Magicianrsquos Nephew by C S Lewis

The novel is initially set in London in 1900 The principal characters are two pre-

adolescent children Digory Dirke and Polly Plummer Digory also appeared as

Professor Kirke from The Lion theWitch and the Wardrobe by which time he was a

grown man in his sixties The pair has adventures after being transported to other

worlds by the sorcerous experiments of Digorys Uncle Andrew

6

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What are your dreams What steps will you take to fulfill them Do you have fears

that will hinder you along the way What knowledge will you need What about

wisdom Where should that come from Santiago the main character in this novel

learns lessonsmdashsometimes in unlikely places

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Empty Land by Louis LrsquoAmour

Matt Coburn was a decent man and good with a gun He had cleaned up wild boom

towns before but he wanted to finish that chapter of his life However when he rode

through Confusion he felt himself being drawn into the drama unfolding there There

were good men in that town and a few beautiful women too Matt couldnt just turn his

back on them and watch Big Thompson and the others destroy everything with foolish violence

Could he fight the odds and bring the law to Confusion or was this end of the trail for Matt

Coburn

Farewell to Manzanar by Houston Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D Houston

In the morning of December 7 1941 Jeanne Wakatsuki says farewell to Paparsquos sardine

fleet at San Pedro Harbor in California But soon the boats return and news reaches the

family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Papa burns his Japanese

flag and identity papers but is arrested by the FBI Mama moves the family to the

Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles

The Giver by Lois Lowry

In a world with no poverty no crime no sickness and no unemployment and where

every family is happy 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the communitys Receiver of

Memories Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver he

discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight

of its hypocrisy Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up

their humanity in order to create a more stable society Gradually Jonas learns just how costly

this ordered and pain-free society can be and boldly decides he cannot pay the price

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

When a mysterious benefactor comes along Pip begins the transformation from a

blacksmiths son to society gentleman of great expectations

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 4: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

4

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

This is the story of a family hiding the Dutch Jews during WW II and how ldquoThe light

of Godrsquos love penetrates the darkest placesrdquo

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose one from the following list

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

The young orphan David Balfour is sent to live with his Uncle Ebenezer When he

discovers that he may be the rightful heir to his unclersquos estate he finds himself

kidnapped and cast away on a desert isle Kidnapped deals with true historical events

relating to the Jacobite Rising and has won the admiration of an adult audience

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Jethro Creighton the protagonist is young and idealistic when the Civil War begins At

first he thinks the war will be exciting full of marching soldiers and demonstrative

patriotism Soon he learns the reality of war as he watches his three brothers his

cousin and his teacher go off to fight

White Fang by Jack London

The story takes place in the Yukon Territory Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush

It is a story about a wolf-dogrsquos journey to domestication White Fang is a companion to

The Call of the Wild is Londonrsquos best known work about a dogrsquos ability to survive and

thrive in the wild

Little Women or Meg Jo Beth and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

This is the story of the adventures of Meg Jo Beth and Amy as they grow into young

women in mid-nineteenth century New England

5

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade (continued)

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D Taylor

This is a story of a small Mississippi town in the 1930s and the troubles that plague its

black community Picking up where its precursor Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry leaves

off Mildred Taylor recounts the trials of this small community through the characters

of the Logan family

Up From Slavery an Autobiography by Booker T Washington

The son of a slave Booker Taliaferro Washington worked his way out the salt furnaces

and coal mines to develop the esteemed Tuskegee Institute This autobiographical work

demonstrates his forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality in

turn-of-the-century America

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didnt commit

We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations His bad luck

lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert The warden has

all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed The story weaves interesting tall tales

from local history and Stanleys family The relationships among the juveniles in the

camp are interesting to follow Stanley finds a good friend treasure and learns to like himself

The Magicianrsquos Nephew by C S Lewis

The novel is initially set in London in 1900 The principal characters are two pre-

adolescent children Digory Dirke and Polly Plummer Digory also appeared as

Professor Kirke from The Lion theWitch and the Wardrobe by which time he was a

grown man in his sixties The pair has adventures after being transported to other

worlds by the sorcerous experiments of Digorys Uncle Andrew

6

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What are your dreams What steps will you take to fulfill them Do you have fears

that will hinder you along the way What knowledge will you need What about

wisdom Where should that come from Santiago the main character in this novel

learns lessonsmdashsometimes in unlikely places

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Empty Land by Louis LrsquoAmour

Matt Coburn was a decent man and good with a gun He had cleaned up wild boom

towns before but he wanted to finish that chapter of his life However when he rode

through Confusion he felt himself being drawn into the drama unfolding there There

were good men in that town and a few beautiful women too Matt couldnt just turn his

back on them and watch Big Thompson and the others destroy everything with foolish violence

Could he fight the odds and bring the law to Confusion or was this end of the trail for Matt

Coburn

Farewell to Manzanar by Houston Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D Houston

In the morning of December 7 1941 Jeanne Wakatsuki says farewell to Paparsquos sardine

fleet at San Pedro Harbor in California But soon the boats return and news reaches the

family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Papa burns his Japanese

flag and identity papers but is arrested by the FBI Mama moves the family to the

Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles

The Giver by Lois Lowry

In a world with no poverty no crime no sickness and no unemployment and where

every family is happy 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the communitys Receiver of

Memories Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver he

discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight

of its hypocrisy Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up

their humanity in order to create a more stable society Gradually Jonas learns just how costly

this ordered and pain-free society can be and boldly decides he cannot pay the price

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

When a mysterious benefactor comes along Pip begins the transformation from a

blacksmiths son to society gentleman of great expectations

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 5: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

5

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 8th Grade (continued)

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D Taylor

This is a story of a small Mississippi town in the 1930s and the troubles that plague its

black community Picking up where its precursor Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry leaves

off Mildred Taylor recounts the trials of this small community through the characters

of the Logan family

Up From Slavery an Autobiography by Booker T Washington

The son of a slave Booker Taliaferro Washington worked his way out the salt furnaces

and coal mines to develop the esteemed Tuskegee Institute This autobiographical work

demonstrates his forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality in

turn-of-the-century America

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didnt commit

We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations His bad luck

lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert The warden has

all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed The story weaves interesting tall tales

from local history and Stanleys family The relationships among the juveniles in the

camp are interesting to follow Stanley finds a good friend treasure and learns to like himself

The Magicianrsquos Nephew by C S Lewis

The novel is initially set in London in 1900 The principal characters are two pre-

adolescent children Digory Dirke and Polly Plummer Digory also appeared as

Professor Kirke from The Lion theWitch and the Wardrobe by which time he was a

grown man in his sixties The pair has adventures after being transported to other

worlds by the sorcerous experiments of Digorys Uncle Andrew

6

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What are your dreams What steps will you take to fulfill them Do you have fears

that will hinder you along the way What knowledge will you need What about

wisdom Where should that come from Santiago the main character in this novel

learns lessonsmdashsometimes in unlikely places

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Empty Land by Louis LrsquoAmour

Matt Coburn was a decent man and good with a gun He had cleaned up wild boom

towns before but he wanted to finish that chapter of his life However when he rode

through Confusion he felt himself being drawn into the drama unfolding there There

were good men in that town and a few beautiful women too Matt couldnt just turn his

back on them and watch Big Thompson and the others destroy everything with foolish violence

Could he fight the odds and bring the law to Confusion or was this end of the trail for Matt

Coburn

Farewell to Manzanar by Houston Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D Houston

In the morning of December 7 1941 Jeanne Wakatsuki says farewell to Paparsquos sardine

fleet at San Pedro Harbor in California But soon the boats return and news reaches the

family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Papa burns his Japanese

flag and identity papers but is arrested by the FBI Mama moves the family to the

Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles

The Giver by Lois Lowry

In a world with no poverty no crime no sickness and no unemployment and where

every family is happy 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the communitys Receiver of

Memories Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver he

discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight

of its hypocrisy Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up

their humanity in order to create a more stable society Gradually Jonas learns just how costly

this ordered and pain-free society can be and boldly decides he cannot pay the price

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

When a mysterious benefactor comes along Pip begins the transformation from a

blacksmiths son to society gentleman of great expectations

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 6: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

6

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

What are your dreams What steps will you take to fulfill them Do you have fears

that will hinder you along the way What knowledge will you need What about

wisdom Where should that come from Santiago the main character in this novel

learns lessonsmdashsometimes in unlikely places

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Empty Land by Louis LrsquoAmour

Matt Coburn was a decent man and good with a gun He had cleaned up wild boom

towns before but he wanted to finish that chapter of his life However when he rode

through Confusion he felt himself being drawn into the drama unfolding there There

were good men in that town and a few beautiful women too Matt couldnt just turn his

back on them and watch Big Thompson and the others destroy everything with foolish violence

Could he fight the odds and bring the law to Confusion or was this end of the trail for Matt

Coburn

Farewell to Manzanar by Houston Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D Houston

In the morning of December 7 1941 Jeanne Wakatsuki says farewell to Paparsquos sardine

fleet at San Pedro Harbor in California But soon the boats return and news reaches the

family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Papa burns his Japanese

flag and identity papers but is arrested by the FBI Mama moves the family to the

Japanese ghetto on Terminal Island and then to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles

The Giver by Lois Lowry

In a world with no poverty no crime no sickness and no unemployment and where

every family is happy 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the communitys Receiver of

Memories Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver he

discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight

of its hypocrisy Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up

their humanity in order to create a more stable society Gradually Jonas learns just how costly

this ordered and pain-free society can be and boldly decides he cannot pay the price

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

When a mysterious benefactor comes along Pip begins the transformation from a

blacksmiths son to society gentleman of great expectations

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 7: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

7

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero a

preadolescent Mexican American girl (Chicana) living in the contemporary United

States In deceptively simple language the novel recounts the complex experience of

being young poor female and Chicana in America

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon

In His Steps was the first to ask What would Jesus do and quickly became one of the

best-selling books of all times I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge

themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first

asking the question What would Jesus do

The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

As part of an agreement to keep peace whites are insisting that captives who have been

living with the Indians be returned to their white settlements True Son fifteen years old

has lived with the Delaware tribe since being captured as a baby

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

A coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is the struggle of three brothers to stay together

after their parents death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their

adolescent society The book follows two rival groups the Greasers and the Socs who

are divided by their socioeconomic status

The Prince and the Pauper a Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain

In sixteenth-century England young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and a pauper

boy who looks exactly like him are suddenly forced to change places The prince

endures rags amp hardships while the pauper suffers the horrible miseries of

princedomrdquo

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Three great swordsmen Porthos Aramis Anthos with their protege DArtagnan

match wits with the sinister Cardinal Richelieu who seeks to divide the royalty in his

own quest for power

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 8: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

8

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 9th Grade (continued)

The Time Machine an Invention by H G Wells

Desperate to alter the course of time a visionary scientist invents a revolutionary

machine that propels him 800000 years into the future There he discovers that humans

have evolved into two groups the hunters and the hunted Now he must fight to save

himself and all of mankind in a final desperate battle

Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Fifty-seven-year-old Landon Carter narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40

years in the past The novel opens as the older Landon living in the same North

Carolina town as he did at the age of 17 remembers his 17-year-old self The story

begins in 1958 and is Landon tells us both joyful and sad

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 9: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

9

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is an account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an

agonized witness to the death of his familyhellipthe death of his innocence Penetrating

and powerful as personal as The Diary of Anne Frank Night awakens the shocking

memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this

horror must never be allowed to happen again

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE Choose ONE from the following list

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

A group of young World War I German recruits pass from idealism to disillusionment

with war he book and its sequel The Road Back were among the books banned and

burned in Nazi Germany

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

In 1872 English gentleman Phileas Fogg has many adventures as he tries to win a bet

that he can travel around the world in eighty days

Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

A peace-loving prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering

Romans His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people as he

learns to fight to love to hate and finally to forgive

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

An innocent man Edmond Dantes is imprisoned for years on a godforsaken island

while the friend who betrayed him takes Dantes ravishing fianceacute for himself Dantes

eventually escapes recovers a fortune in buried pirate treasure transforms himself into

the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo and methodically goes about exacting his

revenge

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is an orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in

nineteenth-century London

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 10: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

10

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 10th Grade (continued)

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

In 1957 NASA Engineer Homer Hickam Jr is a high school student in Coalwood

West Virginia when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik the first man-made satellite

While most of his friends and neighbors react with fear or distrust Homer is instantly

fascinated and begins studying everything he can find on jet and rocket design

Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot

A young linen weavers dreams are destroyed when he is falsely accused of a crime

Isolating himself he becomes a selfish despondent miser until he adopts an abandoned

child

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a

secret drug of his own creation

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

A twisted suspenseful romance set during the French Revolution While men women

and children fall under the merciless blade of the guillotine one foppish gentleman

alias the Scarlet Pimpernel bravely rescues aristocrats from the jaws of death In the

midst of his rescue he meets and falls passionately in love with Marguerite Frances

most celebrated actress

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 11: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

11

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about sportswriter Mitch Albom and his favorite

college professor Morrie Schwartz Mitch Albom recounts time spent with his 78-year-

old professor who was dying from Lou Gehrigrsquos disease

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J Gaines

Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman who began her life as a slave in

the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110

A Christianrsquos Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may read the original or the updated version of this classic An instant success

when it was first published 100 years ago this volume continues to inspire thousands

with its simple life-changing message of faith and trust in God This all-new edition

includes an index a brief biography and end-of-chapter questions to help you apply

Hannahs insights to your own life

Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The adventures of Don Quixote a common man from La Mancha who has convinced

himself that he is a knight With his portly peasant squire Sancho Panza who

recognizes his masters madness but is nonetheless captivated by promises of kingdoms

and riches Don Quixote mistakes windmills for giants and flocks of sheep for armies

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is

wounded on the Italian front Set during World War I

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the

transformation of an entire nation The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one

Oklahoma family the Joads who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel

west to the promised land of California

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 12: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

12

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama

Hotel once the gateway to Seattlersquos Japantown It has been boarded up for decades but

now the new owner has made an incredible discovery the belongings of Japanese

families left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World

War II

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England uses the same pseudonym to escape the

dull county life All is fine until they both fall in love with the same woman Suddenly

the comedy of mistaken identities begins in this delightful story

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The classic epic of chivalry and courtly love features the disinherited knight Ivanhoe

his fair lady Rowena and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion-Hearted

and Robin Hood This novel of the Crusades chivalry and courtly love not only

recreates history but made history as well

The Last of the Mohicans a Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

This is the tale of a Mohican braves struggle to protect two English girls from an evil

Huron The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The

Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Coopers Leatherstocking

Tales

The Red Badge of Courage an Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and

finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The marriage of two strong-minded people provides the spark for a comic

confrontation between the sexes The shrew Katharina is so ill-tempered she

seems unlikely to find a husband Her father refuses to let her younger sister marry

until Katherina is off his hands Petruchio appears marries Katharina and tames

her so well that he wins a bet with two other men on a test of their wives obedience

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 13: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

13

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 11th Grade (continued)

Walden or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

This is the one product of Thoreaursquos two-year sojourn at the pondmdashone of the great

classics of American letters Interwoven with accounts of Thoreaursquos daily life (he did

not live as a recluse but received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are

meditations on human existence society government and other topics expressed with

clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943 an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific

Ocean and disappeared leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil gasoline and

blood Then on the ocean surface a face appeared It was that of a young lieutenant

the planersquos bombardier who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 14: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

14

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade

Book ONE ndash TEACHERrsquoS CHOICE REQUIRED READING

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A farm is taken over by its overworked mistreated animals With flaming idealism

and stirring slogans they set out to create a paradise of progress justice and equality

Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned

Book TWO ndash STUDENTrsquoS CHOICE - Choose ONE from the following list

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov commits murder He then must deal both with the police and his own

guilty conscience Determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled

individual will Raskolnikov an impoverished student living in the St Petersburg of the

Tsars commits an act of murder and theft and sets into motion a story which for its

excrutiating suspense its atmospheric vividness and its profundity of characterization

and vision is almost unequaled in the literatures of the world

Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Cry the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen

Kumalo and his son Absalom set against the background of a land and a people riven

by racial injustice Remarkable for its lyricism unforgettable for character and

incident Cry the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope courage and

endurance born of the dignity of man

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

In this haunting tale Marlow a seaman and wanderer recounts his physical and

psychological journey in search of Kurtz His travels take him to the heart of Africa to

discover how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local

people

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Imaginative exuberant comedy contrasts two pairs of lovers in a witty and suspenseful

battle of the sexes Filled with suspense clever turns of plot vivacious displays of wit

and charming songs this is one of the Bards most beloved and performed works

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

If you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable think again In this timeless classic

G K Chesterton one of the literary giants of the twentieth century presents a logical

and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 15: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

15

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

Incoming 12th Grade (continued)

Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy

This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the most admirable of human virtuesmdash

courage Grace under pressure Ernest Hemingway defined it And these are the stories

of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which

they endured them

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A struggling black family living on Chicagos South Side feels the impact of an

unexpected insurance bequest Each family member sees the bequest as the means of

realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis

The book provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in

living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life with all its temptations and

failings as seen from the demondevils viewpoint

Tess of the DrsquoUbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess DrsquoUrberfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by

another but she refuses to remain a victim Her struggle to endure despite the

abandonment of her true love and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness

propels Tess toward a tragic end

Turn of the Screw [And Other Short Fiction] by Henry James

From the apparitions of evil that haunt the governess in The Turn of the Screw to the

startling self-scrutiny of an egotistical man in The Beast in the Jungle the mysterious

turnings of human behavior are coolly and masterfully observed--proving Henry James

to be a master of psychological insight as well as one of the finest prose stylists of

modern English literature

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families as their lives and

fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship

between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context

Page 16: Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program · 2017-04-03 · This autobiographical work ... Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When a mysterious benefactor comes along,

16

Maranatha Christian Academy Summer Reading Program

PhilosophyRational

Excellence in education requires a literary emphasis Philippians 48 says ldquoFinally brothers and

sisters whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is

lovely whatever is admirablemdashif anything is excellent or praiseworthymdashthink about such

thingsrdquo A Christian literature program teaches students to read great literature and to think from

a Christian perspective Our program will promote critical reading and cultivate the habit of

reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications The

opportunity to evaluate a characterrsquos motivation behavior and the results of his behavior from a

Christian world view is a unique and valuable experience in Christian education Analytical

questions posed in the discussion of literature will prompt students to apply their knowledge of

Godrsquos laws and also sharpen and refine their own critical thinking skills

Disclaimer

Books for this list were carefully evaluated by comparing recommended lists from various

colleges and universities as well as lists from other Christian schools across the country

Selections were also based on the opinion experience and knowledge of the teachers in the

Maranatha English Department and each book was evaluated according to the Maranatha

Christian world view and mission Books were chosen to represent various reading abilities and

interests As a result you will find a wide range of books on the list

We recommend that parents actively participate in this process The moral tone and lessons

taught by these books are generally positive However some may have a few objectionable

elements that should be addressed in their context