What UMHS Students are (Should Be) Reading this Summer

It’s called the summer brain drain: the almost inescapable loss of a student’s mental faculty at the onset of sunny days and school-free hours.

, like many high schools across the country, will continue its summer reading program this summer in the hopes of keeping reading alive for personal and educational growth in its students.

“In order to continue the development of critical reading skills necessary for success, students are expected to read during the summer,” reads the high school’s website. “At each grade level, required texts are complemented with an opportunity for students to read a book of their choice in the hope of fostering an intrinsic love of reading.”

 Each grade comes with its own summer reading requirements. The summer reading will be assessed using any combination of the following: an objective test, an oral presentation, or an essay.

A full list of requirements, descriptions and other details can be found on the high school website, but here is a peek at the books Upper Moreland High School students will be reading this summer:

UMHS Entering English 9 College Preparatory

Requirement: Read 2 books, read one of the two listed below and access the book of choice list to self-select the other (see link at end of article for book of choice link).

• “Into Thin Air” by John Krakauer

• “The Color of Water” by James McBride

UMHS Entering Grade 9 Honors English

Note: “The two major themes of “Journeys” and “Loss of Innocence” are present in all works read for summer reading as well as during the school year.  Students should explore the presence of these themes as they read.”

Requirement: Read 3 books, which include the two listed below and access the book of choice list to self-select the other.

• “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

• “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros

UMHS Entering English 10 College Preparatory

Requirement: Read 2 books, read one of those listed below and access the book of choice list to self-select the other.

• “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger

• “Dairy Queen” by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

• “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros

UMHS Entering Grade 10 Honors English

Requirement: Read 3 books, which include the two listed below and access the book of choice list to self-select the other.

• “1984” by George Orwell

• “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger

UMHS Entering Grade 11 College Preparatory

Requirement: Read 2 books, read one of those listed below and access the book of choice list to self-select the other.

• “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult

• “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey

• “Friday Night Lights” by H.G. Bissinger

UMHS Entering Grade 11 Honors English

Requirement: Read all 3 books.

• “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway

• “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton

• “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller

UMHS Entering Grade 12 College Preparatory

Requirement: Read one of the books listed below and one book from the Book of Choice list.

• “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe

• “This Boys Life” by Tobias Wolff

UMHS Entering Grade 12 Honors English

Requirement: Read all 3 books.

• “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe

• “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

• “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White

UMHS High School Entering English 12 Advanced Placement

Requirement: Students are required to read all four (4) selections listed below.

• “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving

• “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey

• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison

• “The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White

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Want to know what’s on the Book of Choice List? Click on the UMHS link here.