Hey High Schoolers!
Congrats on making it through another year of school… and what a year of school it was! We are SO proud of all the hard work that you have put into shifting from traditional school to a digital classroom… and back again. And we want you to know that we are here to support you in your academic journey!
With summer fast approaching (and no homework or school to worry about), it’s the perfect time to relax and crack open a good book or a few (who’s counting?🤷). We love beach reads as much as the next person, but they can be more about style than substance. Summer is a great time to read those books that make you think deeply, with compelling stories and unforgettable characters, and have time to reflect on what you’ve read.
Check out the CCPS High Schools’ Summer 2021 Reading List and get some ideas… and maybe a head start on the 2021-2022 school year.
And yes, yes… we know that this might seem like a shameless plug for the high schools. But we know the value of reading throughout the summer to prevent that dreaded “summer slump” and if that gets you ready for next year, that’s a win in our books! (Just a little library humor there 😁).
Below you will find links to every book we have available in our digital collections that are on the high school lists, along with a copy of the CCPS High Schools’ Summer Reading List pdf for reference (or if the dog eats it!)
We have so many online resource offerings, we just know you will find something that you’ll love!
Need a library card? Please visit Get a Library Card to sign up for one today!
CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING LISTS 2021-2022
The Charles County Honors/AP/Dual Enrollment English program requires students to complete summer reading to prepare them for the upcoming school year and to give teachers a common ground with which to begin instruction.
Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game
Jacqueline Woodson, Miracle’s Boys
Walter Dean Myers, Slam
David Lubar, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Firoozeh Dumas, Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
Walter Dean Myers, Monster
Kathryn Stockett, The Help
Marie Marquardt, Radius of Us
Walter Dean Myers, Street Love
Michael Lewis, The Blind Side
Reyna Grande, The Distance Between Us: A Memoir
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Chimamanda Ngozi Abichie, Half of a Yellow Sun
Richard Wright, Native Son
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
* This work has been approved by the CCPS Review Committee for its literary merit and its appropriate alignment with theme and course objectives. It may include, within its historical and/or cultural context, material or language such as violence, profanity, or sexual content that is intended for the mature reader. CCPS honors requests for alternative titles.
AP Summer Reading Lists By High School and AP Class
AP Literature
August Wilson, Fences
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
AP Language
Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy
Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle
AP Literature
Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
AP Language
Greta Thunberg, No One is Too Small to Make a Difference
Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle
AP Literature
Read Chopin’s The Awakening and choose one from the required list below:
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
JD Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Chang-Rae Lee, A Gesture Life
Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth
Richard Wright, Native Son
Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
AP Language
Michelle Obama, Becoming
Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey From War to Peace
(Unavailable through CCPL)
AP Literature
George Orwell, 1984
Read Orwell’s 1984 and choose one from the required list below:
Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
William Styron, Sophie’s Choice
AP Language
Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy
AP Literature
Thomas C. Foster, How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Revised Edition – copyright 2014)
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
AP Language
Dave Eggers, Zeitoun
Steven Galloway, The Cellist of Sarajevo
AP Literature
Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House
Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
AP Language
Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Jonathan Kozol, Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation
AP Literature
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
AP Language
Arthur Miller, The Crucible
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
