Summer Reading 2018

Starting in 2017, Central Catholic High School adopted an All-School Summer Reading List.  Rather than dictating a specific book to each grade-level,  each year a theme is chosen and list of title choices is created.

There are two main reasons why:

1. We hope that giving readers a degree of choice in what they read will make the summer reading process more enjoyable.
2. We hope that the theme of the list will be one that will foster discussion between all members of our community.

The 2018 list consists of Young Adult literature, plus a Graphic Novel, and four works of Non-Fiction.  All of them have been chosen because they provide excellent material for generating discussion on the themes of taking action for Social Justice.

We will be upfront about it:  some of the best written, most thematically appropriate, literature contains words and ideas that could make some readers uncomfortable. At the same time, the injustices that occur in the books are injustices that occur in the real world, and are not comfortable topics.  To that end, we have done our best to identify cases where a book may have strong language, or discuss mature themes that might be a barrier to some readers' enjoyment of the book.  You can find that information on the individual pages for each book on this site.  Take some time in making your choice; we have taken time to make sure there are options for many different kinds of readers on the list.

Note to Parents, Guardians, and other Responsible Adult Caretakers

As much as we would like our students to “own” their choice,  there may be selections on the reading list that you would prefer your student not choose to read. As a responsible caretaker you have the right to be involved in your student’s selections, and we absolutely respect that right. We worked hard to create a list that should have something to meet every reader’s needs, and our goal is not to force challenging reading, but to foster discussion on the theme and keep students engaged in reading over the summer.

Comparison Chart to Help With a Quick Decision

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

—Ray Bradbury, The Seattle Times