Every year Upper School students nominate books to be read in addition to their required summer reading. A student who nominates a book must give a "pitch" at the Summer Reading Convocation, which was held on May 23rd this year. All Upper School students choose one book from this list (although many students choose more). When we return to school in the fall, there will be an advisory devoted to discussing the books that each student selected. I think this year's list is one of the best we've ever had!
All of these books will be available in the Edith Hamilton Library, and most will be available in Bryn Mawr's Overdrive e-Book Collection. Just type in your Bryn Mawr e-mail address to download a book.
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How to Say Goodbye in Robot, by Natalie Standiford. "How to Say Goodbye in Robot is an unconventional love story set in Baltimore, Maryland. Beatrice Szabo, the main character, is a new student at Canton High School for her senior year and immediately meets who she thinks are going to be her new friends. However, she develops a new connection with Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, the outcast of the grade who’s first and only friend is Beatrice. But their friendship isn’t based on parties or gossip, which is all that everyone else seems to care about. Instead they bond over late night radio shows, impromptu trips to ocean city, and even finding Jonah’s long lost twin brother, who they thought was dead. The beauty of the book is how predictable everything seems to be, and then suddenly taking a turn for the opposite. It takes a typical context and makes it into something beautiful, teaching the power of friendship and how to navigate loss."
Grace
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Circe, by Madeline Miller. "This page-turner follows the story of Circe, a powerful sorceress and the daughter of Helios, god of the Sun. Circe is struggling to find where she belongs, having to make a difficult choice between her world of the gods and the mortals she has learned to love. In a story spanning thousands of years, she encounters some of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Icarus, and, of course, Odysseus. Circe is a beautifully written and poetic tale, full of lively and complex characters. The book celebrates female strength and tells stories of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love, and loss. Circe is one of my favorite books and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy, mythology, or just a good read."
Sasha
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Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng “Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.” In true Celeste Ng fashion, this book opens with an intentionally ambiguous and shocking scene: the image of a house that was set on fire, and the knowledge that one of the characters, Isabelle, did it. From here, the book backtracks to how it all started: what happened leading up to this event? Little Fires Everywhere explores the story of how two families become entangled after the Warrens rent a house from the Richardsons. While the Richardsons are a picture perfect family: 4 kids, the dad being a lawyer, and the mom a reporter, the Warrens are a literal 180 from that: Mia, an art nomad, is the single mother of Pearl, and they constantly travel and never stay in the same location for more than a few months at a time. When a close friend of the Richardsons adopts a baby abandoned at a fire station, Mia soon realizes that this baby is - or was - the child of one of her coworkers. With no shortage of strong female leads, this book dives into each of the characters and what makes them unique and dynamic individuals who stand out from each other. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book and think that you would too, especially if you liked Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, or any of John Green’s books."
Cynthia
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Blood Water Paint, by Joy McCullough "Italian Renaissance painter, Artemisia Gentileschi. As a child, Artemisia was faced with the decision to either join a convent and become a nun or to work in her father’s painting studio, grinding pigments for paint. She chooses paint. Artemisia grows to be a talented painter, one even better than her own father. She ends up working for her father, painting his commissions while he takes the credit for her work, living in a world where she has to “beg and fight and scrape for scraps while he just has to glance upon a thing to make it his.” Blood Water Paint tells the story of Artemisia’s rape by a man that her father hired to teach her to paint better and the aftermath of this earth-shattering event as she tries her best to keep living. Her story is woven together with the stories of the women who are the subjects of two of her most famous paintings: Susanna and Judith. Artemisia painted these women knowing and wanting to change the fact that to men, women are either “heavenly angels on high or earthbound sculptures for their gardens. But either way, we’re beauty for their consumption.” The moving stories of those two women are told in the voice of Artemisia’s mother, the same as when she was telling those stories to a younger Artemisia. Artemisia’s story is told in poetry and the stories of Susanna and Judith are told in prose. This moving story shines a light on the lives of women in the past and how women can find empowerment within themselves despite not receiving it from anyone else. This story of Artemisia Gentileschi will show you what a woman can do." (Common Sense Media recommends for age 14 and up.)
Katy
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The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon "The Sun is Also a Star is a great book and here's why. It’s not like other YA romance book, it doesn’t follow the same formula that’s literally in every teen romance book. No no no!!! This one, is fancy. The whole book is centered on one day, and to Natasha and Daniel ( the main characters) it might be one of the most important days of their lives. (No spoilers everything I’m saying is in the first chapter) Natasha is faced with deportation and is trying everything she can to stop it from happening, and Daniel has an interview with Yale, both events basically determining their future. It goes over philosophy and science, and each character they encounter has their own chapter, and you can see how every single character is affected by every action that happens in the novel. It also has a movie which you can see now. All of the characters are deep and interesting, and there’s comedy, action, and love. This is a 10/10 multicultural amazing book, that you won’t be able to put it down."
Maggie
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Wild, by Cheryl Strayed "Cheryl Strayed, a woman with a harrowing past, tries to find clarity within her life by embarking on a 2,000 mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail. Wild is Cheryl’s story. It is an autobiography about the obstacles she faced on the trail, the people she met along the way, and the power that nature has in healing. In addition to sharing her story, Cheryl Strayed makes an amazing commentary on the strength and independence of women, as she hiked over two thousand miles from California to Washington solo. In addition to the strength of women, Cheryl Strayed also talks about the people she met along the way, and how their simple acts of kindness helped her to believe in herself and understand that there truly is good in the world. Lastly, Wild shows the value of going into situations that may be new or difficult, and how that can change a person for the better. Wild is a book for those who not only love nature, as Cheryl’s illustrations go far beyond the beyond the physical descriptions of the places she visits. This book is a must read for anyone who believes in the power of women, the importance of self reflection in the process of healing, and the ability of an everyday act of kindness to change one’s life." (Common Sense Media recommends for age 16 and up)
Emma
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Love In A Fallen City, by Eileen Chang "I want to recommend this book called Love In A Fallen City written by Eileen Chang, one of my favorite women writers. This book, like her other pieces, focuses on life of Chinese women in the mid 1900s, women who grew up in feudal and traditional Chinese families, later influenced by western culture as a result of colonization. In this book, Bai Liusu is this kind of woman, struggling between the culture conflicts and gender bias. She wants to find true love, but because of the old customs and social status, she has to sacrifice her rights for love. Also, the background of this story is during the war, which is an important factor leading to the happy end of the couple, as well as profits, but not the love itself."
Kiki
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Dear Evan Hansen, by Val Emmich "This year, I am nominating the novel Dear Evan Hansen for summer reading. You might be thinking, “Wasn’t that a musical, not a book?” but, the cool thing about the novel version of Dear Evan Hansen is that even though it has the same basic plot as the musical, and was written by the same people, it is its own entity, very separate from the musical. For those of you unfamiliar, Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a high-school senior named Evan. Following the instructions of his therapist, Evan writes a letter to himself in an attempt to boost his confidence. However, when that very note is discovered in Connor Murphy, the kid recently taken by suicide’s pocket, Evan tells a lie with world shattering consequences. The book is it’s own entity from the musical it’s based on. It adds new perspectives, new characters, and plenty of new scenes - both hilarious, and devastating. I maybe possibly definitely cried 8 times while reading this book. It’s a beautiful story, portraying mental illness, dealing with loss, and navigating social experiences beautifully, and I hope you consider choosing to read it." (Common Sense Media recommends for age 15 and up)
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1984, by George Orwell"The year is 1984. The supercontinents of Oceania and Eurasia are still raging against one another in their eternal war, the Thought Police continue to arrest any and all enemies of the state, and of course, Big Brother is always watching. In his classic dystopian novel, 1984, George Orwell spins a cautionary tale about government censorship and what the future of humanity may look like if we don’t protect our privacy and right to dissent. This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand their society and what its future may hold if it spirals towards technology-fueled authoritarianism."
Keri
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Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell "The book I'm nominating is called Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. The book was set in 1986. Eleanor is a "big girl" who is regularly bullied at school for being weird, and she also deals with difficult home life. Park comes from a stable and somewhat happy home. Eleanor and Park first meet on the bus and at first share quiet bus rides together but then start to learn more about each other. They soon start dating. In the book, you can see how their relationship grows, how Park's parents react to Eleanor, how Eleanor deals with her home life. Throughout the book, you get to see how two totally different people can find love. The book is very well written and will make you feel happy and sad at the same time. John Green describes the book as 'Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book.' I mean if John Green said it's a good book, then its probably a good book. "
Tuleh
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Hale "Last January, I attended a community presentation about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, in which one speaker had stood at the podium and announced, “There was Martin and then there was Malcolm. Thank god Martin won.” For me, that experience spoke profoundly to how misrepresented Malcolm X—one of the most influential yet controversial figures of the Civil Rights Era—has become in the American consciousness, and how much we could stand to gain in learning about Malcolm X from his own words. Having perused through countless novels on the subject matter, I can say with authority that no book is more compelling than Alex Haley’s memoir of Malcolm X’s legendary life-story. Compiled from personal interviews, correspondences, and orations, this astonishing narrative takes its reader through every stage of Malcolm’s life—from his impoverished upbringing in Harlem to his enthrallment with the Civil Rights cause—in lucid and intimate detail. In this memoir, Malcolm X’s authentic voice shines through: it is powerful, unbridled, and simply heroic. The arc of his story—from redemptive anger, to a cleansing understanding, to violent death—struck me as something from a Greek epic or Shakespeare’s iconic works, but it is a uniquely American tragedy. In Malcolm, you witness a man who is unafraid to continue growing: to develop intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and most importantly, consistently relearn how to navigate this evolution in the throes of his greatest adversities. Malcolm X is by no means an easy hero to embrace. But in a nation that is still afflicted with the issues that became the lodestone of his cause—from the disenfranchisement of black voters to police brutality—Malcolm X’s words continue to resonate more profoundly than ever. If you are looking for a book that sheds light onto some of the most ingrained racial complexities of our nation, as well as brings light to the fragmented story of one of history’s most influential icons, The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a gripping and beautiful summer reading choice."
Noran
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The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu Dark forest theory explanation:
“The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter stalking through the trees like a ghost, gently pushing aside branches that block the path and trying to tread without sound. Even breathing is done with care. The hunter has to be careful, because everywhere in the forest are stealthy hunters like him. If he finds other life—another hunter, an angel or a demon, a delicate infant or a tottering old man, a fairy or a demigod—there’s only one thing he can do: open fire and eliminate them. In this forest, hell is other people. An eternal threat that any life that exposes its own existence will be swiftly wiped out. This is the picture of cosmic civilization. It’s the explanation for the Fermi Paradox.”
Cassie
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Bloodsworth, by Tim Junkin "Imagine, you're 25 years old, born and raised in Maryland, you served in the Marines with an honorable discharge, ran track and field in high school, and are an all-around model citizen. Now imagine that you are convicted of sexual assault, rape, and first-degree premeditated murder of a 9-year-old and sentenced to death row. The only thing is, you didn't do it. This is the true story of Kirk Bloodsworth, the first man to be exonerated from death row by DNA evidence, in the book Bloodsworth by Tim Junkin. The book centers around the story of Bloodsworth's false conviction, how the police unrightfully pinned such a heinous crime on him, and how he eventually was exonerated. This is the perfect book for any sort of true crime junkie like me. And if this wasn’t enough to get you interested, Mr. Kirk Bloodsworth is coming to speak to us next year so if you read the book you can meet him and ask questions. I hope you consider reading Bloodsworth this summer."
Lexi
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Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland Dread Nation imagines a post-Civil War United States in which the new racial order is predicated on containing the zombie apocalypse. Although Union and Confederates came together to combat the zombie threat and slavery is abolished, black people are still disenfranchised by the state. Only now, they're being used as canon fodder in the battle against the zombies. Jane McKeene is a black girl being trained to be a chaperone-protector for a white Baltimore society woman. But when she falls afoul of Baltimore's mayor, she is banished to the frontier, where the zombie threat is even more immediate and the corrupt underpinnings of this society are even starker and more apparent when they were on the East Coast. A zombie novel for people who don't like zombie novels, this book is worth reading if you like historical fiction, alternate universes, girl power, black power, or terrifyingly astute commentaries on the adaptability and durability of white supremacy in the US."
Dr. Spector-Marks
