TNHS AP Lit Summer Reading Page
Welcome to the summer reading assignments page!
Summer reading is essential to staying "in the groove" while you aren't in school.
Information about Novels/Films
The films are also available for purchase on amazon.com. Many can also be rented at a video store or online for a fee. Since some may be difficult to come by, there is a possibility that screenings of the films can be arranged at TNHS during the summer. Ms. Green will make that information available closer to the end of school.
There are three themes to choose from. You should select one (1) book and one (1) feature film from one (1) of the thematic areas. You will complete a writing assignment after reading the novel/viewing the film.
Categories For The Novel/Film Projects
Magical Realism
The Effects of War and Destruction
The Question of Love and Memory
Book Choices for Each Category
Click on the Photos below to see the covers of the books for each theme.
Magical Realism
Midnight's Children is a 1980 book by Salman Rushdie that deals with India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of British India. It is considered an example of postcolonial literature and magical realism. The story is told by its chief protagonist, Saleem Sinai, and is set in the context of actual historical events as with historical fiction.
The Effects of War and Destruction
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction,written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985. Set in the near future, in a totalitarian Christian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency. The novel's title was inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which is a series of connected stories.
The Yellow Birds is the debut novel from American writer, poet, and Iraq war veteran Kevin Powers. Much of the novel draws upon Powers's experience serving a year as a machine gunner in Mosul and Tal Afar, Iraq, from February 2004 to March 2005 after enlisting in the Army at the age of 17
The Question of Love and Memory
The Book Thief is a novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. Narrated by Death, the book is set in Nazi Germany, a place and time when the narrator notes he was extremely busy. It describes a young girl's relationship with her foster parents, the other residents of their neighborhood, and a young Jewish man who hides in her home during the escalation of World War II.
Never Let Me Go is a 2005 Kazuo Ishiguro novel. Never Let Me Go is set in an alternate history and centres on Kathy, Ruth and Tommy respectively, who become entangled in a love triangle. These individuals are revealed to be human clones, whose sole function is to provide organs to wealthy donors in need of them in order to extend their lives beyond 100 years.
Film Choices For Each Category
Click on the Photos below to see the posters for the films for each theme.
Magical Realism
Life of Pi (PG) is a 2012 adventure drama film based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name. Directed by Ang Lee, the storyline revolves around an Indian man named Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, living in Canada and telling a novelist about his life story and how at 16 he survives a shipwreck in which his family dies, and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Pan’s Labyrinth (R) is a 2006 film directed by Guillermo del Toro. Set in 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.
The Effects of War and Destruction
Apocalypse Now (R) is a 1979 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film follows U.S. Army Captain Willard who sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, 'does not exist - nor will it ever exist'. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him.
Saving Private Ryan (R) is a 1998 film directed by Steven Spielberg. It opens with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, when amidst the fighting, two brothers are killed in action. Earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is killed in action. Their mother, Mrs. Ryan, is to receive all three of the grave telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, is given an opportunity to alleviate some of her grief when he learns of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, who is still alive, and decides to send out 8 men to find him and bring him back home to his mother.
The Question of Love and Memory
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (R) is a 2004 film directed by Michael Gondry. It follows Joel Barish, a man who is heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
Inception (PG-13) is a 2010 film directed by Christopher Nolan. The film centers on Dom Cobb, a skilled thief, who is the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception.
Contact me if you have any questions this summer!
Email: alaina.green@nelson.kyschools.us
Website: greenenglishtnhs.weebly.com
Phone: (502) 349-4650
Twitter: @alainamgreen