WHS Students and staff,

This summer let’s level up our reading and make ALL our reading count towards our reading goal and support some great causes in the process! Log ALL your reading to help us reach our summer reading goal and raise money for our local food bank and The World Central Bank!  Here's how:

1. Log all books you complete on the Wethersfield Library Summer Reading Form. This form, also, enters you in raffles for some   great prizes from Wethersfield Library. See details in the presentation below.

2. Log all your other reading (online articles, magazines, newspapers, unfinished books) on the WHS Readathon Form. 

The total number of pages logged on both forms will be tabulated towards our goal of 800,000 pages.

Click on the appropriate link above to see summer reading recommendations or requirements by class or grade. Students taking AP and ECE classes make sure to check the links above for any summer reading requirements and assignments. Of course, your reading assignments can be logged toward our summer reading goal, too!

Email me at nszilagyi@wethersfield.me

Email me at nszilagyi@wethersfield.me

Students entering Honors are recommended to read one book of their choosing and one of the following books:   Mythology by E. Hamilton, Circe by Madeline Miller, Troy by Adele Geras, Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin, or The Help by Kathryn Stockett or any other Mythology books located in the book bin.

Students entering Level 1 are recommended to read two age-appropriate books of their choosing.

Questions to consider:

1. What theme or central idea is introduced in the story, and how does it evolve and develop?

2. How would you objectively summarize the text?

Students entering Honors are recommended to read one book of their choosing and one of  the  following:

             The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White

             Snow in August by Pete Hamill

Students entering Level 1 are recommended to read two age-appropriate books of their choosing.

Questions to consider:

1. Identify a character who has multiple or conflicting motivations.

2. How does the character’s development and interactions with other characters help advance the plot or develop the theme?

Message from Mr. Roets and Mr. Martin: 

The first few weeks of freedom will be restful and lovely, and then we know you'll start to get bored and need some reading to keep your minds occupied. While we highly recommend reading some fun beach books, we're also (even more highly) recommending getting a jump on the reading with which we start the 11 Honors American Lit course.

When you return to school, we will immediately begin composing your first essay on Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys. Published in 2019, it is a compelling read based on the real-life Florida school named the Dozier School for Boys. You can learn more about the school here and the book here or here. You can buy copies (recommended) or borrow from the WPS or WHS Media Center. The ebook and audiobook are available in Sora. We have a few copies you may borrow, please stop by Room 318 or Room 302 to grab an extra copy. You are responsible for the care and return of any WHS-owned copy of the text. The expectation is for you to READ THIS OVER THE SUMMER. 

As supplemental readings, and to get some more potential context, we also read Te-Nihisi Coates’ Between the World and Me (we have some copies we can loan you - see Mr. Martin or Mr. Roets, and there is an HBO film version here) and James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, also available as a pdf (focus on the first essay - “My Dungeon Shook- Letter to My Nephew on the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation”).   We will be using these books right away - right after the Labor Day weekend. You will be writing about them within those first two weeks of school, engaging with this assignment.  Do yourself a huge favor and read these works BEFORE school starts. Don't do the assignment yet, but be aware of what it is asking you to do with these texts while you read them.

It is going to be a busy year; you will read seventeen complete works by American authors (fiction, memoir, drama - here’s the list from last year), along with some supplemental reading, AND you will write 9-10 compositions, along with some shorter reflection pieces. Don’t let your mind go soft over the summer - prepare it! 

Enjoy your summer - Mr. Martin and Mr. Roets

Grade 11 and 12 students are recommended to complete a draft of the Common Application College Essay and read one book of their choice.  There are links on the WHS Writing Resources page to help you get started with the essay.  

Questions to consider with choice book:

1. What accomplishment, event, or realization sparked a period of personal growth for a character in your book?

2.  How does a character's background, identity, interest, or talent drive forward the events of the book?

3.  Select a quote from the novel and show how it illustrates the author's theme or message for that book.

• Students taking ECE 1007 (Roets) are required to read:

  • They Say I Say With Readings: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing  (2009 Edition or 2018 Edition) by G. Graff, C. Birkenstein and R. Durst

  • Think Again by Adam Grant (Email Mrs. Szilagyi if you are interested in a digital copy)

  • See Mr. Roets' website or this document for a full explanation of the summer reading expectations and assignments.

  • And don't forget to make some time to enjoy a beach read or two. See some suggestions and links below!

• Students taking AP Literature and Composition (Mucinskas) should read the following texts over the course of the summer: 

• TWO of the choice novels listed here. Some are paired by theme or author. If you choose a pair, please read both books in the pair.

  • Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte and Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys

  • The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

  • The Kitchen God’s Wife and The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan

  • Full Cicada Moon, Marilyn Hilton

  • the curious incident of the dog in the night time, Mark Haddon

  • The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros

  • Beloved, Toni Morrison

  • All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

  • Bel Canto, Ann Patchett

  • The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern

  • The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

  • If you have not read How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas Foster, or They Say I Say With Readings: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing (2009 Edition) by G. Graff, C. Birkenstein and R. Durst, please consider reading these in addition to the other books on the list.

See Ms. Wang's summer reading details here.  The reading links and assignment prompts may be found on second page. The completed assignment will be graded and is due by Google Classroom submission by the end of the second day of school, August 29, 2025.  

Note: This book fulfills one of the “choice” selections for English, except for AP/UConn ECE English, and may be logged on the Wethersfield Library Summer Reading Log.

All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
The Life and Death of Nazi Germany (not available in Sora), Robert Goldston

If students cannot access The Life and Death of Nazi Germany, they may read an alternate book: Nazi Germany: A Very Short Introduction, Jane Caplan 

Dear Parents,

Remember that as students mature and prepare for the transition to college and career, they will encounter more adult themes and situations in literature.  You are strongly encouraged to read and discuss books with your child. These discussions provide great opportunities to help you guide your child through the themes and how they relate to our world. Given the large selection of literature available, parents may wish to review the content of the texts. If you or your child find a selection objectionable, please encourage your child to find a book which you feel would be more suitable. If they would like some guidance have them reach out to Mrs. Szilagyi, our teacher-librarian or the public library staff.

English Department and School Library Media Services