Find information about Whitman Hanson Regional School District and South Shore Technical High School’s required summer reading assignments below. For the most up-to-date information and assignments for WHRSD students, visit the WHRSD website.
WHRHS Summer Reading List
Freshmen Honors
Sophomore Honors
Junior Honors
AP Language
Senior Honors
AP Literature
Hanson Middle School
Indian Head Elementary School
SST Incoming Grade 9
SST Incoming Grade 10
SST English 11 Honors
SST English 12 Honors
WHRHS Summer Reading List
All WHRHS students should select one book to read from the 2025 Summer Reading List and be prepared to complete a reflective writing assignment during the second week of school. See all information about summer work here.
- Behind You, Jacqueline Woodson || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Family of Liars, E. Lockhart || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Captain Alatriste, Arturo Perez-Reverte || eBook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Great or Nothing, Joy McCullough || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- We Are Displaced, Malala Yousafzai || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Stranger in the Woods, Michael Finkel || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- 47 Days, Annette Oppenlander || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla)
- Brownstone, Samuel Teer (Author)/Mar Julia (Illustrator) || eBook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Chris Mould’s War of the Worlds: A Graphic Novel, Chris Mould || No digital copies available
- Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Expeditionary Force: Columbus Day, Craig Alanson || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Safe Harbor, Padma Venkatraman || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Booked, Kwame Alexander || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Night Road, Kristin Hannah || eBook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Two Degrees, Alan Gratz || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Blacktongue Thief, Christopher Buehlman || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Stranger, Albert Camus || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- 1984, George Orwell || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Beowulf, Translation by Seamus Heaney || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
updated 6/19/25
Freshmen Honors
All AP and Honors students must choose one book from the Summer Reading List as well as the following books/short stories. See all information about summer work here.
- Whistling Past the Graveyard, Susan Crandell || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- “The Most Dangerous Game,” Richard Connell || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
updated 6/19/25
Sophomore Honors
All AP and Honors students must choose one book from the Summer Reading List as well as the following books/short stories. See all information about summer work here.
- Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Between Shades of Gray, Ruth Sepetys || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
updated 6/19/25
Junior Honors
All AP and Honors students must choose one book from the Summer Reading List as well as the following books/short stories. See all information about summer work here.
- one classic novel from the list below
Classic Novels: Suggested Titles
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
- All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
- The Awakening, Kate Chopin
- The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
- The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
- Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
- The Cider House Rules, John Irving
- A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
- The Color Purple, Alice Walker
- Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Anne Tyler
- Dracula, Bram Stoker
- Fences (play), August Wilson
- The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Handmaid’s Tale. Margaret Atwood
- Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
- The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
- The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
- The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
- The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
- Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
- The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
- Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
- On the Road, Jack Kerouac
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
- The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
- The Road, Cormac McCarthy
- The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
- The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
- Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
- Watchmen, Alan Moore
updated 6/19/25
AP Language
All AP and Honors students must choose one book from the Summer Reading List as well as the following books/short stories. See all information about summer work here.
- one classic novel from the list below
Classic Novels: Suggested Titles
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
- All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
- The Awakening, Kate Chopin
- The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
- The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
- Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
- The Cider House Rules, John Irving
- A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
- The Color Purple, Alice Walker
- Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Anne Tyler
- Dracula, Bram Stoker
- Fences (play), August Wilson
- The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Handmaid’s Tale. Margaret Atwood
- Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
- The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
- The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
- The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
- The Jungle, Upton Sinclair
- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
- Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
- The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
- Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
- On the Road, Jack Kerouac
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
- The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
- The Road, Cormac McCarthy
- The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
- The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
- Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
- Watchmen, Alan Moore
updated 6/19/25
Senior Honors
All AP and Honors students must choose one book from the Summer Reading List as well as the following books/short stories. See all information about summer work here.
- 1 memoir/biography from the list below
- “Sweat Equity” from Talking As Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
Memoirs and Biographies
- Born a Crime, Trevor Noah || eBook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- What My Bones Know, Stephanie Foo || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Becoming, Michelle Obama || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Obsessed: A Memoir of My Life with OCD, Allison Britz || No digital copies available
- Educated, Tara Westover || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor, Eddie Jaku || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Cat I Never Named, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter, Adeline Yen Mah || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy Kaling || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- Thanks to My Mother, Schoschana Rabinovici || eBook (OverDrive/Libby)
- Look Me in the Eye, John Elder Robison || eBook (Overdrive/Libby)
- Why Fathers Cry at Night, Kwame Alexander || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The /Stor/m of Steel, Ernst Junger || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Shoe Dog, Phil Knight || eBook (Overdrive/Libby)
- In Conclusion, Don’t Worry About It, Lauren Graham || eBook (Overdrive/Libby) || Audiobook (Overdrive/Libby)
updated 6/19/25
AP Literature
All AP and Honors students must choose one book from the Summer Reading List as well as the following books/short stories. See all information about summer work here.
- Hamlet, William Shakespeare || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
updated 6/19/25
Hanson Middle School
Indian Head Elementary School
SST Incoming Grade 9
Choose one book from the list below to read and complete the written assignment. See all information about summer work here.
- Calvin, Martine Leavitt || No digital copies available
- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Stephen King || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, Neal Bascomb || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- We Were Liars, E. Lockhart || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- Foolish Hearts, Emma Mills || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Elevation, Stephen King || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Wires and Nerve, Marissa Meyer || eBook (OverDrive/Libby)
For students who have an Individualized Education Plan, choose one book from the list below to read and complete the written assignment. See all information about summer work here.
- Foolish Hearts, Emma Mills || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Elevation, Stephen King || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Wires and Nerve, Marissa Meyer || eBook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, Neal Bascomb || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
updated 6/21/25
SST Incoming Grade 10
Choose one book from the list below to read and complete the written assignment. See all information about summer work here.
- Ashfall, Mike Mullin || eBook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, Sarah Miller || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- Eliza and Her Monsters, Francesca Sappia || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- I Will Always Write Back, Caitlin Alifirenka || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla)
- Soundless, Richelle Mead || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- A Mango-Shaped Space, Wendy Mass || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
For students who have an Individualized Education Plan, choose one book from the list below to read and complete the written assignment. See all information about summer work here.
- Ashfall, Mike Mullin || eBook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, Sarah Miller || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- Eliza and Her Monsters, Francesca Sappia || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- I Will Always Write Back, Caitlin Alifirenka || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (hoopla)
- Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla)
- Soundless, Richelle Mead || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby)
- A Mango-Shaped Space, Wendy Mass || eBook (OverDrive/Libby) || Audiobook (OverDrive/Libby) || eBook (hoopla) || Audiobook (hoopla)
updated 6/21/25
SST English 11 Honors
For English 11 honors, students must acquire a physical copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and complete the written assignment. Find more information about the assignment here.
updated 6/21/25
SST English 12 Honors
For English 12 honors, students must read Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and complete the written assignment. Find more information about the assignment here (link coming soon).
updated 6/3/24