Pre-IB Recommended

Summer Reading List

The content of some of the titles may be more mature than

younger students may have previously encountered.

Please recognize that this is a voluntary reading list.

Not every book selected will suit every student. In a

democratic society, a variety of ideas must find voice. As

readers, teens have the choice to read the more mature

titles or to close the book.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Scythe is a science fiction book

set in the future where the human

population is immortal. The only way to

die is to be randomly killed or gleaned

by professional reapers known as

“scythes.” Citra and Rowan are two

teenagers who have been selected to

apprentice as scythes. They must learn

the art of killing and understand the

need. But, in a twist of fate, only one

will be chosen to become a scythe and

the winner will have to glean the loser.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

“Childhood memories are sometimes covered

and obscured beneath the things that come later,

like childhood toys forgotten at the bottom of a

crammed adult closet,” Neil Gaiman writes in his

slim, dark dream of a new novel. “But they are

never lost for good.” Who we used to be sometimes

seems like a faint shadow of who we are now, but

Gaiman helps us remember the wonder and terror

and powerlessness that owned us as children.

None of us ever really knows whether the

people we become as adults are worth the love and

protection given to us when we were too yount to

repay it in kikd. This novel manages to balance

frenetic action with wistful

self-knowledge-never missing a beat.

All We Have Left by Wendy Mills

Sixteen-year-old Jesse's brother

died on 9/11 in the Towers. She was only

two and it seems as though all of the

memories of Travis died when he did.

Surely, dying isn't the most important

thing about his life. Sixteen-year-old

Alia is Muslim and her parents just

grounded her. She is headed to her dad's

office on September 11, 2001 to discuss

the situation, even if it means she'll be

late to school. The background story is

on the news.

The real story is Jesse finally

learning what happened there and how

that impacts her life now.

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

One lie told by two little girls

who were almost certain that their

neighbor had to be the Ohio River

Monster. That’s all it took to convict

Wyatt Stokes. Tessa and Callie have

gone their separate ways and never

talked about the trial. Now Tessa has to

return to her hometown and another

body is found that bears the mark of the

serial killer they thought was behind

bars.

What if they were wrong? What if

the killer is still at large? What if

things aren’t always what they seem?

Don’t read this one before bed.

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

Graham and his best friend, Roxy, are

uber geeks. They’ve been best friends since

they were eight, bonding over Harry Potter.

They’ve joined a lot more fandoms since then,

but their true love is for The Chronicles of

Althena, The Greatest Comic Ever- the one

that inspired them to make their own comics.

They’ve never gotten to meet the creator,

because he’s a J.D. Salinger-level recluse.

But they get a once-in-a-lifetime

opportunity to score tickets, and it will

provide the most perfectly epic setting for

Graham to confess his true feelings to

Roxy…if he can pull it off.

If you’ve ever slaved for hours on the

perfect cosplay or cried way too much over

fictional characters, this book is for you!

Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Libby Strout lost her mother

unexpectedly when she was ten years

old. She ate her grief away, becoming

morbidly obese and a social media

spectacle. Jack Masselin is a popular

guy, with lots of cool friends, but he’s

working hard to hide a secret: he can’t

recognize any of them from day to day as

the result of a neurological condition

that causes facial blindness.

Jack and Libby’s worlds intersect

after a bullying incident, and their

resulting relationship ultimately

enriches both their lives in

surprising and wonderful ways.

My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows

If you want to read the true story of

Lady Jane Grey, cousin to the king in 16th

century England, check a history book or

Wikipedia. But if you want to read a

hilarious, ridiculous, and delightful

story of a reluctant bride who becomes a

reluctant queen in a world where some

people may or may not have the ability to

shapeshift into animals, then give this

book a try.

My Lady Jane is a lighthearted

historical comedy, perfect for

Anglophiles who don’t take themselves too

seriously or fans of The Princess Bride or

Monty Python. Caution: contains puns,

ferrets, and alternate history.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The paths of four teenagers

from different homelands converge

during their escape from the

violence of WWII. Follow their

journey in this rich historical

fiction novel as it retells one of

the greatest and least known

maritime tragedies of this time

through the eyes of these diverse

characters.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

In seventeen-year-old Mare’s

world, the Reds serve at the pleasure of

the Silvers, only because of the color

of their blood. Mare faces a life of

servitude until she finds herself

working in the Silver’s Royal Palace.

Once her hidden powers are discovered,

she is passed off as a long-lost Silver

princess against her will and forced

into an engagement to a Silver prince.

As she begins to work for the covert

Silver Guard resistance, she enters a

world of secrets and the betrayal of her

heart.

The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Alice Franklin of Healy High

was popular enough. That’s why she

was invited to Elaine’s party.

However, rumors can change

reputations quickly in a small

town, especially if the rumors

include sleeping with two guys in

one night and causing the death of

the most popular jock in the

school. Alice’s truth is revealed as

one student after another tells

what they “know.”

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

In this suspenseful novel,

Cadence Sinclair Eastman, 17 and

heiress to a fortune, returns to the

island of her childhood summers.

She hasn’t been to the island since

she was fifteen and suffered a

brain injury in a horrific

accident. As Cadence regains

snippets of her memory, readers

will be taken on an incredible ride

full of unexpected twists. Few will

see this ending coming!

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of

hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado

- taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along,

you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I

know the song about the rainbow and the happy little

bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be

a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked

Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can

be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow

brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say

she seized power and the power went to her head. And now

no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of

the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

In her debut Dreamology, Keating

explored what happens when we fall in

love with our dreams, and then they

become reality. She remains as

inventive as ever-maybe more so!-with

this wonderfully meta follow-up in

which the perfect-lifed Anabelle

discovers she’s the new protagonist in

the next novel from author Lucy

Keating (yes, you read that right!).

In Keating’s fun and whimsical

voice, the book questions how much our

life we really want plotted out, and how

much we’d like our story to be purely

ours.