Summer Reading List for Teens

Are your teens looking for new books this summer? Here are ten great reads!

1. “The Inheritance Cycle” by Christopher PaoliniThe Inheritance Cycle is the unforgettable, worldwide bestselling saga of one boy, one dragon, and a world of adventure. When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he and his dragon, Saphira, are thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands….

2. “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells“I’ve had a most amazing time….”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing first hand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era--and the story that

launched H.G. Well’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap

that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest

fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races--the

ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks--who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait

of the men of tomorrow as well. Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Well’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, “The Time Machine” will continue to enthrall readers for

generations to come.

3. “Around the World in Eighty days” by Jules VerneOne ill-fated evening at the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions 20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just

eighty days--and he is determined not to lose. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, the reserved Englishman

immediately sets off for Dover, accompanied by his hot-blooded French manservant Passepartout. Travelling by train, steamship,

sailing boat, sledge, and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks and the dogged

Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard--who believes that Fogg has robbed the Bank of England--to win the extraordinary wager. “Around the

World in Eighty Days” gripped audiences on its publication and remains hugely popular, combining exploration, adventure, and a

thrilling race against time.

4. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte BronteOrphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman’s passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte’s innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers.

5. “The Auralia Thread” by Jeffrey OverstreetSynopsis from book one, “Auralia’s Colors”:

When thieves find an abandoned child lying in a monster’s footprint, they have no idea that their wilderness discovery will change the course of history.

Cloaked in mystery, Auralia grows up among criminals outside the walls of House Abascar, where vicious beastmen lurk in shadow. There, she discovers

an unsettling--and forbidden--talent for crafting colors that enchant all who behold them, including Abascar’s hard-hearted king, an exiled wizard, and a

prince who keeps dangerous secrets.

Auralia’s gift opens doors from the palace to the dungeons, setting the stage for violent and miraculous change in the great houses of the Expanse.

“Auralia’s Colors” weaves literary fantasy together with poetic prose, a suspenseful plot, adrenaline-rush action, and unpredictable characters sure to

enthrall ambitious imaginations.

6. “The Maze Runner” by James DashnerIf you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing Maze. It’s the only way out--and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

7. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray BradburyGuy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literature future, “Fahrenheit 451” stands alongside Orwell’s “1984” and Huxley’s “Brave New World” as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel, which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

8. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott CardIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race, government agencies

breed children geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to

the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender’s skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young

soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include

loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother that he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest

for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie

the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.

9. “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre DumasThrown in prison for a crime he has not committed,

Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on

the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use

it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful

imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.

10. “The Book Thief” by Markus ZusakIt’s just a small story really, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist--books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

www.homeschoolliterature.com

www.facebook.com/homeschoolliterature

Twitter: @homeschoollit

Email: homeschoolliterature@gmail.com