English Department, Grades 9-12
Many colleges develop summer reading programs with one or more books for the campus community or their incoming freshmen to read. These books are meant to be a common point of reference used to spark discussion and conversation among campus members with regard to a significant issue currently facing society.
In a school where people from all walks of life are studying different subjects and are engaged in different interests, a book can be the bridge to understanding these differences or pushing against assumptions; it can serve as the one area of commonality among students of every grade level as well as faculty, staff, and the community.
In alignment with this collegiate philosophy, and the district and iCARE’s 2019-2020 mental health initiative, Colonie Central High School’s English department has selected Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon for its grade 9-12 student body, faculty, staff, and community to read before the start of the school year. It will become a point of reference in class discussions and lessons throughout the school year in English and possibly other subject areas as well.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five American adults currently experience mental illness in a given year, and one in five youth (ages 13-18) experience a severe mental disorder, with half of all chronic mental illness beginning by age 14. When students learn about mental health, the likelihood increases that they will be more likely to recognize signs and symptoms related to mental health issues in themselves and others, and they will know where to turn for help. In turn, and through appropriate education, the stigma that surrounds mental health will ideally decrease. Quality mental health education is especially urgent right now, as serious issues such as teen suicide, bullying and cyberbullying, and opioid and alcohol addictions impact children’s lives both in and out of school. Enhancing student understanding, attitudes, and behaviors that promote health, well-being, and human dignity is an important goal of such educational programs.
In her novel, Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon tells the fictional story of seventeen year old Maddy Whittier who suffers from the rare disease known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID). Because of her disease, Maddy is confined to her own home and has minimal contact with the outside world. Told from Maddy’s point of view, the novel also addresses the disease’s impact on her mother and a young boy named Olly. Each character’s situation reveals the toll of personal struggles upon his or her mental health and acknowledges that there is no easy solution to such struggles. Everything, Everything is an innovative, inspiring, and heartbreakingly romantic debut novel that unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, illustrations, and more.
Enjoy, ponder, question, or debate the ideas of this book so that we can exercise the mind, enhance literacy skills, and start to explore our conceptions of mental health.
AP English Literature and Composition
Over the course of the school year, you will be reading various works by recognized canonical writers in preparation for the challenging College Board exam at the end of the school year. This exam is skills-based, evaluating your reading and writing skills at a college level. Since reading is crucial to success in this course, it is expected that you have an appetite for reading.
In conjunction with reading Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, you must select one work from the list below. While reading, maintain careful notes regarding characters, conflicts, plot structure, themes, and any purposely employed literary devices. The listed works are indicative of the level of reading you can expect over the course of the school year. You will be required to write an essay about the selections in late September. Select one of the following:
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Billy Budd by Herman Melville
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Light in August by William Faulkner
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Native Son by Richard Wright
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Manby by James Joyce
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
English 121: SUNY Reading Literature
- Reading is one of the most valuable and pleasurable habits you can develop. Much of our class time together next year will be spent reading, talking and writing about the works we read.
In conjunction with reading Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, you must select one work from the list below. While reading, maintain careful notes regarding characters, conflicts, plot structure, themes, and any purposely employed literary devices. The listed works are indicative of the level of reading you can expect over the course of the school year. You will be required to write an essay about the selections in late September. Select one of the following:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov