2025 Eleventh Grade to Twelfth Grade Summer Reading Book List Eleventh to Twelfth Grade Summer Reading Book List Nickel and DimedBarbara EhrenreichIn Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich lives on low-wage jobs to expose the harsh reality of poverty in America. Working multiple exhausting roles, she reveals how survival demands constant effort. The book uncovers the struggles, resilience, and hidden generosity in low-income America, highlighting ongoing economic inequality.Eats, Shoots & LeavesLynne TrussEats, Shoots & Leaves is a witty bestseller by Lynne Truss defending proper punctuation. Blending history and humor, it shows how commas and apostrophes shape meaning and cause hilarious mistakes when misused. Through lively examples, Truss passionately argues for preserving punctuation’s vital role in clear communication.The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksRebecca SklootThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the true story of Henrietta, whose cells, taken without consent, became vital to medical breakthroughs. Her family remained unaware and uncompensated, revealing deep ethical and racial issues in science. Rebecca Skloot’s gripping narrative explores science, ethics, and the human cost behind discovery.Hidden FiguresMargot Lee ShetterlyHidden Figures reveals the true story of Black female mathematicians at NASA who, despite segregation and discrimination, played crucial roles in the Space Race. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden broke barriers, helping America dominate space and advance civil rights.EducatedTara WestoverTara Westover, raised by survivalists in Idaho, never attended school until age seventeen. Isolated from society and family violence shaped her early life. After her brother’s college success, Tara pursued education, eventually reaching Harvard and Cambridge. Her journey transformed her but left her questioning how far she’d strayed from home.Just MercyBryan StevensonBryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative to defend the poor, wrongly accused, and marginalized. His first major case involved Walter McMillian, sentenced to death for a crime he denied. This case revealed deep injustice and shaped Stevenson’s commitment to mercy, justice, and compassion in his legal fight.“Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Mandela was a global moral and political icon, celebrated for his fight against apartheid in South Africa. After 27 years in prison, he helped lead the country to multiracial democracy as president of the African National Congress and later South Africa. Mandela remains a powerful symbol of human rights and equality worldwide.The Glass CastleJeannette WallsThe Glass Castle is a powerful memoir about Jeannette Walls’s resilient childhood in a chaotic, loving, yet dysfunctional family. Her charismatic but troubled father and free-spirited mother shaped a life of hardship and survival. Despite it all, the children support each other and find success. The book was adapted into a 2017 film starring Brie Larson.Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and YouJason Reynolds and Ibram X. KendiStamped explores how racist ideas were created and spread in America, showing their deep roots in society. It offers an urgent, clear guide to recognizing and challenging racism, inspiring readers to help build a more just, antiracist future.Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American CityMatthew DesmondIn Evicted, sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight Milwaukee families battling homelessness and poverty. Through vivid, heartbreaking stories, the book reveals the harsh realities of eviction and economic injustice, reshaping our understanding of poverty and housing crises in America, while offering insights for lasting solutions.A People’s History of the United StatesHoward ZinnA People’s History of the United States tells America’s story through the eyes of women, workers, African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, and the poor. Covering from Columbus to Clinton, it highlights grassroots struggles for justice and equality, revealing history’s often overlooked voices and fights for rights.The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great MigrationIsabel WilkersonIn The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the Great Migration through the lives of three Black Americans who fled the South for new lives in the North and West. Blending deep research with vivid storytelling, she reveals a transformative chapter in American history with power, grace, and humanity. The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeThe Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of a man who trades his soul for eternal youth and beauty. While he stays outwardly flawless, his portrait ages and reveals his hidden corruption, exposing Victorian society’s dark hypocrisy and the cost of secret sins.KindredOctavia ButlerKindred is a visionary time-travel novel featuring a Black female hero pulled from 1976 California to antebellum Maryland. Dana must protect her ancestor’s oppressor to ensure her own birth, confronting the brutal realities of slavery while struggling to preserve her identity and autonomy.The Scarlet LetterNathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet Letter is a canonical American novel set in 17th-century Puritan New England, exploring sin, guilt, and revenge. It centers on Hester Prynne, marked by public shame, Arthur Dimmesdale, wracked by secret guilt, their daughter Pearl, and the vengeful Roger Chillingworth.Brave New WorldAldous HuxleyBrave New World by Aldous Huxley imagines a future where humans are genetically engineered, socially controlled, and drugged to maintain an authoritarian society. It warns of lost freedom and humanity under technological dominance. Written amid 1930s fascism, it remains relevant today in a world shaped by media, tech, and elite influence.Pride and PrejudiceJane AustenPride and Prejudice by Jane Austen follows the sharp-witted Elizabeth Bennet, who initially misjudges the proud Mr. Darcy. Their evolving relationship reveals themes of first impressions, social manners, and class in provincial England. Austen’s classic humor and insight bring to life friendship, gossip, and love in the middle class.Great ExpectationsCharles DickensGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens tells the story of Pip, an orphan dreaming of becoming a gentleman. From his harsh rural beginnings to London’s bustling streets, he navigates crime, guilt, love, and revenge. Filled with vivid characters like Magwitch, Estella, and Miss Havisham, it’s considered Dickens’ finest novel—rich in psychological depth and masterful plot twists.Never Let Me GoKazuo IshiguroKathy reflects on her childhood at Hailsham, a secluded English boarding school with mysterious rules and secrets. As she reconnects with old friends Ruth and Tommy, she uncovers the chilling truth about their purpose and the meaning of their carefully shaped lives.The Joy Luck ClubKazuo IshiguroKathy reflects on her childhood at Hailsham, a secluded English boarding school with mysterious rules and secrets. As she reconnects with old friends Ruth and Tommy, she uncovers the chilling truth about their purpose and the meaning of their carefully shaped lives.The Joy Luck ClubAmy TanFour Chinese immigrant women in San Francisco bond over mahjong and memories, sharing stories of love, loss, and cultural identity. Amy Tan explores the generational tension and deep connection between mothers and daughters, revealing how secrets, pain, and love shape their intertwined lives.Les MisérablesVictor HugoVictor Hugo’s Les Misérables follows Jean Valjean, a former convict seeking redemption, as he navigates injustice, poverty, and revolution in 19th-century France. With unforgettable characters like Inspector Javert and Fantine, the novel explores themes of mercy, law, and human dignity in an epic story of moral struggle and social critique.War and PeaceLeo TolstoyWar and Peace follows Pierre, Andrei, and Natasha as they navigate love, identity, and purpose during Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia. Tolstoy’s sweeping epic blends historical drama with personal struggles, portraying individuals across classes as they confront fate, war, and the search for meaning in a turbulent era.1984George OrwellMary Shelley’s In a dystopian future ruled by Big Brother, Winston Smith secretly rebels against a regime that rewrites truth and punishes thought. As he questions reality and seeks freedom, Winston discovers the terrifying cost of dissent. 1984 is a chilling vision of totalitarian control and the enduring fight for individuality.BelovedToni MorrisonSethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. About VSA Future Learning CenterFounded in 2015, VSA Future Learning Center offers engaging academic enrichment to students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. In Reading & Writing, Math, Public Speaking, SAT, and more, they’ve developed active learning models in their classrooms, where students have the chance to engage with new concepts, participate in meaningful group discussions, and build confidence in small-group settings, both virtually and in person. Between 2021 and 2025, 118 VSA students have earned regional and national awards in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. VSA enrollment is open for its summer camp, summer evening classes in ELA, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension, and its full slate of 2025–26 school year classes in English, Math, Reading & Writing, and Public Speaking. Learn more at www.vsafuture.com, call 973-951-9600, and visit at 600 S. Livingston Ave, Ste 105, Livingston, NJ 07039.
