Humanities Literature Great Books from High School Summer Reading Lists Share Flipboard Email Print Jetta Productions / Getty Images Literature Best Sellers Top Picks Lists Authors Reviews Book Clubs & Classes Classic Literature Contemporary Literature Plays & Drama Poetry Quotations Shakespeare Short Stories Children's & Young Adult Books View More by Erin Collazo Miller Updated March 08, 2017 High school summer reading lists are legendary. Many of us, however, managed to make it out of high school without being assigned some essential summer reading titles. This summer, why not pick up a book from this list? These books are so entertaining, they will make you wonder why you ever dreaded summer reading assignments. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee You save: Buy from Amazon To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Alabama in the 1930s and is told from a child's viewpoint. The story deals with race, outcasts and growing up. It is a quick, well-written book that is easy to enjoy.To Kill A Mockingbird Book Club Discussion Questions 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston You save: Buy from Amazon Their Eyes Were Watching God is a sensual novel about an African-American woman in rural Florida that was first published in 1937. While it is an important telling of the black experience, it is also a story of love and strength with a voice that will draw you in and hook you.Their Eyes Were Watching God Book Club Discussion Questions '1984' by George Orwell You save: Buy from Amazon 1984 is a gripping, terrifying and suspenseful novel that is as relevant today as when it was first written. This is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley You save: Buy from Amazon and 1984 are often lumped together on reading lists, although they paint very different pictures of what the future may hold. Brave New World is funny, clever and will help you better understand a lot of cultural references. 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald You save: Buy from Amazon The Great Gatsby is a short book about the American dream with great characters and descriptions of life (for the wealthy) in the 1920s. 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker You save: Buy from Amazon Read the book that has inspired countless other books, movies, and TV shows. Dracula is written through letters and diary entries and will make you feel like an intimate player in a foreign world. 'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo You save: Buy from Amazon Although I am normally not a fan of abridging novels, I admit that I first read an abridged translation of Les Miserables. Even abridged, it was a great book and became one of my all time favorites. Whether you try the full 1,500 pages or take a 500-page version, this is a must-read the story of love, redemption, and revolution. 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck You save: Buy from Amazon In high school, half my class loved The Grapes of Wrath and half hated it. I loved it. The Grapes of Wrath is the story of a family during the Great Depression, but the descriptions and symbolic imagery tell a much bigger tale. This is definitely a classic in American literature. 'The Things They Carried' by Tim O'Brien You save: Buy from Amazon The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is a collection of short stories that creates a bigger story. O'Brien writes about the Vietnam War and how it affected a group of soldiers. The writing is excellent, and the book is powerful. 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' by John Irving You save: Buy from Amazon Although high school summer reading is often classics, great works of contemporary literature often make the cut as well. A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of those books. You will not be sorry if you add it to your summer reading list. citecite this article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Miller, Erin Collazo. "Great Books from High School Summer Reading Lists." ThoughtCo, Feb. 12, 2017, thoughtco.com/great-books-from-high-school-summer-reading-lists-362612. Miller, Erin Collazo. (2017, February 12). Great Books from High School Summer Reading Lists. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/great-books-from-high-school-summer-reading-lists-362612 Miller, Erin Collazo. "Great Books from High School Summer Reading Lists." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/great-books-from-high-school-summer-reading-lists-362612 (accessed April 20, 2018). copy citation Continue Reading