MRHS Grades 8-12 Summer Reading 2025

This year, we asked educators and staff across departments to recommend different books for students to read over the summer. Our hope is that there will be something that captures the interest of every student. AP Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition students have specific books to read and assignments to complete. All other students are not required to read any of the books on this list – although we strongly encourage them to! Research has shown that reading a variety of books about different topics enhances vocabulary and language skills, and exposure to a wide range of texts introduces the reader to new words, phrases, and sentence structures, enriching their overall language abilities. Reading over the summer can boost critical thinking and concentration, because reading requires focus and engagement with characters, plots, and new information and ideas. We hope all Monomoy students will find a book they are interested in reading this summer, and the summer reading recommendations list we have created can help them find one that comes highly recommended by a teacher or staff member!

Science 

Ms. Dietz recommends:

• Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea 1st Edition by Michelle Francl 
• Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? And 114 Other Questions Paperback – July 4, 2016 by Mick O'Hare
• The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory 25th Anniversary Edition by Brian Greene 
• 39 Ways to Save the Planet: Real World Solutions to Climate Change - and the People Who Are Making Them Happen by Tom Heap and Arnold Schwarzenegger | Jan 14, 2022 
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Ms. Picariello recommends:

• Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark by Leigh Ann Henion 
• The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery 
• Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin 

Math

Ms. Howe recommends:

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 
• Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy 
• The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve 

History 

Mr. Anderson recommends:

• The Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick 
• The Revolutionary Sam Adams by Stacy Schiff 
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Mr. Millen recommends:

• Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein  
• Star Wars: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed 
• Coffeeland by Augustine Sedgewick 

Mr. Sumner recommends: 

• America Redux by Ariel Aberg-Riger 

English 

Ms. Forte-Doyle recommends

• Sonny Boy - an autobiography by Al Pacino 
• John & Paul: a love story in songs by Ian Leslie

Mr. Walsh recommends: 

• We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson 
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon 

Ms. Barnes recommends: 

• Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke 
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 
• Suspended by Jason Reynolds 

Mr. Syty recommends:

• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
• Running with the Buffaloes by Chris Lear 

World Language 

Ms. Peters recommends:

• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 
• Circe (audiobook is best!) by Madeline Miller
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 

Guidance 

Ms. Ginnetty recommends:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear 
• Anything by Brene Brown 
• Mindset by Carol Dweck 

Library 

Ms. Wheaton recommends:

• America Redux by Ariel Aberg-Riger
• All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir 
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Front Office

Ms. Rita recommends:

• Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 
• Running Man by Charlie Engle 

Career Education 

Ms. Armstrong recommends: 

• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
• The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
• Fourth Wing (series) by Rebecca Yarros
• Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
• James by Percival Everett
• The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Special Education

Ms. Oliver recommends:  

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Mr. Bonanni recommends:

• God of the Woods by Liz Moore
• Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
• First They Killed Father by Loung Ung 
• Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Liang 

Ms. Fonts recommends:

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 
• The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz