St Mary High School
Summer Reading 2025
Our summer reading program provides students with the opportunity to maintain and
sharpen their reading and thinking skills over the school break. We are asking all students to
participate in our schoolwide program by reading the book for the class level they are entering in
the fall, as the assignment they complete will be graded upon their return.
The students are to choose one prompt from the list for their upcoming grade level and
complete a two-page paper when they have finished their reading. The essay prompts are
provided below. The essay will be due Monday, September 8th. All novels coincide with
literature and units that will be studied during the academic year and address present issues.
These novels will be a backdrop to incorporated activities, and it is expected that students will
have input from their summer reading novel to participate in class discussions.
Freshman – To Kill a Mockingbird CHOOSE 1 of the following:
1. Should the jury have voted to convict or acquit (find not guilty) Tom Robinson? You
should have at least three (3) pieces of evidence to back up your point.
2. Why does Atticus choose not to reveal to his children that Judge Taylor appointed him to
Tom's case? How does his decision affect Scout's perception of her father?
3. Would Heck Tate have filed charges against Tom Robinson so quickly if Tom were
white? Why or why not? Would Sheriff Tate have been so unwilling to file charges
against Boo Radley if Boo was black? Why or why not?
Sophomores (American Literature) – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn CHOOSE 1 of
the following:
1. Lying occurs frequently in this novel. Curiously, some lies, like those Huck tells to save
Jim, seem to be “good” lies, while others, like the cons of the duke and the dauphin, seem
to be “bad.” What is the difference? Are both “wrong”? Why does so much lying go on
in Huckleberry Finn?
2. Describe some of the models for families that appear in the novel. What is the importance
of family structures? What is their place in society? Do Huck and Jim constitute a
family? What about Huck and Tom?
3. The revelation at the novel’s end that Tom has known all along that Jim is a free man is
startling. Is Tom inexcusably cruel? Or is he just being a normal thirteen-year-old boy?
Does Tom’s behavior comment on society in some larger way?
Juniors (American Literature) – Remember This Titan CHOOSE 1 of the following:
1. How is the theme perseverance used to motivate the players in the story and invoke the
reader to want to follow the story?
2. What was most difficult for the players to accept in the changes the team had to face?
What factors were helpful in terms of players and coaches adjusting to the changes?
3. How did playing football help the students overcome their racial prejudice? What other
activities can help people overcome their differences and begin working together?
Seniors (British Literature and AP)- Lord of the Rings CHOOSE 1 of the following:
1. Good and Evil - In LOTR, how does Tolkien define or describe good and evil? Is this a
black and white issue, or are there some characters or decisions that are more morally
ambiguous?
2. Similar to Catholicism, there are many English themes, or nods to English culture and
history, that Tolkien added to Lord of the Rings. What are they, and how does this add to
the story?
3. Tolkien has often been criticized for creating stereotypical female characters. How does
an analysis of Éowyn, Galadriel, or Arwen support or refute this criticism?