Trumbull High School Suggested Summer Reading List

Books on the Trumbull High School's Suggested Summer Reading List.

Updated June 7, 2025
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1

The poet X
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award! Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award...

2

The restaurant at the end of the universe
Adams, Douglas
Paper Book
Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series! "Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist."--The Washington Post Book World Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons?...

3

Watership Down /
Adams, Richard
Paper Book
One of the most beloved novels of our time, Richard Adams's Watership Down takes us to a world we have never truly seen: to the remarkable life that teems in the fields, forests and riverbanks far beyond our cities and towns. It is a powerful saga of courage, leadership and survival; an epic tale of...

4

Purple hibiscus /
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi,
Paper Book
"One of the most vital and original novelists of her generation." --Larissa MacFarquhar, The New Yorker From the bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her...

5

Rebound /
Alexander, Kwame.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes Rebound, the dynamic prequel to his Newbery Award-winning novel in verse, The Crossover. Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. Chuck Bell takes center stage...

6

Black Hawk down : a story of modern war
Bowden, Mark
Paper Book
Recounts a 1993 firefight in Mogadishu, Somalia, that resulted in the deaths of eighteen Americans and more than five hundred Somalis, examining the rationales behind the disastrous raid.

7

The Martian chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Paper Book
Soar above the fossil seas and crystal pillars of a deadworld in the pages of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. A milestoneof American literature, Bradbury's classic collection of interconnectedvignettes about life on the red planet diverges from the War of the Worlds theme,in which humanity...

8

Jane Eyre
Brontë, Charlotte
Paper Book
Orphaned Jane Eyre grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, where she endures loneliness and cruelty, and at a charity school with a harsh regime. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane's natural independence and spirit - which prove necessary when she finds a position as governess at...

9

In cold blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
Capote, Truman
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The most famous true crime novel of all time "chills the blood and exercises the intelligence" (The New York Review of Books)--and haunted its author long after he finished writing it. On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb,...

10

Big lies in a small town /
Chamberlain, Diane,
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes a novel of chilling intrigue, a decades-old disappearance, and one woman's quest to find the truth... "A novel about arts and secrets...grippingly told...pulls readers toward a shocking conclusion."--...

11

Stories of your life and others
Chiang, Ted
Paper Book
From the author of Exhalation, an award-winning short story collection that blends "absorbing storytelling with meditations on the universe, being, time and space ... raises questions about the nature of reality and what it is to be human" (The New York Times). A...

12

Atomic habits :
Clear, James,
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 20 million copies sold! Translated into 60+ languages! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of...

13

The girls /
Cline, Emma.
Paper Book
THE INSTANT BESTSELLER * An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle,...

14

Whistling past the graveyard /
Crandall, Susan.
Paper Book
From an award-winning author comes a wise and tender coming-of-age story about a nine-year-old girl who runs away from her Mississippi home in 1963, befriends a lonely woman suffering loss and abuse, and embarks on a life-changing roadtrip. In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old...

15

Jurassic Park
Crichton, Michael
Paper Book
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Creatures once extinct now roam Jurassic Park, soon-to-be opened as a theme park. Until something goes wrong...and science proves a dangerous toy.... "Wonderful...Powerful." THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

16

Danny, the champion of the world
Dahl, Roald.
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG!  Danny has a life any boy would love--his home is a gypsy caravan, he's the youngest master car mechanic around, and his best friend is his dad, who never runs out of...

17

The extraordinary life of Sam Hell : a novel
Dugoni, Robert
Paper Book
Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni's coming-of-age story is, according to Booklist, "a novel that, if it doesn't cross entirely over into John Irving territory, certainly nestles in close to the border." Sam Hill always saw...

18

The Count of Monte Cristo /
Dumas, Alexandre,
Paper Book
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and becomes determined not only to escape but to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the...

19

James /
Everett, Percival.
Ebook
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view NATIONAL BOOK...

20

Foul trouble
Feinstein, John.
Paper Book
Bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein exposes the big money and back-room deals that pervade college-basketball recruiting in this fast-break young adult novel.   Terrell Jamerson is the #1 high school basketball player in the country. His team is poised to win State, top...

21

Gone girl : a novel
Flynn, Gillian
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The "mercilessly entertaining" (Vanity Fair) instant classic "about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships" (Lev Grossman, Time "One of the Best Books of the...

22

Lessons in chemistry /
Garmus, Bonnie.
Paper Book
#1 GLOBAL BESTSELLER WITH MORE THAN 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD * Meet Elizabeth Zott: "a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention" (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a ...

23

An Unfinished Love Story :
Goodwin, Doris Kearns.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller from "America's historian-in-chief" (New York magazine). An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin, one of America's most beloved historians, artfully weaves together biography,...

24

Bleachers /
Grisham, John,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the...

25

The Firm
Grisham, John.
Paper Book
At the top of his class at Harvard Law, he had  his choice of the best in America. He made a deadly  mistake. When Mitch McDeere signed on with  Bendini, Lambert & Locke of Memphis, he thought he  and his beautiful wife, Abby, were on their way.  The firm leased him a BMW, paid off his school  loans...

26

Sooley /
Grisham, John,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * John Grisham takes you to a different kind of court in his first basketball novel. Samuel "Sooley" Sooleymon is a raw, young talent with big hoop dreams--and even bigger challenges off the court. "Hard to put down ... the pages turn quickly ......

27

The midnight library /
Haig, Matt,
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year "A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits."--The...

28

Firefly Lane
Hannah, Kristin.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . . now a #1 Netflix series! In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food...

29

The women /
Hannah, Kristin.
Paper Book
A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times! From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women--at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a...

30

The sun also rises /
Hemingway, Ernest,
Paper Book
Originally published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises is Ernest Hemingway's first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.​ A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of...

31

Dune
Herbert, Frank.
Paper Book
* DUNE: PART TWO * THE MAJOR MOTION PICTUREDirected by Denis Villeneuve, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, based on the novel Dune by Frank Herbert * Starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh...

32

The Kite runner
Hosseini, Khaled.
Paper Book
The New York Times bestseller and international classic loved by millions of readers. The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in...

33

A prayer for Owen Meany /
Irving, John,
Paper Book
Owen Meany hits a foul ball while playing baseball in the summer of 1953 that kills his best friend's mother, an accident that Owen is sure is the result of divine intervention.

34

I was a teenage slasher /
Jones, Stephen Graham,
Paper Book
A USA TODAY Bestseller An Alex Award Winner From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist--perfect for fans of Adam Cesare and Grady Hendrix. 1989, Lamesa, Texas....

35

The eye of the world
Jordan, Robert
Paper Book
Soon to be an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine! The first novel in Robert Jordan's #1New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®. The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become...

36

The lion women of Tehran /
Kamali, Marjan.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER An "evocative read and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism" (People) set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran--from nationally bestselling author Marjan Kamali. In 1950s Tehran,...

37

Foster /
Keegan, Claire.
Paper Book
An international bestseller and one of The Times' "Top 50 Novels Published in the 21st Century," Claire Keegan's piercing contemporary classic Foster is a heartbreaking story of childhood, loss, and love; now released as a standalone book for the first time ever in the US ...

38

Lilac girls : a novel
Kelly, Martha Hall
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * One million copies sold! Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this remarkable debut novel reveals the power of unsung women to change history in their quest for love, freedom, and second chances. "Extremely moving...

39

On writing :
King, Stephen
Paper Book
"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."In 1999, Stephen King began to write about his craft -- and his life. By midyear, a widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both. And in his months of recovery, the link between writing and living became...

40

Wizard and glass /
King, Stephen
Paper Book
The fourth volume in the brilliant Dark Tower Series is "splendidly tense...rip-roaring" (Publishers Weekly)--a #1 national bestseller about an epic quest to save the universe. In Wizard and Glass, Stephen King is "at his most ebullient...sweeping readers up in.....

41

Demon Copperhead /
Kingsolver, Barbara.
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE * WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION New York Times Readers' Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century * An Oprah's Book Club Selection * An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller * A #1 Washington Post...

42

The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
Kingsolver, Barbara.
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * Pulitzer Prize Finalist * An Oprah's Book Club Selection "Powerful . . . [Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty." --Los Angeles Times Book Review<...

43

Under the whispering door /
Klune, T.J.
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND INDIE BESTSELLER One of Buzzfeed's "Best Books of 2022"! An Indie Next Pick! A Locus Awards Top Ten Finalist for Fantasy Novel A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the...

44

Book club in a bag : To kill a mockingbird
Lee, Harper.
Paper Book
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made...

45

The three-body problem /
Liu, Cixin.
Paper Book
The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem! WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL Over 1 million copies sold in North America "A mind-bending epic."--The New York Times * "War of the Worlds for...

46

We were liars /
Lockhart, E.
Paper Book
COMING SOON AS THE ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES WE WERE LIARS #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY * The modern, sophisticated suspense novel that became a runaway smash hit on TikTok and introduced the world to a...

47

Throne of glass /
Maas, Sarah J.
Paper Book
In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion....

48

Shatter me /
Mafi, Tahereh.
Paper Book
The gripping first installment in global bestselling author Tahereh Mafi's epic, romantic Shatter Me series. One touch is all it takes. One touch, and Juliette Ferrars can leave a fully grown man gasping for air. One touch, and she can kill. No one knows why Juliette has...

49

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store /
McBride, James,
Paper Book
From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah's Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging...

50

Born to run :
McDougall, Christopher,
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The astonishing and hugely entertaining story that completely changed the way we run. An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? "Equal parts quest, physiology treatise, and running history.... The climactic race reads...

51

The song of Achilles
Miller, Madeline.
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller "At once a scholar's homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art....A book I could not put down." --Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House A thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the...

52

The night circus /
Morgenstern, Erin.
Other
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in the spellbinding novel that captured the world's imagination. * "Part love story, part fable ... defies both genres and expectations." --The Boston Globe The circus arrives...

53

Beloved
Morrison, Toni.
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A spellbinding novel that transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. With a new afterword by the author.  This "brutally powerful, mesmerizing story" (...

54

Cakewalk :
Moses, Kate.
Paper Book
From the author of the internationally acclaimed Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath comes a funny, touching memoir of a crummy--and crumby--childhood. Growing up in the 1960s and '70s, Kate Moses was surrounded by sugar: Twinkies in the basement freezer, honey on the fried...

55

Born a crime :
Noah, Trevor,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * More than one million copies sold! A "brilliant" (Lupita Nyong'o, Time), "poignant" (Entertainment Weekly), "soul-nourishing" (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid  

56

The Things they carried : a work of fiction
O'Brien, Tim
Paper Book
One of the first questions people ask about The Things They Carried is this: Is it a novel, or a collection of short stories? The title page refers to the book simply as "a work of fiction," defying the conscientious reader's need to categorize this masterpiece. It is both: a collection of...

57

The berry pickers /
Peters, Amanda.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize Winner Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a mystery that will haunt the survivors, unravel a family,...

58

Handle with care /
Picoult, Jodi,
Paper Book
When Willow is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, her parents are devastated--she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. In this provocative story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author, "Picoult writes with unassuming brilliance" (Stephen King...

59

Mad honey /
Picoult, Jodi,
Paper Book

60

Small great things /
Picoult, Jodi,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A stunning page-turner with richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race Look for Jodi Picoult's new novel, By Any Other Name,...

61

American pastoral
Roth, Philip.
Paper Book
American Pastoral is the story of a fortunate American's rise and fall - of a strong, confident master of social equilibrium overwhelmed by the forces of social disorder. Seymour "Swede" Levov - a legendary high school athlete, a devoted family man, a hard worker, the prosperous inheritor of his...

62

Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
Harry Potter spent ten long years living with Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, an aunt and uncle whose outrageous favoritism of their perfectly awful son Dudley leads to some of the most inspired dark comedy since Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But fortunately for Harry, he's about to be granted a...

63

The god of small things /
Roy, Arundhati.
Paper Book
BOOKER PRIZE WINNER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An affluent Indian family is forever changed by one fateful day in 1969, from the author of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness "[The God of Small Things] offers such magic, mystery, and sadness that,...

64

Salt to the sea /
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal!  "A superlative novel . . . masterfully crafted."--The Wall Street Journal Based on "the forgotten tragedy that was six times deadlier than the Titanic."--Time...

65

Just mercy :
Stevenson, Bryan.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX * A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice--from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time...

66

The goldfinch /
Tartt, Donna.
Paper Book
A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this "extraordinary" and beloved Pulitzer Prize winner from the author of The Secret History that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book...

67

The power of now :
Tolle, Eckhart,
Paper Book
Celebrating 25 Years as a New York Times Bestseller -- Over 16 Million Copies Sold It's no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 16 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes...

68

Remarkably bright creatures /
Van Pelt, Shelby.
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Soon to be a Netflix Film A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER by: Chicago Tribune * The View * Southern Living * USA Today "Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately...

69

The glass castle :
Walls, Jeannette.
Paper Book
THE BELOVED #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER--FROM THE AUTHOR OF HANG THE MOON The extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly) memoir from one of the world's most gifted storytellers. The Glass Castle...

70

Dragons of winter night /
Weis, Margaret.
Ebook
Return to the mystical world of Krynn, where the heroic Companions continue their fantastical adventures--and face their greatest challenge yet--in this sequel to Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The New York Times-bestselling phenomenon inspired by Dungeons & Dragons...

71

Educated :
Westover, Tara.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University ...

72

Fourth wing /
Yarros, Rebecca.
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times bestseller * TV series in development at MGM Amazon Studios with Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society * Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 * Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 * Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 * NPR "Books We Love" 2023 * Audible Best Books of...

73

Crying in H Mart /
Zauner, Michelle,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American--"in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself" (NPR). * CELEBRATING...

74

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow /
Zevin, Gabrielle.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Sam and Sadie--two college friends, often in love, but never lovers--become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It...

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