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,
Audiobook
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
Now with a new introduction by Madeline Miller, the New York Times bestselling author of The Song of Achilles and Circe. The 50th anniversary edition of Richard Adam's timeless classic, the tale of a band of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place...

4

Purple hibiscus /
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi,
Audiobook
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a 2003 O Henry Prize winner, and was shortlisted for the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing and the 2004 Orange Prize. In Purple Hibiscus, she recounts the story of a young Nigerian girl searching for freedom. Although her father is greatly respected within their...

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 :
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
Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams, and metaphors -- of clear crystal pillars and fossil seas where a fine dust settles on the great empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here that the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize and to grow and learn -- rushing from a...

8

Jane Eyre /
Bronte, Charlotte,
Paper Book

9

In cold blood :
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
Previously published as Stories of Your Life and Others. Includes "Story Of Your Life," the basis for the major motion picture Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, and directed by Denis Villeneuve. "A swell movie adaptation always sends me to the...

12

Atomic habits :
Clear, James,
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 25 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,
Ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of Timeline, Sphere, and Congo, this is the classic thriller of science run amok that took the world by storm. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's...

16

The extraordinary life of Sam Hell /
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...

17

The Count of Monte Cristo /
Dumas, Alexandre,
Paper Book

18

James /
Everett, Percival.
Paper Book
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 * In development as a feature film to be...

19

Gone girl /
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 Decade")...

20

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 ...

21

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,...

22

Bleachers /
Grisham, John,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A former high school football star bids farewell to his glory days in this poignant and nostalgic novel that's "as taut and twisting as a well-thrown spiral" (People). "[Grisham] makes this football game so real that the reader can...

23

The firm /
Grisham, John,
Paper Book
#1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER * The iconic legal thriller that launched the career of America's favorite storyteller, hailed as "an absolute master" (The Washington Post) "[An] ingenious man-in-the-middle thriller."--Entertainment Weekly   ...

24

Sooley /
Grisham, John,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * John Grisham is at the top of his game in this novel of a raw, young basketball player with big dreams--and even bigger challenges off the court. "Grisham is about as good a storyteller as we've got."--The New York Times Book Review

25

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...

26

Firefly lane /
Hannah, Kristin.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . . In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then,...

27

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...

28

The sun also rises /
Hemingway, Ernest,
Paper Book
"The ideal companion for troubled times: equal parts Continental escape and serious grappling with the question of what it means to be, and feel, lost." -- The Wall Street Journal Named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read ...

29

Dune. / by Frank Herbert.
Herbert, Frank,
Paper Book
Frank Herbert's classic masterpiece--a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides--who would become known as Muad'Dib--and of a great family's ambition to...

30

The kite runner /
Hosseini, Khaled.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling novel beloved by millions of readers the world over. "A vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people [of Afghanistan] have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence--forces that continue to threaten them even today...

31

A prayer for Owen Meany /
Irving, John,
Ebook
"A remarkable novel. . . . A Prayer for Owen Meany is a rare creation. ... An amazingly brave piece of work ... so extraordinary, so original, and so enriching. . . . Readers will come to the end feeling sorry to leave [this] richly textured and carefully wrought world." --STEPHEN KING,...

32

I was a teenage slasher /
Jones, Stephen Graham,
Paper Book
*USA TODAY Bestseller * Alex Award Winner * The "viciously clever, over-the-top, genre-skewing" (The New York Times Book Review) classic slasher story with a twist from Stephen Graham Jones, the master of modern horror and bestselling author of The...

33

The Eye of the World /
Jordan, Robert.
Paper Book
The Wheel of Time is now an original series on Prime Video, starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine! The Eye of the World, the first novel in Robert Jordan's #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, follows Moiraine Damodred as she...

34

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,...

35

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 ...

36

Lilac girls /
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...

37

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...

38

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.....

39

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...

40

The poisonwood Bible /
Kingsolver, Barbara.
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * An Oprah Book Club Pick "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 Taking its place alongside...

41

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...

42

To kill a mockingbird /
Lee, Harper
Paper Book
Since its original publication in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird has sold over 30 million copies, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, was a New York Times bestseller for more than 40 weeks, and has been translated into 20 languages. This anniversary edition of an American classic features a new...

43

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...

44

We were liars /
Lockhart, E.
Paper Book
DON'T MISS THE ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES WE WERE LIARS--AND LOOK FOR E. LOCKHART'S NEW NOVEL IN THE WE WERE LIARS UNIVERSE, WE FELL APART, OUT NOW! #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER The modern, sophisticated suspense novel...

45

Throne of glass /
Maas, Sarah J.
Paper Book
The first book in New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's sweeping fantasy saga - now available in hardcover with a new look to match the series! When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle....

46

Shatter me /
Mafi, Tahereh.
Paper Book
The gripping first installment in New York Times bestselling author Tahereh Mafi's 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 such incredible...

47

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...

48

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...

49

The night circus /
Morgenstern, Erin.
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves,...

50

All-star Superman. /
Morrison, Grant.
Paper Book
Named by James Gunn as an influence for Gods and Monsters, the first chapter of the new DC Universe film and television slate! This Eisner Award-Winning story inspires the upcoming film SUPERMAN- LEGACY. The Man of Steel goes toe-to-toe with Bizarro, his oddball twin, and the new...

51

Beloved
Morrison, Toni,
Audiobook
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding audio transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of...

52

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  

53

The things they carried
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...

54

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,...

55

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)....

56

Mad honey /
Picoult, Jodi,
Paper Book

57

Small great things /
Picoult, Jodi,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In "the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written" (The Washington Post), the acclaimed author tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion--and doesn't offer easy answers. "A gripping courtroom drama . . ....

58

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...

59

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...

60

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...

61

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...

62

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...

63

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...

64

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...

65

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 ...

66

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...

67

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...

68

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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