Summer Reading 2024: Upper School

It's the 2024 Upper School Summer Reading List! 

This year, the summer reading list is organized a little differently. Instead of by genre, we decided to use the questions that you ask us here in the library to help us pick titles. Now, we do occasionally get recommendation requests for books in particular genres, and we are always ready and able to help with that. But this year, the questions have been heavy on vibes versus genre. They’ve ranged from the curious (“I want to try a book with an antihero”) to the direct (“I want a book that is kind of dark and also takes place on another planet”) to the hopeful (“I want a book that will help get me back into reading.”). All great questions, all with a myriad of answering books!

Here are the most repeated requests we’ve heard in the 2023-2024 school year:

• I want a book that reminds me of The Song of Achilles.
• I want a book that feels like serious literature.
• I want a book that’s mysterious/tense/maybe a little scary…?
• I want a book that will change my perspective.
• I want a book that has some fantasy or dystopian elements but is also smart.
• I want a book that will break my heart / I want a book that will make me believe in love again (we decided these two should go together for obvious reasons)
• I want a book that will help me understand the election (we’ve only gotten this one once this spring, but we’re anticipating more given what’s coming in November!)

Whatever kind of book you want, we encourage you to read at least two over the summer.

We have also included the list of course-specific required summer readings. You can find those listed by grade and class.

• If you are a current student at Chapin, you will receive your required summer reading books before the end of the school year.
• If you are an incoming Chapin student, you will receive an email from Ms. Predovan with information on how to order any required books. Please do not order any required books until you have heard from Ms. Predovan!

You can also find a printable pdf version of the list at the bottom of this page.

Have a wonderful, book-filled summer!

Ms. Oldham, Director of the Annenberg Center for Learning and Research
Ms. Davis, '12, Collections Librarian