LibGuides: Summer Reading: Students headed to University

US News and World Reports Suggested Reading

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Call Number: 921 NOA/ also an ebook on Sora
ISBN: 9780525509028
Publication Date: 2017-09-19
"Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. .... Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother-his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life"--Amazon.com.
Educated by Tara Westover
Call Number: 921 WES/ also an ebook on Sora
ISBN: 9780399590504
Publication Date: 2018-02-20
"A . . . memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University"--Amazon.com.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Call Number: Fantasy Fiction HAM
ISBN: 9780735212176
Publication Date: 2017-03-07
"In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet--sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair, thrust into premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors--doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As violence and the threat of violence escalate, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through."--Provided by publisher.
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Call Number: 305.8 KEN
ISBN: 9780525509288
Publication Date: 2019-08-13
"[The author] takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas--from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities--that will help readers see . . . [different] . . . forms of racism . . . , understand their . . . consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves"--Publisher
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults) by Bryan Stevenson
Call Number: 921 STE
ISBN: 9780525580034
Publication Date: 2018-09-18
"Bryan Stevenson details from his personal experience his many challenges and efforts as a lawyer and social advocate, especially on behalf of America's most marginalized people"--Provided by publisher.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei; Justin Eisinger; Steven Scott; Harmony Becker (Illustrator)
Call Number: 741.5 TAK/ also an ebook on Sora
ISBN: 9781603094504
Publication Date: 2019-07-16
Actor, author, and activist George Takei recounts his childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II and the impact the experience had on his later life.

Lists of books for university bound students

A Summer Reading List for College Freshmen What follows is a list, not of specific titles, but of the types of things that any new (or returning) college student should consider reading before they start classes in the fall. I choose this approach because schools and lines of study are so different that I don’t think it’s the actual title that matters. I think it’s more important to be a well-rounded reader. https://bookriot.com/a-summer-reading-list-for-college-freshmen/

One of Shakespeare’s plays 
The biography of a historical figure
One book about a historical event or a period in history
One “classic” novel (pre-1910)

One “modern classic” (post-1910) 
One dystopian novel 
One young adult novel 
One nonfiction title re: science, medicine, or technology
Something political  (ideally, a book that represents an opposing viewpoint)

A graphic novel

Summer reads for incoming college students https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-books-to-read-before-college?onepage (2021)

"Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah
"Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
"Educated" by Tara Westover

"Exit West" by Mohsin Hamid
"How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi
"Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
"Such a Fun Age" by Kiley Reid
"There There" by Tommy Orange

"They Called Us Enemy" by George Takei
"Transcendent Kingdom" by Yaa Gyasi

Other book lists and/or places for book recommendations for incoming college Freshmen:

The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers https://thegreatestbooks.org/lists/177
College Board Recommended Reading List for College-Bound Students https://www.fenwick.org/uploaded/Library_Misc/CollegeBoardList.pdf

101 Books for College Bound Kids https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/recommended-college-bound/
Summer Reading for the College Bound Student https://admissions.usf.edu/blog/summer-reading-for-the-college-bound-student
What Students Will Be Reading: Campus Common Reading Roundup, 2021-22
https://commonreads.com/2021/09/10/what-students-will-be-reading-campus-common-reading-roundup-2021-22/
Summer Reading Starts Now https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/05/25/summer-books-first-year-students-tackle-social-issues

The Year of ‘Frankenstein’ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/08/what-freshmen-are-reading-summer (2018)