One Book, One School – Rye High School’s Summer Reading Assignment

Everyone is reading the same book this summer… All Rye High students have been given the same summer reading assignment: When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka. Order it for $10.42.

We'd love to know the next few picks that did not make the list. Anyone?

Here is the note the school sent out:

Following the success of last year's summer reading assignment, this year we will continue with one shared text. In an effort to engage the school community in our discussions, and hopefully to motivate more students to read, we are again assigning the entire school one book for summer reading (9th Grade Honors and AP courses will have additional responsibilities and required assignments). The book selected for the 2013-2014 school year is…

When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka

This fictional account of a Japanese-American family's experience during World War II brings to light a difficult time in our country's history. As poignant today as then "It is a chapter of American history that still sits uneasily on the conscience of the nation…When the Emperor was Divine traces, in terse but eloquent fashion, the fortunes of a Japanese-American family from the spring of 1942…when President Roosevelt's "evacuation" order came through – to the spring of 1946." (New York Times)

While reading When the Emperor was Divine, we would ask you to consider how the book connects to the following questions:

What actions must we take, individually and collectively, to create communities of respect and civility, justice and empathy? Why does what we do matter?

Assessment: Students will engage in classroom discussion and activities with their teachers and peers within the first two weeks of September to provide an opportunity for early evaluation and feedback so that the teachers may gauge the students' reading and writing skills. This assessment will constitute 10% of the first quarter grade.

Kevin Kelly, English Chair
Rye High School