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English 2 Honors, Summer Reading Quest.?

Okay, well i need help on finding some books to read over the summer for my English 2 Honors Class. I have to read a Current Contemporary American Fiction book. The author must be from America, the plot, themes, characters, and the setting must strictly relate to America. It must be a book from the New York Times book Review's "Bestsellers" lists from June 1, 2006 to the present. Harry potter, The Da Vinci Code, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy are not acceptable. They didnt give us a list of Authors and i need some help finding some. Can anyone name an American author, whose plot, themes, characters, and setting strictly relate to America ?

Public Comments

1. the heart is a lonely hunter. it deals with america blah blah, i forget what time period it was set to tho. uhm, during segrgation. it was a really good book. i forget who the author is tho, just spark note it! also im preatty sure Ethan Frome is set in america, but im not sure.
2. The first thing that came to my mind is Willa Cather, but she isn't contemporary. John Grisham's books are slightly related to America, being related to the American court system. Books about soldiers would be acceptable, so why not try something like Tom Clancy.
3. You can read any of the icky stuff by Mitch Albom or Nicholas Sparks. Pick your poison, they both stink.
4. *The Things They Carried* by Tim O'Brien is a wonderful book about American soldiers in the Vietnam War (their trials, reactions, etc)...we had to read it in our class, so I think it's a pretty good/safe choice...I enjoyed it too! good luck with your class! :D
5. Hi. I went to Barnes and Nobles site and typed "new york times bestsellers" and all their books came up. You can pick your favorite from there. If you see the book Born Blue by Han Nolan, I recommend it highly assuming you are a mature child. It is realistic fiction, interesting, and hard to put down. It strictly relates to American teens today. It won all kinds of awards and I recommend it assuming you enjoy realistic fiction. It is a bit "edgy" so if you are a Harry Potter type, you might not enjoy it. A couple others I recommend are "First Part Last" and also, Walter Dean Myers "The Handbook for Boys." Both would fulfill your objectives. (Show, or email your teacher and maybe she would let you substitute out these books in case they happen to not be on the NYT list (they should be) as they have GREAT reviews you can get off the B&N site.) Good luck and I hope you find the perfect book for you.
6. Read he Plot Against America by Phillip Roth
7. Pretty sure it's on the NYTimes Best Seller List and is an excellent read. The Family Tree by Barbra Delinsky. Definitely has all the other American qualifications. Check it out.
8. From the current besteller list: NINETEEN MINUTES, by Jodi Picoult. (Atria, $26.95.) The aftermath of a high school shooting reveals the fault lines in a small New Hampshire town. FALLING MAN, by Don DeLillo. (Scribner, $26.) The effect of 9/11 on a middle-class Manhattan family. If you want to read something that's not complete pulp, you should ask your teacher if you can read Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain. Yes, they made a movie out of it (which is probably why your teacher is forcing you to read books from 2006-present). But the book is incredible- an American version of the Odyssey. You'd love it- and it couldn't hurt to ask.