Escape into summer: Stories for every student
The English Department and Hassenfeld librarians share summer reading lists for rising grades K-12 and AP courses at usn.org/reading.
By Freya Sachs, English Department Chair
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What’s the best book you’ve read this year? What books might our students enjoy? What book would you recommend and why? Why do we ask students to read in the summer at all? What will we ask of them when we return to school in August?
These are some of the questions we ask each year as we compile, edit, revise, examine, and finalize our summer reading lists. We want students to find books they enjoy, discover stories they otherwise might not see, and find pieces of themselves and others in the worlds these books can offer. We hope reading becomes not just practical, but joyful.
To do this, we ask our community for recommendations — faculty across the school, alumni, students — and the English Department and Hassenfeld Library work together to finalize the lists and to make sure our library has copies accessible for students to borrow for the summer.
We hope you enjoy exploring the lists — one for each grade K-12 and for AP courses — discovering new authors or finding an old favorite waiting for you. If you need recommendations, we’ll be happy to help.
Happy reading!
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
-
Back Lawn transforms with turf field, track
Expect to see an active construction site as students, families, and faculty return to the Edgehill Campus. Progress continues on USN's most anticipated campus improvement of summer 2026.Read More -
Curricular travel opportunities return for the 2026-2027 school year
Read MoreUniversity School of Nashville is excited to announce the return of curricular travel opportunities. Student applications for the 2026-2026 school year will open Friday, August 21, 2026. Additional details, including, financial aid processes, and application timelines, will be shared with families soon.Please contact K-12 Director of Experiential Learning Kalee Barbis with any questions, kbarbis@usn.org. -
Back-to-school Popsicle Party cancelled
Mother Nature is not cooperating for our annual Popsicle Party. Depending on which weather app you use, actual and feels-like temperatures are 98 to 101 and higher. Under these conditions, we would limit student activities, so, in the interest of everyone's health and well-being, we are going to cancell our gathering at the River Campus. There is just not enough shade and certainly no air conditioning to bring relief to hundreds of USN families. Thank you for understanding. We look forward to seeing you in a few days for the start of our new school year.Read More
Contact
Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
USN Mission:
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.