Read one of the four historical books and answer the Reaction Guide which accompanies it.  Reaction Guides can be found here.

An American Plague (The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793) by Jim Murphy

Lincoln, A Photobiography by Russell Freedman

Revenge of the Whale by Nathaniel Philbrick (true story of the whaleship Essex, attacked and sunk by an enraged sperm whale; basis for Herman Melville's Moby Dick)

Left for Dead by Pete Nelson (true story of USS Indianapolis, torpedoed by a Japanese sub; ship sank in 14 minutes; more than 1,000 men in shark-infested waters awaiting rescue; Navy did not know they were missing; captain was blamed)

Honors 9 must also read Great Expectations and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.