Niagara Reads is NU's annual freshman summer reading program. Incoming freshman receive a carefully-selected and intellectually stimulating book to read. They then discuss the book in their NUS 102 class and participate in activities related to the themes of the book.

Here is a brief description of every book used in this program since its inception in 2002.

2007
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini

This is the story of Amir and Hassan - two boys who grow up in the same Kabul, Afghanistan household in the 1960s. Despite their class differences - Amir’s father is wealthy while Hassan’s father is a servant - they are close friends. As boys, they enjoy the popular sport of kite battling. But their innocence is shattered and their lives are forever changed when Amir betrays Hassan, who is the victim of an unspeakable crime. Located in the Recreational Reading Collection on the first floor under "Hosseini."

2006
ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY by Francis Bok

Francis Bok, a seven-year-old living in southern Sudan, was captured by Arab raiders in 1986 and became a slave to a wealthy Muslim farmer in northern Sudan. He spent ten long years herding goats and cattle while living alone in a shed near the animals. He was given little food, no affection and no education. He escaped when he was 17, but it took him three more years in refugee camps and in prison before he reached the U.S. This book was the subject of the February 2006 Monthly Book Spotlight. Located on the basement level at call number E184.S77 B65x 2003.

2005
THE PACT by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt with Lisa Frazier

Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt grew up in poor neighborhoods in Newark, New Jersey, during the crack epidemic of the 1980s, without fathers in their daily lives. At 17, they made a pact to support each other through school. Despite struggles and setbacks, they persisted through college, medical school and dental school. Today, George Jenkins is a practicing dentist, and Rameck Hunt and Sampson Davis are practicing physicians. Located on the basement level at call number R695 .D38x 2003.

2004
NICKEL AND DIMED by Barbara Ehrenreich

Writer Barbara Ehrenreich gave up her day job and worked as a waitress, nursing home aide, cleaning woman and discount mega-store clerk to see if a working class woman could make ends meet on low wages. She found that she could barely survive despite working two jobs ... seven days a week. This book was highlighted in the April 2003 Monthly Book Spotlight. Located on the second floor at call number HD4918 .E375 2002.

2003
ALL BUT MY LIFE by Gerda Weissman Klein

Gerda Weissmann Klein was a victim of Nazi cruelty for six years. In this book, she tells her story, which began in 1939 in her home in Bielitz, Poland. She writes about surviving those terrifying years and being rescued in 1945 by American troops. Located on the basement level at call number DS135.P6 K536 1995.

2002
ALL-BRIGHT COURT by Connie Porter