Let me start by saying that I don't read YA fiction. (Save the Harry Potter series that I read when I was a YA.) So, this list are my top ten choices from the literary cannon that I believe are important to read before you graduate from high school.
1. Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945): An allegory, a dystopian and a critique of socialist regimes. It doesn't get much better than that.
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925): The great American novel. Enough said.
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884): I didn't read this one until college and I wished I had read it sooner. Despite the controversy earlier this year, it actually seeks to purge racial prejudice.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960): One of the best classics that emphasizes racial and social tolerance.
5. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987): This book is heartbreaking, but as far as Toni Morrison goes, this is her best one yet. It explores what it means to be a slave and what how far one will go to escape it.
6. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958): I read this one in high school, and have reread it since. There is a lot to learn from it and offers a unique viewpoint: an African detailing the colonization of his homeland.
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813): I'm not the biggest Austen fan, but I do think her work is important and this is the best one to start with (although, not my favorite).
8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954): This one examines some relevant subjects for children to understand, or at least think about: consequences of war, man vs. nature and the implications of rules in civilization.
9. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (1997-2007): I started this series when I was 12 and thought they were fantastic. I think every kid should read them while they are still a kid. (Even though they are good for adults as well, I think it's best to read them for the first time as a child.)
10. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969): A heavy coming of age story for a kid, but this one suggests that strength in character can help you through anything.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
I like your stance on the question Brenna. Very here's-your-education-young-fool. I'm such a fan of the hard line.
ReplyDeleteBen, Exactly! Nice way of putting it.
ReplyDeleteGood, solid classics that manage to be interesting and while not stuffy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christine, and I thank you so much for your perspective on this. Interestingly (at least for me), I'm toying with using both the Achebe and the Orwell in my world lit. class next year. I'll keep you posted!
ReplyDeleteA great thought provoking list. I, too, picked THE GREAT GATSBY. I thought about LORD OF THE FLIES and ANIMAL FARM, but in the end I went with other books. This was a tough subject for me this week.
ReplyDeleteI have read 8 of these! All good classics for teens. Pretty painless, not overly preachy, will be useful long-term in life.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading many of these in high school. Great list!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness...I forgot to add "Caged Bird" and "Beloved". I feel like a traitor to two of my favourite books now! Great list!
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten
The more I think about Gatsby, the more I like it. Probably time for a reread! Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies should definitely be required reading!
ReplyDeleteGood list, Brenna. I personally would add Chronicles of Narnia as well (and I'm not religious!).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed (although I'm not sure that's the right word) Caged Bird when I was a teen. Great Gatsby is number one on my list.
ReplyDeleteCome visit me at The Scarlet Letter.
This is a fantastic list. I read a few of these long after I graduated from high school, but I sure wish I had read them sooner. Great suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI've read everything except #10. I love your choices and the variety of books, wonderful.
ReplyDelete+JMJ+
ReplyDeletePride and Prejudice probably is the best Jane Austen novel to start with, because it's so well known, but my own favourite is Persuasion. I'd have to do a thorough reread to determine whether or not the average teenager would be able to appreciate it (or rather, "to read it without hating it"), but right now I'd definitely assign it before Pride and Prejudice.
Having said that, I love how your list includes both Pride and Prejudice and The Lord of the Flies. How would the highly civilised and dignified Mr. Darcy have fared on that savage island? One wonders . . . =P
Enbrethiliel, Ok Persuasion is MY favorite Austen too! I'm with you that P&P should be read before Persuasion. And Mr. Darcy on the Lord of the Flies island? Hilarious to think about!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic list although I hate to admit I have not read Beloved and Things Fall Apart - I know, I know, shame upon me! But a great, solid list that helps teens (hopefully) understand a few of life's lessons.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your approach (and 100% agree that Animal Farm is an important book for all teens) but I think that your choices are somewhat unrealistic, particularly when the prompt seeks to encourage teens to read. I'm not saying that we should make concessions for teens by picking easy books or ignoring classics, but I feel like the prompt was aimed more to find titles that don't fit the standard classroom curriculum. With the exception of Harry Potter, all of these titles are already required reading for teens and I think that most are given too early (I read Lord of the Flies in high school and think that it was a definite mistake - I was too young to fully appreciate the subtleties and messages the book was trying to convey. And this from an avid, overanalytical reader).
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to trash your list - it's ultimately spot-on accurate. These are the books that most teens can't graduate high school without having read. I think, though, that we also need to broaden our perspectives and start realizing that some of these books aren't ideal for the majority of non-bookworm teens, even if our adult mentality tells us they would have been good for us "back then".
I liked your list- this was most of what I had to read in High School, although I think Beloved as opposed to Caged Bird (both beautiful) might be too heavy for 16 year olds. They may not be a high schooler's favorite book, but they are referenced so often and so important to culture that to leave school without them would be disadvantageous. If one was to add big-idea YA to the list, though, The Giver and The Book Thief fit.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Beloved, but after searching a bit, I'm really tempted, thanks for putting it in that list! It was almost the only one I didn't know.
ReplyDeleteMost are on required reading lists...however, more so for students in the ranks of Honors or AP English classes...unfortunately, the "huddled masses" usually are only exposed to 2-3 on your list during their public high school years. I should know...I teach 11th grade English. And, let me tell you, it is quite a shame that we don't teach more literature to the regular education population.
ReplyDelete