Books Read in English Class in High School

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A huge number of books be out there, set and waiting for you to read them. Whether you prefer manga or ancient, epic poems, reading is great for all sorts of reasons.

What follows is a listing of highly beneficial books to read in high school (or afterwards!). These are remarkable books—books that made history, books that challenge societal perceptions of the world, and books that are quite simply interesting and moving. The books are presented in alphabetical order, and a brusk description is given for each book, as well an caption of why information technology is worth reading.

Why Is Reading Of import?

Why should you read these books? Why should yous read at all for that thing? Reading is essential to communication, especially in an era of emails and texting. Beyond fifty-fifty that, though, reading has an assortment of crucial purposes. Information technology will assist improve your grades and examination scores. You'll learn almost other places, other times, and other cultures. Yous'll encounter problems you can chronicle to—problems that speak to yous and challenge you to retrieve and feel in new ways. You lot will grow, empathetically and intellectually. Plus, you'll understand more of the references that crop up all the time in popular civilization.

Below are 31 books to read in high school that will assist y'all prepare for higher and beyond.

1984 (George Orwell)

This dystopian novel by George Orwell was written 35 years before the date referenced by the title. In this book, Orwell tells a story that warns readers about the possible consequences of complacency in the face of rising dictators (recollect Hitler and Stalin) and burgeoning technology ripe for misuse. He describes a world where everything is monitored, right down to citizens' thoughts, and where any opposition to the ruling class is punishable by extreme measures. The oft-encountered quote, "Big Brother is watching," finds its origin in this novel.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Marking Twain)

This sequel to Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is much graver in nature than its predecessor. At that place are still plenty of good antics worthy of a laugh, but it concerns itself largely with a young boy'south endeavour to escape severe family unit dysfunction and the moral implications of his taking an escaped slave as a companion on his chance downwards the Mississippi River. Readers should be warned that the "n-word" is used liberally throughout the novel, which tends to be jarring to many a modernistic ear.

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Marking Twain wants you to read his novel(s).

The Awakening (Kate Chopin)

Set up in the Creole civilization of the late 1800s, this novel by Kate Chopin details one woman's procedure of condign aware of herself. At the time, women were essentially property, and they were expected to act in demure and socially acceptable means. Every bit the protagonist "awakens" to her emotional and sexual needs, as well as the ultimate truth of her ain independence , all sorts of problems ensue. The novel examines the balance between self-respect and selfishness.

The Bong Jar (Sylvia Plath)

This autobiographical novel by poet Sylvia Plath explores the deep, night reality of mental affliction. The protagonist, Esther, a stand-in for Plath herself, is a college student exploring her talents, interests, and sexuality every bit she descends into an unsettling screw of mental instability. It is essential for students to sympathize the seriousness of mental disease every bit information technology is so earnestly portrayed in this book.

Blackness Rain (Masuji Ibuse)

Black Rain, past Masuji Ibuse, is about the very immediate, man consequences of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It follows a small family of survivors, detailing what happened to them during the days of the bombing and what the effects are some years later. The book adopts a gentle, subtle tone, and yet it is not afraid to delve into very explicit and challenging topics related to the bombings.

Bless Me, Ultima (Rudolfo Anaya)

This semi-autobiographical novel by Rudolfo Anaya contains a salubrious dose of magical realism and is considered a staple of Chicano literature. It combines Castilian, Mexican, and Native American influences, showing openly the ways in which these forces inside the protagonist'due south life come into conflict. Young Antonio is growing up in a earth that leaves him with more questions than answers: major questions near life and expiry, adept and evil, and so on. These issues seem too big for his half dozen-twelvemonth-former listen, and yet he grapples with them valiantly through the stop of the novel.

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Antonio has lots of questions surrounding his faith traditions.

Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)

In Dauntless New World, Aldous Huxley explores themes similar to those establish in Orwell's 1984. Huxley wrote this novel earlier than Orwell wrote his, and notwithstanding both deal with dystopian concepts. In particular, Huxley balances utopian and dystopian interpretations of a world that is highly controlled, easily manipulated, and extremely dysfunctional, gear up to autumn autonomously at any provocation. There are insiders of and outsiders to this world, and each character views and interacts with the order in a different low-cal.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Genu (Dee Dark-brown)

Dee Brown covers a lot of historical ground in this book. In it, Brown describes the history of European Americans every bit they interact with (and slaughter) the Native Americans who already inhabit what they merits as their country. It'southward an infuriating and accurate tale of mistreatments and abuses, as well every bit the unfortunate decline of a noble people trying to defend their established style of life. It'south essential for students to sympathise this part of United states history.

The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)

This bold and controversial novel by J. D. Salinger centers around ideas including adolescent sexuality and relationships. The protagonist is constantly billowy effectually from person to person, identify to place, activity to activity. Critics were greatly offended by Salinger'southward frank discussions of sexual matters and his generally very casual style. This book is an important read in role because of its straight relevance to struggling adolescents and the issues they confront.

The Crucible (Arthur Miller)

Arthur Miller wrote this tragic play in the early on 1950s. While it is somewhat loosely based on the Salem witch trials of 1692, and while it is likely intended every bit an allegory to McCarthy's rooting out of suspected Communists at the time of the play's writing, the problems information technology touches on are much more broadly applicable. This is an important dramatic work on how hysteria, cruelty, and ignorant gullibility destroy communities.

Bonus: Studying The Crucible for schoolhouse and struggling? Cheque out ourThe Crucible study guides hither!

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There are lots of accusations of creepy stuff in The Crucible.

The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

Anne Frank's published diary is different from a typical literary work. Information technology's a true account of the life of one Jewish girl during the Holocaust, and, while Anne Frank wrote some passages with publication in mind, others she did not. When the book was beginning published, many passages that her male parent, Otto Frank, plant too long, unflattering, or inappropriate were excluded. Today, the book is bachelor with all material included. Gaining some agreement of this horrific genocide is crucial to students.

Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

Books are on trial in this astounding piece of work by Ray Bradbury. Ready in yet another dystopian time to come where firemen are employed to burn books and the houses that comprise them, Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of a firefighter who begins to wonder what books take to offer. This novel is an ode to literacy, and, while it has its tragic moments, it ultimately leaves readers with a message of hope.

Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)

Daniel Keyes writes a very warm and human class of science fiction in Flowers for Algernon. The novel tells the story of a human being considered mentally retarded who is selected for an intelligence-enhancing surgery. The book follows the effects, both positive and negative, that come from the sudden change in his I.Q. This is a moving read for students who wish to understand how intelligence plays into our humanity.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf (Ntozake Shange)

In For Colored Girls…, Ntozake Shange creates choreopoetry (poetry meant to exist performed with movement and trip the light fantastic toe) that covers important themes of race, gender, abuse, and perseverance. Information technology's largely a deep and dark poem, only it contains a message of hope. This is an awesome opportunity for readers to go exposure to poetry in a very relevant and theatrical form.

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The rainbow contains all sorts of symbolism.

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

Showtime off, permit's all be clear: as some will already know, Frankenstein is not a monster. Rather, the very homo Victor Frankenstein is responsible for creating what nosotros recognize as the monster from the story; the creature itself is nameless. Mary Shelley wrote this Gothic thriller in the early on 1800s, and notwithstanding nosotros remain fascinated by this tale of playing God and facing the consequences. It'southward an eerie tale with themes that run deep.

The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

John Steinbeck's masterful The Grapes of Wrath centers around the Smashing Depression and the Dust Bowl in American history. It'southward a story of hope and despair, moving from one to the other and back over again seamlessly throughout the novel. While loaded with biblical allusions, it is not heavy-handed with them, and the writing is frequently praised as realistic and cute.

Neat Expectations (Charles Dickens)

Corking Expectations, past Charles Dickens, is a staple of English literature. It's i of his well-nigh autobiographical works; information technology tells the story of a young boy, orphaned and poor, who ultimately experiences a drastic modify in his fortunes. In addition, he learns much about love, trust, and relationships in this coming-of-historic period novel. Equally the title suggests, the novel also contains discussions of promise, disappointment, and expectations.

The Great Gatbsy (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby a novel that in many means closely reflected his own feel. The decadence of the Jazz Historic period was, as is revealed in the novel, both enticing for many and revolting for some. The Great Gatsby follows the quest of a wealthy young man to win dorsum the honey of his life by extravagant displays of riches and social connections. As the plot builds to its climax, readers, along with Gatsby'southward simpler, humbler friend and neighbor, are left to ponder the passing of an era in American history.

BONUS: Reading The Great Gatsby for school just finding information technology hard to proceed track of all the characters? Nosotros have several study guides that might be able to help, including our guide to all the characters in The Great Gatsby.

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The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)

Amy Tan'south novel, The Joy Luck Society, deals with intergenerational and intercultural questions. Tan seeks to represent the Chinese-American experience while also representing issues of mother-daughter relationships and the passage of time. The book focuses on four mother and 4 daughters across four sections of the novel for a full of sixteen stories that come together to complete this total work.

Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

William Golding's Lord of the Flies speaks to the evil and degenerate potential that lurks within each human. Information technology can be interpreted religiously, politically, psychoanalytically, or any number of other ways, but the basic premise is that a group of schoolboys stranded on an island descend into grotesque savagery. Information technology'southward a agonizing story, to be sure, but one that is important to exist familiar with in a globe where cruel instinct besides ofttimes presents itself today.

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)

As with any work, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are not everyone's cup of tea, but they're hugely rewarding pleasure reading for too many fans to count. Tolkien's masterpieces are more than simply pleasance reading, though; the trilogy covers major themes of the epic struggle between good and evil, the necessity of persevering through immensely difficult ordeals, and how to apply mercy. Tolkien asks major questions about those who are evil versus those who are misguided and what nosotros should practice when our paths intertwine with any such individuals. The Hobbit is lighter and more kid-focused, but still addresses of import themes.

The Odyssey (Homer)

The Odyssey is an ballsy poem nigh iii thousand years sometime that's attributed to the blind poet Homer. Information technology tells the story of a war hero's 10-year quest to return to his home, married woman, and son. He encounters a number of varied setbacks along the way, and the trouble isn't over when he gets home. The Odyssey deals with man interactions with the gods, bringing upwardly questions of righteousness, wrongdoing, and pride too as ideas of faithfulness and patience.

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Odysseus was a fan of the ladies.

Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)

This play by Greek dramatist Sophocles is well-nigh a human who inadvertently kills his father and marries his mother. Information technology's night subject matter, and naught good comes of it, as yous may well suspect. This another example, as in The Odyssey, of the divine tinkering with human lives and the corking sin of pride.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo'due south Nest (Ken Kesey)

Ken Kesey documents in this piece of work the darkest side of mental health care every bit it existed in the 1960s. While certainly non all mental health care was like what's described in the book, nor is information technology all like that today, audiences of the novel are aghast that any intendance might even vaguely resemble the horrors discussed. Despite how agonizing the storyline is, it'due south important for readers to recognize the vulnerability of this too frequently overlooked segment of society.

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice follows a family unit with five daughters, all unwed, and all, due to English customs of the late 1700s and early 1800s, in demand of wedding ceremony. Of the 5 daughters, Elizabeth is the focus of the novel, though the others are discussed ample. While marriage is one of the central ideas in the novel, there are plenty of other themes to be picked apart, including ones that bear upon on pride, prejudice, first impressions, dear, misunderstanding, and manipulation. This is, all around, a classic piece of literature, and one with which to be familiar.

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Next upwardly: one of my favorites, William Shakespeare.

Romeo and Juliet or Village (William Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare'south Romeo and Juliet is familiar to well-nigh people on some level: two teenagers from feuding families autumn in love and ultimately sacrifice their lives to their passion. Of all of Shakespeare's works, it'due south a particularly popular one to read in high school for a variety of reasons. For 1 affair, it deals explicitly with teenaged love, and, for another, information technology's a relatively simple plot that'southward nonetheless activity-packed. It likewise opens with a shameless series of very witty muddy jokes, and such humor is scattered throughout the residue of the testify. Then in that location's the thematic material, which includes obedience, fate, and rash decisions, among others.

For those who don't wish to read about teenagers mooning for each other to the bespeak of suicide, there'due south always Village. This story follows a Danish prince whose father has died and whose mother has almost instantly married the male parent'south brother. When Hamlet discovers, via an appearance of his begetter'southward ghost, that his uncle murdered his begetter, all sorts of interesting events ensue. There's madness (real and feigned), murder, suicide, treason, and a lot of waffling over the right course of action.

As an added bonus, those who read Hamlet may wish to read Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Information technology follows the events of Hamlet from the perspective of ii minor and typically much-maligned characters. Information technology's besides hilarious, if absolutely weird.

Shambles-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)

Shambles-Five is a fictional account of events in some means very similar to what the author himself experienced every bit a prisoner of state of war in WWII. He writes about the atrocities humans commit upon each other, and he also mixes in a number of other concerns, some heavy, some low-cal, such as death, aliens, and the ability to see other points in time, past or hereafter.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)

The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God past Zora Neale Hurston has been much criticized over the grade of its history, and yet it stands equally one of the great classics of American literature. It tells the story of a black adult female who is total of zest and passion and who is passed from man to man as she goes through life. With her first husband, she is absolutely miserable; with her 2d husband, it'southward more bearable, for a time; and with her 3rd human, she finds happiness. The trials and tribulations she undergoes with all three make for an interesting exam of what it takes for Janie to free the strong, confident woman within.

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(Not an bodily representation of Janie. Same arroyo to life, though.)

Things Autumn Apart (Chinua Achebe)

In Chinua Achebe's Things Autumn Autonomously, readers encounter a complex and beautifully rendered test of life with the Igbo tribe in Africa, both before and afterwards the white man's interference. Okonkwo is the protagonist, and he goes through a number of difficulties that put him in the position of making distasteful decisions. Readers are left to wonder whether things are falling apart because that'south simply the mode of the world or whether different decisions could have kept them together. The inevitability of change is neatly demonstrated.

To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

Harper Lee's To Impale a Mockingbird deals with elements of racism, backbone, sympathy, understanding, and hope. It tells the story of a small town where a black man has been falsely accused of raping a white woman. The daughter of the lawyer defending the accused is the chief protagonist, and another aspect of the story is her journeying from bemused mockery to gentle understanding with regard to an eccentric human being in the town. To Kill a Mockingbird rose to prominence during the Civil Rights Move and remains as potent today as it ever was.

The Ugly American (Eugene Burdick and William Lederer)

The Ugly American by Burdick and Lederer is a denouncement of the American practice of sending insensitive diplomatic figures into strange countries. Through a series of vignettes, it demonstrates American inefficiency overseas. It so impressed John F. Kennedy while he was a Democratic senator that he sent a re-create to each and every one of his Senate colleagues. It can exist an uncomfortable read, but a worthwhile one.

Decision

If you can read through these xxx-odd books earlier you graduate high school, you'll exist in a good shape, from a literary perspective.

Even if you can't read all of them, picking a few would non be a bad place to start. You might start with those that just sound the well-nigh interesting to you, or you could look for themes in the books that relate to what you're learning in schoolhouse. If you lot're studying McCarthyism, for instance, mayhap attempt The Crucible; if you're studying the Holocaust, perchance endeavor The Diary of a Young Daughter.

These stories are immensely powerful. Some are newer, having instantly won their place in the pantheon of classics, while others take proven themselves by withstanding the exam of time.

Readers volition observe that they resonate with some books more than others, and that'southward fine; the bespeak is that all of these books have important letters to communicate, and I encourage readers to exist open up to finding out what those messages are.

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Open a book, and you lot'll find all sorts of letters! Commonly not in bottles, though.

What's Next?

A lot of these books may exist read or referenced in AP English Lit classes. Check out our guide to AP Literature for tips on preparing for the examination. If y'all're not sure whether to take AP English language Linguistic communication or AP English language Literature, allow usa to provide you with some thoughts on the topic.

While we're on the topic of literature, why don't yous accept a moment to read some recommendations on which English classes you should take during your high schoolhouse career?

Are y'all both a reader and interested in becoming a physician? So you should definitely accept a look at our list of books to read as a pre-med student.

And as a reminder, if you decide to read The Great Gatsby or The Crucible, you tin can check out our analyses of each to help you lot forth the way!

One of the single most important parts of your college awarding is what classes you choose to take in high school (in conjunction with how well you do in those classes). Our team of PrepScholar admissions experts have compiled their knowledge into this unmarried guide to planning out your high school course schedule. We'll propose you on how to balance your schedule betwixt regular and honors/AP/IB courses, how to cull your extracurriculars, and what classes you can't afford not to have.

Plan Your Course Schedule

Take friends who also demand aid with test prep? Share this article!

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About the Author

Vero is a firsthand good at standardized testing and the college application process. Though neither parent had graduated loftier schoolhouse, and test prep was out of the question, she scored in the 99th percentile on both the Sat and Deed, taking each test only once. She attended Dartmouth, graduating every bit salutatorian of 2013. She later worked as a professional tutor. She has a groovy passion for the arts, especially theater.

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Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/books-to-read-in-high-school

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