ReadingList

American Literature

Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is one of my favorites. A disturbing portrait of a young woman whose aspirations aren't taken seriously by society. An autobiographical novel by the talented young poet who committed suicide in 1962.

Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird was first published in 1960. It's an American classic whose theme of racial tolerance is, unfortunately, still very relevant today.

Ayn Rand's Anthem is suitable for middle-school students or high-schoolers. Rand's dystopian novel is a fascinating and chilling piece. It works well with George Orwell's 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

The Great Gatsby - another American classic, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterpiece. Sin, guilt, and redemption.

Young Adult Literature

Walter Dean Myers' Monster is a compelling story written as a screenplay by a young African-American who has been wrongly accused of murder.

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, is a collection of vignettes told by Esperanza Cordero. A great coming-of-age story from one of America's leading Hispanic writers.

Just For the Fun of It (some of my favorites)

It - a harrowing story from the master of horror, but also "a suprising reillumination of the corridor where we pass from the bright mysteries of childhood to those of maturity." (book jacket)

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - by Southern writer Rebecca Wells. Sweet, funny, quirky, and sad. Little Altars Everywhere, the prequel, is just as good.

We Were the Mulvaneys - by Joyce Carol Oates. A sweeping novel about families, secrets, and miracles.

Reservation Road - by John Burnham Schwartz. Absolutely one of the best contemporary novels I've read in awhile. I would love to use it in my English class. Schwartz tells the story of Ethan, a college professor, who watches helplessly as his 10-year-old son is murdered by a hit-and-run driver on a secluded country road, and then must help his family mend. Breathtaking and heartbreaking.