Okay! Back to books that are actually physically present in my own home and have been read by at least one member of my family. Part 2 will be the fiction books I bought for the high school library but haven't actually read myself (yet--you know I'm going to be reading most of the books I bought).
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare--This is classified as a children's novel, but the main character is a 16-year-old girl. Children can read it, but I think teenagers would like it, too. I love it, and have read it many times.
Constance, a Story of Early Plymouth by Patricia C. Clapp--This is the imagined diary of the real Constance Hopkins, who was only 14 when she came with her father and stepmother as part of the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony. It's very historically detailed, and supposed to be quite accurate, although I know very little about Plymouth so I can't vouch for that. In fact, all I know about Plymouth I learned from this book, which I have read many times.
Down the Common: A Year in the Life of A Medieval Woman by Anne Baer--I picked this book up on a whim at my college bookstore and have read it several times in the many intervening years. It's another meticulously researched book that has engaging characters. What I love about it is that although the details of medieval life as obviously particular to the time, the author did a fantastic job of expressing the commonalities of a woman's life through every time period.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden--This book feels so real, it's hard to believe it's actually fiction. I have a copy that I've read many times, and I bought a copy for the high school library.
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner--Maybe I should have just titled this High School Historical Fiction. I do enjoy good historical fiction. This is good. Excellent, in fact. It is, again, a fictional diary of a real person, a woman who homesteaded in the Tucson area in the 1880s. There are a couple of intense scenes of sexual assault, so I would definitely recommend this for older teenagers, but the overall writing and story are just so engrossing.
Deathwatch by Robb Wright-- A. bought this for the boys. The blurb on the front of this book is, "In the desert without food, clothes, or water and hunted by a madman with a .358 Magnum." This did not spark my interest, but my boys LOOOOVE this book. They've each read it multiple times. And then I found several copies of it in the boxes of books that have been taught in classrooms at the school. It won a mystery award in the 1970s, too, so although I can't personally vouch for it, I think I can safely recommend it.
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank--Written in 1959, this is described as the classic novel of a post-nuclear apocaplyse. Despite the scary subject, the story is actually quite optimistic in its portrayal of how the survivors, well, survive. It doesn't have anything really objectionable in it, either, and both my older boys have read my old copy so many times it fell apart and I bought a new one.
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green--There are, of course, many versions of the classic Robin Hood story. My boys like this one. It seems to have been first published in the 1950s, and the language is slightly old-fashioned but not unreadable.
I'll stop here. More to come, though!
What would you add to this list of high school fiction?
9 comments:
I've been going through some lists of YA fiction created by my library to find books for my 14 yr old boy. (Trying to avoid romance novels and a few other topics). A List of Cages by Robin Roe very good. Lovsers Bracket by Chris Crutcher was interesting. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has so much swearing but at heart it's appealing. . My teen daughter is loving Jane Austen right now. Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson. Alex Rider series by David Horowitz,
Any classic mystery novel like Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers might tickle their fancy. Sherlock Holmes.
Sorry- it's Anthony Horowitz. Up too early today.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck--I remember reading this in high school, but it wasn't assigned; I found it in my mom's bookcase and read it on my own. For mature readers only, I think. Jane Eyre, but I remember my brother having to read it and haaating it--I, of course, grabbed it and loved it.
I remember hating Catcher in the Rye, which was assigned in my -Catholic_ high school. Ugh. I did love Ray Bradbury, and I think any of his short story collections (Martian Chronicles, Illustrated Man) would be great, especially for boys. My fifteen year old likes Bradbury a lot. To Kill a Mockingbird for mature readers, definitely.
There is a YA book called"I Kill the Mockingbir" about some teens who want people to get excited about reading the book. By Paul Acampora. Could be reading in tandem with the classic.
High school fiction ... man. I'm the kid who loved when the classics were assigned. Must say, though, I was glad when someone noted "r*pe" in the margin on "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" because at the time I was not perceptive enough to gather that from the discussion of rabbits. (!!)
Three Musketeers
Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
I blazed through books mindlessly, like no tomorrow, and somehow these (and their like) slowed me down and made me actually read.
My oldest had been reading Westerns before he decided reading was abhorrent. He really liked William Johnstone. For some kids that might be a gateway.
I really love "The Martian" and " Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir. Good geeky semi-realistic sci-fi. "Martian" has some rough language, but I'd still say was appropriate for an older teen. I'd steer clear of "Artimas", his other sci-fi book, because he gets into some mature territory with some sex stuff.
If you enjoy historical fiction, please look into author Melanie Benjamin's work. Her "Aviator's Wife" is amazing. I think "Alice I Have Been" may be my favorite, but every time she releases a new one I choose a new favorite.
Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 is both a classic and exceedingly timely.
Sounds interesting, I just put it on hold at the library. Thanks!
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