American Classic Novels Read in High School
A huge number of books exist out in that location, fix and waiting for you to read them. Whether yous adopt manga or ancient, ballsy poems, reading is great for all sorts of reasons. What follows is a list of highly beneficial books to read in high school (or after!). These are remarkable books—books that made history, books that challenge societal perceptions of the globe, and books that are quite just interesting and moving. The books are presented in alphabetical order, and a short description is given for each book, also an explanation of why it is worth reading. Why should you read these books? Why should you read at all for that affair? Reading is essential to communication, especially in an era of emails and texting. Beyond even that, though, reading has an assortment of crucial purposes. It will help improve your grades and test scores. You'll larn near other places, other times, and other cultures. Yous'll encounter bug you can relate to—issues that speak to y'all and challenge yous to think and feel in new means. Yous will abound, empathetically and intellectually. Plus, you'll understand more of the references that crop up all the fourth dimension in popular civilization. Below are 31 books to read in high school that volition help you prepare for college and beyond. This dystopian novel by George Orwell was written 35 years before the appointment referenced by the title. In this book, Orwell tells a story that warns readers about the possible consequences of complacency in the face of ascent dictators (think Hitler and Stalin) and burgeoning technology ripe for misuse. He describes a world where everything is monitored, correct down to citizens' thoughts, and where any opposition to the ruling class is punishable by farthermost measures. The often-encountered quote, "Big Brother is watching," finds its origin in this novel. This sequel to Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is much graver in nature than its predecessor. There are yet plenty of practiced antics worthy of a express mirth, but information technology concerns itself largely with a young male child's attempt to escape severe family dysfunction and the moral implications of his taking an escaped slave every bit a companion on his adventure 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. Marker Twain wants you to read his novel(s). Set in the Creole civilization of the late 1800s, this novel past Kate Chopin details one adult female'south process of becoming aware of herself. At the fourth dimension, women were essentially property, and they were expected to act in demure and socially acceptable ways. As the protagonist "awakens" to her emotional and sexual needs, too as the ultimate truth of her ain independence , all sorts of bug ensue. The novel examines the balance between self-respect and selfishness. This autobiographical novel past poet Sylvia Plath explores the deep, dark reality of mental illness. The protagonist, Esther, a stand up-in for Plath herself, is a college pupil exploring her talents, interests, and sexuality as she descends into an unsettling spiral of mental instability. It is essential for students to understand the seriousness of mental illness equally information technology is so earnestly portrayed in this book. Blackness Pelting, by Masuji Ibuse, is about the very firsthand, human consequences of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It follows a pocket-size 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 however it is not afraid to delve into very explicit and challenging topics related to the bombings. This semi-autobiographical novel by Rudolfo Anaya contains a healthy dose of magical realism and is considered a staple of Chicano literature. It combines Spanish, Mexican, and Native American influences, showing openly the means in which these forces within the protagonist's life come into conflict. Young Antonio is growing upwardly in a world that leaves him with more questions than answers: major questions about life and death, good and evil, and so on. These problems seem too big for his 6-yr-old mind, and yet he grapples with them valiantly through the end of the novel. Antonio has lots of questions surrounding his faith traditions. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley explores themes similar to those found in Orwell's 1984. Huxley wrote this novel before than Orwell wrote his, and notwithstanding both bargain with dystopian concepts. In item, Huxley balances utopian and dystopian interpretations of a world that is highly controlled, easily manipulated, and extremely dysfunctional, prepare to fall apart at any provocation. There are insiders of and outsiders to this earth, and each character views and interacts with the social club in a dissimilar light. Dee Chocolate-brown covers a lot of historical footing in this book. In it, Brown describes the history of European Americans as they collaborate with (and slaughter) the Native Americans who already inhabit what they claim every bit their country. It'southward an infuriating and accurate tale of mistreatments and abuses, also as the unfortunate pass up of a noble people trying to defend their established way of life. It's essential for students to understand this part of United States history. This bold and controversial novel by J. D. Salinger centers around ideas including adolescent sexuality and relationships. The protagonist is constantly bouncing around from person to person, place to place, activeness to activity. Critics were profoundly offended by Salinger's frank discussions of sexual matters and his mostly very casual way. This book is an important read in part because of its direct relevance to struggling adolescents and the problems they confront. Arthur Miller wrote this tragic play in the early 1950s. While information technology is somewhat loosely based on the Salem witch trials of 1692, and while it is likely intended as an allegory to McCarthy'due south rooting out of suspected Communists at the time of the play's writing, the issues it touches on are much more than broadly applicative. This is an important dramatic work on how hysteria, cruelty, and ignorant gullibility destroy communities. Bonus: Studying The Crucible for school and struggling? Check out ourThe Crucible report guides hither! There are lots of accusations of creepy stuff in The Crucible. Anne Frank's published diary is different from a typical literary piece of work. It'southward a true business relationship of the life of ane Jewish girl during the Holocaust, and, while Anne Frank wrote some passages with publication in heed, others she did not. When the book was showtime published, many passages that her male parent, Otto Frank, constitute too long, unflattering, or inappropriate were excluded. Today, the book is bachelor with all material included. Gaining some understanding of this horrific genocide is crucial to students. Books are on trial in this astounding work by Ray Bradbury. Ready in yet another dystopian future where firemen are employed to burn books and the houses that contain them, Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of a fireman 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. Daniel Keyes writes a very warm and human form of science fiction in Flowers for Algernon. The novel tells the story of a man 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. In For Colored Girls…, Ntozake Shange creates choreopoetry (poetry meant to be performed with movement and trip the light fantastic toe) that covers of import themes of race, gender, abuse, and perseverance. It'south largely a deep and dark verse form, just information technology contains a bulletin of hope. This is an crawly opportunity for readers to go exposure to verse in a very relevant and theatrical form. The rainbow contains all sorts of symbolism. First off, let's all exist articulate: as some will already know, Frankenstein is not a monster. Rather, the very human Victor Frankenstein is responsible for creating what nosotros recognize as the monster from the story; the fauna itself is nameless. Mary Shelley wrote this Gothic thriller in the early on 1800s, and yet we remain fascinated by this tale of playing God and facing the consequences. It'southward an eerie tale with themes that run deep. John Steinbeck's masterful The Grapes of Wrath centers around the Corking Depression and the Dust Basin in American history. It'southward a story of hope and despair, moving from one to the other and back again seamlessly throughout the novel. While loaded with biblical allusions, information technology is not heavy-handed with them, and the writing is often praised as realistic and cute. Swell Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is a staple of English literature. It'due south one of his most autobiographical works; it tells the story of a young boy, orphaned and poor, who ultimately experiences a desperate change in his fortunes. In improver, he learns much almost love, trust, and relationships in this coming-of-age novel. As the championship suggests, the novel also contains discussions of hope, disappointment, and expectations. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Dandy Gatsby a novel that in many ways closely reflected his ain experience. The decadence of the Jazz Historic period was, every bit is revealed in the novel, both enticing for many and revolting for some. The Not bad Gatsby follows the quest of a wealthy young man to win back the love of his life past extravagant displays of riches and social connections. As the plot builds to its climax, readers, along with Gatsby'south simpler, humbler friend and neighbour, are left to ponder the passing of an era in American history. BONUS: Reading The Great Gatsby for school but finding it difficult to keep track of all the characters? We have several study guides that might be able to aid, including our guide to all the characters in The Great Gatsby. Amy Tan'southward novel, The Joy Luck Society, deals with intergenerational and intercultural questions. Tan seeks to correspond the Chinese-American experience while besides representing bug of mother-daughter relationships and the passage of time. The book focuses on four female parent and four daughters across four sections of the novel for a total of 16 stories that come up together to complete this total piece of work. William Golding's Lord of the Flies speaks to the evil and degenerate potential that lurks within each human. It can be interpreted religiously, politically, psychoanalytically, or any number of other ways, simply the bones premise is that a group of schoolboys stranded on an island descend into grotesque savagery. It'southward a agonizing story, to exist sure, but one that is important to be familiar with in a world where savage instinct also often presents itself today. As with whatever work, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are not everyone'due south cup of tea, but they're hugely rewarding pleasance reading for also many fans to count. Tolkien'southward masterpieces are more than simply pleasure reading, though; the trilogy covers major themes of the ballsy struggle between skilful and evil, the necessity of persevering through immensely difficult ordeals, and how to apply mercy. Tolkien asks major questions virtually those who are evil versus those who are misguided and what we should do when our paths intertwine with any such individuals. The Hobbit is lighter and more child-focused, but yet addresses important themes. The Odyssey is an epic poem nearly three k years onetime that's attributed to the blind poet Homer. It tells the story of a war hero's ten-yr quest to render to his domicile, wife, and son. He encounters a number of varied setbacks along the fashion, and the trouble isn't over when he gets home. The Odyssey deals with human interactions with the gods, bringing up questions of righteousness, wrongdoing, and pride besides as ideas of faithfulness and patience. This play by Greek dramatist Sophocles is about a man who inadvertently kills his begetter and marries his female parent. Information technology'due south dark subject matter, and nothing good comes of it, as you may well suspect. This another instance, as in The Odyssey, of the divine tinkering with human being lives and the great sin of pride. Ken Kesey documents in this work the darkest side of mental health care as it existed in the 1960s. While certainly not all mental wellness care was like what's described in the book, nor is information technology all similar that today, audiences of the novel are aghast that whatever care might even vaguely resemble the horrors discussed. Despite how disturbing the storyline is, it'south important for readers to recognize the vulnerability of this likewise often overlooked segment of society. Jane Austen'due south Pride and Prejudice follows a family with five daughters, all unwed, and all, due to English customs of the late 1700s and early 1800s, in need of nuptials. Of the five daughters, Elizabeth is the focus of the novel, though the others are discussed aplenty. While marriage is one of the central ideas in the novel, in that location are plenty of other themes to be picked apart, including ones that bear on pride, prejudice, first impressions, beloved, misunderstanding, and manipulation. This is, all around, a classic piece of literature, and i with which to be familiar. Adjacent up: one of my favorites, William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare'due south Romeo and Juliet is familiar to nigh people on some level: two teenagers from feuding families fall in love and ultimately cede their lives to their passion. Of all of Shakespeare's works, it'south a particularly popular i to read in high school for a multifariousness of reasons. For one affair, it deals explicitly with teenaged honey, and, for another, it'south a relatively simple plot that's nonetheless activeness-packed. Information technology also opens with a shameless series of very witty muddied jokes, and such humor is scattered throughout the rest of the show. And then at that place's the thematic cloth, which includes obedience, fate, and rash decisions, amidst others. For those who don't wish to read almost teenagers mooning for each other to the signal of suicide, at that place's always Hamlet. This story follows a Danish prince whose father has died and whose mother has almost instantly married the begetter's brother. When Village discovers, via an appearance of his male parent'due south ghost, that his uncle murdered his father, all sorts of interesting events ensue. In that location'due south madness (real and feigned), murder, suicide, treason, and a lot of waffling over the correct grade of action. As an added bonus, those who read Hamlet may wish to read Tom Stoppard'south Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It follows the events of Hamlet from the perspective of two small-scale and typically much-maligned characters. It'southward also hilarious, if absolutely weird. Slaughterhouse-Five is a fictional account of events in some means very similar to what the writer himself experienced as a pw in WWII. He writes near the atrocities humans commit upon each other, and he likewise mixes in a number of other concerns, some heavy, some lite, such as death, aliens, and the power to come across other points in time, past or hereafter. The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston has been much criticized over the class of its history, and yet it stands equally one of the bully classics of American literature. It tells the story of a black adult female who is full of zest and passion and who is passed from human to human as she goes through life. With her first husband, she is absolutely miserable; with her second husband, information technology's more bearable, for a time; and with her tertiary man, she finds happiness. The trials and tribulations she undergoes with all 3 brand for an interesting examination of what it takes for Janie to complimentary the strong, confident woman inside. (Not an bodily representation of Janie. Same approach to life, though.) In Chinua Achebe'south Things Fall Autonomously, readers see a complex and beautifully rendered examination of life with the Igbo tribe in Africa, both before and afterwards the white man'southward 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'southward merely the fashion of the world or whether different decisions could have kept them together. The inevitability of change is neatly demonstrated. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird deals with elements of racism, courage, sympathy, agreement, and promise. It tells the story of a pocket-sized town where a blackness man has been falsely accused of raping a white woman. The girl of the lawyer defending the accused is the primary protagonist, and another aspect of the story is her journey from bemused mockery to gentle understanding with regard to an eccentric homo in the town. To Kill a Mockingbird rose to prominence during the Civil Rights Motility and remains as potent today as information technology ever was. 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. Information technology so impressed John F. Kennedy while he was a Autonomous senator that he sent a re-create to each and every 1 of his Senate colleagues. Information technology can be an uncomfortable read, but a worthwhile one. If you can read through these xxx-odd books earlier you graduate loftier school, you'll be in a expert shape, from a literary perspective. Even if you can't read all of them, picking a few would not be a bad place to start. Y'all might showtime with those that only sound the nearly interesting to you, or y'all could expect for themes in the books that relate to what you're learning in schoolhouse. If you're studying McCarthyism, for instance, maybe endeavor The Crucible; if yous're studying the Holocaust, maybe try The Diary of a Young Girl. These stories are immensely powerful. Some are newer, having instantly won their place in the pantheon of classics, while others have proven themselves past withstanding the test of time. Readers volition find that they resonate with some books more than others, and that'southward fine; the point is that all of these books have important messages to communicate, and I encourage readers to exist open to finding out what those letters are. Open up a book, and you'll discover all sorts of messages! Usually not in bottles, though. A lot of these books may be read or referenced in AP English Lit classes. Check out our guide to AP Literature for tips on preparing for the exam. If you're not sure whether to take AP English language Linguistic communication or AP English Literature, allow us to provide you with some thoughts on the topic. While we're on the topic of literature, why don't you take a moment to read some recommendations on which English classes you should take during your high schoolhouse career? Are yous both a reader and interested in becoming a physician? Then you should definitely take a look at our list of books to read every bit a pre-med pupil. And as a reminder, if you decide to read The Great Gatsby or The Crucible, you can bank check out our analyses of each to assistance you along the mode! 1 of the single most important parts of your college application is what classes you choose to take in high schoolhouse (in conjunction with how well you practise in those classes). Our team of PrepScholar admissions experts have compiled their knowledge into this single guide to planning out your high schoolhouse form schedule. We'll advise you on how to balance your schedule betwixt regular and honors/AP/IB courses, how to choose your extracurriculars, and what classes yous can't afford not to take. 
Why Is Reading Important?
1984 (George Orwell)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
Black Rain (Masuji Ibuse)
Bless Me, Ultima (Rudolfo Anaya)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Coffin My Heart at Wounded Knee (Dee Brown)
The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
The Diary of a Immature Girl (Anne Frank)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf (Ntozake Shange)
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
The Bully Gatbsy (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Joy Luck Society (Amy Tan)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)
The Odyssey (Homer)
Odysseus was a fan of the ladies. Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)
1 Flew Over the Cuckoo'southward Nest (Ken Kesey)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Romeo and Juliet or Village (William Shakespeare)
Slaughter-house-V (Kurt Vonnegut)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
Things Autumn Apart (Chinua Achebe)
To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
The Ugly American (Eugene Burdick and William Lederer)
Conclusion
What's Adjacent?
Vero is a firsthand expert at standardized testing and the college awarding process. Though neither parent had graduated loftier school, and test prep was out of the question, she scored in the 99th percentile on both the SAT and ACT, taking each examination only once. She attended Dartmouth, graduating equally salutatorian of 2013. She later worked as a professional person tutor. She has a bang-up passion for the arts, especially theater.
Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/books-to-read-in-high-school
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