The best reads offered in HHS English classes

By Feature Editor: Hannah Snyder

It’s nearly impossible to avoid reading books in your English classes throughout high school. Some of them are terrible from the first page and seem to have zero educational value, trust me. However, there are also a few of them that will really leave you glad you decided to follow along throughout the read.

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger isn’t just the best book I read throughout high school. It doubles as one of the best book I’ve ever read. At HHS, The Catcher in the Rye is typically read in English 11. The novel follows the life of Holden Caulfield post World War II. After being suspended from his private school, he rebels against his peers and decides to discover who he really is. He undergoes several obstacles, making the novel very unpredictable and original. I remember reading each chapter never knowing what to expect and nervous to see what trouble Holden was about to get himself into.

The Catcher in the Rye is very controversial in today’s generation because many students find the book boring or pointless. However, I believe anyone who understands the purpose of the storyline or takes notes of the little details will enjoy the novel. It’s much more than a misbehaved kid who struggles to stay safe. Holden represents the transition to adulthood, and the struggles of growing up, hence, making it the perfect book for high school students to read.

The Great Gatsby

It’s clear that junior year English was the best for me because my second favorite book throughout high school was The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is a common favorite among teenagers because of the popular film portrayed after the novel. However, the book is much better than any movie could ever be. Nick Carraway, the narrator, an innocent young man from the Midwest, moves to New York and experiences a whole new change to his life. The entire novel is an endless love/hate story between multiple characters. Readers experience true love between Gatsby and Daisy, and nothing but hatred and anger towards Tom, Daisy’s cheating husband. The mysterious Jay Gatsby draws every reader in and keeps them guessing until the very last page.

I loved The Great Gatsby because of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing style. He has a way of bringing each character to life throughout the entire novel. Instead of reading step by step what these characters are dealing with, you almost become involved yourself. The Great Gatsby is one of those books you can relate almost anything in your personal life to. I cherish it and couldn’t recommend it enough to anyone.

Of Mice and Men

Written by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men is nothing but a classic. The novel is based on the lives of George and Lennie, two ranch workers during the Great Depression. Lennie suffers from a mental illness but receives constant comfort and support from George. While on a search for a perfect place to live by themselves, the men deal with a variety of struggles at their job. Innocent Lennie struggles to fit in and forces George to suffer along with him. The obstacles these two men overcome together are remarkable and show true friendship. Although the ending is a major turner, the outcome of the book all makes sense at the end.

Of Mice and Men is on my list on top favorite books because it’s heartbreaking. It’s a story like no other story I’ve ever read and it truly keeps the reader engaged throughout the entire book. I fell in love with the characters and found myself feeling affected by choices that were made. Not every English class at HHS reads it, but anyone who doesn’t get the opportunity to in school needs to read during their own time.

Keep in mind the books listed above are simply my top three favorites. My list could easily be extended well past just the number three.

Worst novels in high school

By Staff Writer: Rachel Brauer  

The Odyssey

Narrated by Homer, The Odyssey is a Greek tale that follows the main character, Odysseus, and his ten-year journey back home through sea. Troy has fallen and suitors have claimed Odysseus’s kingdom of Ithica, trying to claim his wife. With help from the gods and goddesses, they help free Odysseus from the iron-grip of Calypso and her island. On the way, he experiences many road blocks, like the wrath of gods, goddesses, and monsters, that strive to see him fail his quest.

Sounds intense? Normally, I would love a story like this. Greek mythology has always interested me. I love learning about all of the great tales of gods and goddesses, but this story was so dry it was mentally exhausting. It somehow made folklore boring. I personally think it was the way the book was presented. There was no preface of background knowledge of ancient Greece’s past, which is key to understanding the whole story.

The House on Mango Street

Written by Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street is a story about a Latina girl named Esperanza, and follows her growth mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is written in vignettes, which are short chapters that are 100 words or shorter. It begins with Esperanza and her family moving into a house on Mango Street, which is a step-up from their previous living arrangement in an apartment. She hates it because it’s small and she doesn’t have any privacy. Esperanza is 12-years-old at the beginning of the novel, and as the novel progresses it displays her growth into womanhood based on her year of experiences and influences.

I just never thought this book had a plotline. Normally, I love vignettes, but I think if this story would have been formatted more like a novel, it would have held the plotline more efficiently. There was no aha moment at the end of the story for me. It just kind of started off like a rollercoaster, going uphill and then backtracking. The lesson of Esperanza becoming herself presented itself more as a whisper than a roar. Overall, this book was extremely boring for me. It was literally a chore to read it.

The Member of the Wedding

Written by Carson McCullers’s, The Member of the Wedding centers around the 12-year-old pre-adolescence Frankie Addams, taking place in the south of 1944. After the death of her mother, Frankie is left to deal with the discovery of individualism and puberty by herself. The novel centers around Frankie, and her escape from inevitable loneliness of feeling like she doesn’t fit in anywhere. Then after hearing the news of her older brother Jarvis’s wedding, she spends the three days before the ceremony preparing herself to becoming an adult so Jarvis and Janice will welcome her into their home. She hopes by this, that she will start over new and finally belong somewhere.

I had to read this book for my research paper in Advanced American Lit, and I absolutely hated it. It took me weeks to read this less than 200 paged book because it was so dry and tasteless. There wasn’t even a climax, it just kind of started and ended. This book stressed me out so much because I kept thinking there was something wrong with me for not understanding what Carson McCullers was trying to convey, and I had to write a ten page paper on a book that didn’t make sense to me. I realized though that it was just the way the book was written. I would never recommend this book to anyone.

There are going to be millions of books in high school that one has to read and dissect, whether they are good or bad. It’s life. Just remember that it’s going to be over before it even starts, so make the most of it. Who knows, a certain book might open eyes into a whole new world that never existed before.