# Favorite novel read in high school **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336 "2005-06-15T04:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Porpoise1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Porpoise1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Porpoise1)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/101 "2005-06-22T00:45:37Z")
Being an avid reader myself, and having spent years telling my primary teacher mother what to put in her new curriculums, I would reccomend you choose a theme to work on. Should you choose fantasy, which is often a good choice for young people, perhaps something by Dianna Wynne Jones. John Marsden’s Winter or perhaps Letters From the Inside are both good books if you want to look at suspense writing. A really good idea could be to choose a certain time or place (i.e. England) and have the children read books like Orphans of the Queen, or some of the My Story series (this includes many short and interesting novels in diary form mostly set in early London) and then include a study on the genres or a book review. Another particularly effective activity which primary children seem to enjoy is writing an ‘18th century diary’ pretending to be a character from one of the books they read, or somebody in England during a particular time (i.e. the plague or similar). Hope this helps, Porpoise1 ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/102 "2005-06-22T01:30:01Z")
> [@Manda JO](#): > > I absolutely would not lock into final choices now… Great advice. Thank you. I just want to have a rough idea before I meet with the department chair. It seems he keeps most of the class sets of novels in his class and I’m afraid it’s first come, first served. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/103 "2005-06-22T02:09:54Z")
This might sound silly, but “The Black Tanker” by Howard Pease was one of my favorite books at the time. Mr. Pease came to my hghschool to speak but I wasn’t allowed to be there. (Faculty only) ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/104 "2005-06-22T15:32:56Z")
Jake, I got interested in looking up Pease and The Black Tanker, and I hope you kept your copy. I was looking at used bookstores for a copy and found them selling for $35 up to $250, and not even in excellent condition, either! I’ll have to see if the library has it. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/105 "2005-06-22T15:35:41Z")
One thing we did in HS was we were given a long list of books and we had to read at least X of them in the year (or another book by the same author), plus one assigned novel. I’d say, of those, my favourite was _Alias Grace_ by Margaret Atwood. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/106 "2005-06-22T16:26:55Z")
If there’s room in the curriculum, I would pick some novels that aren’t considered traditional classics. I’ve always loved to read, but I hated nearly every story I was forced to read in school. I think the three exceptions were “A Christmas Carol” in middle school, and “Huck Finn” and “Candide” in high school and university. Some of my choices: The Prince and the Pauper (love this story; never read it as a class assignment, but I’ve read it twice on my own) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (humorous, light-hearted, easy to read) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (discussions could include why popular fiction appeals to the masses) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (the politics in this series is mind-bogglingly complex, the writing is well done, and the characters are fascinating. But some parents might object to the language (“fuck” is used some) and almost none of the characters are completely good) The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy Emmuska (I also recommend the 1982 movie with Jane Seymour as a followup) ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-novel-read-in-high-school/308336/107 "2005-06-22T17:16:18Z")
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