Best Book to Teach HS Students

Of Mice and Men was a pretty rough story.

I used to read all the time when I was younger. Unfortunately, being forced to read for school took the fun out of it. I graduated high school a couple of years ago, and of all the books we had to read there were a few that I actually enjoyed.
Frankenstein, the Crucible, Hamlet, anything by Washington Irving, Thoreau. I really enjoyed Iron and Silk, which is about an American English language teacher learning martial arts in China and his experience with the culture. But my favorite novels (I wish we had read these in high school) are Tolkien’s Middle Earth works.

I used to read all the time when I was younger. Unfortunately, being forced to read for school took the fun out of it. I graduated high school a couple of years ago, and of all the books we had to read there were a few that I actually enjoyed.
Frankenstein, the Crucible, Hamlet, anything by Washington Irving, Thoreau. I really enjoyed Iron and Silk, which is about an American English language teacher learning martial arts in China and his experience with the culture. But my favorite novels (I wish we had read these in high school) are Tolkien’s Middle Earth works.

sorry what does AP stand for
and what do you mean by Freshman
I kind of figured out HS is High school.

Do you look books up in the OPAC?

You're an interesting man. Your list gives me a mixture of jubilation and revulsion

I am teaching The Hobbit to 8th graders right now. (I teach one period of 8th grade but mostly seniors.) I told them to make my classroom look like a hobbit hole. My new life goal.

I read the Crucible in high school (its a play, not a novel) although it didnt really grab me...it was thought provoking though however, it sure put Christians in a bad light as a bunch of pious hyporcrites.

Or rather...american christians...puritans. There were probably lots of other sects and christians around in those times that werent.

Arthur Miller was Jewish

Ha Ha! I'd be interested to know why, because I had a similar reaction to reading them!

Frankenstein was painful to read because I wanted to jump in there and slap the sense into Frankenstein the whole time. I didn't relate to any of the characters but I had opinions about what they were doing, and none of them were listening to my mental screams of frustration.

I liked the Crucible and Washington Irving because I like the idyllic setting of early colonial America - the close-knit small rural communities placed in the context of dangerous survival, hard work to get it done, and above all the thrill of the unknown frontier. More specifically, I think Irving is hilarious and I liked the main character of the Crucible for his principles.

I liked Thoreau because I like the outdoors and the idea of getting back to nature. Last fall I finally visited Walden Pond and walked around it, but I was sick as a dog the entire time because my stomach had a bad reaction to some wings and hot sauce I had eaten two days before, so I had to keep taking breaks or I would start to feel nauseous. XD We read Ralph Waldo Emerson with Thoreau, but I thought Emerson's worldview/philosophy was completely wrong and self-contradicting in several ways.

I think I enjoyed Iron and Silk more than it probably deserves, but I remember it fondly because it really opened my eyes to other cultures- something I missed in my tiny white town. That was the summer reading assignment heading into my freshman year and attending the county high school was a huge culture shock because (despite my hometown) my county is really diverse in regard to heritage. I also discovered I like the traditional Chinese/Japanese approach of simple and natural living reflected in the culture and architecture. Right now in college I'm sleeping on (what Amazon told me were) tatami floor mats (who wants to deal with a bed?)

Hobbit/LOTR speaks for itself. I first read the Hobbit in 2nd grade, but my sheltered mind was too narrow to even conceive or imagine a lot of the fantastical elements/ world building that Tolkien created, let alone understand the themes, so I was mostly just confused throughout the entire time. Took another look in 8th grade and was completely absorbed. Perfect grade to read it in my opinion and I think that's awesome about the classroom. I was 100% ready to move into the Shire back then. Though, now I've got my sights set on Heaven.

Anyway, this is not my list of favorite books (except for Tolkien). These are just the books that I enjoyed reading in high school because they got me to react instead of fall asleep or (worse) put it down and never think about it again.

And, sorry if I'm taking the thread off-topic.

In high school , it was The Grapes of Wrath and most anything by John Steinbeck considering his books were written about people in Monterey County where I grew up . I also liked To Kill a Mockingbird. A book that I have read a few times lately is Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man who Won the War. Its about the generation of soldiers and the Enola Gay and Hiroshima. It gave me a look at the events from a different point of view. One of the best books I've read.

I also like John Steinbeck. Cannery Row is my favorite.

I spent two delightful years in Monterey back in the 1970s. It was one of the most beautiful places that I have ever lived.

Tell me about the rabbits Lenny...
I wanna hear about the rabbits.

the Hobbit seems like a good choice for year 9s

also simpler than Lord of the Rings. Which they can then read later.

I dont think people even notice theres hardly any female characters in it. I guess its just one of those books where you dont question how they reproduce...like how there is only one girl smurf in the smurfs.