This post contains affiliate links.
High school reading lists are, admittedly, much less exciting to high schoolers than they are to the (perhaps older) crowds who long for a wonderfully curated list of new reads and a pre-assembled book club to discuss. For those of you who long for the high school days and that wonderful exposure to literature, or for those who are missing some key classics from your repertoire, we’ve assembled TBRH’s Best Books You (Should Have) Read in High School.
High school reading lists are really powerful because they expose younger readers to the world they are about to become a part of, in all its glory, ugliness, and triumph. Well-rounded reading lists teach us about our history (especially the parts we must learn from), teach us who we are and who we can become, and can inspire a generation of new thought, change, and action. They make us better, more informed, citizens.
1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
A Review, Via Haiku
A girl, dignified
And, who Didn’t Come to Stay
Whose words sing beyond
2. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
A Review, Via Haiku
Memory, to start.
Granular, mundane, afraid.
War, outside, within.
3. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Review, via Haiku
America’s great:
Dream, Irony, Novella
Imprisoned, preserved.
4. Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History, by Art Spiegelman
A Review, via Haiku
Brutal. Haunted. Art.
Try to cut through a mem’ry.
Who Remains? Tortured.
5. My Antonia, by Willa Cather
A Review, via Haiku
Life on the prairie.
Outside: desolate landscape
Within: courage, fire.
6. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A Review, via Haiku
A spirit not tamed,
Despite the sin on your chest.
Born for all to judge.
7. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
A Review, via Haiku
Beautiful, tragic.
Race, gender, identity:
Timeless, enduring.
8. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
A Review, via Haiku
Forward, forward, on.
Technology is supreme!
The price of a soul.
9. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
A Review, via Haiku
Chase independence,
Down the Mighty Mississippi.
Adventures galore.
10. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
A Review, via Haiku
Girl: choices chosen.
Lady: longing for freedom
Tale: of all women.
Want More Lists?
Check out these popular book lists: