16 Books You Hated In High School That Deserve A Second Chance
16 Books You Hated In High School That Deserve A Second Chance
Maybe you were a straight-A student who read every single book on the required reading list. Maybe you kept Spark Notes in business. Whatever it may be, you likely didn't appreciate classic novels when you were fourteen. Some books seemed daunting while others were actually boring.
But now that you've moved on from the drama of high school, classic books deserve your attention. It's time to re-read some novels you might've looked over.
1. The Stranger by Albert Camus
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The Stranger is a fantastic book and a short read, so maybe you did read it in High School. Translated from French, it is a novel that should not go unread.
2. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
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Through vignettes, you'll be reintroduced to the story of a young Latina girl finding herself and figuring out who she will become. With culture, hardships, family relationships, and so much more.
3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
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Even if you skipped this one, you surely learned what a catch 22 meant. This book if often regarded as one of the "most significant novels of the twenty first century" and is taught in schools around the country. The non-chronological, third person narration may have been confusing as a teenager, but Joseph Heller's writing deserves a second read.
4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
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An early work of feminism, The Awakening is a marvelous depiction of women's issues. Protagonist, Edna Pontellier struggles with her views on motherhood and femininity, creating friction between her and her surroundings.
5. Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
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An important story during the civil right's movement, Beals describes her integration after Brown vs. The Board of Education ruling. Along with eight other students, the Little Rock Nine integrated into a white public school. This story, and part in history, is a necessary read for all Americans.
6. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
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This novel, often considered auto-biographical, is a classic anti-war novel. You may have learned what an unreliable narrator was, thanks to Vonnegut.
7. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
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The play will teach you about race relations, family dynamics, money, dreams, and betrayal. Over the course of three acts you'll understand what a family will do for a better life.
8. Night by Elie Wiesel
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A heartbreaking story inside concentration camps during the Holocaust, from the perspective of author, Elie Wiesel. It is an important book about a terrible time in history.
9. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
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The dramatized and partly fictionalized play of the Salem Witch Trails, The Crucible has many layers to it, some that may have been unimportant to a teenager in English class.
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
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Dystopian novels were often required reading in schools, introducing students to worlds where fairness and equality were missing. Often paired with Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, and The Handmaid's Tale, Brave New World is a must-read for the newest generation of citizens.
11. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
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Of Mice and Men may have seemed boring back in the classroom but the classic story of friendship, mental health, and death is an entertaining read. Might I add, a short read with 112 pages.
12. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
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A coming of age story, we meet Charlie, a shy-timid High Schooler struggling with his dark past. Often compared to The Catcher in the Rye, this novel is essential for teenagers going through the trials and tribulations of adolescence.
13. The Giver by Lois Lowry
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A society that is not all it seems to be is a fantastically enjoyable read for all ages, even adults.
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
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Deemed, the "first great novel to speak in a truly American voice", Huck Finn is a must-read.
15.The Odyssey by Homer
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Maybe not the most loved of high school reading, it is a piece of literature that should not go un-noticed.
16. 1984 by George Orwell
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Another dystopian novel that shines light on inconsistencies in society. "A startling and haunting vision of the world, 1984 is so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the influence of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time".