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The 11 Best Books I Read In School

For every "Tale of Two Cities" there is a "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Nicole Slater

Mar 06, 2017

Duquesne University

Wikipedia Commons

For a lot of kids, English class is their least favorite. You're lucky if half the books assigned to you are even a little enjoyable. I have many that would make my least favorite list, but going back through middle school and high school, there were quite a few book that truly made an impact on me.

1. The Kite Runner

Plot: Amir, a young Afghani boy living in Kabul, and his best friend Hassan, the son of his father's servant, fight kites and deal with the secrets of the past and one tragic event that will have repercussions for the rest of their lives.

Themes: Redemption, fathers and sons

Grade Assigned: 10th grade

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

Plot: Attorney Atticus Finch defends a black man accused of raping a white woman in 1930s Alabama, while teaching his children Scout and Jem about having compassion towards those less fortunate.

Themes: Loss of innocence, racism, compassion

Grade Assigned: 9th grade

3. Catcher in the Rye

Plot: Holden Caulfield wanders around New York City, contemplating his impending adulthood.

Themes: Coming-of-age, alienation

Grade Assigned: 12th grade

4. The Outsiders

Plot: Ponyboy Curtis and his friends struggle to find their place in a gang war between the rich Socs and the poor Greasers.

Themes: Coming-of-age, social inequality

Grade Assigned: 7th grade

5. In Cold Blood

Plot: A fiction novel written after meticulous research by Truman Capote, following the murder of the Clutter family by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

Themes: Nature vs. nurture

Grade Assigned: 12th grade

6. The Westing Game

Plot: The mysterious heirs of the recently deceased millionaire Samuel Westing are brought to Sunset Towers to solve the puzzle set up in Westing's will and win $10,000.

Themes: Identity

Grade Assigned: 6th grade

7. The Crucible

Plot: A play based off the Salem witch trials, young Abigail Williams and her friends accuse several prominent women in their town of being witches, causing hysteria and prejudice.

Themes: Intolerance, hysteria

Grade Assigned: 11th grade

8. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Plot: Siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are sent to live with a professor in the country during World War II and discover a magical world inside a wardrobe.

Themes: Loyalty, forgiveness

Grade Assigned: 6th grade

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Plot: Eleven year-old orphan Harry Potter is thrust into a magical wizard world at the Hogwarts boarding school where he is already a celebrity because he defeated a dark lord as a baby.

Themes: Triumph of good over evil

Grade Assigned: 7th grade

10. Of Mice and Men

Plot: Friends Lennie and George, two migrant workers, move from place to place looking for work during the great Depression, and find themselves in trouble at their newest place of employment.

Themes: The American Dream

Grade Assigned: 11th grade

11. Hamlet

Plot: Prince Hamlet returns after his father's death to seek revenge for his murder, which he suspects was done by his uncle, who has married Hamlet's mother.

Themes: Power and ambition, revenge

Grade Assigned: 12th grade

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The 11 Best Books I Read In School

For every "Tale of Two Cities" there is a "To Kill a Mockingbird."

1. The Kite Runner

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

3. Catcher in the Rye

4. The Outsiders

5. In Cold Blood

6. The Westing Game

7. The Crucible

8. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

10. Of Mice and Men

11. Hamlet

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This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

Run Around Clanging Pots and Pans in Everyone's Face

Eat the Last Few Pigs in a Blanket

Pop Twelve White Grapes

Burn Something

Smash Things Against a Wall

Spontaneously Begin an Irish Jig

Call Your Mother

Throw a Coffee Table Out a Window

Sing "Auld Lang Syne" at the Top of Your Lungs

Do Some Squats

Swan Dive into a Nearly Freezing Body of Water

Take a Shot

Time to be merry and bright.

"First Noel" by Leslie Odom, Jr

"A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Kelly Clarkson

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home" by Michael Buble

"Last Christmas" by Taylor Swift

"The Christmas Song" by Josh Groban

"White Christmas" by Idina Menzel

"O Holy Night" by David Archuleta

"Believe" by Josh Groban

"Les cloches du hameau" by Celine Dion

Or at least try to do.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

2. I will look decent for class.

3. I will go to the gym more.

4. I will go to the library and study more.

5. I will meet new people.

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

2. Disappointed you let it get this bad

3. Distracted: When a 10-Minute Break Becomes an Hour

4. When the Yearning for Sleep Sneaks Up

5. In the words of Lorelai Gilmore "Coffee, Coffee, Coffee"

Oh, so done.

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1. When it's December 1 and you have seven things due, three exams, and haven't slept in three days.

2. So you stress.

3. And cry.

4. Then call your mom to cry some more.

5. After the pep talk, you feel determined to get everything done.

6. But, now you're tired.

7. And really hungry.

8. Suddenly, it's 2 a.m. and you have only written three sentences and your paper is due in the morning.

9. You've made it to Friday... somehow.

10. Then Sunday hits and you find yourself back at the Lib.

11. So you cry some more.

12. But, you fight through the tears to get everything done because you're determined.

13. In the end, you feel on top of the world because you made it through the last week of class alive.

14. But, now it's finals week so good luck.

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