Required reading?
You know, I cannot for the life of me figure out why English/literature professors pick some of the books that the do as required reading for a course. Then again, I have found over the years that I prefer a 'selection list' - wherein students choose their own book or books to read off of a list and then have to do class work from those. You can tailor essays to that, believe me; Mrs. L did it in her AP English classes and it was honestly the best prep for the tests - they don't ask about specific books on most of the essay questions, instead they ask you to draw examples or relate a specific type of book to a question or scenario.
I digress. The point of this is that I feel if professors are going to assign young adult literature for pertinent studies, then it shouldn't be something ridiculous or whose personal reflection changes as the reader ages. True if the class is for young adults, they should be able to relate to it, but it should also help them relate to their younger selves and to other young people even after they've aged. It should speak more timelessly, if you will.
For that reason, I hereby recommend Go Ask Alice and Girl Interrupted instead of Perks of Being a Wallflower. I cannot say anything about To Kill a Mockingbird, as I've neither read nor looked into the plot of it. But given its continual praises, it should probably be read as American great literature, if not for young adult studies.
Of course, I'd also recommend Brave New World, Alas, Babylon, and The Handmaid's Tale over 1984. I find them more pertinent to our modern society. and certainly less ostentatious in their writing.
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I digress. The point of this is that I feel if professors are going to assign young adult literature for pertinent studies, then it shouldn't be something ridiculous or whose personal reflection changes as the reader ages. True if the class is for young adults, they should be able to relate to it, but it should also help them relate to their younger selves and to other young people even after they've aged. It should speak more timelessly, if you will.
For that reason, I hereby recommend Go Ask Alice and Girl Interrupted instead of Perks of Being a Wallflower. I cannot say anything about To Kill a Mockingbird, as I've neither read nor looked into the plot of it. But given its continual praises, it should probably be read as American great literature, if not for young adult studies.
Of course, I'd also recommend Brave New World, Alas, Babylon, and The Handmaid's Tale over 1984. I find them more pertinent to our modern society. and certainly less ostentatious in their writing.
Inspired by this post