10 Books You Must Read In High School

By%20Herman%20Melville%0D%0A%0D%0APublished%20in%201851%2C%20it%20has%20often%20been%20called%20one%20of%20the%20greatest%20American%20novels%20of%20all%20time.%20The%20story%20of%20Ishmael%20and%20his%20quest%20for%20the%20great%20white%20whale%20is%20a%20master%20class%20in%20literary%20devices.%20Any%20student%20that%20is%20learning%20about%20the%20history%20of%20literature%2C%20or%20anyone%20that%20has%20an%20interest%20in%20the%20great%20works%20of%20American%20Romanticism%2C%20must%20read%20this%20book.

By%20William%20Golding%0D%0A%0D%0AWilliam%20Golding%20received%20the%20Nobel%20Prize%20for%20Literature%2C%20the%20Booker%20Prize%20for%20Literature%20and%20he%20was%20even%20knighted%20in%201988.%20He%20is%20best%20known%20for%20his%20novel%2C%20Lord%20of%20the%20Flies%2C%20which%20continues%20to%20be%20one%20of%20the%20most%20challenged%20and%20controversial%20books%20of%20all%20time%2C%20despite%20the%20fact%20that%20it%20reaches%20the%20top%20of%20almost%20all%20best-loved%20and%20must-read%20literature%20lists.%20Lord%20of%20the%20Flies%2C%20which%20comments%20on%20the%20human%20tendency%20towards%20group%20thinking%20and%20the%20lines%20between%20peace%20and%20war%2C%20is%20challenging%20because%20it%20does%20so%20through%20the%20eyes%20of%20children.%20One%20of%20the%20most%20powerful%20and%20thought-provoking%20books%20of%20all%20time%2C%20Lord%20of%20the%20Flies%20is%20another%20absolute%20must%2C%20though%20not%20for%20the%20faint%20of%20heart.

By%20George%20Orwell%0D%0A%0D%0AFew%20authors%20have%20worked%20their%20way%20into%20the%20English%20language%20like%20George%20Orwell.%20His%20novel%201984%2C%20which%20was%20originally%20published%20in%201949%2C%20continues%20to%20be%20one%20of%20the%20most%20influential%20novels%20of%20all%20time.%20Common%20terms%20like%20big%20brother%20is%20watching%20and%20the%20thought%20police%20originate%20from%20Orwell%26%238217%3Bs%20tale%20of%20a%20totalitarian%20society.%20The%20issues%20of%20censorship%2C%20freedom%20and%20surveillance%20are%20just%20as%20relevant%20today%20as%20they%20were%20when%20the%20novel%20was%20originally%20published.

By%20Mark%20Twain%0A%0AMark%20Twain%20%28or%20Samuel%20Clemens%29%20has%20often%20been%20celebrated%20as%20the%20Great%20American%20Author.%20Written%20in%201876%2C%20The%20Adventures%20of%20Tom%20Sawyer%20is%20the%20story%20of%20a%20boy%20growing%20up%20in%20the%20south%20along%20the%20Mississippi%20River.%20The%20novel%20was%20also%20followed%20by%20a%20sequel%2C%20The%20Adventures%20of%20Huckleberry%20Finn.%20The%20two%20novels%20are%20commonly%20named%20among%20the%20greatest%20American%20novels%20of%20all%20time%20and%20both%20are%20a%20must%20for%20any%20literature%20fan%2C%20as%20their%20historical%20significance%20and%20cultural%20impacts%20are%20immeasurable.

By%20J.D.%20Salinger%0D%0A%0D%0AThis%20classic%20story%20of%20teenage%20angst%20and%20rebellion%20remains%20a%20popular%20novel%20amongst%20teenagers%20all%20over%20the%20world.%20As%20popular%20as%20it%20has%20always%20been%2C%20The%20Catcher%20in%20the%20Rye%20was%20also%20the%20most%20censored%20book%20in%20high%20schools%20and%20libraries%20from%201961%20to%201962%2C%20and%20it%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most%20frequently%20challenged%20books%20to%20date.%20However%2C%20the%20novel%20has%20also%20been%20called%20one%20of%20the%20best%20novels%20of%20all%20time%20and%20it%20has%20been%20an%20inspiration%20to%20many%2C%20including%20former%20President%20George%20H.%20W.%20Bush.%20

By%20Jack%20Kerouac%0D%0A%0D%0AThere%20is%20little%20debate%20as%20to%20the%20significance%20of%20Jack%20Kerouac%2C%20who%20is%20often%20hailed%20as%20the%20defining%20author%20of%20the%20Beat%20Generation.%20His%20novel%2C%20On%20the%20Road%2C%20is%20universally%20celebrated%20as%20one%20of%20his%20best.%20In%20addition%20to%20being%20on%20just%20about%20every%20list%20of%20important%20literature%20from%20the%2020th%20century%2C%20On%20the%20Road%20has%20also%20influenced%20many%20artists%20and%20authors%20today.%20Bob%20Dylan%2C%20Jim%20Morrison%20and%20Hunter%20S.%20Thompson%20have%20all%20publicly%20stated%20how%20On%20the%20Road%20was%20an%20influence%20for%20their%20work.%20Clearly%2C%20this%20is%20one%20novel%20that%20young%20adults%20will%20devour.

By%20Kurt%20Vonnegut%0D%0A%0D%0AA%20satirical%20look%20at%20World%20War%20II%20through%20the%20eyes%20of%20a%20soldier%2C%20Kurt%20Vonnegut%26%238217%3Bs%20novel%20Slaughterhouse-Five%20is%20often%20cited%20as%20his%20most%20influential%20work.%20The%20themes%20of%20fate%20versus%20free-will%20are%20explored%20in%20this%20classic%20novel%2C%20which%20has%20also%20been%20the%20subject%20of%20criticism%20and%20banned-book%20lists.%20Banned%20in%20some%20schools%20as%20recently%20as%202011%2C%20Slaughterhouse-Five%20is%20continually%20respected%20as%20one%20of%20the%20best%20English%20novels%20of%20the%2020th%20century.%20High-schoolers%20will%20love%20the%20unique%20take%20on%20such%20a%20well-known%20time%20in%20history%2C%20while%20the%20quick%20pace%20and%20intelligent%20writing%20will%20make%20this%20a%20very%20fast%20read.

By%20Zora%20Neale%20Hurston%0D%0A%0D%0AZora%20Neale%20Hurston%20was%20an%20author%20far%20ahead%20of%20her%20time.%20Written%20in%201937%2C%20Their%20Eyes%20Were%20Watching%20God%20was%20one%20of%20the%20first%20novels%20to%20depict%20African-American%20communities%20and%20women%26%238217%3Bs%20sexuality.%20Today%2C%20the%20novel%20is%20hailed%20as%20one%20of%20the%20original%20works%20of%20African-American%20and%20women%26%238217%3Bs%20literature%2C%20and%20continues%20to%20be%20an%20inspiration%20for%20African-American%20women%20throughout%20the%20United%20States.%20In%20a%20time%20long%20before%20the%20civil%20rights%20movement%2C%20Hurston%26%238217%3Bs%20novel%20shows%20the%20courage%20and%20influence%20that%20one%20person%20can%20have%20on%20society.

By%20Richard%20Adams%0D%0A%0D%0AOn%20the%20surface%2C%20Watership%20Down%20may%20seem%20like%20an%20innocent%20children%26%238217%3Bs%20book.%20However%2C%20one%20glance%20at%20the%20story%20within%20and%20it%20is%20clearly%20not%20a%20novel%20meant%20for%20young%20children.%20High%20schoolers%2C%20however%2C%20will%20be%20able%20to%20immerse%20themselves%20in%20the%20heroic%20fantasy%20style%20of%20the%20novel%2C%20as%20the%20animals%20in%20the%20story%20are%20anthropomorphised%20and%20the%20tale%20of%20the%20destruction%20of%20their%20home%20evokes%20themes%20of%20the%20classic%20hero%26%238217%3Bs%20epic%20tale.