7 great books I read in high school

Surprisingly enough, books aren't so bad of a thing. They can even be, dare I say, enjoyable and interesting at times. What's more surprising (although less so now that I have the infinite wisdom of a college student) is that high school teachers actually had something going for them - giving us one to two good books a year to read. True, most of them are of the everyone-in-this-grade-reads-this-book variety, but there are a couple of gems that may be specific to Watertown High School. Which would be awesome, because that means that my non-math high school education was worth something!

Spoiler alert: I don't trust myself with describing the books both effectively and concisely, so if you have any interest in these, read at your own risk.

1. After the First Death - Robert Cormier

When: Freshman year, English.

What about: A bus hijacking. Yeah, that seems concise enough. Oh, did I mention that the bus is full of children?

Why it was great: It was definitely one of those badass books that you actually wanted to know what happened next, because it had a plot that you never though you'd read in high school.

2. Candide - Voltaire

When: Junior year, World History.

What about: This dude who goes around the world, meets all these people, and philosophizes.

Why it was great: I've heard of this book being used in history, philosophy, literature, and French classes, both in high school and college. It's insanely fun to think about, too. Probably the only reason I managed to write my ten-page paper for my GenLit class freshman year on Candide.

3. In the Lake of the Woods - Tim O'Brien

When: Senior year, AP Literature.

What about: Read the footnote on page 31.

Why it was great: This book was just as badass as After the First Death, but had so much mystery to it that you just had to figure out what happens at the end.

4. Le Petit Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

When: Junior year, French.

What about: This dude who goes around the universe, meets all these people, and comes to understand his life.

Why it was great: You can learn a lot from a fox...

5. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

When: Junior year, English.

What about: I'm trusting that most people know this well enough, because I can't seem to explain it the right way.

Why it was great: Symbolism, my friends. Symbolism.

6. The Crucible - Arthur Miller

When: Junior year, English.

What about: Oh, you know...witch trials, hardcore Puritanism...the usual.

Why it was great: Maybe it's only because I got to play John Proctor when we read the book aloud in class, but a lot of the scenes were cool and dramatic.

7. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

When: Freshman year, English.

What about: A bunch of people get stranded on a deserted island and have to live together, or die alone. Or something like that.

Well, I was planning on having ten books on the list (as I do with any list on my blog), but unfortunately, I fell three shy of my goal. The silver lining in this is that it totally justifies me being a math major now. A few more books and I might have actually gone as far as to say that I enjoy reading...