Independent Reading

Brave New World (mid-length)

• Quick summary: Dystopic novel that satirizes industrialization and mass-production by showing what happens to a society that over-engineers human life. A savage newcomer to this futuristic world tries to maintain his sense of dignity and truth while everyone around him drowns in entertainment, drugs, and consumerism.
• Structure: Chapters
• Why I liked it: It's a not-so-bizarre interpretation of our world and a sharp warning against mindless technological advancement and consumption.
• Challenges: Sometimes the allusions are hard to grasp (it was written in the early 1930s) and the language, especially the dialogue, can seem disjointed.
• Is there a movie? Yes, but not really worth the watch.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2003, 2003B, 2004B, 2005, 2010, 2017
• Student reviews (click on the appropriate tab at the bottom)

Cannery Row (short)

• Quick summary: A bunch of losers in Northern California try to live their happiest lives while basically ruining each others' from time to time
• Structure: Relatively short chapters
• Why I liked it: It's hilarious and touching.
• Challenges: You might wonder sometimes, "Wait, why does the author include this chapter?"
• Is there a movie? Yes, but I haven't watched it.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2002
• Student reviews (click on the appropriate tab at the bottom)

East of Eden (long)

• Quick summary: An epic story following generations of family members. One of the most important questions of this novel is how both sin and holiness spread through bloodlines.
• Structure: Four parts split up into chapters
• Why I liked it: Author John Steinbeck is a master of character and setting. The plot is engaging as well, but if you don't fall in love with the people in this book, you were probably born without a heart. Also, one of the most important women in the story is a mother who also happens to be a cold-blooded killer. DIDN'T EXPECT THAT, DID YA??!
• Challenges: It's maybe a little lengthy. Like...almost 700 pages. But it flies by, I swear.
• Is there a movie? Yes, but I haven't watched it.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2002B, 2006, 2007, 2008B, 2011, 2015

Fahrenheit 451 (mid-length)

• Quick summary: Dystopic story about Guy Montag, a fireman whose duty is to burn books hoarded by rebels in a society that is dangerously distracted by screens and entertainment. Obviously, he rebels.
• Structure: Three parts
• Why I liked it: The number of things that author Ray Bradbury foretells about our world today is chilling.
• Challenges: sometimes stream-of-consciousness
• Is there a movie? Yes, there are two. The more modern one has Michael B. Jordan (of Black Panther fame) and was released in 2018. To quote a sophomore from 2017-2018: "What were they thinking? The book was better." Amen.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2002B, 2005, 2007B, 2011
• Student reviews (click on the appropriate tab at the bottom)

Macbeth (mid-length)

• Quick summary: A Shakespearean play about a Scottish noble who murders his own king to take the throne. It's also about what happens to people whose ambitions overtake them.
• Structure: A five-act play
• Why I liked it: It's a riveting study of how much fate controls our lives versus our own choices. And it has witches.
• Challenges: Shakespearean English
• Is there a movie? Oh my god, yes. There are many. I recommend watching them all, but in particular, the PBS version with Patrick Stewart and the most recent one with (be still my heart) Michael Fassbender.
• Possible AP Prompts: 1999, 2001, 2002B, 2003, 2005B, 2007B, 2017
• Student reviews (click on the appropriate tab at the bottom)

Pride and Prejudice (long)

• Quick summary: A young woman in a family with five daughters wants to marry for love but is socially pressured to wed to secure her own financial survival. Plus, prospects in her English town are slim. Then a couple of incredibly wealthy men show up.
• Structure: Chapters
• Why I liked it: Biting social commentary about the standards set for women at the time, richly developed characters, entertaining family dynamics, and the unconquerable Miss Elizabeth Bennet, our protagonist
• Challenges: Pre-20th century language and unfamiliar English social customs and rules
• Is there a movie? Oh yes. Some people will say the latest one with Kiera Knightley is the best. Those people are absurd. Watch the 1995 version (6 glorious hours split up into a miniseries) instead.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2002B, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016

The Shipping News (mid-length)

• Quick summary: An unloved son grows up to be an unloved man. He returns to his ancestral home in Newfoundland (Canada) to rediscover his identity.
• Structure: Chapters
• Why I liked it: Brilliantly written characters in a very, very funny book
• Challenges: Unfamiliar cultural references (Newfoundland people are a strange breed) and vocabulary
• Is there a movie? Yes, but I haven't seen it.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2006B, 2007, 2009, 2010B, 2012

The Things They Carried (mid-length)

• Quick summary: On the surface, this book is about the Vietnam War and effects of war on soldiers. But it's also about memory, storytelling, and choices.
• Structure: several shorter stories that at first don't seem connected
• Why I liked it: Beautiful and heart-wrenching stories, funny and poignant voice, lively characters, inventive storytelling
• Challenges: non-linear storytelling, lack of familiarity with Vietnam War
• Is there a movie? Not that I know of.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2002, 2003B, 2004B, 2007, 2009B, 2011, 2012
• Student reviews (click on the appropriate tab at the bottom)

Their Eyes Were Watching God (mid-length)

• Quick summary: Lyrical novel about a woman returns home after many years to become the talk of the small-minded people in her Southern town. Rumor has it that she married three times and lost all three husbands.
• Structure: Chapters
• Why I liked it: Beautiful language and symbolism, great character development, strong female protagonist.
• Challenges: Dialect and language
• Is there a movie? Yes, but I haven't seen it. According to the sticker on the book cover to the left, you can "Watch the Oprah Winfrey Presents television event starring Halle Berry on ABC."
• Possible AP Prompts: 2004, 2005, 2005B, 2008, 2008B, 2010B, 2013, 2014, 2017
• Student reviews (click on the appropriate tab at the bottom)

Things Fall Apart (mid-length)

• Quick summary: A powerful clan leader named Okonkwo watches his clan disintegrate under the influence of white colonists.
• Structure: Three parts split up into chapters
• Why I liked it: Rich culture and family relationships, heartbreaking insight into a man who runs away from the past and struggles to accept change
• Challenges: Cultural references might not be familiar.
• Is there a movie? Not yet.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2002, 2003, 2003B, 2004, 2004B, 2005B, 2007B, 2008B, 2009, 2010, 2010B, 2011, 2014, 2018

The Poisonwood Bible (mid-length)

• Quick summary: An American missionary named Nathan Price takes his wife Orleanna and four young daughters (Rachel, Leah, Adah, Ruth May) to the Belgian Congo, where nothing goes as expected.
• Structure: Seven parts, with each section narrated by Orleanna, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and/or Ruth May.
• Why I liked it: This novel has everything--humor, history, dialect, religion, politics, love, and family. Easily one of my favorite novels.
• Challenges: Not everything is explained up front. The author, Barbara Kingsolver, will give you a glance of something and then unfold the details much later. It's rewarding when the payoff comes; it's confusing when you don't "get it" immediately.
• Is there a movie? Nope.
• Possible AP Prompts: 2010B, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014