Are you looking for books to use in your high school English classroom that will actually engage your students? High school novels aren’t always the easiest to choose, especially when you have a group of students who are reluctant readers. Try a few of these suggestions for novels to teach in high school English that will keep your students excited about reading.
This is a quick read that engaged even my most reluctant readers. Written in verse, the narrator named Will tells the story of his big brother being shot and killed. Craving revenge, Will grabs his big brother’s gun and heads to the elevator in his apartment building. He’s going to go down to the bottom floor and repay the killer for what he did to his brother. However, the story takes the reader on a twisty ride as a new person enters the elevator on each floor while the elevator descends. Somehow, all of these people know Will – but does he know who he really is and most importantly, what really happened to his big brother?
I use this novel to really introduce my students to literary analysis. Even though the text is short, it is jam-packed with literary gems. I also use this book as a way to connect with my students on their family lives, their experiences in their own neighborhood, and their thoughts about revenge. It’s a great way for me to talk about building resilience, too. My students are always begging me to read another chapter – as the chapters are divided into “floors” where the elevator comes to a stop. There are so many cliffhangers and it’s so fun to watch my students trying to guess what happens next. BONUS: Jason Reynolds is amazing and has done some really great interviews here and here.
2. The Grace Year by Kim Ligget
The Grace Year is a great read that engages students with its mystery, social commentary, and dystopian setting. In Garner County, nobody speaks of “the grace year,” but all women over the age of 16 have had to endure it. When girls reach 16 years of age, they are taken to a secret location to “release their powers” so that they can come back purified and ready for marriage. However, not all of them make it back alive. There are threats looming in the secret location of the grace year, but the biggest threat might be the girls to each other.
This is a gritty read that could be the sister to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. It explores the relationship between girls and their mothers, husbands and wives, and female friendships as a whole. This text is rich in symbolism and it’s also a great novel for teaching theme. There are also some wonderful articles you could share about the female coming-of-age experience across the globe.
3. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Using memoirs to teach high school English is one of the secrets to keeping students interacting with a text. This memoir tells the story of a young boy growing up in Sierra Leone when a war breaks out. With this piece, students will see the war through the eyes of a child soldier. They’ll get to see the transformation from an innocent child to a savage, brainwashed killer. The journey takes the reader to the hell of the frontlines, to the gutters of rehabilitation, and all the way back again. Students will learn lessons about family, revenge, morality, but most importantly – hope.
I use this text to work on writing with high schoolers. I love doing a memoir unit with my students where they not only work on their writing style but also get to tell their own stories. Each chapter of this book from the first page to the last scene offers incredible storytelling rich with imagery and intrigue. Fair warning: the book can be extremely violent at times, but if you can make it past the bloody scenes, you’ll find an incredible book full of inspiration and lessons that every student can apply to their own lives. You can also check out some interesting articles on child soldiers in other countries such as Syria and Iran.
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This may just be the best book to teach in high school English class. Even though this is an older text, I have always had fantastic results with engagement and learning when I use this novel. Fair warning: it IS on some lists of banned books, and some parents may have an issue with it being read in class. There is an event in the text that will shock and disgust readers, but it acts as the catalyst for the entire novel. If you haven’t read the novel, I urge you to read it before you judge it based on reviews of what the banned books list has to say.
This novel focuses on how one simple choice the protagonist makes as a child affects the rest of his life. There is an absolutely jaw-dropping twist – or two – in this novel that will leave students with their mouths open. There’s so much potential in teaching this piece – from teaching students about the middle east, to showing them how word choice always matters. There are so many lessons to learn about betrayal, guilt, friendship, and the secrets that never truly remain buried. The author takes the reader on a journey from war-torn Afghanistan to America, then back to the middle east for a redemptive homecoming as you’ve never before experienced. The imagery is always symbolic, there’s a quote on every page that will give you chills, and YOU JUST HAVE TO READ IT TO BELIEVE IT.
5. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
This is a relatively new novel that is sure to be an exciting read for high school students. Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco, has a treasured son, and runs a bookstore. Her husband works as a journalist who isn’t afraid to shed some light on the darkness of the Mexican cartels. From the shocking opening scene to the very last second of the novel, the reader is led on a heart-pounding journey of escape throughout Mexico. When Lydia and her son are forced to flee the country, they find themselves in a dangerous world and far from their once comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. It doesn’t take long for Lydia to find out that everyone is running from something, but is there ever really somewhere to escape to?
Students will drink up the incredible characterization in this novel and you can use it to teach anything from theme to tone. It’s also a great way to incorporate some “hot topics” into your curriculum with informational text on immigration or even drug cartels. I also like to use my unit on this novel to teach poetry that correlates with some of the key themes such as parent-child relationships, culture, and hope.
There are great texts to use for high school English out there – let me know what some of your favorites are!
