Question:
What should I read aloud to 60 high school students, grades 7-12?
I'm supposed to read for no more than ten minutes every Monday morning. I can read a short piece or weekly installments of a long piece to all the students in the Upper School. Something that could satisfy 7th and 12th graders?
A book with mystery or plot-twists would be awesome.
Some ideas:
-"What it Was Like, Seeing Chris" by (hot stuff) Debbie Eisenberg (too hard for the little ones)
-The Book Thief (still on the maybe pile)
-"Gorilla, My Love" is still on the list, but kind of a tongue twister
-Stories from Naked by David Sedaris (a possibility)
-Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time was discarded because I didn't love it and I thought it would offend students with autism of which we have at least one
-Bean Trees because I used to love this book
-My Year Of Meats because it reads like a mystery
-Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (maybe too hard?)
-"A Letter to Harvey Milk" seems to have too many cultural references although sometimes I feel like I'm teaching at a Jewish day school
-The Chocolate War might be too obvious for some of them, but I love it.
-The Killer's Tears is still a very strong contender
-"Doctor Jack-o'-Lantern" in Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by Rickard Yates
-West with the Night because I loved this book in high school
I don't know. I don't know.
Almost all my books are still in Brooklyn, and it's very hard to think without seeing them in front of me.
