best book from high school?

[51gunner]

I thought Animal Farm and Most Dangerous Game were great, as well. I also flip away from what we're supposed to be reading to find something I actually like, instead of all this poetry crap we're going through now.

Flipping away and finding something you like is such torment though, because a good story was in reach the whole time and for whatever reason somebody said "No". God, I hated the poetry section in school... what a complete waste of academic English class time. Somebody likes that stuff, let them take advanced English. The rest of us just want to learn to write a goddamn report.

 

[Liverandbacon]

The best book I've read as part of a class in high school is Heart of Darkness. I became addicted to Conrad's work after that book.

The worst? Far from the Madding Crowd. Ugh, that book was terrible. Badly written, boring story, it had everything going against it.

 

[JCambria]

My favourite books from high school were "Jennifer Government" by Max Berry (sp?), and "To Kill a Mockingbird" by someone whose name I can't recall at the moment because I'm a bit of a dolt.

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

Into the Wild, for sure. The only other book I can remember enjoying even a little bit was The Great Gatsby, and I'm sure that was only because we had such great class discussions about it.

 

[ThePoodonkis]

Anthem by Ayn Rand, and In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton. Those were the only good books I've read in my High School days so far.
At least, the only required books. I've read countless others on my own time.

 

[B.cereus]

Orwell's Animal Farm is probably my favorite, followed by Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, then probably The Inferno by Dante. Usual high school rap-sheet. I would also say Hamlet, but that was fun for other reasons.

 

[the_baku_eats_dreams]

What's eating gilbert grape, To kill a mocking bird, anything Ray bradbury, Catcher in the Rye, and Wicked.

Worst I read were The Jungle and The Scarlett Letter. one was communist glorification the other was filled with so much fluff it makes Tolkien look like a learning to read book.

Best Book I read that was not a part of the curriculum was The Bartimaeus Trilogy

 

[Shade Jackrabbit]

...but nobody's ever all "FUCK YEAH I LOVE ME SOME PLAIN POTATOES."

Actually... my brother...

My favourite would have to be The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Followed by Macbeth (hey it IS bounded as a book when assigned to us >_>)

 

[data_not_found]

My freshman year literature teacher had us end the year on Watchmen. Fuck. Yes.

 

[Rack]

The only book I ever had to read in highschool that had any merit as a piece of literature at all is The Merchant of Venice, which is probably a good thing because through the process of reading it at school I came to loathe and detest it. You see we weren't assigned reading to do at our own speed, we had to read it out loud in class. You will never believe how badly these kids could butcher a book, but despite any efforts to keep pace I would read each page twenty or thirty times, slowed down by my efforts to keep track of where everyone else was for when it was my turn to read.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

1984.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Hands down. Tough to read in parts, but it was pretty amazing. Oh, and the first part of the book (boxing/wrestling portion) is probably the best opening I've ever come across in anything. Ever.

Oh, and I loved Hamlet too.

 

[fedpayne]

The Catcher in the Rye is not only the best book I read in High School but my favorite book of all time.

This is pretty much word for word what I was going to say.

 

[Darknys]

Lord of the Flies
King Lear
Animal Farm
Ethan Frome

 

[Abedeus]

The only book I liked was "Robinson Crusoe". Every other sucked.

Except for the books WE have read on our own, then presented to the class. Pratchett and Forgotten Realms books, I got an A thanks to every one of them.