High school reading list

Readings that stretch your brain if you are in high school or at a high school level

• Aimee Bender, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt -- contemporary fairy tales; strange and wonderful stories.
• Daniel Clowes. Any of his graphic novels.
• Robert Cormier, After the first death, I am the Cheese, The Chocolate War -- darkly thoughtful young adult novels.
• Ursula Le Guin, The Earth Sea Trilogy -- classic predecessor to the Harry Potter novels.
• George Orwell, Animal Farm -- Powerful work in a simple style ponders what happens after the animal revolution.
• Phillip Pullman, The Subtle Knife -- A fantasy trilogy following a complex herione. Its popularity in the UK led to the author being invited to a public discussion of the subject matter with Archbishop Rowan Williams.
• William Shakespeare -- Any of his plays are classics, and people allude to his beautiful language even when they don't mean to.
• Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart--This accessible novel is the beginning of the English language African response to imperialism. It's an important link to world history and culture.