First of all, Happy early Thanksgiving—personally my favorite holiday: food, family, no pressure of getting someone the perfect gift, and, best of all, a break from school.
No school, no agonizing alarms, just time to spend sitting at home with a good book—if that’s what you prefer.
I haven’t chosen my Thanksgiving break reads yet but am here to present you (hopefully) with some of yours.
First on the list is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. If you don’t love reading—especially if you don’t love reading—this is your option. Short, sweet, and leaving not much room for interpretation, The Outsiders is a clearcut story about a gang of friends in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma who find themselves amidst a world of trouble though trapped in the confines of their town. This novel is classic, highly reminiscent, and extremely easy to read.
If you are currently in AP Lang with Mr. Kissick I vehemently suggest you pick up The Outsiders in preparation for other content—Rebel Without A Cause and The Great Gatsby—that you will be working with in class.
Each of those three works similarly use tragedy to create weighty stories, and the sooner you become familiar with the concept of uproar in exchange for resonance the easier it will be for you to understand and form opinions on.
Next, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Told from the perspective of Christopher Boone, a 15 year old by with high-functioning autism, readers get to experience a murder investigation—the murder of Christopher’s neighbor’s poodle Wellington. This novel is as humorous as it is heavy and also understandable. Throughout Christopher’s investigation, life-changing truths are revealed to him, and he is forced to confront all that makes him most uncomfortable.
Ms. Firmani handed me The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time a few weeks ago and insisted that I would love it. I did. The story is endearing and deeply touching and you will greatly enjoy the bits and facts about space, religion, animals, and many other random things that “Christopher” shares with the audience.
Another recent read for me: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. If you read just one coming-of-age story in your lifetime, let it be The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Written in epistolary form—through a series of letters—this novel propels itself through the teenage life of Charlie, a troubled, temporarily lonely teenage boy attempting to find his place among friends, at school, and in his own home. The fact that this novel is set in the suburbs of Pittsburgh makes it feel all the more like home.
Chbosky’s work is highly emotional and has lessons and anecdotes on belonging, struggle, and healing that will reverberate long after you finish it.
Something I finished over the summer: Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson. If you are a fan of music and poetry then you will love Open Water. Nelson’s prose is capturing and poignant. He writes in the second person to someone he loves or has loved, and we live along with him as he moves through the relationship that will permanently stain his life (read to find out whether that’s a good stain or a scar, then come talk to me about it).
Nelson references music by artists that you might be familiar with (e.g., Earl Sweatshirt, Isaiah Rashad, Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Kelsey Lu, and Frank Ocean) which gives the story an even stronger sense of relatability.
And even though Halloween has come and gone, a spooky recommendation to go along with windy weather: Gerardo Sámano Córdova’s Monstrilio.
Lauren Puckett-Pope of Elle magazine described Monstrilio as “Bizarre and brilliant…[a] modern Frankenstein,” and I find no better way to explain it.
A mother mourning her son discovers a particularly strange way to prolong his existence. As readers we follow his new existence, the strain it puts on the family, the strain it puts on the community, and the development of a maniacal, monstrous boy.
And finally, a memoir (possibly) reminiscent of your childhood: Jeannette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died.
McCurdy’s story is heartbreaking and hilarious and surprising to those of us who watched her portray happy characters on shows quintessential to our childhood—Sam & Cat, iCarly, Zoey 101.
While reading McCurdy’s life story you’ll gain an insight on the reality of childhood acting (and acting in general), abusive and manipulative family relationships, the struggles of living with an eating disorder, and the psychological challenges posed in the face of trauma.
Her story is somehow simultaneously devastating and uplifting. She speaks of heavy topics so that they can be light, and makes weight fall away from her situations in order to come to terms with them.
All of these books are reads I greatly enjoyed and ones I hope you will enjoy as well. I would be just as happy, though, if you read and hated one of these books because at least you would have read.
Currently, I am reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver, both very compelling and fun to read.
Thanksgiving is a succinct holiday—cook, give thanks, eat, clean up. That leaves so much time for devouring, not turkey, but a book (or two if you’re feeling productive).