Seniors discuss favorite school-assigned books

As their final year of high school comes to an end, seniors are reflecting on all the classes and experiences they had. Part of this is thinking about the books they were assigned to read for school. High school is a great opportunity to explore so many different texts that lead to essays, projects, and a lot of learning!
Hailey Quinn’s favorite book was The Awakening by Kate Chopin. She read this book during her junior year in AP English Language and Composition taught by Mrs. Texter. It was Chopin’s writing style that first captivated Hailey. Additionally, the characters were interesting and the plot was very compelling. It was a really beautiful book, Hailey adds, and she would definitely recommend that others read it as she would read it again. This novel was assigned to the whole class and students were expected to keep journals and participate in two Socratic seminars. Hailey believes that assigned books can be scary, especially if someone is picky about the books that they read. This can make reading feel like more of an assignment than it already is. However, Hailey concludes by saying, “I think it’s important to try to find fun in the books you have to read for school, and it’s even better when a book is assigned to you that you end up really enjoying.”
Alyssa Brensinger, another senior, chose a book that she read during her freshman year. The whole class had to read Animal Farm by George Orwell in Mrs. Trubilla’s class. Overall, Alyssa thought the book was interesting. She liked the book and especially enjoyed that it was an allegory. Learning about the background and being able to compare it to the novel was very engaging. The class also got to watch the movie after they finished reading. Everyone had to write a large synthesis essay comparing the book and the movie, which Alyssa had a lot of fun doing.