There are books throughout English Literature that are truly great. These are books which have formed nations, and continue to shape culture. Equally true there are “great books” which have had a negative impact on culture, and continue to shape the mind of teens. Pick up reading lists for state schools, and you will see books which promote radical feminist views, anti-God propaganda, and progressive secularism. At Arise Home Education, we want to offer you a quality list of the best books for seniors in high school to read before launching into the next phase of life and learning.
High school students ought to be exposed widely to great thinkers throughout history, and learn from these texts. We want young adults with minds filled with high ideals of truth, beauty, goodness, and justice. Although this book list is, by far, no means comprehensive, it is a place to start as you compile a home school library of books for teens.
Although many of these books may be a challenging read, they will expose your teen to great thinkers. For the avid reader, they will be a delight. For teens who may struggle, these books can be accessed by audiobooks. Perhaps pick one hard book per year throughout high school. For some, this list may be a place to begin and will be a place to aspire towards into adulthood. Social media has had the effect of deadening our ability to concentrate on meaty books, and shortened our attention span. By making hard reads part of your home school, you can counteract this effect of social media. The best books are always those which survive the test of time and hold a mirror up to us. they reveal something of the Creator back to us.
Best Books For Seniors In High School – Read These!
Beowulf
Beowulf is an epic poem of Anglo-Saxon times. It is one of the earliest texts in Old English. The tale follows the adventures of the Swedish hero Beowulf as he engages in battles with three foes: the monster Grendal, Grendal’s mother, and, finally, a dragon. The tale deals with the characteristics of an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero and king. The poem went through revisions, and the beginnings of the tale are shrouded in mystery, but had their inception in Northern Europe and came with Anglo-Saxon settlers to England.
These settlers were pagan. However, as Christianity spread across England the tale was adapted to suit the new audience. The form that survives today fuses the world of Anglo-Saxon gods and the God of the Bible. Thus, it captures a moment in Britain’s history which is rather mysterious. As a literary text, it has influenced the ideas we see in the Arthurian legends, all the way to the work of Tolkien. Any Tolkien fan will appreciate the tale of Beowulf.
Shakespeare’s Plays
Picking one of Shakespeare’s plays is probably too difficult, such is the wide-reaching genius of his body of work. His plays are split into three categories: comedy, tragedy, and historical. These denote classical themes within theatre. So perhaps a better idea is to focus on one from each category. The Merchant of Venice is an unconventional comedy to modern readers. Merchant of Venice deals with the very pertinent ideas of prejudice, hatred, and money. A toxic mix, which throughout human history has driven men to do terrible things.
Many of Shakespeare’s comedies are full of bawdy jokes and innuendo, Merchant has more serious overtones.
Arguably, the greatest of Shakespeare’s plays is Hamlet. Hamlet also looks at hate and justice, but also explores the deeper ideas of the meaning of human existence through the existential crisis Hamlet faces after the murder of his father by his uncle.
Spoiler alert: everyone dies in the tragedies! Shakespeare may have reshaped history to meet the ends of his plays, so they cannot be read as historically accurate, they are not rooted in historical realities. Julius Caesar, although set in ancient Rome, has themes which are surprisingly modern. Ideas like the corrupting nature of power. These are ideas hugely important to look at with young people as they shape their worldview, and move from a black and white way of thinking to one which is far more nuanced.
Paradise Lost by Milton
Milton may not be as popular as Shakespeare. However, for many scholars, it is regarded as the greatest poem in the English language. Paradise Lost tells the story of the Fall of Man. This is not an easy book, and it is sometimes assigned on high school reading lists in portions. But its place in the English language cannot be denied as a truly great feat of writing.
The best books are always those which survive the test of time and hold a mirror up to us. they reveal something of the Creator back to us.
~Emma Cummings
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Austen’s work marks a turning point in English literature. The novel as a form of writing was in its infancy, and she was a pioneer in the development of the novel. Austen was the first novelist to use free indirect speech in her work. Many will cite Pride and Prejudice as their favourite work, and Austen, herself, described it as “my own darling child”. All Austen’s works are political satires of the society in which she moved. They hold a mirror up to the hypocrisy and double standards of the day. Austen has stood the test of time with her exquisite use of language and is therefore a favourite author of many today.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Brontë was famously no fan of Austen. She found Austen’s novels too confined, too suffocating. Perhaps Austen was trying to tell us something of her society there? However, the Brontë novels are wide open space, Yorkshire moors, and brooding heroes. Jane Eyre is a great of English literature and follows the life of an orphan as she struggles to overcome the injustices of her young life and forge her own path. It is a story of human dignity, love, and longing.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Dickens was also a social commentator, but in a very different way to Austen. He is famous for the Victorian Novel. Great tomes of epic proportions. His work dazzles with vivid description and memorable characters, who are often caricatures of some aspect of Victorian society. Great Expectations is a more accessible route into the work of Dickens, being not as long as many of his novels.
Like many of his works, Great Expectations first appeared as a serialization in the newspaper. Victorian society was held captivated by the tale of a young man called Pip and his great expectations. So much so, when the original ending was not to their satisfaction he had to rework the end to give the characters their happily ever after. All of Dickens’ work can be read as social historical fiction. Obviously the stories are purely fictional, but they give profound insight into the social injustice of Victorian society. Therefore, his work makes a good supplement to any British history class.
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Middlemarch by George Elliot
Middlemarch is a great tome of Victorian fiction. Elliot looks at society through the lives of different families, especially focusing on the lofty ideas of what brings meaning to existence. The central character Dorothea is a young, intellectual, idealist who longs to live a life with meaning and be a part of something great, often drawing inspiration from John Milton’s daughters. Unsurprisingly, she finds her ideals and the realities of life are not the same. Many scholars would say Middlemarch is the greatest novel ever written in the English language.
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Fantasy work is frequently looked down on by scholars. However, the work of Tolkien is a body of work of such genius it deserves a place alongside the greats of English literature. Tolkien was a professor of medieval literature and was grieved that the Norman conquest had robbed England of her heritage of legends and mythology, like we see in other northern European cultures. Therefore, he set about to imagine a mythology for England, but one rooted in the history and traditions of the people of England, hence the inspiration from Beowulf. The central ideas of goodness in a broken world, the bravery of hobbits, the beauty of elves, all have the capacity to bring hope. Many teens have found reading Lord of the Rings beneficial to their mental health as a result.
Various Works of C.S. Lewis
For many of us, the works of C.S. Lewis instantly take us to Narnia. However, the theological works of Lewis are rich in practical advice and theology to equip young minds and form their faith. The Screwtape Letters are rich in words of wisdom and spiritual insights. The Abolition of Man is a work of almost prophetic significance, taking a philosophical look at the importance of the value of courage and honour in modern society. However, as arguably the most important Christian author in the 20th century, the body of work he has left us is of profound importance.
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry.
Berry is a contemporary American writer, poet, and activist. His work Hannah Coulter follows the life of a farmers’ wife, an ordinary life that spans the years before and after the Second World War. Berry explores what it means to live life well, and asks big questions about the American dream, our pursuit of career, and contrasts that with the joy of a simple life well lived. Berry’s writings are achingly beautiful, all his work has a profound understanding of our connection to place and the land. It is no overstatement to saw along with Middlemarch this is a novel to re-read and re-visit frequently throughout one’s life.
At Arise Home Education, we want to offer you a quality list of the best books for seniors in high school to read before launching into the next phase of life and learning.
~Shannan Swindler
Learn Well Using The Best Books For Seniors In High School
Books can form us, books which capture our hearts and minds as teens can become a best friend for life. Therefore, curating a rich, life-giving selection of books is vital for our teens.
Often times in the teen years, it’s a great opportunity for home educating families to out-source more advanced subjects or those that require increased prep-time the parent may not have. This is often the case with literature for the upper high school years. Choosing an online, or self-paced class with a corresponding literature workbook that reflects a Christian worldview and has a facilitator that can easily bring about quality learning whilst maintaining the joy of learning across the subject is invaluable.
At Arise Home Education, we are ready to partner with you in literature and humanities subjects (science and maths too) to empower your teens to be ready for whatever their future holds.
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