This past week I was feeling a little nostalgic; my junior year is ending (scary) and that got me thinking about the past books I’ve read for English class throughout the years. And, because I like ranking things, I have decided to rank all of the books I read during my freshman year. I don’t know how, or if, the reading list has changed, but here’s what I read. I hope you enjoy this article!
1. “The Glass Castle” By Jeannette Walls
I read this book as part of the small group reading we do (or used to do) in February and March. This book hit me like a brick; I loved it, and it made me cry. This book is a memoir about a girl and her unusual upbringing. Jeannette and her family live in a RV, which they drive around the West. Eventually, the dream ends, and they move to a small town in West Virginia, where Jeannette and her siblings were left to fend for themselves. What really got me about this book was how real and raw it was. Most importantly, I most likely would’ve read this book, even if it weren’t for school.
2. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” By Zora Neale Hurston
This book is by far one of the best I’ve read for English class. It’s a beautifully written novel, and, again, I definitely would have read it on my own. It follows Janie Crawford from childhood all the way to adulthood as she struggles to find out who she is. Hurston uses beautiful language to paint her story, and I will definitely return to this book in the future.
3. “The Catcher in the Rye” By J.D. Salinger
I do acknowledge that liking this book is a slight red flag, but I’m not going to lie, I did like it. What can I say, I was a moody teenager, and I could relate to some (strong emphasis on some) of Holden’s feelings. The book follows Holden as he wanders around New York City for two days and contemplates practically everything about his life.
4. “The Odyssey” By Homer
This book (or should I say epic poem) was all right. I will admit that I do still remember the first lines that we had to memorize, but other than that, not much from this book standouts out in my mind. I understand why we read it; it’s a classic and a good introduction to epic poetry. That being said, “The Odyssey” isn’t something that I would probably read on my own (to be honest, I don’t think anyone would). I did still enjoy the book (especially when compared to the other epic poems I have read), but my level of enjoyment was definitely correlated to the fact that I was a “Percy Jackson” kid.
5. “Romeo and Juliet” By Shakespeare
Lastly, we have “Romeo and Juliet.” I think the reason I dislike this book was because of the MELO activity we had to do with it. If by some of chance you don’t know what I’m talking about, during MELO Freshman year, each class memorizes and performs a part of the play, and at the end of the week, all freshmen go around the campus and watch their classmates perform. Everyone tells you that even if acting isn’t your thing, you’ll love this MELO. Well, not to be a debbie downer, but I didn’t really enjoy it. Because of my less than positive MELO experience, I don’t like the play as much as I probably would’ve otherwise. But also, I just can’t get past how creepy the relationship between Romeo and Juliet is.
I hope you guys enjoyed this article, and look forward to my opinions on the books of sophomore, junior, and eventually senior year!:)