I have two that come to mind: *Lord of the Flies* and *Grapes of Wrath.*
*Lord of the Flies* absolutely horrified me when I was a 9th grader completing it as assigned reading. You know those English class questions of “what’s the lesson you take from the book” etc? My main takeaway from the book was: if I ever get stranded on an island with a bunch of adolescent boys I’m swimming away to find another island because that option is safer. I disliked all the characters pretty much from the start and my opinions of them just got worse from there.
*Grapes of Wrath* – I don’t know, maybe I’m just not a big fan of Steinbeck. It was interesting to get an in-depth look at the Great Depression from the perspective of those most affected by it, and get a glimpse at the greed and corruption that made it worse. But I found the book to be a slog to get through. And I’m sure the turtle was a metaphor for something but I’ve never bothered rereading the book to figure it out.
What about for you?
by Educational-Tea-6572