I teach history and literature to 14- to 16-year-old high-school students in Italy. Students at this particular school are not accustomed to reading for pleasure and don’t usually get many reading assignments either.
I’d like to make them read something that they would find accessible and actually interesting. Something that would speak to the way their generation sees the world, their societal expectations, even school.
I immediately thought of “The Catcher in the Rye”. The book resonated with me even though it was the product of an older generation (I am a millennial), but then, when I read it I was already an avid reader and accustomed to putting in the effort to really understand a book and its message. I think most of my students would find it just as alien to them as most classics.
So here’s my question. Can anyone recommend a book that would resonate with a teenage readership in a similar way in 2024? I know there’s a plethora of YA novels being published every month, but I’m not exactly up to speed. Also, I know they’re kind of a mixed bag and I’d like to assign my students something that also has some value and can leave them with something.
by Aahiagde