High School (9th–12th Grade)

The books that shape how we read, argue, and understand the world as adults — read now, while there's still time to talk about them.

The Classics

Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen
Elizabeth Bennet navigates love, class, and her own quick judgments in Regency England. Still one of the sharpest, funniest novels ever written about being wrong about someone.

1984 — George Orwell
A dystopia about surveillance, propaganda, and the death of independent thought. Uncomfortably relevant, and essential for understanding a huge chunk of modern political language.

The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
A mysterious millionaire, a lost love, and the hollowness underneath the American Dream. Short, precise, and endlessly re-readable.

Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
An orphaned governess insists on her own dignity and independence in a world determined to deny her both. A genuinely radical novel for its time, and still gripping.

Of Mice and Men — John Steinbeck
Two migrant workers dream of a small piece of land to call their own during the Great Depression. Devastating, and short enough to read in a weekend.

Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
A scientist creates life and abandons what he's made, with tragic consequences for them both. Written by an 18-year-old, and still the foundational text for questions about science, ethics, and monstrosity.

Hamlet — William Shakespeare
A prince is asked to avenge his father's murder and instead spirals into doubt, grief, and delay. The most quoted, adapted, and argued-over play in the English language for good reason.

Worth Adding (Modern Picks)

The Kite Runner — Khaled Hosseini
A story of friendship, betrayal, and redemption spanning decades of Afghan history. Emotionally intense, and a strong entry point into modern Afghan literature and history.

The Book Thief — Markus Zusak
Narrated by Death, a girl in Nazi Germany finds solace in stolen books. Works just as well here as a slightly older re-read after middle school.

All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr
A blind French girl and a German boy soldier's paths converge during WWII. Beautifully written, and a strong choice for a strong reader ready for something longer.