Ask your teens,,AP lit and comp suggestions/Poll

[jme829]

DD17 is taking AP lit and comp next year . She has 3 novels to read over the summer. The Stranger by Albet Camus and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. She can then pick one of the 3 following:
Les Miserables-by Victor Hugo
Crime and Punishment-by Fyodor Dostoevsky
or
A Passage to India-by E.M. Forster

We've read some descriptions of each, but she's having a tough time choosing. Which one did your HS teen like the best?

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

The Stranger is short, but horrible. I had to read it for IB English. I haven't read any of the other books, but The Stranger deserves a warning label.

 

[jme829]

The Stranger is short, but horrible. I had to read it for IB English. I haven't read any of the other books, but The Stranger deserves a warning label.

Is it just a bad story or is it a disturbing/graphic book? That one she doesn't get a choice on , unfortunately . But thanks for the warning!!!

 

[gina2000]

Love The Stranger. Camus is a master at his art.

I've never read Les Miserables. It's a pretty hefty book sizewise. I've read Crime and Punishment. It's very long...very psychological. Russian novelists are known for delving deeply into a person's psyche. I've also read A Passage to India. I remember enjoying it.

I'm not a teenager, though...

 

[missypie]

Good lord, how do they come up with these books?

Seems like everyone has to read The Awakening. Not a great piece of literature in my book.

 

[missypie]

My own 17 year old D would answer that she should "read" which book has a movie that follows the book most closely. I'm pretty sure that's how she'll get though AP Lit next year...Streetcare Named Desire is on the summer list and I felt so lucky when I saw the DVD in the TJ Maxx clearance bin for $3!

 

[Liberty Belle]

I don't think my son (16) has read any of them, though I could be wrong.

I liked The Stranger and A Passage to India.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I"m not a teen, but I'd pick Les Miserables. I quite enjoy the book.
Crime and Punishment will be a pain and a half to get through. It is good, but very long and very psychological. I have not read A Passage to India, but I hear it is good... so I'd go with it or Les Miserables.


btw...I LOVE Camus and Chopin. The Awakening is an amazing book that always brings about very hearty discussion!

 

[NotUrsula]

Personally, I'd steer clear of 19th-century Russians. They always manage to take 6 pages to say what a 20th-century American could get across in a single paragraph.

I'll climb on the bandwagon: L’Étranger is on my all-time hit list of agony reads. I absolutely hated it, and THAT is the only lasting impression that it made upon me.

Is it just a bad story or is it a disturbing/graphic book?

I suppose one might be disturbed by it, but personally I just found it nonsensical and annoying. The story is that of a man who is very detached from life, who commits a random murder for which he has no clear motive, and who really doesn't have any feelings one way or the other about being tried and eventually executed for it.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I would guess that a teenage girl would enjoy Les Mis the best. I remember liking it at that age.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I haven't read any of them, and my DS is just going to be a freshman so he hasn't read them, either.

I was in AP Lit. 22 years ago and I was supposed to read The Stranger. Apparently there must be something about that book. Maybe I should read it now.

 

[jme829]

Thanks for the responses so far...Sounds like she will rule out Crime and Punishment, Maybe I'll see if I can find a copy of the Les Miserables movie and watch it to see if its interesting.


Another question...for those who took AP lit...would it help to buy the cliff notes to go along with the books, or should the school provided study guides be sufficient. DD is going to major in English Education, so this is an important class for her and she really wants to do well. Any thing we can do to help make it easier for her ...she is a good student, but puts a lot of pressure and stress on herself.

Thanks!

 

[paintnolish]

I would suggest Chopin, but in all fairness, I haven't read all of the books mentioned. I don't think Cliff Notes are necessary. There is always a synopsis available on the internet. With some difficult works, I like to look up a synopsis every once in a while just to make sure I understood everything!

 

[jme829]

I would suggest Chopin, but in all fairness, I haven't read all of the books mentioned. I don't think Cliff Notes are necessary. There is always a synopsis available on the internet. With some difficult works, I like to look up a synopsis every once in a while just to make sure I understood everything!

Yeah the one by Chopin and the other one (The Stranger) she doesn't get a choice in...those are set in stone by the teacher....Its the other 3 that she gets to choose from.

I found a list of all the suggested AP books and there is quite a few, so I'm kind of suprised its so narrow for her class. But I guess thats the teachers option.
Maybe it makes it easier so you don't have a whole class all reading something different.

 

[yellowlabforever]

I just finished up my last AP Lit class today

Actually, The Stranger was the last book that we read before doing thesis presentations/AP practice tests. It was totally bizzare, because the protagonist is just strange. Our summer reading material was Beowulf "The Taming of the Shrew" and the prolouge to The Canterbury Tales

I would pick Les Misrables, because it is a musical as well that I like. But another choice that I'd pick would be Passage to India because we read Cracking India in AP and I really liked it, in fact I based my whole thesis presentation on the book. (Only my school has a thesis presentation/paper... as far as I know).

And Yes it definitely helps to go to spark notes/cliff notes for me at least. I am a very fast reader and I tend to skip over the small details. I get the big picture, but I don't know what color her shirt was for instance. Spark Notes/Cliff Notes really helps as an accompaniment to the book, not to be read alone.

 

[paintnolish]

Wasn't "Cracking India" also titled "Ice Candy Man"? I believe so. There is also a movie about it. I watched it in my Women's Lit. of South Asia class.
OP, I saw that she didn't have a choice in Chopin- after I posted! Sorry!

 

[jme829]

Wasn't "Cracking India" also titled "Ice Candy Man"? I believe so. There is also a movie about it. I watched it in my Women's Lit. of South Asia class.
OP, I saw that she didn't have a choice in Chopin- after I posted! Sorry!

LOL no worries!


Yellowlabforever..thanks for the info...She hasn't taken any AP classes yet and is pretty nervous. How was the exam? And I will get her the cliff notes I think as a supplement. Thanks!

 

[yellowlabforever]

The exam was alright for me, my teacher prepared me well for it. I had to take the make-up exam (Because I went to Disneyland for five days ) , so I don't know what the difference would be if I took the regular exam. I was able to barely finish the mult-choice section and I finished the essay questions with 30 minutes left. It wasn't a big deal, like I said my teacher prepared me well for it My teacher's advice for the third essay question: Pick a book that you read over the year and pick a Shakespearian play. It is always good to have a back-up plan, just in case the topic isn't as prevalent in one of them as it is in the other.

Edits: And yes, Cracking India was also Ice Candy Man. It's just another title of the book, I think.

 

[golfgal]

Thanks for the responses so far...Sounds like she will rule out Crime and Punishment, Maybe I'll see if I can find a copy of the Les Miserables movie and watch it to see if its interesting.


Another question...for those who took AP lit...would it help to buy the cliff notes to go along with the books, or should the school provided study guides be sufficient. DD is going to major in English Education, so this is an important class for her and she really wants to do well. Any thing we can do to help make it easier for her ...she is a good student, but puts a lot of pressure and stress on herself.

Thanks!

That really depends on your school. Most of the kids in our school do very well on the AP Lit exam just with doing the classroom work, but not all schools are created equally. Honestly, doing well or not in this AP class isn't really going to have much effect on her overall college success if she is already a good student (especially given where she is going to college).

As for your original question, I would go with Les Miz. Crime and Punishment is just that.

 

[punkin]

Am I the only person who actually liked Crime and Punishment? D had to read this last summer before her AP Lit class and it was like pulling teeth. Then again, I think it was because it was summer and it was assigned. I have always loved the book. I read it for the first time in HS too.

I did not like Les Miserables that much at all, but then, I am not a fan of Victor Hugo at all. He focuses on the grotesque too much for my comfort.