Sep
8
“Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight; I hope I don’t get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school, back to school…”
Ah, fall. That wonderful season that brings with it cooler weather, changing leaf colors and, to the dismay of children everywhere, the return of the school year.
To celebrate the back-to-school ritual, here are some of my favorite “school story” books:
- Little Men by Louisa May Alcott – Jo March, now Jo Bhaer, has turned her late aunt’s home into a school, where she and her husband watch over the students. A wonderful, delightful sequel to Alcott’s Little Women.
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – Award-winning and highly acclaimed, Anderson’s best book (in my opinion) tells the story of Melinda, once popular and well-liked, who starts high school as a social outcast. She is withdrawn and silent, choosing not to speak instead of giving voice to the horrific experience she had just before school started. An absolute must-read for any high school student.
- To Sir with Love by E.R. Braithwaite – in 1950’s London, a young black South African starts teaching at an East End school. Braithwaite deals with the social, racial and cultural prejudices thrown at him, all while trying to make a different in his students’ lives. Sidney Poitier starred in the movie version.
- Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray – in Victorian England, Gemma Doyle is sent to a finishing school for young ladies, with the hope that her wild ways will be tamed and she’ll make a good marriage. Instead, Gemma discovers a long-hidden talent for the occult and a fantasy world filled with wondrous surprises and dark secrets.
- Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta – All Josie Alibrandi wants is to survive her final year of school intact. She’s tired of the snide remarks from some of the other girls and she can’t seem to get her crush to notice her “that way.” Suddenly, she’s dealing with her long-lost father’s reappearance, the suicide of a close friend and a love interest from the most unexpected place.
- Teacher Man by Frank McCourt – Long before he was a literary darling for his memoirs, Frank McCourt was an English teacher in New York City public schools. McCourt’s recounting of his teaching days is funny, uplifting and inspiring.
- Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery – Anne (with an “e”) is no longer the mischievous little girl she once was, but she still manages to get into trouble. Now teaching at Avonlea’s school, Anne tries to reconcile her endless imagination with more grown-up behavior.
- Election by Tom Perotta – High school politics has never been this fun. With six alternating narrators, Perotta dives into the murky world of student council elections, where overachievers will do anything to win, the popular guys stay popular and teachers lose control over a carefully constructed world.
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult – For some people, high school is hell. For Peter, it’s much worse. Picoult takes readers on an emotional ride as she unravels the story of a school shooting and the desperation that lead to it. She doesn’t offer excuses, but instead tries to figure out how this could happen by looking at every side of the story.
- Academy X by Andrew Trees – Welcome to the world of New York City private schools, where ethical boundaries are blurred, money really can buy anything and getting into an Ivy League school is literally a matter of life or death. While teacher John Spencer is just trying to finish the semester, one incident after another threatens to derail his plans – and his career.
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]
