Favorite school books

According to surveys distributed to students, these are the top five books that were read in the English curriculum for all courses.

5. Macbeth
The only Shakespearean play to make the top 5 list, Macbeth was a favorite of this year’s freshmen. “I really enjoyed Macbeth because of the drama and the intense nature of the play,” junior Lydia Farmer said.

Shakespeare’s tragedy is one read only by Enriched English 9 students, but one that I totally recommend for all students to read. Macbeth teaches feminism, and empathy towards characters.

4. Brave New World
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World set in the year 2540, is another favorite of Enriched tenth grade students. The novel gives students an opportunity to look at morals and ethics from a point of view that puts them in control of what happens next in society.

“Huxley does a great job of bringing to light the issues of being too obsessed with happiness … and pleasure,” enriched English 10 teacher Jarrett Lundquist said, “and he does a good job of knowing how to be realistic … in futur[istic] dystopian novels.”

3. Wild/Into The Wild
Wild and Into The Wild are two nonfiction works read by the Advanced Placement Language and Composition students and Senior Language and Composition students. Jessica Frie, AP Lang. and Comp. teacher, put students into literature circles to read the novels.

Senior Hadley Patton read Wild by Cheryl Strayed.“I really liked the emotional journey that Strayed went on. She describes the process of growing and becoming a better person in a way that is relatable,” Patton said. Both Wild and Into the Wild are modern nonfiction novels.

2. The Great Gatsby
Recently made into a multi-million dollar motion-picture, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is read by all eleventh grade students at Orono. “I liked Gatsby because it was relatable and fun, and it had a lot of drama,” junior Allison Broghammer said. With the release of the latest movie, American Literature and Composition teachers have transformed the curriculum to teach students how to compare and contrast the three movies with the novels.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, is another classic novel read by all Orono students their freshman year. The first book that freshmen read in the high school is a controversial novel, but one that teaches students fairness, equality, and how to analyze literature for the first time. It was the top pick for best book in the English curriculum.

Least enjoyed books
Here are students’ least enjoyable English course books to read according to OHS students.

5. Lord of the Flies
The best of the worst, Lord of the Flies was just removed from the English 9 curriculum in order to put a larger research paper unit in. Some students surveyed said they thought the novel taught important themes, but others disagreed. “Lord of the Flies was just plain boring and I didn’t understand it,” junior Julia Spacek said.
Novels such as The Hunger Games and Divergent are based off of early post-apocalyptic fiction like Lord of the Flies.

4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain’s classic controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is taught in American Literature and Composition and generally disliked by students. “It was really repetitive, boring, and after the fifth story about Huck and Jim, I was ready to be done,” senior Caroline Sauer said.

3. Frankenstein
The classic novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, has been made into a movie, a play, a musical, and has had countless other adaptations. The novel, however, is highly disliked by Orono students. More than half of the freshman enriched English class, noted that Frankenstein was their least favorite book.

2. Paradise Lost
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition students read Paradise Lost, and students despise it. “It was really hard to read and there was no way that I could have read it alone,” senior Shelby Early said. The epic poem, by John Milton, was written in the 1600’s and revolves around religious figures.

1. The Odyssey
Student’s most hated book is Homer’s The Odyssey. Another epic poem, The Odyssey is read by sophomores, and almost every junior and senior listed it as their least favorite book read in high school. Written in 800 B.C.E. Homer’s poem, “I was confused by the plot a lot and found it unrelatable,” junior Julia Spacek said.