• February 22, 2016
• Leave a Comment on Five Books We Wish Were Mandatory In High School
• Books, Comic Books, DC Comics, Vertigo Comics
• A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty, Books, bookworm, DC Comics, Defending Jacob, First Second, Janette Rallison, Jeff Lemire, Joshilyn Jackson, reading, reading recs, Scott McCloud, The Sculptor, Vertigo Comics, William Landay

Five Books We Wish Were Mandatory In High School

We get it: mandatory reading bites, especially since it’s the same book selection every year with no variation or excitement (if I see Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin one more time, I’m weaponizing it and throwing it off a rooftop). We understand that schools are underfunded and curriculum needs to be met, but as book-lovers who enjoy reading for the simple fact that it is actually fun, we thought we’d offer up some suggestions for what should be on the required reading list (note that some of these beauties are technically for more mature audiences, but if you’re in high school and you haven’t used profanity, seen someone naked, or witnessed a catfight in the hall that was later spread all over social media for replay value… you’re lying). You might balk at this list while reading it, but thinking high schoolers can’t handle these books is a discredit to the minds of tomorrow. So without further ado, check out our reading recommendations!

5) Just One Wish by Janette Rallison

Published in 2009, Just One Wish centers around a 17-year-old girl named Annika Truman whose whole world revolves around her little brother Jeremy, a cancer patient. Jeremy is still young enough to believe in the magic of miracles, and so Annika, a tireless optimist in the face of his illness, tells him that a genie will grant him one wish. Expecting Jeremy to wish for a successful tumor removal surgery, our heroine is bamboozled when, instead, he wishes to meet up with his idol, teen TV heartthrob (and live-action Robin Hood), Steve Raleigh. Desperate to deny her brother’s terminal cancer and fulfill his deepest wish— as if, in doing both of those things simultaneously, she will somehow be able to stop time and cheat death— Annika drags her best friend along on a road-trip to entreat Steve Raleigh to help her grant her dying brother just one wish. Cheesy, right? Totally. But hidden in the pages of this seemingly far-fetched tale are sober truths about life, death, love, family, and the inevitability of saying goodbye. The cliché elements of this book aside, if you know a young adult who has recently lost someone— or is facing that very grim prospect— Just One Wish deals with death in a poignant, honest way that is neither manufactured nor hopeless. Annika and co. are realistic, even if the situations they find themselves in are a little on the implausible side (we’re willing to let that slide).

4) Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire

Sweet Tooth is something that no sane teacher would ever assign to their students. Luckily, we know some pretty out-of-the-box educators that might take the chance on a story like this— just be aware that it’s not for the faint of heart. Sweet Tooth is a limited comic book series set in a post-apocalyptic world, the premise of which being that most of humanity has been wiped out by an illness called The Affliction. Everyone has it. The people still left are going to die of it, anyway— the ones that are immune to The Affliction are human-animal hybrids, who are hunted and killed in a desperate bid to save humanity. One such hybrid— half-deer, half-human— Gus, is the main character of the story. At the beginning, he lives in a cabin in the woods with his dying father, who has expressly forbid him from venturing out of the forest (cautioning demons and fire and hell beyond the safety of the tree line) but after his father’s death, Gus is cornered by hunters in the woods, where he’d believed he was safe. Said hunters are brutally murdered by a man named Mr. Jeppard, who promises to take Gus to The Preserve, a safe-haven for human/animal hybrids. The journey is just as important (if not more so) as the destination for these two characters, as Gus— who discovers he really likes chocolate, devouring Jeppard’s candy stash and earning himself the nickname “Sweet Tooth”— who grew up in a sheltered bubble, searches for a safe place to call home and Jeppard wonders what the point of living is, since everyone is an Affliction-carrying ticking time bomb. The contrast of sweet, staunch, faith-rooted Gus and world-weary, violent Jeppard adds another interesting layer to the story, and in the end, though nothing is quite as it seems, readers develop attachments to both characters.

We already mentioned that this series would probably be banned in the classroom, right? Jeppard has the ultimate potty mouth, violence is a guarantee, and (among other things), Gus finds himself in a whore-house. Still, this hits all the marks of “classic,” with us, and if The Blind Assassin is fit to be read in schools, then so is Sweet Tooth.

 3) A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Every 15 years, a baby girl is added to the Slocumb family. Or at least, that’s how the pattern worked (first Ginny with her daughter, Liza, then Liza with her daughter, Mosey) until 30-year-old Liza, a recent stroke victim, unearths human remains in their backyard. Suddenly, hitting the baby-making age of 15 is the least of Mosey’s (who has never even kissed a boy!) worries. This masterfully-crafted novel weaves the story of three generations of women together, branching them out, ripping them apart, and tying them back together again. It might not sound like much, but this stunning Southern novel illustrates deeply-buried secrets, dark, horrific truths, the boundless love of family, and just how far a mother will go to protect her child.

2) Defending Jacob by William Landay

Landay’s third novel, Defending Jacob was published in 2012. It tells the story of assistant district attorney Andy Barber, who has spent years trying to right the wrongs of his forefathers, only to have his teenaged son Jacob accused of murder. This book grapples with unconditional love (how far would you go to protect your family? What would you justify?) and the question of whether monsters are born or made. It raises interesting questions about nature vs. nurture; whether biology plays a bigger part in who we are and how we see the world than the love (or lackthereof) from those who raised us.  

1) The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

Warning: This graphic novel contains nudity and foul language. Okay, warning over. If you’re not sold on graphic novels (we’re not sure why you wouldn’t be, but just in case) as a valid form of literature, do yourself a favour and pick this up. David Smith, a once-promising sculptor who burned almost all of his professional bridges, makes a deal with death: he can sculpt anything he desires with his bare hands, but he only has 200 days to live (and of course, within this time-frame, he meets the woman of his dreams, so, you know, that sucks). This graphic novel is utterly wonderful, positively gripping… and so, so emotionally draining. It’s amazing, but because its subject matter is so heavy, and David is his own worst enemy (emotionally stunted by a life that’s even more tragic than Batman’s. Except he’s poor and obsessed with sculpting things that don’t sell and, you know, not Batman). This is a story that slams the worst parts of your life together with an existential crisis, making a sandwich for the reader that leaves them wondering about life— “Is there a point to existence? Why are we here? Who are you? Who am I?”— and with poignancy and charisma, gently reminds that when a door is slammed shut in your face, a window  can be pried open. It deals with the obvious things, life and death (duh) but it also delves into themes of grief, mental illness, cowardice, and having the courage to leave your mark on the world, even if it’s not permanent.

There are tons of books (novels, comics, graphic novels) that we didn’t mention here. Let us know what you wish was required reading for school in the comments!