When asking English teachers what books they recommend reading in students’ free time, we were shocked to see the wide variety of genres they touched upon. If you are in need of a new book or looking to increase your To Read list, check out these books.
1. English 11 Honors and Creative Writing teacher Amy Keys:
Historical Fiction: “Small Things Like These”
Contemporary Fiction: “Dear Committee Members”
Literary Fiction: “Lanny,” “Chilean Poet” and “Demon Copperhead”
Claire Keegan’s “Small Things Like These,” at 128 pages, is good for students looking for a quick but enjoyable read. Keys said the novella, which came out in late 2024, takes most readers two or three hours to complete and poses the ethical dilemma of an individual faced with the option to commit a serious wrongdoing — similar to the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin.
“Dear Committee Members” by Julie Schumacher is a collection of recommendation letters from a struggling English professor of a small college. Keys specifically recommends this to fellow English teachers.
“Lanny” by Max Porter highlights a village in the outskirts of London where a trickster lures a boy away from his home. “Chilean Poet” by Alejandro Zamba focuses on the relationship between a mother, her son and an aspiring poet; the three create a strong bond until the relationship between the poet and the woman fails.
Finally, Keys recommends “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver.
“‘Demon Copperhead’ is a contemporary retelling of ‘David Copperfield’ by Charles Dickens, but you need not have read Dickens’s epic in order to feel drawn into this coming-of-age story in working class West Virginia during the start of the opioid crisis,” Keys said. “Its characters are vivid and compelling, and the writing is wonderful. It’s a great listen, too, if you like audiobooks.”
2. MAP 10 and AP English Literature teacher Suzanne Herzman:
Thriller: “Slow Horses”
Nonfiction: “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence” and “Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed”
One of Herzman’s current favorite books is Mick Herron’s novel “Slow Horse.”
“Ms. Keys and Ms. Ritchie got me to read ‘Slow Horse,’ the first book of the Slough House series, and that’s been a good escape,” Herzman said. “It’s not very complex, it’s just a fun read.”
After psychiatrist and author Anna Lembke visited the school last school year to talk about harmful dopamine rushes, Herzman found “Dopamine Nation” to be a helpful read.
Another relevant story is “Accountable” by Dashka Slater, as the social media scandal discussed takes place in Albany High in 2017, Herzman’s first teaching job years earlier.
Besides these favorite reads, Herzman finds herself indulging in writing by authors such as Lisa See, Jennifer Egan and Zadie Smith.
3. English 9 MAP and English 10 teacher Megan Laws:
Fiction: “Legend Born,” “The Goldfinch”
Nonfiction: “The Let Them Theory”
Laws’ go-to recommendation for students is the series “Legend Born” by Tracy Deonn. She notes the series has something for everyone — historical fiction, fantasy and mythology.
Additionally, she recommends “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt, which follows a teenage boy after he survives a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum. He steals a painting during the bombing and grapples with guilt throughout the book.
“It’s a really good depiction of the human experience and all of the different emotions that we can experience and feel all at the same time,” Laws said.
Finally, Laws recommends “The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins, a guide to focusing on what one can and cannot control in their life. She believes this book can help teens because it teaches readers how to combat the ill effects of peer pressure.
4. English 11 Honors and English 11 MAP teacher Natasha Ritchie:
Literary Fiction: “James”
Fantasy: “The Lord of the Rings”
Historical Fiction: “Americanah”
Ritchie recommends that students read “James” by Percival Everett (2024). “James” retells “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of an escaped enslaved man named Jim, Huckleberry’s friend on his travels.
Ritchie recommends “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, an epic adventure about a hobbit named Frodo who sets out with his friends to destroy a powerful ring before the dark lord Sauron can use it to take over the world.
Ritchie, who is an avid reader of fantasy, particularly enjoys “the vivid world-building” of Tolkien and has read the series several times.
“For me, I need a sympathetic character or somebody to root for — I think I particularly enjoy that in ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” Ritchie said.
Ritchie admires Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s work, especially her third novel “Americanah.” The novel centers around Ifemelu, who leaves her childhood sweetheart, Obinze, in Nigeria to immigrate to America. Ifemelu must navigate the difficulties of immigrant life in order to forge her own identity. Adishie examines the theme of cultural identity, particularly as it relates to the experiences of Nigerian immigrants in the US.
“The characters are complex and layered. I love her writing style; it is very engaging,” she said.
5. English 10, English 12 and AP Language teacher Emily Wu:
Nonfiction: “Ulysses”
Wu recommends “Ulysses” by James Joyce, which recounts how three people experience the same day in the same city. Leopold Bloom’s quest through Dublin is modeled on Homer’s Odyssey — each of the novel’s eighteen chapters roughly correspond to a book from the Odyssey.
“It is a wild ride, and has different types of formatting that make it interesting to read,” Wu said.
6. English 10 and ELA teacher Marcos Cortez:
Nonfiction: “Running With Sherman”
Historical Fiction: “Once and Future Witches” and “Dread Nation”
Play: “True West”
Cortez’s favorite nonfiction book is “Running With Sherman” by Christopher McDougal, a novel about a man who adopts a mistreated donkey and trains it to run races.
“‘Running With Sherman’ made me laugh; it made me thankful for my pets and for my relationships, whether they are with humans or animals,” Cortez said.
One of his favorite fiction books is “The Once and Future Witches” by Alix E. Harrow, which Ritchie recommended to him. It’s a historical fantasy where three sisters fight for women’s suffrage in America, while also bringing their magic back to life. Another historical fantasy he recommends is Justina Ireland’s “Dread Nation,” which takes place after the Civil War.
As a teenager, his favorite text was a play: “True West” by Sam Shepard. It is a tense drama about two estranged brothers — one a screenwriter, the other a drifter — whose rivalry explodes as they clash over a Hollywood script.
“It went into a dysfunctional relationship between two brothers and what it means to be a man,” Cortez said. “While reading it, I was questioning what it means to be a man in society while also trying to figure out my relationship with my brother. It really spoke to me.”
‘
7. English 9, English 11 and Study Skills teacher Meg Battey:
Fantasy: “The Night Circus”
Nonfiction: “Born a Crime”
Coming of age: ”Song of Solomon”
Battey recommends Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus,” which follows Celia and Marco, two young illusionists, when they are recruited to join the Circus of Dreams. The novel features common circus attractions, like magicians and contortionists, that most would expect from the movie “The Greatest Showman.”
Battey’s favorite nonfiction recommendation is “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah, a memoir accounting his life growing up in South Africa and how he adapted to the modern world around him after moving to the U.S.
In Battey’s senior year of high school, she read “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison in AP Literature. The book explores human greed and the history of slavery in America.
“I enjoy reading the kind of story that tells the history of a section that’s lost, giving voice to something that isn’t the larger narrative of the history,” Battey said.
8. English 9 MAP teacher and Journalism advisor Michael Tyler:
Fiction: “The Tortilla Curtain”
Nonfiction: “Unbroken,” “The Boys in the Boat” and “The Sum of Us”
“The Tortilla Curtain” by one of Tyler’s favorite writers, TC Boyle. The novel centers around the lives of two families — one wealthy and one undocumented Mexican immigrant. As their fates intertwine, the novel highlights issues of immigration, xenophobia, poverty and cultural divides in America.
Tyler also recommends “Unbroken,” a biography of World War II hero Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner in the ‘36 Berlin Games before his epic experience in WWII. It highlights the unthinkable life-or-death situations that soldiers manage to get through during the war. “The Boys in the Boat” tells the story of the rowing crew who fought for gold at the 1936 Olympics.
“The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee is a book he recommends reading for its deep examination of the effects of racism, which harms everyone in the U.S., regardless of race.
9. English 12 MAP and AP Language teacher Jason Friend:
Fiction: “Invisible Man” and “Martyr!”
Friend recommends Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” which he first read while he was a junior in high school. The book is about an unnamed African American man who struggles with racism and identity as he navigates life in 1930s America, seeking to understand his place in the country.
“It wasn’t an assignment for class, and I didn’t receive any credit for it, but it was the most interesting and eye-opening novel I had encountered at that point in my life,” Friend said.
Friend also recommends “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar, which explores the psychological struggles of a young man torn between his personal desires and his commitment to Kashmir’s political freedom. He was attracted to the book for its interesting characters and themes, as well as its intriguing ending.
10. English 9 teacher Mary Palisoul:
Historical Fiction: “The Heart’s Invisible Furies”
Palisoul recommends “The Heart’s Invisible Furies” by John Boyne, which Cortex gave her during the 2022 English department holiday book exchange. The book follows Cyril Avery, an Irishman grappling with his identity and sexuality amid the shifting social landscape of 20th century Ireland.
Because of its length and density, Palisoul did not pick it up until the summer of 2023. However, she was quickly drawn in by its compelling plot structure and narrative voice.
11. Library technician Raquel Kirby:
Coming of Age: “The Jungle Book”
Travel Literature: “The Royal Road to Romance”
One of Kirby’s favorite books is “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. The book follows a young boy raised by wolves in an Indian jungle as he learns survival skills, faces dangerous foes and discovers where he truly belongs.
Kirby enjoyed “The Royal Road to Romance” by Richard Halliburton, a travel memoir that chronicles the author’s adventurous, unconventional journeys across the world. The book influenced her to travel at a young age, allowing her to see the world through an independent lens.
“The novel showed me that time doesn’t stop for anyone. When you get older, you’ll be too tired or you’ll have other responsibilities. You might as well see the world as soon as you can,” Kirby said.
