Whenever I meet a kid, I can’t resist asking, “Soooo, what’s on your school reading list? Anything good?” Half the time, they just blink at me and mumble, which is fair. But every once in a while, their eyes will light up, and the gushing begins. There’s a particular magic to books like this: The ones you’re assigned to read, expect to slog through, and wind up falling in love with.
It happened to me when my sophomore English class was assigned Wuthering Heights. The paperbacks were handed out, and we left the classroom rolling our eyes, preparing for a long, dry read. The next day, we practically broke down the door to get in and start screaming about Heathcliff and Cathy and, omg, Linton, ugh. We argued over that book so passionately that at one point, a kid actually fell out of his chair. And to this day, if I bring up Wuthering Heights with one of my old high-school friends, we still wind up sitting head-to-head, talking about it for at least 20 minutes. It feels like our book.
I think, in part, it’s the shared experience that makes these school books stick with us. It happens in adulthood, too, of course (raise your hand if you read Yesteryear this summer). But as adults, we’re never required to sit in a room at 9 a.m. and dig into it with a group of our peers. It’s an experience we’ll never have again (not as loud 15-year-olds, at least). But cracking open Wuthering Heights feels a little like visiting it, if only for a chapter or so.
Now, your turn, please! What books have stuck with you for years?
P.S. Tell us three things and we’ll recommend a book you love, and allllll our book recs on one place.
(Photos from Derry Girls, Sister Act II, and Gilmore Girls.)
