By Stella Konstantopoulou, Caroline Dowse, Megan Cradock, Zalak Shah and Ana Cecilia Matute
September brings many things – autumn with its falling leaves, pumpkin-spiced lattes and hot cocoa, rainy walks and of course, the beginning of a new term at school, college or university. Whether you were the type to loathe it, or you simply couldn’t wait to go back to learning and seeing your friends, you are given the chance to reconnect with your student-self by choosing any from the reads below. Get back to school through a book!
Love Lessons by Jacqueline Wilson
Author Jacqueline Wilson is known for her deft way with complex storylines in young adult novels with strong heroines of a nefarious background. Love Lessons is no exception. Resonating deeply with troubled teenagers being challenged at school, the novel grasps them by the hand and proves we humans are not alone. The characters of fourteen-year-old Prue and her sister Grace do the trick; homeschooled by their more often than not strict father, denied every teenage-like pleasure such as magazine-reading or wearing anything other than their mother’s semi-failed attempts at clothes and jewellery making, they undoubtedly stand out.
Naturally, Prue gets picked on and is pigeonholed when forced to attend ordinary school due to her father having had a stroke and amidst the chaos, she is more alone than ever. Pick up your own copy to find out all about the charming, mysterious and so very young art teacher, Rax.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Jean Brodie is a progressive teacher at a school in 1930s Edinburgh. She takes six girls under her wing, giving them lessons in life and love based on her own experiences. The girls become known as “the Brodie set” and her influence on them becomes clear, worrying Miss Mackay, the conservative headteacher. Brodie starts a relationship with music teacher Mr. Lowther but her heart lies with the married art teacher Mr. Lloyd and the Brodie Set get caught in the middle.
Miss Mackay, wanting an excuse to get rid of Brodie, uses the girls to get information for an investigation that haunts Brodie’s later years. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie shows how teachers influence us and how that power can be abused. Brodie is complicated – a progressive with fascist leanings – which makes her difficult to empathise with, but this is a powerful book that makes you think.
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
School can be a challenging time, navigating the teenage years, struggling with academic and societal pressure and attempting to understand yourself and your identity. In Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Simon Spier must contend with this – all while being blackmailed. Simon has been emailing another boy at his school who he knows only as Blue. Blue also understands what it's like to hide and to feel not quite ready to come out to everyone and Simon quickly finds himself falling for the boy behind the emails.
But when he forgets to log off his computer and Martin Addison stumbles across his emails, everything changes. Simon has no choice but to do as Martin wants so that he can keep Blue safe even if that means meddling with the lives of the people he loves and making school more complicated than he ever thought it could be.
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Symptoms of Being Human is not only an exploration of gender identity and mental health but is also a back-to-school story that delves into the challenges of returning to a space where conformity is often expected. Riley is a gender-fluid teenager who hasn’t come out to the world yet. As they start high school, they must face the daunting task of balancing their true identity with their public image.
Riley’s journey of self-discovery and finding a place in a world that doesn’t always accept or understand differences makes for a powerful and poignant read. The highs and lows of school life, peer pressure, social anxiety, fitting in, finding a community and the courage to be yourself are described beautifully and in an accessible way in the novel. Riley’s story will resonate with everyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
This story starts in an English boarding school named Hailsham where the students attend art, sports and literature lectures and overall, they know that they are special. However, there is a reason behind the life they lead which Kathy, the narrator, knows as she attended Hailsham. Her flashbacks will reveal details about how this system works and the fate implicit in it.
A science fiction novel that explores a dystopian future where some lives are planned to serve others, it creates a reflection on the reasons for how we live, the purpose behind why we do things and the complexity of human life. The novel's construction by Kazuo Ishiguro is even more astonishing as any spoiler can ruin the reading experience; however the way the novel is written is more important than the main plot.
Comments