Back-to-school books: Reading that shaped us
As students, we have all read a book for school at some point, but how often does an assigned book strike an important chord? The books listed here did exactly that for Daily writers at various points in their academic careers, anytime from kindergarten to college. Now that a new school year is underway, let’s celebrate the books that shaped us, even though we were required to read them.
“Native Son” by Richard Wright (Recommended by Cate Burtner ’25)
When 20-year-old Bigger Thomas begins working for a wealthy white Chicago family — who own the one-bedroom apartment Bigger shares with the rest of his family — he does not consider that he might be stuffing body parts into a fireplace a few days later. But life is crazy…as is the great literature we’re often taught in English class.
Bigger spends the remainder of the story covering up and trying to escape the severe consequences of a crime he committed by accident as a Black man. The focused stream of consciousness gives an intense glimpse into the mind of the fascinating and (almost) completely unsympathetic figure of Bigger. The prose is gritty, the ending is fated and the plot creates the least stuffy literature you’ve ever seen.
“Native Son” was my first experience being truly engaged in a work of fiction. The novel explores power and racism, shifting consciousness and what happens when a person lacks meaning and community. These themes are examined in depth and in levels: the levels of inequality disturb us, the levels of consciousness go deeper still and Bigger finds meaning on some level, through violence, denial and the fated life of a native son.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer (Recommended by Kelly Wang ’26)
The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center took the lives of many, including Thomas Schell, loving father to nine-year-old Oskar Schell. The young boy is eccentric and intelligent, but he seems unable to process the fact that his father is gone. After suddenly discovering a lockless key in his father’s closet, Oskar treks across New York on an expedition to find the missing lock — or any final connection to his father.
In his historical fiction novel, Jonathan Foer narrates events from Oskar’s perspective in a raw way, perfectly mimicking the thoughts of an emotionally-intelligent nine-year-old. I was pulled straight in by the writing, aching alongside Oskar as he battled panic attacks and the feeling of “wearing heavy boots” — his representation of his depression.
In parallel with Oskar’s grieving, Foer also loops readers into the love story of Oskar’s grandmother through a series of letters she’s written to her grandson. Her tumultuous relationship with Oskar’s grandfather is vividly depicted as Foer proves his skill at evoking emotion. Grandma juggled the “something” and “nothing” spaces that defined the presence and absence of love in her relationship with Oskar’s grandfather, much like how Oskar shifts between clinging to remnants of his father and moving on.
The book’s interspersed black-and-white photos may elicit initial confusion — much like that which Oskar must be feeling — but ultimately make the novel whole. Foer lures readers to hand their hearts to his endearing characters, and then tears our hearts to shreds. He delicately guides both characters and readers toward the path to a new normal after loss.
“Atonement” by Ian McEwan (Recommended by Sanaya Robinson-Shah ’28)
We all have regrets whether we like to admit it or not. But I’m sure not all of us have one regret, one mistake that we can singularly pinpoint in our lives, one that we spend the rest of our life trying to make up for, to atone. That is the case for Briony Tallis who commits an act in England of 1935 which she’ll come to regret her whole life — a life of which becomes one of atonement.
Split into three sections spanning three time periods, “Atonement” is a story of family, romance and war bound up into one and peppered with twists. Centered around the Tallis family, author Ian McEwan delves into each character with such detail that readers can’t help but relate to them all as we realize that they are all simply humans with human struggles.
Cecilia is a messy older sister who can’t figure out what she wants to do with her life — she can’t even put flowers into a vase. Briony feels neglected and is desperate for things to go her way. Emily’s guilt eats away at her as she lies in bed with chronic migraines, hearing her kids’ voices in the distance as they mother themselves. The writing is confrontational: any preconceived judgements of characters wither away as we learn the realities of their lives.
McEwan takes one home and exposes its different, overlapping storylines. He takes one day in 1935 and wrings from it all the moments and details one possibly can. And then we move to war. And to 1999. Each scene is written with such immense depth and clarity that you are completely consumed and may find yourself reading one hundred pages in one night.
Also, I urge you — don’t watch the movie. Read the book. “Atonement” is one of the few novels I’ve read that I can say for certain is meant to be a book. It confronts readers, but more importantly, it confronts the idea of fiction itself. Why do we get so attached to characters and scenes that aren’t real? Why does fiction have such a lasting effect on us when it’s ultimately an illusion? So, in addition to the inevitable thoughts and questions about life and love and mistakes that atonement will produce, you’ll find yourself interrogating the idea of literature itself.
“The Undocumented Americans” by Karla Cornejo-Villavicencio (Recommended by Anya Vedantambe ’28)
A father of two teenage girls taking refuge in a church to hide from deportation. A day laborer in mortal peril who cares for an injured squirrel. A widow who tries to live the experiences she missed in her twenties after her husband is ignored by the medical system.
In “The Undocumented Americans,” author Karla Cornejo-Villavicencio explores the lives of undocumented immigrants whose stories have not been told, including those of Miami housekeepers, Manhattan food delivery workers and Staten Island day laborers. She tells their full stories — of their dreams, their favorite songs, their relationships with their children. The book is a work of speculative nonfiction: Cornejo-Villavicencio intersperses factual details from her interviewees’ lives with imagined stories of experiences they might have had. This helped me understand that the stories are not unusual examples, but represent the experiences of many.
The book is unlike many of the stories in the press about undocumented Americans because it doesn’t tell the stories of academically exceptional DACA dreamers. It delves into communities that are largely ignored by the media, whose members are often exceptional in their own right but also incredibly human.
“The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton (Recommended by Grace Zhao ’27)
“The Outsiders” is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old boy being raised by his two older brothers in the 1960s. The brothers are all part of the working-class “Greasers” gang and frequently get into conflicts with their affluent rivals, the “Socs.” The novel shines with compelling characters who are good at their core yet find themselves thrown into difficult situations.
Whether it’s sunny and easygoing Sodapop, rough-and-tumble Dally or quiet and sensitive Johnny, “The Outsiders” delivers characters for readers to root for and care about. Watching each character navigate life’s unfairness is a gripping ride filled with heartbreaking action and is smoothed over by the Greasers’ wisecracking camaraderie. Ponyboy’s innocent and thoughtful worldview offers a moving juxtaposition to the gangs’ violent rumbles, from his interest in books and poetry to finding out that he and a Soc girl both love sunsets.
Ponyboy and Johnny have an incredibly precious bond, and Hinton encourages readers to think of what it means to preserve one’s innocence while growing up in a dog-eat-dog world. By the time Johnny tells Ponyboy to “stay gold,” we are all left in tears.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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