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Below is the reading list for my daughters Honors English class this year...looks extremely depressing, but can anyone tell me if there is anything in particular that I should be aware of or concerned with content-wise?
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Not sure what you are looking for, but 3 of those are classics and pretty mild. Frankenstein is a little creepy but I read it to my 12 and 10 year old boys one Halloween season and didn't think it was inappropriate.. Julius Caesar has death, betrayal and infidelity, but it's history and Shakespeare. Haven't read Into the Wild, but he does die, so there is death in that one too. Animal Farm is from the perspective of animals...with pigs wanting to 'rule' in a dystopian type setting (long before it was the 'it' genre).

Sallyavena wrote: "Not sure what you are looking for, but 3 of those are classics and pretty mild. Frankenstein is a little creepy but I read it to my 12 and 10 year old boys one Halloween season and didn't think it ..."

Thanks for your time. I'm wondering about gore, profanity or sexuality. I understand the themes of most of these are a bit dark. You mentioned that Frankenstein was "creepy." Can you elaborate just a little? I know the least about Into the Wild but am concerned that there is a movie version rated R so I'm hoping the book doesn't have similar content.

Off the top of my head I don't remember anything in "Animal Farm" or "Frankenstein" to be concerned about. If they are watching a production of "Julius Caesar" , there will be gore but that is inevitable because of the plot. I don't remember specifics about content in the dialogue if they are reading it. (It was a long time ago that I read it in school.)

Into the Wild has quite a bit of profanity

Rachel wrote: "Sallyavena wrote: "Not sure what you are looking for, but 3 of those are classics and pretty mild. Frankenstein is a little creepy but I read it to my 12 and 10 year old boys one Halloween season a..."

I don't remember too much about the details, but he is basically a non human entity that kind of stalks the main character. Honestly it didn't even phase my boys. There is murder and death, but it is told as a second hand account in letter form.

Just out of curiosity, I downloaded the Into the Wild ebook from my library and did a search for just one swear word. There are 7 instances of the F word in the book. Being able to digitally search for specific content is very fast and easy, so you might try that route.

Oh my goodness, thank you for going out of your way to do that. I'm not very techy and would never have thought to conduct an ebook search. I sure appreciate your help.

Happy to help! After reading his book about Everest I had a feeling there would be strong language.

Sallyavena wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Sallyavena wrote: "Not sure what you are looking for, but 3 of those are classics and pretty mild. Frankenstein is a little creepy but I read it to my 12 and 10 year old boys one Hal..."

Thank you for the clarifications.; that helps.

Gale wrote: "Into the Wild has quite a bit of profanity"

Thanks for that help. Have you read the book? I noticed that it was made into an R-rated movie and wonder if you know if there are also other content issues?

Carolyn wrote: "Off the top of my head I don't remember anything in "Animal Farm" or "Frankenstein" to be concerned about. If they are watching a production of "Julius Caesar" , there will be gore but that is inev..."

Thanks for your insight. I do remember having to watch Julius Caesar in school and it was more visually violent than I was comfortable with; honestly, a little scarring. I am, admittedly hypersensitive, so I'll hope they are only reading, not watching that one.

I read it several years ago. The content other than the profanity is really for mature young adults. I like the idea of the ebook search as I no longer read books with obscenities.

Gale wrote: "I read it several years ago. The content other than the profanity is really for mature young adults. I like the idea of the ebook search as I no longer read books with obscenities."

Thanks for your input Gale, I talked with my girls' English teacher yesterday and she said she will be reading the book aloud and editing the obscenities (for which I am grateful.) What other "mature young adult" content should I be prepared for?

The things that were discussed in my daughters� English classes were the question of creation, the parallel between Frankenstein and his maker and God and us, the ethics of robbing graves (which was very common) and how to approach the murder Frankenstein commits. It’s a deeply written book demanding the justification of morals in society and parallels between us and God and Frankenstein and his maker. You should read it with your daughter. I had already read it and really enjoyed discussing it with them.

Marlene wrote: "The things that were discussed in my daughters� English classes were the question of creation, the parallel between Frankenstein and his maker and God and us, the ethics of robbing graves (which wa..."

Marlene, Thank you for your thoughts and insights. I will give it a try.

I just wanted Rachel to know that things could be MUCH worse. I just had a friend whose 9th grader was told they would be reading "My Year Zero" by Rachel Gold.
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Marlene wrote: "The things that were discussed in my daughters� English classes were the question of creation, the parallel between Frankenstein and his maker and God and us, the ethics of robbing graves (which wa..."

I bought and read Frankenstein for my child's worldview curriculum (written by a Christian). I enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to let my teen read it.

I read Animal Farm in high school and loved it. Forty years later, I still love it and it's one of my favorite books.

I don’t remember reading Julius Caesar, although I may have read it in one of my high school English classes since I always had to read classics for them, and I remember reading some Shakespeare. I recommend reading through a literature guide for JC if you don't want to read the play yourself. I enjoy reading No Fear Shakespeare versions, and the JC one is available free at . It has Shakespeare's text and a modern English translation. It also has the other info similar to CliffsNotes.

Sandy wrote: "I just wanted Rachel to know that things could be MUCH worse. I just had a friend whose 9th grader was told they would be reading "My Year Zero" by Rachel Gold.
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Thanks for the reminder to be grateful for having been able to homeschool my four kids and then put them in online classes through a Christian school. I was surprised that the list Rachel put up contained three classics. I expected books like you linked, Sandy.

AlegnaB � wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I just wanted Rachel to know that things could be MUCH worse. I just had a friend whose 9th grader was told they would be reading "My Year Zero" by Rachel Gold.
..."

I had the same fears when we transitioned three of our four kids from homeshool to public school. However, we were blessed with great teachers and administration who took care to include parents in the education process. Our kids were surprised (and maybe a little disappointed) to discover that they had already read many of the books on their high school reading list!

UPDATE: After discussing the explicit book with the principal, he was appalled. Turns out that the book was not assigned by the teacher to the entire class, but was one of many that the teacher had provided for students to choose from and report on. It is not known whether the teacher had even read the book, or if it was just one in a bundle of books that the teacher had purchased or received free. The teacher will certainly be more careful in the future!