Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
"A nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt who mistakes him for Tom."
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Head of Senft House, Mr. Kevin Waterhouse, teaches AP Psychology and coaches the Alpine team. In his free time, he enjoys sports, skiing/snowboarding, movies, and seeing friends. Mr. Waterhouse's reading tastes tends to lean towards crime dramas but he enjoys reading from many genres.
So why pick this novel? "To enjoy the story, which I understand to be really entertaining. Also to better understand the numerous symbolic references that we continue to hear about." |
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a utopian society that goes challenged only by a single outsider.
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Head of Social Studies, Mr. Chris Jacoby, sponsors the Kenya Service Project. In his free time, he likes to read, catch up on cool television shows, and travel.
Mr. Jacoby leans towards fiction especially dramatic novels. He chose this novel because: "It's a sci-fi classic I read a long time ago and want to revisit it to find out if it's still relevant." |
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
"Marlowe sails down the Congo in search of Kurtz, a company agent who has, according to rumors, become insane in the jungle isolation."
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Mr. Charly Pimentel teaches Media Studies 12, English 10 and 11. He sponsors Ad Verum, Film Club, and Encounter. His favourite things include: Vancouver Canucks, the beach, travel, family and friends.
Mr. Pimentel enjoys science-fiction and coming of age genres. So why this novel? "The film Apocalypse Now is based on it, and it would be interesting to do a comparison/contrast with the two texts. The novel deals with intriguing themes like morality, corruption, and greed." |
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
"When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows us the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life."
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Middle School Coordinator, Ms. Morgan McLaughlin, teaches Socials 9, Philosophy 12, AP World History and coaches
Basketball, Netball, Track and Field. Her favourite genre is Historical Fiction, but: "I love Jane Austen's writing and I find Pride and Prejudice to be a wonderful piece of writing. If you like family drama, romance, sneaky people, and happy endings - this is the book for you." |
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
"Wuthering Heights is a wild, passionate story of the intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is bullied and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his former miseries. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent, but the accomplished handling of a complex structure, the evocative descriptions of the lonely moorland setting and the poetic grandeur of vision combine to make this unique novel a masterpiece of English literature."
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Ms. Julia Clarke teaches English, AP Literature, AP Language and Creative Writing and sponsors Thunderbird mentoring. In her free time, Ms. Clarke enjoys reading, especially literature and murder mysteries.
Of her selection, Ms. Clarke explains: "This book had the most vivid effect upon me of any book I have ever read. For many years my view of love was defined by this novel. It is the most passionate literary novel EVER." |