The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I found a book for the first part (teacher), but now I need a book for the second part of the task where the main character is a student....any ideas?

How about A Seperate Peace?

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

I am planning on using The Secret History but I haven't read it. The main characters are college students correct?

Rachel Lee wrote: "I am planning on using The Secret History but I haven't read it. The main characters are college students correct?"

Yup, very good choice!

I plan on reading Light Years by Tammar Stein because the main character is a college student.

A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Book of Ralph A Novel
The Wednesday Wars
The Secret History
I Am Charlotte Simmons A Novel
Election
Joe College
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
My Most Excellent Year A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park
The Book Thief
Never Let Me Go
While I'm Falling
The Rules of Attraction

I'm reading Nightfall by L.J. Smith. The main character is a student in high school, plus vampires! Yay! (I'm a vampire fan...)

I was thinking of reading Prep A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld. I did like A Separate Peace by John Knowles when I read it last year.

There's also the Pretty Little Liars series. I haven't read any of them, but I understand that the characters are all in high school (I think). Plus the author Sara Shepard is a GR author, so it might be cool to read :). I've been thinking about reading them anyway... maybe I'll try to work them into the challenge somehow... *shrugs*

A Great and Terrible Beauty - goes to a boarding school

The Gossip Girl series
Basically any YA novel tends to have a main character in school

Hi Katie,
You seem to be working on the 1001 list. Here are some ideas for books with students from that list:
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- Annie John A Novel
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) A Novel
I'm sure there are other books on that list about students, but I haven't read them.

I'm reading Bee Season for this challenge.

Patricia wrote: "I was thinking of reading Prep A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld. I did like A Separate Peace by John Knowles when I read it last year."

Oh! I had Prep down as my one-word title, but I may move it to this challenge and pick another one-word title from my TBR shelf instead.

Katie wrote: "Hi Katie,
You seem to be working on the 1001 list. Here are some ideas for books with students from that list:
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- [book:Annie John A Novel|386..."

thanks! I actually own the Glass Bead Game, so that will work.

Katie wrote: "Katie wrote: "Hi Katie,
You seem to be working on the 1001 list. Here are some ideas for books with students from that list:
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- [book:Annie ..."

Oh! good choice. I heart Hesse and that's my favorite so far. :)

You know, I just thought of this, but I think that most of the Harry Potter series would work for the student task as well. I say most because I don't think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would...

Would the first couple Twilight books also work since they are in high school? I don't plan on re-reading them for the Fall Challenge - but, maybe they would work for someone else??

Would Commencement A Novelcount? By the description it sounds as if the book begins when they are students in college and of course the name would imply it's related to school.

I'm planning on Robert Ford's The Student Conductor and Elfriede Jelniek's The Piano Teacher for this. Both have been sitting on my TBR list for a while, so this is the perfect opportunity to dust them off. Oddly enough, I've also read another The Piano Teacher, though by Janice Y.K. Lee instead. It's about Hong Kong during WWII, and I enjoyed it.

Nicole, I think it would by it's description. I mean, it uses the word "classmates" so that implies student... I would say yes.

You could read a HUGE variety of YA novels. Lots of them have high school students as main characters. You could walk up and down the YA aisles of the library and pick something that looks good! I'm a huge Meg Cabot fan. She's written a lot of really fun and humorous YA novels... with high school students as main characters.

Or, if you'd prefer to read something a little older, I'd recommend Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund, which is about a girl in at an ivy league school who gets inducted into a secret society, which is apparently quite the thing out East... FABULOUS books!

Cynthia,

Would any of the following work for students:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky A True Story
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Thanks!

Rachel Lee wrote: "I am planning on using The Secret History but I haven't read it. The main characters are college students correct?"

I just finished this book and loved it. The main characters are college students.

Would The Lovely Bones work for this task?

Dawn wrote: "Would the first couple Twilight books also work since they are in high school? I don't plan on re-reading them for the Fall Challenge - but, maybe they would work for someone else??"

The first three Twilight books would work, plus the partial draft of Midnight Sun (Cynthia ok'd it in some of the older challenges since its more than 100 pages).

I think I will be using a Harry Potter book for this task.

Candace wrote: "The first three Twilight books would work, plus the partial draft of Midnight Sun (Cynthia ok'd it in some of the older challenges since its more than 100 pages). "

You know, I was contemplating rereading Twilight (for the 300th time) for the apple-cover task.... but I don't really WANT to. But I wouldn't mind rereading Midnight Sun! I find Edward's point-of-view fascinating....

Sara wrote: "Candace wrote: "The first three Twilight books would work, plus the partial draft of Midnight Sun (Cynthia ok'd it in some of the older challenges since its more than 100 pages). "

You know, I was..."

I was thinking about Twilight too, but am trying to refrain from it as I'm probably around the 300th mark myself, LOL...

BUT - Oh... Midnight Sun... I want to drive to Phoenix to beg Stephenie Meyer to finish it. SOOOO good!!!!

Candace wrote: "BUT - Oh... Midnight Sun... I want to drive to Phoenix to beg Stephenie Meyer to finish it. SOOOO good!!!!"

Can we make it a road trip? ;)

Sara wrote: "Candace wrote: "BUT - Oh... Midnight Sun... I want to drive to Phoenix to beg Stephenie Meyer to finish it. SOOOO good!!!!"

Can we make it a road trip? ;)"

LOL, I'm in!

Count me in too!! LOL!

A Great and Terrible Beauty is what I have tentatively selected for the Student portion of this task. From the book description, it seems to fit.

To those of you who have read it, will it work? Will any of the other books in the trilogy work for the 'Teacher' portion of the task?

I wouldn't say that Gemma's being a student is a terribly important part of AGaTB, but she's definitely a student. I wouldn't think any would count for the teacher portion, though.

Sara wrote: "I wouldn't say that Gemma's being a student is a terribly important part of AGaTB, but she's definitely a student. I wouldn't think any would count for the teacher portion, though."

Hmmm - okay. Thanks for the info. I may have to choose a different book for the Student task.

Sara wrote: "I wouldn't say that Gemma's being a student is a terribly important part of AGaTB, but she's definitely a student. I wouldn't think any would count for the teacher portion, though."

I would think that ONE of the teachers plays a significant part, if you catch my drift. Without giving too much away, wouldnt she be considered a main character?

Lindsey wrote: "Sara wrote: "I wouldn't say that Gemma's being a student is a terribly important part of AGaTB, but she's definitely a student. I wouldn't think any would count for the teacher portion, though."
..."

That's a VERY good point. Would you think the first book had enough about her teacher for her to be considered a main character? Or maybe book 2? (I haven't read the third one...)

Honestly I can't remember the point at which she becomes a more significant character. I want to say the 2nd book. (Also, as a sidenote, can I tell you how much I love Kartik?)

Lindsey wrote: "Honestly I can't remember the point at which she becomes a more significant character. I want to say the 2nd book. (Also, as a sidenote, can I tell you how much I love Kartik?)"

She's fairly focal in book 2, but book 3 she's much more significant. Such a great series! Sara - read the third one!!!!

Candace wrote: "She's fairly focal in book 2, but book 3 she's much more significant. Such a great series! Sara - read the third one!!!! "

I will... EVENTUALLY.... I'm just afraid it won't end well... That Libba Bray... I read her blog for a long time, and she doesn't strike me the kind of person who craves happy endings as much as I do... *sigh*

Lindsey wrote: "(Also, as a sidenote, can I tell you how much I love Kartik?)"

Yes you may. :D I love him quite a lot myself! <3

Okay, I'm back with my A Great and Terrible Beauty question. I've looked at the blurb on the back of this book and it really seems like it would fit the 'student' portion of this task.

The heroine/main character is 16, and going to England to enroll in school there. After enrollment she is shunned by other students. (She sounds like a student to me from the blurb...)

Cynthia, can I get a ruling on this from you? I see that it is on your READ shelf.

I'd really like to read it, and this is the best fit for it in the challenge tasks for me. Thanks!

Krista wrote: "Okay, I'm back with my A Great and Terrible Beauty question. I've looked at the blurb on the back of this book and it really seems like it would fit the 'student' portion of this task...."

Update for this book: I reposted this question to the general 'Questions' folder and Cynthia replied that A Great and Terrible Beauty was okay for the Student task.

what about The Freedom Writers Diary How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them for the STUDENT part? (i've already got a 'teacher' book.) the students are an integral part of the story, with their journal entries being a main focus of the book. thanks! :)

I would think The Freedom Writers Diary would work for both the student and the teacher portions of the task.

I think both of the following would work for either student or teacher part of the task ???:

Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock
Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie