Summer reading books are depressing.

I dunno if this should be in The Lounge or not, so sorry.

Have you noticed how awfully depressing they make teen reading books that are required for school? Of the depressing summer books I read:

Speak: A good book, but depressing. (SPOILER)Girl got raped.

Shattering Glass: Depressing and scary. (SPOILER)Two guys are molested.

The Pact (This is one of the books I have to read this summer): These two friends make a suicide pact, and one goes through with it, but the police finds the other. (SPOILER)I think the girl in it is molested, I dunno though, that's what I've heard.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: I really liked this book, it was the only summer reading book that I really enjoyed, but this book makes you feel down. (SPOILER)The awesome Dad dies, there is a rapist, the mother is mean, etc.

And it's not just summer ones. The school year books are bad too.

So yeah. Why can't they pick out some more uplifting books on the list, or at least if they're sad, not in the traditional teen "omgz dat girl got wasted nd raped" way, which is in too many books. Some books that are sad are good to read though, like ones on the holocaust. Those things need to be known. That's why I loved reading The Cage in school. We met the lady who wrote it, it was a sad but good experience. But not those teen tragic ones.

What do you think on the state and schools making us read these depressing books? Also, what over depressing books has your state made you read to "enlighten" you?

You're not supposed to read books in the summertime, silly. Actually, just don't read books at all. It's not healthy.

We don't have to read books during here. :D ~I wouldn't mind though...

If you don't like the depressing-ness about the books, why don't you talk to The Man about it? xD I'm sure suggestions are welcome... right? o_o

And ooh, is Shattering Glass good? xD I remember you saying it was about his nerd and he goes cool and all but yeah... o_O

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Originally Posted by Triple T

We don't have to read books during here. :D ~I wouldn't mind though...

If you don't like the depressing-ness about the books, why don't you talk to The Man about it? xD I'm sure suggestions are welcome... right? o_o

And ooh, is Shattering Glass good? xD I remember you saying it was about his nerd and he goes cool and all but yeah... o_O

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It's kinda good, but it freaked me out too much for me to enjoy it so much. Yeah, this group of boys manipulate this nerd to be cool, and you know from the beginning that they killed him, but you don't know how and why, and you have commentary from each character each chapter that reveals a little more about it.

I still havent started my summering reading, and Im dreading it :(

Every single book and story we read in English 10 this year was more or less about people dying.

A Separate Peace, Cold Sassy Tree, A Lesson Before Dying, Tuesdays with Morrie, Julius Caesar, The Cold Equations, etc.

It was somewhat of a theme.

i think the problem here is they are giving you books which are all about rape and molestation

edit: after actually reading your post i guess that's what you were getting at anyway :angel:

I always got to read pretty cool books over the summer for literature classes:

The Grapes of Wrath
Medea (not really a book)

...wait a minute, those are depressing and tragic too. I guess you are on to something.

Many summer reading books, for higher-level secondary English classes, are not decided by the teacher, they're just accepted as being part of the curriculum nation-wide. I've never had summer reading assignments, but here are the pieces of literature I read the past year in my Engilsh classes:

The Scarlet Letter
Brave New World
Frankenstein
The Awakening
Hamlet
Oedipus the King
Much Ado About Nothing
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Othello
Dracula
Invisible Man

I think those are all of them. The only one I found particularly depressing was The Awakening, where (SPOILER)The "heroine" gets madly depressed about her life, has an affair, and eventually drowns herself.

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Originally Posted by Rye

I dunno if this should be in The Lounge or not, so sorry.

Have you noticed how awfully depressing they make teen reading books that are required for school? Of the depressing summer books I read:

Speak: A good book, but depressing. (SPOILER)Girl got raped.

Shattering Glass: Depressing and scary. (SPOILER)Two guys are molested.

The Pact (This is one of the books I have to read this summer): These two friends make a suicide pact, and one goes through with it, but the police finds the other. (SPOILER)I think the girl in it is molested, I dunno though, that's what I've heard.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: I really liked this book, it was the only summer reading book that I really enjoyed, but this book makes you feel down. (SPOILER)The awesome Dad dies, there is a rapist, the mother is mean, etc.

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Wow...Those books are sad...

I've read Carrie by Stephen King. That book was REALLY good, even though it was rather....bloody and gory....

My summer reading program is going well. I've read about 15 books(none of which I'm going to name because I'm lazy and my fingers hurt) and all of them are sad and depressing. Sad and depressing books make me happy. Don't ask why...

In my reading class, the only book my class has read this year is Bridge to Terabithia. It was sad.:(

The depressing part may be the way they hope to get you to take the book seriousally... Every book my class has read that hasn't been sad or depressing always resulted in no one taking the class seriousally or even paying attention. Yet when we read Of Mice and Men and any others everyone paid attention and learned alot.

That and it seems many good authors write about tragic scenes and the such. A good book I think you could try reading(and it isn't at all depresing to me at the end... though at first it is) is peeling the onion by Wendy Orr.

My teachers wouldn't dare give me a summer reading list... I already read books far more advanced then I have seen on many of them.

Currently the fun book I am readin is Elegy for a Lost Star by Elizabeth Haydon.. I love her Symphony of the ages series.



Bridge to Terabithia, was a class read in 5th grade here.. Memory says it was a good book, though one can't deny it was sad.

Oh, don't you talk to ME about depressing summer reading books.

As I Lay Dying - You follow the stories of 2 families about how one of the hubby's wife dies and the story goes on from her dying moments to her funeral.

Cat's Cradle - Oh, it's just a satire. On modern man and his madness.

Heart of Darkness - The title speaks for itself.

Hmm. I don't have any summer reading; never have. But I like depressing books. Interesting that you think Speak was good; I've been meaning to check that out.

But I've never even read any of the books anyone else has mentioned. xD Yeeshies.


:D

www.bookrags.com

If you like depressing, read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. My favorite book in the whole wide world. I've read both Speak and Shattering Glass. They were okay. :)

I've got 1984 by Orwell and Brave New World to tackle this summer.

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Originally Posted by CloudDragon

Brave New World to tackle this summer.

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Oh God I HATE THAT BOOK.

I enjoyed Brave New World.

My school cha;;enges the students to read book.And so does the govenor.And i agree, some books we have to read are depressing.

Ive had to read some books but i was only in 6th and 5th so they werent really that bad

Old Yeller:(SPOILER)The dog gets shot cause he has rabies after fighting off a wolf

The Bridge to Terabithia:(SPOILER)THe Girl drowns to death

The Egypt game:good book (SPOILER)butONe little girl is murdered and another girl is attacked, and the mom doesn't show much care for her daughter.

I loved 1984... though I don't think I have read Brave New world... not sure though.. I have read enough books that I can't keep track of what I have and haven't read.

However I think someone else in my genre fiction class(45 mins of reading every day.. can't beat a class like that(each class is only 45 mins here)) selected it.. and since we are supposed to read different books.. yeah. Anyways I just read the foundation series for those days.

Old Yeller(4th or 5th I htink) I liked, and as you said egypt game is a good book(6th grade).

For summer before senior year I had to read:

Falling Leaves (meh)
In the Time of the Butterflies (I liked this one)
A more well known book that I forget at the moment

It wasn't that bad, though we really weren't tested on them much, so it kind of felt wasted.

Now I read in the summer for fun. :)

Kids these days...

I got out of summer reading this year due to a schedueling conflict.

Pre-freshman summer reading books were Peter Pan and Huckleberry Finn. Huck was pretty good, actually. Not very depressing at all. Peter Pan just sucked and was a dumb assignment.

Then pre-sophomore reading was Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Classic Slave Narratives. Uncle Tom was pretty depressing at some points, but the writing style was so melodramatic that it killed any meaningful parts. The Classic Slave Narratives were sad, but still boring as hell.

I envy you guys that have interesting books. I would kill to have 1984 on a summer reading list.

The most depressing book by far I had to read in high school was Waiting for Godot, though it doesn't depress me now, though it is kinda sad. I didn't read it over the summer, though.

I read all cool books over the summer. My senior year one of the books was Hitchhiker's Guide. Oh yeah. The others were...stuff by Hemingway and Faulker. Not The Old Man and the Sea, though - my AP English teacher would've chopped off her head first(or made us read Emily Dickenson). Nick Adam's Stories - yeah, that was it...and The Unvanquished. And two other books which I forgot.

My higher level English class didn't happen until the second half of my senior year, so I had reading to do during Christmas break. However, it was only one book, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, and I loved it, so yay.

I need a good book to read, after I finish A Prayer for Owen Meany (I saw the American premier of the play and LOOOOOOOVED it so I had to read it), ergo I will be watching this thread like a hawk. :D?

i have a boring reading list this summer. i have to read writing history, a peoples history of the united states for history and the great gatsby for english. although i will probably put off all three books off till 3 weeks before school starts cuz i am reading the vampire chronicals by ann rice (excuse if spelling is wrong). i am on queen of the damned right now in the middle of the story of jesse i suggest that people read this series. and if you are into religion the left behind series is pretty good. i read all 12 books in 2 months at the end of freshman year. still haven't read nicolie.

I'm trying to get my way through the Darren Shan series (Kid becomes a vampire) and Lord Loss (Don't know what that's about yet) and Maralyn Manson- The long hard road out of hell

I don't remember the last time I actually read a book that a class required.

I had to read Shakespeare books for my years. *Punches air*
I found them very interesting. Apart from them, I think all the other books that our schools in England provide us to read with are s***e.

Oh right you are on about reading for school, oops sorry

Some sad books are good, but these books are just... god. :(

I wanted to read nicer sounding books, but since I'm in Advanced English, I can't read the happy books on the English Regents class list.

My English class have to read "To Kill A Mockingbird" we've never had to read anything over the summer before and we are disgusted, most people won't bother themselves to read the book at all, I might read some of it, I might just read an online review of it :D

To Kill a Mockingbird is quite a good book. And if you have all summer to read you should have no problem finishing it since it is such a small book.

There has to be some happy-ish books on your list... doesn't there?

I mean many people may find Daughter of the Forest sad since there is an occurance of rape and other such things.. but really isn't all that sad.. happy ending and everything.

Same thing with The Symphony of the Ages series... many many sad moments but overall the books are fairly happy.


Think about it many times conflict brings about unhappiness of some sort. Yet for most books to be interesting to people there must be conflict. Thus Sadness will be in all books. Albiet some of the books that have been are sad books with sad endings.

Speak for example has a fairly happy type ending, even though much of the book was conflict(remember conflict attracts attention) that gave it a sad feel. So what is the overall feel of the book? Sad more then likely since that is what the whole book was about.. but it ain't nearly as bad as many I have seen and read.

Peeling the Onion is another example. A Athletic young woman(17) who loves karate and focuses soley on it and other physical pursuits is in a car accident and is crippled. The book deals with her dealing with the cards dealt. Sad? Yes. But the book turns happy in the last 1/4 or so I think and overal I say it is a happy-ish book. But you "gotta get to the bottom before you can climb to the top"(a paraphrase from the book that seems fitting).

are all books you americans read about raping and moletering??
how depressing
i had to read to kill a mocking bird - a black man is accused of raping a white girl and is represented by a white man....all about race in 1920 (or something like that)
welcome home jellybean (O__o it is as crap as it sounds) - a boys story about having a disabled sister
goodnight Mr Tom - a war story
Carries War - another war story
under ground to canada - two black girls run away from a plantation to get to canada
Mcbeth - a mad scottish dude.
O___o mine seem just as bad. bearing in mind this was 5 years ago ;___;

God bless I don't read them :D

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Originally Posted by boris no no

Mcbeth - a mad scottish dude.

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Haha. :love:

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Originally Posted by boris no no

are all books you americans read about raping and moletering??
how depressing
i had to read to kill a mocking bird - a black man is accused of raping a white girl and is represented by a white man....all about race in 1920 (or something like that)
welcome home jellybean (O__o it is as crap as it sounds) - a boys story about having a disabled sister
goodnight Mr Tom - a war story
Carries War - another war story
under ground to canada - two black girls run away from a plantation to get to canada
Mcbeth - a mad scottish dude.
O___o mine seem just as bad. bearing in mind this was 5 years ago ;___;

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Yeah, those rape books freak me out. I liked To Kill A Mockingbird, but it was kinda sad. In the school year we also read Of Mice and Men. Worst book ever. It was just awful, boring, and sad. :/

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Originally Posted by Rye

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Originally Posted by boris no no

are all books you americans read about raping and moletering??
how depressing
i had to read to kill a mocking bird - a black man is accused of raping a white girl and is represented by a white man....all about race in 1920 (or something like that)
welcome home jellybean (O__o it is as crap as it sounds) - a boys story about having a disabled sister
goodnight Mr Tom - a war story
Carries War - another war story
under ground to canada - two black girls run away from a plantation to get to canada
Mcbeth - a mad scottish dude.
O___o mine seem just as bad. bearing in mind this was 5 years ago ;___;

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Yeah, those rape books freak me out. I liked To Kill A Mockingbird, but it was kinda sad. In the school year we also read Of Mice and Men. Worst book ever. It was just awful, boring, and sad. :/

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HEY!! I liked Of mice and men! and so did my classmates though they thought it was kinda stupid(won't spoil it for anyone, but those who read it can prolly guess where it was "stupid" at).

As for books about rape. Most of them that I have read arn't about the rape itself, rather overcoming the aftermath of the event. Personally don't got a problem there. I imagine there can't be anything too much tougher to overcome then that, so it is prolly a good conflict that authors can use... albiet a depressing one :rolleyes2

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Originally Posted by Rye

Yeah, those rape books freak me out. I liked To Kill A Mockingbird, but it was kinda sad. In the school year we also read Of Mice and Men. Worst book ever. It was just awful, boring, and sad. :/

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The movie's great. I laughed so hard at the end.

I read the Body of Christopher Creed for school once, that was a good book but kinda sad. We don't have summer reading assignments but I'm reading a book called Sabriel right now, it's really good.

A sad book is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...sniff...

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Originally Posted by Kirobaito

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Originally Posted by Rye

Yeah, those rape books freak me out. I liked To Kill A Mockingbird, but it was kinda sad. In the school year we also read Of Mice and Men. Worst book ever. It was just awful, boring, and sad. :/

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The movie's great. I laughed so hard at the end.

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just when boo radley looks at them xD in the corner of the room.
still a poo book

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Originally Posted by Kirobaito

The movie's great. I laughed so hard at the end.

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of mice and men
would that be the movie where the ending is all... umm... well someone in my class said it was gangsta style... that was stupid.. but funny :P

I don't remember much about the movie of to kill a mockingbird but I do remember laughing.. actually I think I missed alot of school that week so maybe that is why I don't recall too much of it.