Summer reading books are depressing.

[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.

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?

[Levian]

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

[Triple T]

We don't have to read books during here. ~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

[Rye]

We don't have to read books during here. ~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

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.

[Hawkeye]

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

[rubah]

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.

[krissy]

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

[eestlinc]

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.

[Kirobaito]

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.

[Dixie]

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.

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.

[ShunNakamura]

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.

[SomethingBig]

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.

[kikimm]

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.

[Doomie]

www.bookrags.com

[Reles]

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.