What is a good novel by a American Author for an AP English 2 class to read?

Question

My teacher wants us to come up with a book to novel for us to read and to finish of the year. Does anyone have any suggestion for a novel by an American author. It can be from any age, like era, or whatever.

Answer 1

I think the Dead Zone by Stephen King asks some profound questions, like if you knew beforehand that Adolph Hitler would kill a lot of people, would you kill him first? Great book, and not hard to read, but thoughtprovoking.

Answer 2

Your class is considering some great books! I always like to recommend Willa Cather's "My Antonia" or "O Pioneers!". Sarah Orne Jewett's "The Country of Pointed Firs" is also great, as is Kate Chopin's "The Awakening." A plus is that none of these are very long at all, and they're all severely underrated. Reading those will put you at an advantage in your college English courses. A longer book, but totally worth it is Dreiser's "Sister Carrie" (I swear Carrie is the prototype for Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw). Frank Norris's "McTeague" is a great example of American naturalism. Not a tough read, either. It's a complete riot- and the ending is so darn good! Some worthy contemporary fiction would be Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain" (the film is based on the novel) and Annie Proulx's collection of short stories "Close Range." I love Vonnegut- you might also want to consider "Breakfast of Champions." It's much funnier than "Slaughterhouse Five." And if your class only read Thoreau's excerpt of bean counting in "Walden" (like my AP English class in high school), PLEASE recommend "Civil Disobedience." It's politically relevant a hundred and fifty years after it was written. Have fun!

Answer 3

"Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison is amazing, and AP-level (I read it for a free-reading book in AP English Lit in high school). A black man talks about racism in the South and the writing is a little unconventional but very witty.

Also:

- "Hiroshima", John Hersey. Great if you have an interest in World War II-era history.

Answer 4

Edgar Huntley by Charles Brockden Brown:

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8223

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Brockden_Brown

Herman Mellville's Moby Dick

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath


On the Road by Jack Kerouac:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Road

Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Their_Eyes_were_Watching_God

Alice Walker's The Color Purple:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Color_Purple

Beloved by Toni Morrison

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beloved_%28novel%29

These next two are plays, but your teacher might still let you use them - they are awesome!!!

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (I LOVE THIS!!!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Raisin_in_the_Sun

August Wilson's Fences:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fences_%28play%29


Also see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_literature

Good luck! :)

Answer 5

Blix by Frank Norris

Timeless American novel.
Hope I helped.

Answer 6

My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Answer 7

in my ap lang class we read "huckleberry finn" by mark twain, "their eyes were watching god" by zora neale hurston, "the great gatsby", "the jungle" by upton sinclair, and "for whom the bell tolls" by ernest hemingway. they were all very good but i really enjoyed huck finn, the great gatsby, and fro whom the bell tolls was kind of hard to get into but i liked it overall. good luck and hope these helped you! good luck on your ap exams too! byebye!

Answer 8

Try something by Pat Conroy.

Answer 9

"The Great Gadsby"

Answer 10

Kurt Vonnegut...need i say more?