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Librarian's top picks
28 February 2020
Need a good book to curl up with? Look no further than these Top Book Picks from your very own school librarian! This week’s selection is all about the classics, the ones you may have studied in depth for English.
Lord of the Flies - by Benjamin William Golding - classics (Suitable for all years)
At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued.
Miss Lee’s Comments: One of the early years classic, Lord of the Flies shows what happens when children try and forge a new society. It is a novel about the end of innocence and once you read it, you’ll understand why.
Animal Farm - Classics (Suitable for Year 9+)
A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.
Miss Lee’s Comments: While the description sounds whimsical and fun, it’s everything but that. It highlights real life happenings, focusing Stalinist Russia to shape the story.
Dracula - by Bram Stoker - Classics (Suitable for all ages)
Dracula is a classic and genre-defining tale of horror from famed author Bram Stoker. This novel contains the chilling tales of those that encountered the monster Dracula on his quest to emigrate from Transylvania to England, as he seeks to consume blood and spread his undead curse to the innocent.
Miss Lee’s Comments: The original vampire tale that is very different from the many modern takes we have nowadays. It makes the reader reflect upon good and evil, the theme of sanity with many different characters … it’s a deep read.
Librarian top picks
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