American Literature
The Fine Print
Course Resources
We will explore six major themes of American literature.I have included a list of suggestions, but you are encouraged to make your own choices for books in each category. These should be books you truly want to read, and they do not have to be on this list. To make the most our class, I also encourage you to choose one “classic” during the course and to limit graphic novels and non-fiction to no more than two (indicated with a *). But let me stress–the choice is yours as long as your selections relate to the themes we will cover.
The American Dream
The Distance Between Us – Reyna Grande
Dreams from My Father (original or YA version)– Barack Obama
Native Son – Richard Wright
My Ántonia – Willa Cather
Make Your Home Among Strangers – Jennine Capó Crucet
The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson
Behold the Dreamers –Imbolo Mbue
Enrique’s Journey (original or YA Version) – Sonia Nazario
American Street – Ibi Zaboi
We Are Not From Here – Jenny Torres Sanchez
All My Rage – Sabaa Tahir
Hidden Figures – Margot Lee Shetterly
The Bean Trees – Barbara Kingsolver
Humanity, Nature, and the Power of Place
Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
Into the Wild – John Krakauer
Anthropcene Reviewed – John Green
This One Summer* – Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
World of Wonders – Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
The Wild Robot – Peter Brown
Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens
A Long Way from Chicago – Richard Peck
Seedfolks – Paul Fleischman
Coming of Age
The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter – Erika L. Sánchez
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Saenz
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Hey, Kiddo* – Jarrett J. Krosoczka
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
Grace Year – Kim Liggett
Long Way Down – Jason Reynolds
Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson
Liberty, Justice, and Equality
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson
March* (book 1) – John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
The Hate You Give – Angie Thomas and Amandla Stenberg
Nickel Boys – Colson Whitehead
Stamped – Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Fences – August Wilson
Between the World and Me – Ta Nehisi Coates
A Raisin in the Sun – Lorraine Handsberry
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – Harriet Jacobs
The Crucible – Arthur Miller
James – Percival Everett
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn –Mark Twain
Wealth, Power, and Classism
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald (graphic novel version is available)
Trust – Hernan Diaz
Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
The Four Winds – Kristin Hannah
The House on Mango Street – Sandra Cisneros
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
The Prince and the Dressmaker* – Jen Wang
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
Personal Identity and Community Diversity
The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
American Street – Ibi Zaboi
I Was Their American Dream – Malaka Gharib
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie
There There – Tommy Orange
Bread Givers – Anzia Yezieska
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Passing – Nella Larson
The Best We Could Do* – Thi Bui
American Born Chinese* – Gene Luen Yang
Fun Home: A Trajicomedy* – Alison Bechdel