There are many works of great literature that we read throughout our 4 years at Magnet. As a senior, I can look back and compare them all. Everything I say here is my personal opinion, and I know that some people will disagree with it. Also, as a disclaimer, I did not read all of these books because some of them were a choice, but I have discussed them with other people who did read them to get their opinion. In addition, I did not rate the choice books from the Junior year AP Lang project because there was an option of about 30 books and I only read one.

Books Read At AMHS: (1= best, 36=worst)

1. Great Gatsby
2. Brave New World
3. Catcher in the Rye
4. The Alchemist 
5. 1984
6. Handmaid’s Tale
7. Macbeth
8. A Prayer for Owen Meany
9. Frankenstien
10. Things Fall Apart
11. The Color of Water
12. Fences
13. Catch 22
14. Black Boy
15. Sarah’s Key
16. Slaughterhouse 5
17. Count of Monte Cristo
18. Julius Caesar
19. Oryx and Crake
20.  A StreetCar Named Desire 
21. The Things they Carried
22. The Poisonwood Bible
23. Othello
24. Dracula
25. Oedipus Rex
26. Year of Wonders
27. Bless Me Ultima
28. The Epic of Gilgamesh
29. For Whom the Bell Tolls
30. Siddhartha
31. Mythology
32. Dante’s Inferno
33. Life of Pi
34. Grapes of Wrath
35. Metamorphosis
36. The Scarlet Letter

Out of all of the books we have read at Magnet, I ranked The Great Gatsby as number one. I ranked it as number one for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, it got the first spot because it is just a great story and book overall. The characters are complex and there are twists that you do not see coming. Another reason I ranked it as number one is that it was an overall crowd-pleaser. I do not know any Magnet students who would say they did not like The Great Gatsby. While it might not be some people’s favorite, they still enjoyed the book and would recommend it. The last reason I chose it to be the number one book at Magnet is because we spend an entire day watching the movie as a grade with the teachers. This is a very fun day because people bring in blankets and you eat popcorn and it is a real bonding experience as a class. The Great Gatsby is the best book we read at Magnet in my opinion.

In contrast, the worst book we read at Magnet is The Scarlet Letter. Again, I chose this for a couple of different reasons as the overall worst book at Magnet. The first reason I chose this book as the worst is because of the writing style. It is written in old English and is very hard to read. I personally found it very frustrating how the author could explain what they were trying to say in two sentences that took them an entire chapter. I just did not like the writing style and found it to be a struggle when trying to read it. The second reason I chose this as the worst book at Magnet is because it is honestly the only book at Magnet that I did not read completely (well maybe some parts of The Grapes of Wrath, but that book was long). This goes back to how it is a very hard book to read due to its writing style. I will give the book credit that the actual plotline is good, but it is covered up by frustrating writing. That is why The Scarlet Letter got the last place spot in my ranking of books at Magnet.