<p>Two of my favorite books to recommend to high school age girls: </p>
<p>Rumors of Peace by Ella Leffland
Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott</p>
<p>Both are coming of age stories with teenage protaganists finding their place in the world. They are great reads for adults too.</p>
<p>Picking up on post #62, I think she could do some really interesting things with modern takes on dystopias. If she is made to read Brave New World or 1984, she can pick up the theme in some excellent young adult novels like Feed by M.T. Anderson or the Uglies series by (I think) Scott Westerfield. Also the Giver by Lois Lowry. She can look at Handmaid’s Tale and Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. She could even bring in Pleasantville and other films.
I know my daughter found the whole idea of dystopias interesting and easy to write about.</p>
<p>If we’re getting into the science fiction realm, what with time travel, Ursula LeGuin, and other suggestions, the most accessible science fiction writer to my mind, for non-readers, with a definite viewpoint, is Isaac Asimov. The underlying philosophies behind his Foundation series (the nature of group action and morality) and his Robot series (the nature of humanity and life itself, the relationship between man and machine, not to mention some interesting mysteries weaved in there) are “couched” in very quick-reading prose and interesting plots. And there are enough books in those series to allow for a research paper.</p>
<p>I recommend American playwright, screenwriter, and memoirist Lillian Hellman (1905-1984). Hellman, a prolific writer and outspoken nonconformist, was a keen observer as well as an active participant in many of the domestic and foreign political events and social movements of her time. </p>
<p>Hellman’s plays, though easy to read, are packed with intellectual/philosophical substance expressed in a realistic manner, so they are likely to capture and hold your daughter’s interest. Many of Hellman’s plays (and her second volume of memoirs, Pentimento) have been adapted to film; your daughter can use these exceptionally well-produced films as a supplementary resource to stimulate her interest in and enhance her comprehension of Hellman’s works. Hellman’s memoirs will provide your daughter with insight into Hellman’s philosophy of life as expressed by Hellman in her own words. Finally, given that Hellman’s plays are no longer the “lit du jour” in many of today’s English classes, your daughter would be submitting a research paper on a topic which has probably not crossed her teacher’s desk in many years, and therefore, would be a unique and interesting read for her teacher. </p>
<p>Lillian Hellman often lived in a swirl of controversy. She faced her artistic, political, and social critics head-on, and once boldly stated, “I will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashion.” Hellman’s intellectual independence and personal grittiness are reflected in her work. Your daughter might find Hellman fascinating.</p>
<p>I would STRONGLY suggest Jodi Picoult, as her books are very fast-paced, interesting, and directly tie in to philosophy.</p>
<p>Someone suggested 100 years of solitude by Marquez. This would also be awesome, though the tie-in to philosophy is not as easy/clear.</p>
<p>I’d definitely go with Picoult. Her books even tie into law (more accurately than many books, I might add) just in case your daughter really legally blond :)</p>
<p>Wally Lamb’s “She’s Come Undone” ?</p>
<p>So…six months have passed and my daughter has to choose her philosopher tomorrow. (The teacher told them it was anyone who has contemplated the meaning of life.) I searched for this thread and considered a lot of your terrific suggestions. And the winner is: Oscar Wilde!</p>
<p>He is perfect for her in so many ways:
<p>Thank you VERY VERY much everyone!</p>
<p>Sounds perfect! And how could anyone not love The Importance of Being Earnest? our high school drama kids did it last year and everyone really enjoyed being in it or watching it</p>
<p>Great choice, he’s such fun to read.</p>
<p>How about Beatles? Music is great, unless she hates them too. They actually are philosophers who had their own views and influenced whole generation, actually influenced probably great deal more people than other philosophers. I can side with your D. - I hate to read, takes too much of precious time. Everybody is different, some of us enjoy reading, others do not. Neither of my kids are readers. Does not make any difference in their academic performance, except reading scores on standardized tests consistently being much lower than others.</p>
<p>Too good of an idea - kids write about the Beatles every year. I asked my son who had this teacher 2 years ago and he said that no one his year had written on Oscar Wilde.</p>
<p>Douglas Adams - He even tells you the answer to the meaning of life…</p>
<p>Can’t wait to here what your daughter comes up with.</p>
<p>On Wilde’s meaning of life/philosophy, she might want to consider that on his deathbed he converted to Catholicism. By becoming a catholic he enacted one of his well known witticisms: The Church of England is the best to live in, but the Catholic Church is the best to die in.</p>
<p>Yes, interesting, but not too deep for Daughter.</p>
<p>Ah darn. Got almost all the way through the five pages of this thread and wanted to put my 2 cents in - but saw the choice was made!</p>
<p>Oh well - will put in my 2 cents anyway in case anyone else in this situation -
(1) Stephen King - (a) The Stand or (b) the Dark Tower series - which is about 7 books, some of them quite lengthy - but oh what a great read (especially for those who have read a lot of other King works) - he weaves in a lot of themes, ideas, people, from his other novels and ties a lot of things together;
(2) Asimov - Foundation series; or
(3) Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance</p>
<p>Any of these would be ample fodder for a philosophical discussion…</p>
<p>I wish there was a way to edit the title to say “update at post X”…is there?</p>
<p>mathmom wrote: “Lots of high schoolers like the existentialists. Sartre and Camus are very readable. I really liked The Plague by Camus.”</p>
<p>I’ll second that. I had a sophomore english class in Mexico City that had Sartre, Camus, Dostoyevski and Kafka. It really got me thinking about issues of meaning and existence. Mind you I had zero religious background, so those themes were completely new to me and actually got me to investigate religion.</p>
<p>After a great race, with many fine competitors entered, Oscar Wilde has been chosen.</p>
<p>See Post 67 by the Original Poster.</p>
<p>The decision is made, the die is cast! Good luck to Missypie’s daughter.</p>