QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 19, 2014 -> 02:57 PM)
I've thought long and hard about this, and I'm going to try to pitch "The Fault in our Stars" as the book.
I just think a book that's simpler/accessible language-wise and more topical is the way to go. My best students (and the ones mostly likely to read in English) are all girls (the boys prefer basketball and computer games, haha), so I think it would resonate more with them. Even "Into the Wild" didn't work so effectively in my former school, where a co-worker was a teaching it, and I really love Kraukauer books for the most part.
Yes, it's a "teen/young adult" book, in the same way that Twilight and Hunger Games are, but it's one of the most elegantly-written books ever in that genre.
I've taught Animal Farm before, but there's just no way the Chinese administrators would allow that book, or 1984.
Thanks, by the way, for all the great ideas. Gave me some new books to put on my reading list.
Did you read my link?