Ds1 has just started his final year of secondary school in Scotland, and is taking advanced Higher English. He's told me that he has to choose two books for a piece of extended written work (he said dissertation), and I would like to pick the brains of Scottish mumsnetters and teachers about the choice of books for this.
Are there any books or topics that get done to death, and will make the examiner yawn when they see them again? And does the book have to have literary merit (dh and I assume it does - ds1 is considering The Satanic Verses, but dh, who has read part of it, thinks it is poorly written). Can you choose a modern book or books?
Discussing this with dh last night, he came up with one suggestion - The Historian by Victoria Kostova, and Bram Stoker's Dracula - we wondered if it would be interesting to compare and contrast the treatments of the Dracula story, and vampire stories in general.
However, dh and I know very little about the Scottish system, and what is actually required in this piece of work, and are worried about steering ds1 the wrong way - so I'd like to ask if any of you have any suggestions that a teenage boy would find interesting. And should we steer clear of the standard texts that often get used in exams - I was thinking Dickens, Austin and Bronte (and To Kill A Mockingbird, because I did that for O level and it ruined it for me).
Thanks in advance.