teachers of English/ GCSE

[gillybeanz]

Hi, I have a current y9 dd who enjoys English.
She's about average and enjoys comprehension.

We are looking for a book we can all read together over summer holidays that is GCSE level with something to get stuck into.
In the past we studied Lord of the flies and Animal farm, we choose a book each holiday.

Do you recommend looking at a book from the syllabus if they fancy a particular one, or is it best left for school for study.
Currently has her eye on 1984, but I know it's on her syllabus as a school choice.

Any suggestions and/or advice on whether to cover works they will do at school.

@mimtza try him with some HG Wells. The prose is a bit less florid than other 19th C works. The War of the Worlds is a good start.

MaisyPops I agree. I often feel that Year 9 is a 'watershed' year when children are first able to seriously discuss adult issues. Also, there's no harm exposing children to ideas which go a little over their heads! It's an important part of learning.

I would second the Chaos Walking series. As well as The Book Thief.

I’d also say some Dickens. Start with something like David Copperfield. Avoid Great Expectaions because it is on the spec. I detest it when students have already read the book because they get turned off reading it in class.

Also, a good range of Pre-1914 texts that are not on the spec. This will help with the language papers.

So:

The Moonstone (my favourite)
Sherlock Holmes
Treasure Island
Persuasion
Jane Eyre

There was a brilliant adaptation of Paradise Lost on R4 recently that could be worth listening to.