[diebitter]

I like a lot of your list, but other suggestions I think are worth considering are:

Lord of the Flies William Golding - This is a good one for talking over, as it delves so nicely into the problems in human nature.

Cannery Row Another good work by Steinbeck that covers all sorts of human frailties, and could spark a lot of discussion

Martian Chronicles Bradbury here covers all sorts of ground concerning human nature, including identity, ambition to escape and move forward, and hopes.


The Hobbit Tolkein - just a very fun adventure, and the kids might dig this now they are familiar with some of the characters from the Lord of the Rings movies.

The Body by Stephen King. A good analysis of friendship among older kids. The language will probably be too fruity though (for the parents I mean, not the kids)? Also I think it only comes as a collection called 'Different Seasons', which contains 'Apt Pupil', which is probably way too strong for this age.


I like your scifi choices, but another one might be Dune by Frank Herbert, given how it examines the nature of politics, different belief systems and their interaction, and basically conjures up an entirely different world and universe whilst the characters are still fundamentally human.


Macbeth This is a good corollary to Hamlet, as here we have a man damned by his actions rather than his inaction. There's also a stomping good film version by Polanski that the kids can squeal over (it's pretty gory).