[zimbabwe]

It’s one thing when you read these books on your own but the thing is - being GRADED on books that scar you for life - at that age - is a lot like a Rorschach test being conducted using human blood to a classroom of fresh faced 12 year olds who so far have cakewalked through life and don’t have a care in the world.

The problem with English classes in a nutshell. You ruin a beautiful thing when you assign it a grade, no (or exceedingly few) exceptions.

That one comment aside: This is not only listspam, it is not at all Hacker News, it doesn't stimulate me in any way, and it's wrong. Bridge to Terabitha is about enjoying life in the face of that threat of its cessation; The Giver says that we should not accept our assigned place in society and that it's possible to be different; The Diary of Anne Frank illustrates the beauty in a single human life and reminds us that everybody is amazing (a lesson that many of us online tend to forget); and I wrote about Catcher in the Rye a few days ago, but it's not a bad thing to address alienation at a young age, because it's certainly there before most of us turn ten.

[tptacek]

I think I agree with you about English class?, but I'm sure I disagree with you about whether this is fit for HN. Geeking out about books from grade school is absolutely stimulating: it made you talk about the meaning of The Giver, Ann Frank, and Catcher In The Rye.

[chris11]

I agree with the original comment. I don't have any problem with talking about books from grade school, and I do agree with you in that this has started an interesting discussion.

But I'm pretty much only finding the discussion interesting. While there is nothing wrong with the list of books, the article seems to be mostly listspam. It seems like he just gives a brief overview overview of the book and then complains about how inappropriate it is for grade school.

For example, I haven't read The Giver, and this article doesn't really give me any reason to do so. There are no themes discussed, well except that it sounds like the book might involve free will and predestination. All I really get from the description is that the book paints a really depressing picture of the future. I am more inclined to read the book from its description on Wikipedia.

[zimbabwe]

I guess, but I'd rather geek out about something other than what I disagreed with in an article.