Contemporary Literature
Ms. Stowers
203C
sstowers@mvths.org
Welcome to Contemporary Literature! This class is a one semester elective
course focusing on literature written within the last few decades. My goal for this
class is to expose you to a wide variety of genres and authors, to help you better
understand and appreciate what makes a good story, and to help you find books
that you enjoy.
In order to achieve these goals and to enable us to cover a wide array of
books in just one semester, we will be reading novel excerpts as opposed to
whole novels. My hope is that you will enjoy the excerpts enough that you will
want to read the entire book.
While we will read some young adult selections in this class, most of the
literature we read will be adult literature, and as such, some of the books may
feature themes or language that some people may find offensive. The literature in
this course reflects contemporary American culture and the diverse values of that
culture. If you feel that this literature will be offensive to you, you may consider
taking a different course.
This course will require much reading, informal writing, and class
discussion. Your participation is crucial to your success in this class. Moreover, I
expect that you will be respectful of your classmates’ opinions and values, even if
they differ vastly from your own.
Your grade will come from the following:
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Reading notebook
Reading History and Reflection paper
Silent reading/participation
Class discussion
Tests/Quizzes
Tentative Schedule
August
September
October
Plot and Subplot
Story Structure
Conflict
Pacing
Hidden Empire by Orson Scott
Card
The Disappearance of
Katharina Linden by Helen
Grant
Guns of the Timberlands by
Louis L’Amour
Timeline by Michael Crichton
“The Man Who Knew Belle
Starr” by Richard Bausch
Characters and
Characterization
Motivation
Dialogue
Point of View
Maximum Ride by James
Patterson
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Open House by Elizabeth Berg
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
An Abundance of Katherines by
John Green
Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas
Sparks
Setting/Mood
Diction
Details
It by Stephen King
Where the Heart Is by Billie
Letts
The Last Unicorn by Peter S.
Beagle
November
December
The Lovely Bones by Alice
Sebold
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
World Without End by Ken
Follett
Theme
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott
Card
Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette
Walls
The Glass Castle by Jeannette
Walls
A Long Way Down by Nick
Hornby
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue
Monk Kidd
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi
Picoult
Style
Voice
The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time by Mark
Haddon
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan