As AP season creeps up, students have been spending their time studying for the dreaded exams. As a break from that stress, I’m combining my love for reading with my knowledge of AP courses this school offers and assigning a couple of courses to a book that matches. Maybe students in these classes will take a break from studying, sit back and enjoy a good book.
AP Psychology: This class is a staple of this school’s students’ junior year courses. You learn about perception, cognition and other mysteries of the human brain. A story that fits perfectly in psych is a two-book duology, “Vicious” and “Vengeful,” by V. E. Schwab. These books follow best friends Eli and Victor as they research their thesis for a class. They look into the idea that under extreme stress humans can exhibit what some would consider supernatural abilities. They want to find out just how much this adrenaline and near-death experiences can do to a person. This research turns experimental and things take a turn for the worse. This duology is exciting and captivating because it’s interesting to read about something that sounds so possible.
Next, I’m going to travel back to the history of America. APUSH (AP US History) is deemed one of the hardest AP’s College Board offers students. For students who find it interesting, “11/22/63,” by Stephen King, is the perfect book. If you’re in APUSH that date might sound familiar, and it should – it’s the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This 800-page book starts in 2011 and follows main character Jake Epping as his old friend Al reveals that time travel is real. Jake is given a task: stop JFK from being assassinated. The “rabbit hole,” as they call it in the book, takes Epping to 1960 and every time he leaves and reenters, the world resets. Al gives Jake notes on how to make money and everything he’s learned about Lee Harvey Oswald (Kennedy’s killer) and his timeline before the assassination. Al dies before Jake can ask more, leaving Jake with this monumental task to complete alone. While long, this book is so fun and I would recommend it to anyone who likes history.
AP Biology is another class students consider to be difficult. The book I chose for this class is less about biology and more about romance but the two main characters are biologists and there is a lot of science talk in the book, so I’m going to say it works. “The Love Hypothesis,” by Ali Hazelwood, follows Olive, who is a PhD student, and Adam, a biology professor. They fall into a fake dating situation, which turns into real feelings. This is Hazelwood’s debut novel and an instant fan favorite. Hazelwood writes books as a hobby; her main profession is a neuroscience professor with a PhD, and she loves to incorporate her love for science into her novels. Biology students will appreciate an escape into a fun and whimsical romance novel.
Lastly, I’m going to assign a book to a class about books, AP Literature. When I think of AP English classes the first thing that comes to mind is Shakespeare. What students who dread learning Shakespeare every year don’t know is that many modern movies and books are loosely based on Shakespeare’s plays. One of my personal favorites is “These Violent Delights,” by Chloe Gong. A “Romeo and Juliet” retelling set in 1930s Shanghai with two rival gangs makes this story electric. While adding her spin on the classic love story, Gong adds magic and a mystery that forces Roma, “Romeo,” and Juliette, “Juliet,” to work together, creating a depth and realness to these characters that makes them relatable to readers.
