ap literature book list

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Advanced Placement (AP)

A lot of students wonder if there's a specific AP English reading list of books they should be reading to succeed on the AP Literature and Composition exam. While there's not an official College-Board AP reading list, there are books that will be more useful for you to read than others as you prepare for the exam. In this article, I'll break down why you need to read books to prepare, how many you should plan on reading, and what you should read—including poetry.

Why Do You Need to Read Books for the AP Literature Test?

This might seem like kind of an obvious question—you need to read books because it's a literature exam! But actually, there are three specific reasons why you need to read novels, poems, and plays in preparation for the AP Lit Test.

To Increase Your Familiarity With Different Eras and Genres of Literature

Reading a diverse array of novels, poetry and plays from different eras and genres will help you be familiar with the language that appears in the various passages on the AP Lit exam's multiple choice and essay sections. If you read primarily modern works, for example, you may stumble through analyzing a Shakespeare sonnet. So, having a basic familiarity level with the language of a broad variety of literary works will help keep you from floundering in confusion on test day because you're seeing a work unlike anything you've ever read.

To Improve Your Close-Reading Skills

You'll also want to read to improve your close-reading and rhetorical analysis skills. When you do read, really engage with the text: think about what the author's doing to construct the novel/poem/play/etc., what literary techniques and motifs are being deployed, and what major themes are at play. You don't necessarily need to drill down to the same degree on every text, but you should always be thinking, "Why did the author write this piece this way?"

For the Student Choice Free-Response Question

Perhaps the most critical piece in reading to prepare for the AP Lit test, however, is for the student choice free-response question. For the third question on the second exam section, you'll be asked to examine how a specific theme works in one novel or play that you choose. The College Board does provide an example list of works, but you can choose any work you like just so long as it has adequate "literary merit." However, you need to be closely familiar with more than one work so that you can be prepared for whatever theme the College Board throws at you!

Note: Not an effective reading method.

How Many Books Do You Need to Read for the AP Exam?

That depends. In terms of reading to increase your familiarity with literature from different eras and genres and to improve your close-reading skills, the more books you have time to read, the better. You'll want to read them all with an eye for comprehension and basic analysis, but you don't necessarily need to focus equally on every book you read.

For the purposes of the student choice question, however, you'll want to read books more closely, so that you could write a detailed, convincing analytical essay about any of their themes. So you should know the plot, characters, themes, and major literary devices or motifs used inside and out. Since you won't know what theme you'll be asked to write about in advance, you'll need to be prepared to write a student choice question on more than just one book.

Of the books you read for prep both in and out of class, choose four to five books that are thematically diverse to learn especially well in preparation for the exam. You may want to read these more than once, and you certainly want to take detailed notes on everything that's going on in those books to help you remember key points and themes. Discussing them with a friend or mentor who has also read the book will help you generate ideas on what's most interesting or intriguing about the work and how its themes operate in the text.

You may be doing some of these activities anyways for books you are assigned to read for class, and those books might be solid choices if you want to be as efficient as possible. Books you write essays about for school are also great choices to include in your four to five book stable since you will be becoming super-familiar with them for the writing you do in class anyways.

In answer to the question, then, of how many books you need to read for the AP Lit exam: you need to know four to five inside and out, and beyond that, the more the better!

Know the books. Love the books.

What Books Do You Need to Read for the AP Exam?

The most important thing for the student choice free-response question is that the work you select needs to have "literary merit." What does this mean? In the context of the College Board, this means you should stick with works of literary fiction. So in general, avoid mysteries, fantasies, romance novels, and so on.

If you're looking for ideas, authors and works that have won prestigious prizes like the Pulitzer, Man Booker, the National Book Award, and so on are good choices. Anything you read specifically for your AP literature class is a good choice, too. If you aren't sure if a particular work has the kind of literary merit the College Board is looking for, ask your AP teacher.

When creating your own AP Literature reading list for the student choice free-response, try to pick works that are diverse in author, setting, genre, and theme. This will maximize your ability to comprehensively answer a student choice question about pretty much anything with one of the works you've focused on.

So, I might, for example, choose:

A Midsummer Night's Dream , Shakespeare, play, 1605

Major themes and devices: magic, dreams, transformation, foolishness, man vs. woman, play-within-a-play

Wuthering Heights , Emily Bronte, novel, 1847

Major themes and devices: destructive love, exile, social and economic class, suffering and passion, vengeance and violence, unreliable narrator, frame narrative, family dysfunction, intergenerational narratives.

The Age of Innocence , Edith Wharton, novel, 1920

Major themes and devices: Tradition and duty, personal freedom, hypocrisy, irony, social class, family, "maintaining appearances", honor

Wide Sargasso Sea , Jean Rhys, novel, 1966

Major themes and devices: slavery, race, magic, madness, wildness, civilization vs. chaos, imperialism, gender

As you can see, while there is some thematic overlap in my chosen works, they also cover a broad swathe of themes. They are also all very different in style (although you'll just have to take my word on that one unless you go look at all of them yourself), and they span a range of time periods and genres as well.

However, while there's not necessarily a specific, mandated AP Literature reading list, there are books that come up again and again on the suggestion lists for student choice free-response questions. When a book comes up over and over again on exams, this suggests both that it's thematically rich, so you can use it to answer lots of different kinds of questions, and that the College Board sees a lot of value in the work.

To that end, I've assembled a list, separated by time period, of all the books that have appeared on the suggested works list for student choice free-response questions at least twice since 2003. While you certainly shouldn't be aiming to read all of these books (there's way too many for that!), these are all solid choices for the student choice essay. Other books by authors from this list are also going to be strong choices. It's likely that some of your class reading will overlap with this list, too.

I've divided up the works into chunks by time period. In addition to title, each entry includes the author, whether the work is a novel, play, or something else, and when it was first published or performed. Works are alphabetical by author.

Warning: Not all works pictured included in AP Literature reading list below.

Ancient Works

The Queen of AP Literature surveys her kingdom.

Don't get trapped in a literature vortex!

1990-Present

Don't stay in one reading position for too long, or you'll end up like this guy.

An Addendum on Poetry

You probably won't be writing about poetry on your student choice essay—most just aren't meaty enough in terms of action and character to merit a full-length essay on the themes when you don't actually have the poem in front of you (a major exception being The Odyssey ). That doesn't mean that you shouldn't be reading poetry, though! You should be reading a wide variety of poets from different eras to get comfortable with all the varieties of poetic language. This will make the poetry analysis essay and the multiple-choice questions about poetry much easier!

See this list of poets compiled from the list given on page 10 of the AP Course and Exam Description for AP Lit, separated out by time period. For those poets who were working during more than one of the time periods sketched out below, I tried to place them in the era in which they were more active.

I've placed an asterisk next to the most notable and important poets in the list; you should aim to read one or two poems by each of the starred poets to get familiar with a broad range of poetic styles and eras.

14th-17th Centuries

• Anne Bradstreet
• Geoffrey Chaucer
• George Herbert
• Andrew Marvell
• John Milton
• William Shakespeare*

18th-19th Centuries

• William Blake*
• Robert Browning
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge*
• Emily Dickinson*
• Paul Laurence Dunbar
• George Gordon, Lord Byron
• Gerard Manley Hopkins
• John Keats*
• Edgar Allan Poe*
• Alexander Pope*
• Percy Bysshe Shelley*
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson*
• Walt Whitman*
• William Wordsworth*

Early-Mid 20th Century

• W. H. Auden
• Elizabeth Bishop
• H. D. (Hilda Doolittle)
• T. S. Eliot*
• Robert Frost*
• Langston Hughes*
• Philip Larkin
• Robert Lowell
• Marianne Moore
• Sylvia Plath*
• Anne Sexton*
• Wallace Stevens
• William Carlos Williams
• William Butler Yeats*

Late 20th Century-Present

• Edward Kamau Brathwaite
• Gwendolyn Brooks
• Lorna Dee Cervantes
• Lucille Clifton
• Billy Collins
• Seamus Heaney
• Garrett Hongo
• Adrienne Rich
• Leslie Marmon Silko
• Derek Walcott
• Richard Wilbur

You might rather burn books than read them after the exam, but please refrain.

Key Takeaways

Why do you need to read books to prepare for AP Lit? For three reasons:

#1 : To become familiar with a variety of literary eras and genres #2 : To work on your close-reading skills #3 : To become closely familiar with four-five works for the purposes of the student choice free-response essay analyzing a theme in a work of your choice.

How many books do you need to read? Well, you definitely need to get very familiar with four-five for essay-writing purposes, and beyond that, the more the better!

Which books should you read? Check out the AP English Literature reading list in this article to see works that have appeared on two or more "suggested works" lists on free-response prompts since 2003.

And don't forget to read some poetry too! See some College Board recommended poets listed in this article.

What's Next?

See my expert guide to the AP Literature test for more exam tips!

The multiple-choice section of the AP Literature exam is a key part of your score. Learn everything you need to know about it in our complete guide to AP Lit multiple-choice questions.

Taking other APs? Check out our expert guides to the AP Chemistry exam , AP US History , AP World History , AP Psychology , and AP Biology .

Looking for other book recommendation lists from PrepScholar? We've compiled lists of the 7 books you must read if you're a pre-med and the 31 books to read before graduating high school .

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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AP Lit Reading List – 50 Best Books to Read

November 16, 2023

The AP English Literature and Composition exam is made up of two sections: a multiple-choice section and a free-response section. Firstly, in the multiple-choice section, students answer questions pertaining to passages of fiction, drama, or poetry. Next, in the free-response section, students analyze poetry and prose and write an argumentative essay centered on a text of their own choice or chosen from a list of 40 literary works. The problem for students preparing for the test is that there is no official AP lit reading list. Oedipus, Lady Macbeth, Madame Bovary, Mrs. Dalloway, Scout Finch , Huck Finn—all of them, plus hundreds more plucked from the pages of the literary canon, are liable to pop up on the AP Lit exam. That’s daunting.

So how exactly does one prep for this test, especially given the fact that there’s no authoritative AP Lit reading list to consult? Also, if a student wants to write their argumentative essay on a book not named on the test, how are they supposed to know which books are AP exam-worthy?

Luckily, by taking a look at AP Lit exams of years past, we can get a sense of which works are likelier than others to make an appearance. And we can get a sense for what the College Board considers exam-worthy. In other words: relax—you don’t have to slog through the entire oeuvres of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pushkin et al. Below, I’ve compiled a totally unofficial AP Lit reading list—the 50 books that appeared most frequently on the exam since 1971.

AP Lit Reading List  

1) invisible man – ralph ellison.

Ralph Ellison’s classic kicks off this unofficial AP Lit reading list. If my count is correct, it’s appeared on the AP Lit exam 28 times. And that sounds about right: I don’t think any scholar of literature—American or otherwise—would raise an eyebrow if you argued that Invisible Man is the most important American novel of the 20th century. Published in 1952, Invisible Man is a deep dive into the mind of its unnamed narrator, a Black man coming to terms with his identity in a white society that refuses to see him. I’ll always be thankful that my 11th-grade American Lit teacher assigned this book. It’s mesmerizing, violent, honest, devastating, cathartic…it wouldn’t be very difficult to keep the list of superlatives going.

2) Wuthering Heights ­ – Emily Brontë

As you go about preparing for the AP Lit exam, it’s probably productive to keep the following question(s) in mind: why has such-and-such book come up on the test so often? In other words: what makes such-and-such book a classic? It’s not an easy question to answer. And I find that to be especially true here, thinking about Wuthering Heights . Is it considered a classic today because it’s an early example of psychological realism? Because of its depiction of abuse ? Because it bucked the Victorian status quo?

The answer to all three of those questions is probably a decisive “yes, and…” What’s fascinating to me about Wuthering Heights is how emotionally turbulent the story is—and how emotionally turbulent it can be for the reader, too. Finally, Wuthering Heights has appeared on the AP Lit exam 23 times in total, making it the second most cited book in the test’s history.

3)  Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

Great Expectations has appeared on the AP Lit exam 20 times. Whenever I hear the word “Dickensian,” I don’t think of Oliver Twist or David Copperfield ; I think of Pip Pirrip, Miss Havisham and co. Great Expectations is the ultimate Dickensian drama: romance, social class, 19th century London, good versus evil—it’s all there. Additionally, two other Dickens epics are amongst the top 50 most cited books on the AP Lit exam: Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities have appeared 5 times each.

4)  Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

Drawing inspiration from his experience working for a Belgian trading company in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is an exploration of the hypocrisies and horrors of imperialism. The novella has been on the AP Lit exam 18 times, and for good reason—the story asks important questions about morality, power, and racial subjugation, and the book itself can be critiqued for how it objectifies and exoticizes Africans.

5)  Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre, the eldest Brontë sister’s classic, has made the AP Lit exam 18 times. It’s a first-person-narrated Bildungsroman in which the reader gets access to the rich inner world of the book’s eponymous narrator. We witness Jane’s moral and spiritual development, her transition from childhood to adulthood, and her budding romance with Mr. Rochester. Further, the psychological intimacy of the prose has made Jane Eyre an enduring classic.

AP Lit Reading List (Continued)

6)  king lear – william shakespeare.

Having appeared on the AP Lit exam 17 times, King Lear is the Shakespeare work most well represented on the test to date. The tragedy is set into motion when King Lear decides to split his kingdom among his three daughters and in the process disowns his youngest, Cordelia. Concurrently, the play deals with themes of betrayal, self-deception, justice, and nihilism.

King Lear is a great place to start if you want to make sure you’ve got at least one of your Shakespeare bases covered. But, let’s be real, it’d probably behoove AP Lit test takers to have read a few more of the Bard’s greatest hits. Othello has been on the test 10 times; The Tempest , 7 times; The Merchant of Venice , 6; Hamlet and Macbeth , 5 times each.

 7)  Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Hey, it’s one of those Russian tomes I mentioned in the intro! Crime and Punishment has made the test 17 times, so if you’ve got to choose amongst the masterworks of the Russian heavy hitters, it’s not a bad bet. Published in 1866, Crime and Punishment is the inner monologue of a moral dilemma: Raskolnikov rationalizes his way to murder and then has to deal with the consequences—both legal and psychic.

8)  Moby Dick – Herman Melville

I’ll admit it: I haven’t read Moby Dick . I’ve tried, but I’ve never been able to get beyond the first 50 or so pages. It’s dense and difficult and requires a serious investment of mental energy. But I’ve never doubted that it’s worth it, and I still like to think that someday I’ll clear my schedule for a week or two and finish the thing once and for all. As much as I cringe at the label, it is one of those Great American Novels. In other words: the story of American literature is much more than Moby Dick , but you can’t tell the story of American literature without Ishmael, Ahab, and that elusive whale.

So what can readers get out of it? It’s a meditation on America. But it’s also a meditation on narrative, on how stories can be told, on style, language, allusion, symbolism, and much more. Moby Dick has been on the AP Lit exam a total of 15 times.

9)  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce

The Joyce work that in some ways is the prelude to Ulysses and Finnegans Wake , A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the story of Joyce’s fictional alter ego Stephen Dedalus and his struggle against prevailing Catholic and Irish conventions. It’s appeared on the AP Lit exam 14 times. Consequently, this should make it a fixture of any AP Lit reading list. Further, it’s a great example of a Künstlerroman , a story about an artist’s maturation.

10)  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

Twain’s 1884 classic has appeared on the AP Lit exam 14 times and is frequently cited as one of those aforementioned Great American Novels. Why? For starters, it was one of the first examples of American Literature to be written in a slangy, regional vernacular. It’s also full of humor, and it often satirizes the antebellum South and American racism in general. But that’s not to say that Huckleberry Finn doesn’t come without baggage. Even though Huck Finn and the attitude of the book can be read as anti-racist, Twain’s use of racial stereotypes and epithets is worth questioning and criticizing.

11)  Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

Catch-22 , coming in at 14 appearances on the AP Lit exam, might be my personal favorite on this entire list. It’s known as a brutal satire of the American WWII war effort. And it certainly is a satire—a masterful satire. The caricature, the wordplay, the paradox—at a certain point in reading Catch-22 , you just have to sit back and admire Heller’s virtuosity. But the book isn’t reducible to Heller’s chops. In fact, his command of humor makes his depiction of war—the horrors of war—that much more devastating.

12)  Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a classic and influential love story published in 1937. Of course, it’s much more than a love story—it’s an exploration of gender roles, the enduring effects of racism, and, above all, it’s the story of protagonist Janie Crawford’s search for her own voice and identity. In terms of how to see the novel within the context of American literature, it’s often cited as a classic of the Harlem Renaissance and African-American Literature. And while it is important to see it as a part of those lineages, Their Eyes Were Watching God is just as much a candidate for being the Great American Novel as is Moby Dick or Huck Finn . Lastly, it’s appeared on the AP Lit exam 13 times.

13)  The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (13 appearances)

14)  The Awakening – Kate Chopin (12)

15)  The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald (12)

16)  Billy Budd – Herman Melville (11)

17)  Ceremony – Leslie Marmon Silko (11)

18)  Light in August – William Faulkner (11)

19)  Antigone – Sophocles (10)

20)  As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner (10)

21)  Beloved – Toni Morrison (10)

22)  The Color Purple – Alice Walker (10)

23)  The Glass Menagerie – Tennessee Williams (10)

24)  Native Son – Richard Wright (10)

25)  Othello – William Shakespeare (10)

26)  A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams (10)

27)  Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller (9)

28)  A Passage to India – E.M. Forster (9)

29)  A Raisin in the Sun – Lorraine Hansberry (9)

30)  All the Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy (8)

31)  Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy (8)

32)  Bless Me, Ultima – Rudolfo Anaya (8)

33)  Candide – Voltaire (8)

34)  The Crucible – Arthur Miller (8)

35)  The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck (8)

36)  Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy (8)

37)  The Jungle – Upton Sinclair (8)

38)  Portrait of a Lady – Henry James (8)

39)  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Tom Stoppard (8)

40)  Sula – Toni Morrison (8)

41)  Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett (8)

42)  Pride and Prejudice ­ – Jane Austen (7 )

43)  Madame Bovary ­ Gustave Flaubert (7)

44) The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway (7)

45)  Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe (7)

46)  Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton (6)

47)  Frankenstein ­ – Mary Shelley (5)

48)  The Cherry Orchard – Anton Chekhov (5)

49)  Go Tell It on the Mountain – James Baldwin (5)

50)  Wise Blood ­ – Flannery O’Connor (5)

AP Reading List – Additional Resources

In conclusion, if you are looking for additional high school literature resources, we invite you to visit the High School Success section of the College Transitions blog. Additionally, some relevant blogs that you may find interesting include:

• The Great Gatsby Themes & Analysis 
• Great Gatsby Quotes about the American Dream
• Great Gatsby Quotes and Analysis 
• High School Success

Dane Gebauer

Dane Gebauer is a writer and teacher living in Miami, FL. He received his MFA in fiction from Columbia University, and his writing has appeared in Complex Magazine and Sinking City Review .

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20 Best AP Lit Books & Plays You Need to Read

If you’re planning to take the AP English Literature and Composition exam, one of the best things you can do to prepare is to simply hit the books. Since the whole exam is about reading and interpreting literature, it only makes sense that reading will help you sharpen the skills you’ll need to ace the exam. In this post, we’ll go over three concepts to guide your reading as you prepare for the AP Lit exam, plus 20 awesome book recommendations.

How Reading Can Improve Your AP Lit Score

Reading a broad range of texts will help familiarize you with the works on the AP Lit exam, which come from a wide variety of genres and time periods. Beyond that, you’ll be able to practice your analytical reading skills, looking out for the themes and concepts commonly tested on the AP exam (which we’ll discuss later in this post).

More specifically, reading will also help prepare you for the third free response question on the exam, which asks you to discuss a certain theme in a work of your choice. The question provides a list of works, but you’re always welcome to choose another piece of similar “literary merit” (which we’ll also discuss later). So, you’ll want to read a selection of quality works to be able to write a strong response to a wide range of themes.

Here’s an example of this kind of free response question:

What is “Literary Merit”?

The College Board doesn’t have an official recommended list of books to read for AP Lit. Anything goes, as long as it’s English literature of “literary merit.” So, what is “literary merit”? What kinds of works count? According to the College Board , these characteristics constitute a work of literary merit: 

• Entertains the reader and is interesting to read.
• Does not merely conform to the expectations of a single genre or formula
• Has been judged to have artistic quality by the literary community (teachers, students, librarians, critics, other writers, the reading public)
• Has stood the test of time in some way, regardless of the date of publication
• Shows thematic depth: The themes merit revisiting and study because they are complex and nuanced.
• Demonstrates innovation in style, voice, structure, characterization, plot and/or description.
• May have a social, political or ideological impact on society during the lifetime of the author or afterward.
• Does not fall into the traps of “pulp” fiction such as clichéd or derivative descriptions and plot devices, or sentimentality rather than “earned” emotion.
• Is intended by the author to communicate in an artistic manner.
• Is universal in its appeal (i.e., the themes and insights are not only accessible to one culture or time period)

What to Look for as You Read AP Lit Books

As you read for AP Lit, be sure to read closely and carefully, as you would on an exam. It’s also important to pay attention to certain commonly tested concepts:

Figurative Language 

Authors use literary techniques such as metaphors, similes, personification, and allusions in their writing for numerous reasons, from building imagery to elaborating on complex concepts. A powerful literary technique, figurative language provides the reader with a deeper understanding of a writer’s work and is one of the primary components of the AP English Literature and Composition exam. 

When reading in preparation for the AP Lit exam, pay close attention to the figurative language used by the author and how it affects your interpretation of the story, is used to convey information, and makes the text more engaging. Similarly, think about the particular components of figurative language focused on by the AP English Literature and Composition exam.

• Distinguish between the literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases
• The function of specific words and phrases in a text
• The function of symbols in the story
• The function of images and imagery

The function of word choice, imagery, and symbols makes up 10%-13% of the multiple-choice section of the AP English Literature and Composition exam, and was a primary component of the first free-response question on the 2018 exam. 

Here are examples of test questions on figurative language:

The answer is: A 

The narrator of a story has an enormous influence over a reader’s experience, as they control the details revealed—emphasizing some and limiting others. For example, in Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie (a memory play), Tom the narrator says in his opening monologue, “I give you the truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” In other words, the story is told from his perspective, complete with his biases and prejudices. 

When reading in preparation for the AP Literature and Composition exam, think about the perspective the story is being told from—first person, second person, limited third person, omniscient author, unreliable narrator, observer narrator—and how this perspective frames the story. Also keep in mind the particular contexts that you’re asked to understand and demonstrate the use of narration by the College Board.  

• Identify and describe the narrator or speaker of a text
• The function of the narrator’s point of view
• The narrator’s or speaker’s perspective through details, diction, or syntax
• The reliability of a narrator’s effect on the story 

Narration makes up 21%-26% of the AP Lit exam’s multiple-choice section. It’s also likely to play a large role in the free-response questions. 

Here are some sample questions:

The answer is: D

The word “character” comes from the Latin word meaning “mark, distinctive quality,” and is a literary device used by authors to allow readers to explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms. Characters (which are not limited to humans) can be any person, animal, being, or creature that moves the story’s plot line. 

Character is an extremely important literary device; without characters, there is no story to tell. You’ll encounter a variety of different types of characters throughout your reading, the two primary forms being protagonists (whom the story revolves around) and antagonists (those who cause conflict for the protagonist). In addition, you’ll often be introduced to a number of different types of minor characters: foil, static, dynamic, flat, and round. 

As you prepare for the AP Literature and Composition exam, pay close attention to how the characters interact with each other and the world around them, and what the author is trying to show to the reader through the characters. It’s also a good idea to think about the particular aspects of character the College Board places a focus on.

• What is revealed about a character, their perspective, and motives through textual details
• The function of a character changing, or remaining unchanged
• The function of contrasting characters
• How the nuances and complexities in characters’ relationships are revealed through textual details
• The complexities revealed about a character through their choices, actions, and speech

Character accounts for 16%-20% of the multiple-choice section of the AP Literature and Composition exam, and will likely play a considerable role in the free-response section as well.

Here’s an example:

20 Best Books You Should Read for AP Lit

Here are some works to read to help you prepare for the AP Lit exam, separated by U.S. and Non-U.S. authors, and books vs. plays. These works were selected for their quality and impact.

Books By U.S. Authors 

Plays by u.s. authors , books by non-u.s. authors, plays by non-u.s. authors.

For more help with the AP Lit exam, check out our Ultimate Guide to the AP Lit Exam .

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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., ap literature book list to help you prep for the exam.

There is not a required AP Literature Book List reading list for the AP English Literature and Composition Exam, but the College Board provides a long list of authors and poets with whom you should be familiar and whose work is of the caliber and density that you are expected to understand. The list may seem overwhelming, but fear not! The following tips on how to approach poems, novels, novellas, and plays for the exam, along with a curated list, will make preparing for the AP Literature Exam a little easier.

When you approach a poem on the AP English Literature exam, always read it at least twice before you go to the questions. The purpose of the first read is to get all the words in your head. Then, in your second read, focus on understanding what you’ve read in the simplest way possible. Don’t worry about symbolism Don’t worry about deeper meanings. The questions will direct you toward those aspects of the poem. Use your second read to look for the main idea. Practice reading the following poems at least twice to familiarize yourself with finding the main idea:

“Autumn Song” by W.H. Auden

“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop

“There’s a certain Slant of light” by Emily Dickinson

“Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes

“Crossing the Swamp” by Mary Oliver

"Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath

“Sunday Morning” by Wallace Stevens

“I Will Keep Broken Things” by Alice Walker

“The Prelude” by William Wordsworth

“The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats

Longer Works

To be prepared for the Literary Argument, you should know at least three works very well. Two of them should be longer works that you’ve studied in class. We’ll call these the primary works.

Your primary works should be fairly hefty. One of Shakespeare’s plays or a thick, complex novel will do anything that is so rich in incident and form that no matter what the literary argument question asks, you have something to say. The following full-length works are all good choices.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Shorter Works

The third work you should prepare for the Literary Argument will act as a safeguard in case, for some reason, you can’t apply your knowledge of the other works to the question at all, or in case you need to back up your points with another example. This will be your secondary work. Trust us, the question stem may say that you need to choose only one work to discuss, but an exam reader will be hugely impressed if you can adeptly discuss two or three pieces of literature. Listed below are examples of shorter novels, novellas, and plays that are acceptable to the AP Readers.

Novellas and Short Novels:

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers

Candide by Voltaire

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Hopefully this overview of how to prepare for the exam and introduction to the AP Literature book list will make studying for the AP Literature Exam more manageable.

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AP Lit Reading List

10 min read • december 15, 2021

As the dreaded AP Literature "Doomsday" approaches (May 6th), many AP students and teachers throughout the U.S have started reading works by literary giants. However, the question that's always asked is:

"What books do I read? What if the ones we read in class aren't on the AP Exam?"

It must be stated that anything's possible, and it may occur that some books you've covered won't appear. The solution to this, however, is carefully covering a wide array of works that have many themes. Thankfully, I've compiled a list of fictional novels, plays, or works that are must-reads. I cannot guarantee that these novels/works will always appear on the Free-Response section. However, I can at least assure you that these works tackle a variety of themes that will prove beneficial when answering that third prompt. Alas, here are my recommended books!

#1: the crucible - arthur miller

This play is considered a classic and one of Miller's finest pieces of literature. However, some teachers typically switch between this play and The Scarlet Letter , a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Aside from that, The Crucible is a perfect book, especially when discussing the themes of Hysteria, Conformity, and Vengeance. This play has multitudes of underlying themes, but I've chosen these three as examples.

THEMES - Hysteria, Vengeance, Conformity

Hysteria and vengeance.

The play begins with rumors of witchcraft within the town of Salem. Mass hysteria unfolds when a young girl named Abigail accuses individuals within Salem of witchcraft. It spins the town into a frenzy, fueled by personal vengeance and religious devotion. The play teaches the lesson that when hysteria unfolds, people use fear as a means to enact deep hatred. After all, LitCharts brilliantly had stated, "Fear feeds fear..."

Conformity comes together when characters recognize the sheer absurdity of the witchcraft hysteria. They're confronted with a dilemma: either conform to the falseness of the hysteria or to be sentenced to death by hanging for not doing so. Within this, the motifs and themes of integrity and reputation are eminent.

appearance on past ap exams

In context to the AP Exam, it's important to have The Crucible in your repertoire. It is a solid example of the thematic emphasis on man versus society as the play focuses on John Proctor going against the hysteric town of Salem. In recent years, The Crucible has appeared several years ago - in 2014 , 2015 , and 2016 - but has disappeared from 2017 to 2019. I could only anticipate that the next prompt might be within the lanes of The Crucible , so be sure to understand the themes behind Miller's play!

#2: pride and prejudice - jane austen

Ah, an Austen novel. This novel is not only considered a classic, but it's a love story at heart. The themes of the novel are the first and third words of the title. Yes. The themes that pervade the novel surround Pride, Prejudice, and Social Class.

THEMES - Pride, Prejudice, Social Class

The easiest way of describing these themes is through the characters: The female protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett, has prejudices towards Mr. Darcy, an affluent nobleman who she is introduced to by Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth's tendency towards jumping to conclusions , along with making assumptions (which she takes pride in) about Mr. Darcy's character is shown throughout the work. This, in turn amplifies her self-growth in the long run. She learns to overcome her preconceived notions to then fall in love with the "haughty" Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Darcy, a nobleman, has preconceived notions (alluding towards the Prejudice theme) towards Elizabeth's social status as well, being that of a commoner. He views himself highly and immediately is judgmental towards anyone lower or below him. This prevents him from realizing his feelings for Elizabeth, and this novel also goes over how they transcend the lines of social class.

social class

The theme of social class is neatly intertwined within the other two themes. The entire list of characters ranges from upper to lower class citizens , with a specific focus on their views of social status. Mr. Bingly, for example, has no regard for social status in finding love. This contrasts with Catherine de Bourgh, who intends to see his Nephew (Mr. Darcy) marry a woman of affluence.

Jane Austen's novel is a rarity in recent years, only recently popping up on the 2016 AP Exam. However, I wouldn't let this dissuade you from reading this novel.  Pride and Prejudice shows an interesting approach to life during the 1800s with an emphasis on Social Classes and the attempts at breaking down barriers of class.

#3: jane eyre - charlotte bronte

Many people say that either Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice is good enough to get a grasp of the period of literary work. I believe that both are necessary for grasping the full context. Nonetheless, Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre , is a perfect example of a story about a woman searching for a greater meaning in life in 19th-century England - one beyond what is provided to her. The novel elicits themes revolving around Social Class, Gender Roles, and Independence

THEMES - Social Class, Gender Roles, Independence

Social Class pervades throughout much of the novel, especially with the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester . Jane's relationship with Rochester must rise from the inherent criticisms from society, especially with Jane being from a lower class than Rochester. From this to even the introductory depictions of Gateshead, Jane has interacted with many social classes. As a result, she could understand why such class barriers are present within 19th-century Britain.

gender roles

With Social Class comes Gender Roles. Throughout the novel, Jane is constantly struggling to stand as equals with the men around her , especially with Mr. Rochester. In a way, the ending of the novel symbolizes the full closure of Jane at last finding equal grounding with Rochester. It's a stark contrast to the relationship Rochester shared with Bertha Mason, who LitCharts interprets her character as a "provocative symbol of how married women can be repressed and controlled." Nonetheless, Eyre's constant struggles to find equal ground with men symbolized two major points: the gender roles and

expectations of women in 19th-century Britain and how internalized and oppressed women were within that time.

independence

Lastly, the search for independence is prevalent throughout the book, intertwining with the themes of social class and gender roles. Eyre is constantly in a struggle for independence from oppression , where she eventually comes into terms with her freedom. She also balances her life of servitude towards Rochester and independence. Eventually, it's her freedom and will that brings both Rochester and Eyre together, for they both share the desire for free-will and respect for

one another (especially as stated with Jane's constant struggle to gain the respect of Rochester as an equal)

In recent years, Jane Eyre has appeared in the 2016 and 2017 AP Exams but didn't on the 2018 and 2019 Exams. There's a possibility that Eyre could appear on the AP Exam, especially if Austen's Pride and Prejudice appears. But alas, it's important to understand the growth that Jane experiences throughout the novel, in terms of her independence/freedom, social class, and gender roles.

#4: heart of darkness - joseph conrad

Alas, the darker sides of literature. (get it... darkness... Heart of Darkness ...)

Anywho, Heart of Darkness is a unique novel to have in your novel list, for it tackles situations revolving around both Imperialism and Colonialism in the second half of the 19th century. Great Britain was the leading colonial civilization and carried onward into Africa. (carrying with them a "White Man's Burden," which in reality was used as a means to justify racism towards the natives) It's an important book, one that highlights the unique themes of Colonialism, Hollow Civilization, and Racism

THEMES - Colonialism, Hollow Civilization, Racism

Colonialism.

The story sets up with Charles Marlow, who's about to embark on a journey into the Belgian Congo. Historically, it must be known that the Belgian Congo was the most inhumane colonial settlement. The detailed descriptions of White colonizers brutally treating the Congo natives allude to a general criticism for Colonization in general, deeming the work radical for its time.

hollow civilization

With notions of colonialism, the unique theme that's presented in the novel would be the Hollowness of Civilization, which arose from the inept desire to colonize. Africa was deemed to be a vast window into man's darkest desires and temptations , something that civilization suppresses within us. Kurtz, for example, was a man of good reputation in Europe until he eventually loses himself in Africa and become thirsty for domination and conquest.

Although the novella itself isn't a racist book, the work is known to attack colonization as a means to insure racism and to accentuate the corruption of rich white men. It's an interesting perspective, for the white men are deemed corrupted (due to the racism that pervades through Colonization) while the natives are deemed superior for being primitive and unknowing. Irregardless, the approach of the book to colonization deems to call the system racist for the depiction of treatment towards natives reveals how the white men deems the natives unequally as objects rather than humans.

Conrad's novel has appeared in recent years, especially with the 2018 AP Exam and 2016 Exam.  Although it's been used, I do believe that the themes of injustice towards people of color and race are universal. Racism and injustice are important themes and could serve useful.

#5: the great gatsby - f. scott fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is an amazing American classic that tackles themes of reflection of your past, the Roaring '20s, and the American Dream. Having delved into the disillusioned status following post-WWI, the novel intends to reflect upon life following the Great War. The radicalization of alcohol, sex, drugs, and the like showed disillusionment towards the harsh effects of WWI. It's crucial to read this novel for it tackles philosophical approaches of characters, and how their beliefs slowly lead to their eventual downfall.

the past and future

As stated by LitCharts , "Nick and Gatsby are continually troubled by time — the past haunts Gatsby and the future weighs down on Nick ."  indicating how their lives have fostered moments that come to haunt them. Gatsby and Nick struggle from coming to terms with it for Gatsby constantly attempts to amend his past with Daisy. Nick, on the other hand, considers his worrisome future. This ties into broad topics of human nature: we as human beings struggle with coming to terms with our history. We often do everything in our power to forget or amend from such events. The important lesson learned would be to accept your past, as grueling as it may be.

the roaring '20s

Contextually, the U.S experienced amazing growth in the economy, and the booming era of the 1920s represented such growth . With such economic growth came forth a rise in alcoholism, parties, and other means of moral explorations. Nonetheless, the depictions of the other sides of such expansion of wealth lead into darker themes of hypocrisy, and insatiable desires that eventually lead towards Gatsby's demise.

the american dream

I'll leave it to LitCharts to explain this theme to you;

"The Great Gatsby shows the tide turning east, as hordes flock to New York City seeking stock market fortunes. The Great Gatsby portrays this shift as a symbol of the American Dream's corruption. It's no longer a vision of building a life; it's just about getting rich... Yet Gatsby's corrupt dream of wealth is motivated by an incorruptible love for Daisy . Gatsby's failure does not prove the folly of the American Dream—rather it proves the folly of short-cutting that dream by allowing corruption and materialism to prevail over hard work, integrity, and real love. And the dream of love that remains at Gatsby's core condemns nearly every other character in the novel, all of whom are empty beyond just their lust for money."

That being said, the American Dream of having no barriers towards economic and personal prosperity pervades throughout the novel (from Gatsby's "fortune by bootlegging alcohol and other illegal means." ) In general, Fitzgerald attempts to display how the American Dream itself has been distorted over the years, emerging forth nothing but greed for money.

The Great Gatsby appears quite often, showing up on the both the 2019   and 2016 AP exams, but alas, the novel is important when discussing views concerning idealism. Gatsby is known to have an idyllic view of the world, and with the money and power, he's willing to do everything within his power to get what he wants: his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

happy reading!

That being said, I hope you find these recommendations useful! Please, let us know if these novels help you with tackling that third-prompt! I certainly hope that with these books in your literary arsenal, that you'll be 100% capable of scoring a 9/9 on the last free-response question. Be sure to also dive into works that you find important, and feel free to share your thoughts on our list. Did you agree? Did you not? Let us know what you think should have made the list!

Until then, happy reading!

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The Ultimate AP English Literature Exam Reading List

• Last modified 2024-03-27
• Published on 2021-04-25

Though  AP English Literature and Composition has become a more popular test among students,  it  has still remained  one of the  harder  AP  test s  (with a  5-point score rate of only 9.3% ). The broad topic s  and the complexity of literary analysis are challenging for students, especially those whose first language is not English. To help students have an easier time learning and reviewing for this AP Exam, we have gathered the ultimate AP English Literature Reading List. Now, let’s  take a look ! 

1. Free Response Question #3

We only cover the free-response question #3 because, in this section, students must select a work of fiction from 25 to 30 listed pieces on the exam to answer the question within 45 minutes of the whole 2 hours of the exam. We’ve gathered some pieces that were picked more than 2 times throughout the course of 2012-2019:  

Among the top 19 books we’ve mentioned, there are 8 books that were picked more than 3 times in the past 7 years.   

Among th e  8 popular picks, half of them were published in the 19th century. The remaining  books  range from  the  17th to  the  20th century,  with the exception of  the 18th century. Books that were mentioned three times are from the 17th,  19th  and 20th centuries.   

It’s important to note novels, poems and plays  from   varied  eras have differen ces in  language and way s  of expression. Therefore, students should familiarize themselves with novels from all eras,  in order to be comfortable with answering the questions. 

Every year, the College Board provides a minimum of 25 literary works for students to analyze, and the list changes every year. However, having a list of the most common picks will give you an idea about which pieces and which  period of time  to focus your review on. Below, we give you the list of works that have been mentioned  on  the AP English Literature  exam  many times  over  the past 7 years.   

From the  above  list , you can see  most of the books are  actually required  readings  in other non-AP  high school  classes due to their  important influence and literary value from the past to the present.   

In order to help  students  prepare for High School English Literature  at the beginner and advanced levels, we have opened two courses, one is Intro to English Literature and one is AP English Literature. These prep classes are designed to fill in knowledge deficit and introduce new information for students. In addition to the two courses, we also have multiple year-long English courses.  Aralia’s English tutors are inspired teachers and professors who are committed to student success. They are recognized in their field or are currently teaching at top high schools and colleges/universities in the US. 

3. What's next

What books should I read to prepare for High School Freshman’s English Class? Read Top 12 Summer Reads for Incoming High School Freshmen

What’s the difference between AP English Lit and AP Eng Lang?  This complete guide will show you the ins and outs of AP English Language and AP English Literature

How can I succeed in High School English Classes? Read How To Succeed In High School English Classes to find the answer! 

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This test prep course focuses on 4 main contents: rhetorical analysis, assertion and evidence, reasoning and organization, and language style learning. This course will focus on non-fictional reading materials, enabling students to identify and explain the author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. The weekly courses will focus on the types of questions students take when taking the AP English test, which are comprehensive essays, rhetorical analysis essays, and argumentation essays. In addition, there will be a strategy course for the multiple-choice part of the AP English exam.

In this course, students will develop skills in critically reading literature. They will also practice writing skills, including how to write arguments to support claims about what they read. This class is ideal for any student who wishes to be prepared once school resumes in a high school English class.

English Reading and Writing for Beginner course introduces students to the fundamental literature features to help them grow as readers and writers of English. The course will begin with an introduction to the rhetorical situation, which is critical for every writer to understand, and then discuss foundational literary elements like narrative, plot, diction, etc. Students will reflect on what they are reading through discussion in class, with their teacher and peers, and writing in biweekly assignments.

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AP Literature and Language Reading List 2023

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AP Literature Reading List: 127 Great Books for Your Prep

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AP® English Literature

Ap® english literature book list: 5 essential reads.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

You can write about any novel or play that is considered “canonical literature” for the AP® English Literature essays , but there are a few works every student taking this test should read because of their literary importance and variety of themes and situations – making them versatile subjects good to respond to almost any essay prompt with.

1. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

This novel is revered for its complex presentation of imperialism and racism, its oppressive mood (to which every feature of the novel, from the pacing to the language, contributes), its use of the frame-story narrative structure, and symbolism. The development of Marlowe as he journeys towards the “heart of darkness” is also perfect for discussion in an essay about character dynamism.

Consider the following as you read or review this work: How does the setting affect the story? Consider not only the Congo River, but the boat on which the story begins and the urban settings the author describes. What is the meaning of the sword and flame symbols, and how do they influence one another? What is the purpose of the episode toward the novel’s end with “the Intended?”

2. Herman Melville’s Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street

Although this novella is so short it is rarely published on its own, it is one of the great achievements of 19th-century literature and an essential part of your AP® English Literature book list. Melville uses a great deal of humor in this story, but ultimately it is a highly affecting tragedy.

The conflicts in this story are especially helpful on the exam, as they are clearer than in many great literary works; there is an obvious dichotomy and conflict between the eponymous character and his society, and a more subtle but equally important internal conflict within the nameless narrator. There is also rampant use of symbolism, especially in the opening pages, in which walls are used as a motif which represents the communicative walls between Bartleby and his fellows while also hemming the characters and reader in, creating a claustrophobic effect.

Also think about the significance of the story’s minor characters, the mention at the end of the dead letter office, and the interplay between light humor and darkly Romantic melodrama.

3. Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

This is a more recent novel, but as legitimate and serious as anything else included on this AP® English Literature book list. Martel’s adventure story is also a deeply psychological and philosophical musing on the variety and depth of human suffering.

Consider the ways Martel uses imagery to create an atmosphere that is both realistic and dreamlike, the statements the characters make about art and literature (and what the ending and structure say about the nature of storytelling), and the possible meanings of the more surreal episodes that take place during the later parts of Pi’s time at sea.

Also, what effect does allusion have on the story? For extra depth, study or read the obscure Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym , the only novel Edgar Allan Poe ever wrote, to which this work alludes heavily. What do these allusions mean?

4. Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit

This short French Existentialist play is perfect for studying how authors inject their philosophical ideas into their work, as Sartre was a noted philosopher. There is also ample opportunity to study the effects of setting (the stage is described lavishly – what do these descriptions contribute to the story and its themes?) and conflict. What makes these characters hate each other so much? What does the setting say about the fate of the modern man trying to exist among other people?

This study in human hypocrisy and hatred is bitter, but well-crafted and worthy of reading both for its beauty and for its potential for use on the exam.

5. Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five

We promise, reading this won’t feel like exam prep – it’s loud, funny, and crude, but also one of the great novels of the twentieth century. A totally unique blend of war satire, quasi-science fiction story, and literary slapstick comedy, this novel deals with the sociopolitical issue of war more directly and angrily than almost any other while also addressing such complex ideas as mental illness, marital infidelity, and dissatisfaction with ordinary life – all while making you laugh.

However, Vonnegut’s use of humor isn’t just to make finishing your AP® English Literature reading list easier – consider its effects on the narrative and themes; does it make the tragic bombing at the story’s center more or less real, more or less poignant? Also look out for this story’s metafictional elements and use of irony – both great things to mention in virtually any essay on an author’s literary technique.

Let’s put everything into practice. Try this AP® English Literature practice question:

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4 thoughts on “ap® english literature book list: 5 essential reads”.

All of these selections involve protagonists, which are white males. Isn’t diversity also necessary in a course, which requires complex texts? What about Tess of the D’urbervilles? Their Eyes Were Watching God? The House on Mango Street? The Joy Luck Club?

These are of course just five works. Diversity is definitely necessary and can be integrated with the works you’ve referenced. We intended the post to just be a general guide for students to turn to if they have no idea where to start. Thanks for the comment!

My main issues with this list are Conrad and Melville, which can go very wrong to an independent reader who isn’t studying it in class and isn’t going to put the leg work in to look up the lit crit on the works.

My checklist for a top five would be: -a play / drama -a comedy/satire -a strong genre novel – dystopian is probably a very safe plan, as they are very stylized, have strong themes, strong conflicts, and usually many well-developed devices. – something with a structured narrative (broken into parts, uses different genres in same text, unusual narrator) – a world literature/non-Western Civ novel

My recs would be:

Great Gatsby – Fitzgerald Never Let Me Go – Ishiguro Brave New World – Aldous Huxley Pygmalion – Shaw Cry, the Beloved Country – Paton

Harder but very useful texts if a student will do the leg work on independent reading (narrative structure, cultural context, use of symbols, significance of secondary characters):

Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe Scarlet Letter – Hawthorne Awakening – Chopin (appears most in the history of the AP® Lit exam) Woman Warrior – Maxine Hong Kingston

Thanks for the feedback! Great tips.

Comments are closed.

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Lit & More

June 5, 2022 ·

Breaking Down the 2022 AP Literature Open Question Titles

Planning Content & Choosing Curriculum

It’s time to analyze the titles listed for question 3 of the 2022 AP English Lit exam! Many AP Lit teachers use this list to inform their purchases for classroom libraries, student reading suggestions, and of course, personal reading ideas! The 2022 exam included 17 titles included that had never been listed on an official open question before. Here’s a rundown of the new additions, as well as some other interesting data I found in analyzing the list.

Disclaimer: Inclusion to the AP Lit open question is not an official milestone or designation. Just because a novel has been included doesn’t mean it’s officially AP-worthy, nor does an omission mean that a book is not worthy of AP.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

New Titles to the Open Question

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)

Author origin : USA

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia

Awards: Hugo Award for Science Fiction, National Book Award

Goodreads rating: 4.22/5

Goodreads summary : Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life—Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

Misc. Information: The Dispossessed is the first in a seven-novel cycle called the Hainish Cycle, although it was the fifth book published in that series.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz (2019)

Genre: coming-of-age

Goodreads rating: 4.12/5

Goodreads summary : Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.

As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.

The Dragon Can’t Dance by Earl Lovelace (1979)

Author origin : Trinidad and Tobago

Genre: post-colonial fiction

Goodreads rating: 4.03/5

Goodreads summary : Carnival takes on social and political importance in this recognized classic. The people of the shantytown Calvary Hill, usually invisible to the rest of society, join the throng and flaunt their neighborhood personas in masquerade during Carnival. Aldrick, the dashing “king of the Hill,” becomes a glorious, dancing dragon; his lovely Sylvia, a princess; Fisheye, rebel idealist, a fierce steel band contestant; and Philo, Calypso songwriter, a star. Then a business sponsors Fisheye’s band, Philo gets a hit song, and Sylvia leaves the Hill with a prosperous older man. For Aldrick, it will take one more masquerade—this time, involving guns and hostages—before the illusion of power becomes reality.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Genre: Dystopian

Awards: American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, Spoken Word Grammy (for audiobook)

Goodreads rating: 3.98/5

Goodreads summary : Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.

Misc. Information: Despite this novel’s firm place in the literary canon of the US, it has never been a suggested novel for the open question. Some perceive it as too “low-level” since it is a popular choice in grades 9-10. Fahrenheit’s inclusion on this list is a sign that College Board is taking steps to reward good analysis of all fiction, not just high-brow literature.

Hope Leslie, or, Early Times in Massachusetts by Catharine Maria Sedgwick (1827)

Genre: historical romance, feminist

Goodreads rating: 3.38/5

Goodreads summary : Set in seventeenth-century New England in the aftermath of the Pequod War, Hope Leslie not only chronicles the role of women in building the republic but also refocuses the emergent national literature on the lives, domestic mores, and values of American women.

Misc. Information: Catharine Sedgwick’s career is an interesting study, as she was a rare example of a woman making a full time living off of her writing in the early 19 th century.  

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (1982)

Author origin : Chilé

Genre: Magical realism

Awards: Best Novel of the Year (Chilé)

Goodreads rating: 4.26/5

Goodreads summary : In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.

Misc. Information: The novel is set to be adapted into a television series on Hulu, starring Eva Longoria, in the near future.

The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea (2005)

Author origin : Mexico

Genre: Historical fiction

Goodreads rating: 4.2/5

Goodreads summary : It is 1889, and the civil war is brewing in Mexico. Sixteen year old Teresita, illegitimate but beloved daughter of the wealthy and powerful rancher Don Tomas Urrea, wakes from the strangest dream – a dream that she has died. Only it was not a dream. This passionate and rebellious young woman has arisen from the dead with the power to heal – but it will take all her faith to endure the trials that await her and her family now that she has become the Saint of Cabora.

Misc. Information : Urrea spent nearly two decades researching his own family history for material in this novel.

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (1974)

Genre: Romance

Goodreads rating: 4.27/5

Goodreads summary : In this honest and stunning novel, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.

Misc. Information: This is Baldwin’s only novel with a female narrator.  

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (2019)

Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Goodreads summary : Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clear-sighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide ‘physical, intellectual and moral training’ which will equip its inmates to become ‘honorable and honest men’.

In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear ‘out back’. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King’s ringing assertion, ‘Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.’ But Elwood’s fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors.

Misc. Information: The Nickel Academy is based on a real reform school from Florida, the Dozier School for Boys. Officials reported that the school was “nothing more than a prison” when they finally shut it down after 111 years of operation. Read this article from The Washington Post to learn more.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (2019)

Genre: Epistolary novel

Goodreads rating: 4.05/5

Goodreads summary : On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity.

Misc. Information: Producers announced in 2020 that the movie version of the novel is coming.

On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee (2014)

Goodreads rating: 3.49/5

Goodreads summary : In a future, long-declining America, society is strictly stratified by class. Long-abandoned urban neighborhoods have been repurposed as highwalled, self-contained labor colonies. And the members of the labor class – descendants of those brought over en masse many years earlier from environmentally ruined provincial China – find purpose and identity in their work to provide pristine produce and fish to the small, elite, satellite charter villages that ring the labor settlement.

In this world lives Fan, a female fish-tank diver, who leaves her home in the B-Mor settlement (once known as Baltimore), when the man she loves mysteriously disappears. Fan’s journey to find him takes her out of the safety of B-Mor, through the anarchic Open Counties, where crime is rampant with scant governmental oversight, and to a faraway charter village, in a quest that will soon become legend to those she left behind.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (1993)

Genre: Science fiction/dystopian

Awards: New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Goodreads summary : n 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.

Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

Misc. Information: Parable of the Sower is the first in a two-book series called Earthseed . Novel #2 is called Parable of the Talents .

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2012)

Author origin : Nigeria

Genre: Post-colonial fiction

Awards: Commonwealth Writers’ Prize: Best First Book

Goodreads rating: 4.18/5

Goodreads summary : Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja lead a privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They’re completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating.

As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city, where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father’s authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins’ laughter rings throughout the house. When they return home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together.

Misc. Information: Adichie’s novel Americanah (2013) is a popular novel among AP Lit teachers and is destined to be a choice on the open question one day as well. You might as well add it to your reading list while you’re making it.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)

Author origin : England

Goodreads rating: 3.68/5

Goodreads summary : Daniel Defoe relates the tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. An ordinary man struggling to survive in extraordinary circumstances, Robinson Crusoe wrestles with fate and the nature of God.

Misc. Information: Many consider Robinson Crusoe to be the first English novel.

Sweat by Lynn Nottage (2015)

Genre: Play

Awards : Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Goodreads rating: 4.15/5

Goodreads summary : In one of the poorest cities in America, Reading, Pennsylvania, a group of down-and-out factory workers struggles to keep their present lives in balance, ignorant of the financial devastation looming in their near futures. Set in 2008, the powerful crux of this new play is knowing the fate of the characters long before it’s even in their sights.

Misc. Information: Lynn Nottage extensively interviewed the residents of Reading, Pennsylvania to research for this play. Their experiences fuel the play’s themes on working class living and economic decline in America.

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1847-1848)

Genre: Satire

Goodreads rating: 3.79/5

Goodreads summary : A novel that chronicles the lives of two women who could not be more different: Becky Sharp, an orphan whose only resources are her vast ambitions, her native wit, and her loose morals; and her schoolmate Amelia Sedley, a typically naive Victorian heroine, the pampered daughter of a wealthy family.

Misc. Information: The novel has been attached to several subtitles, including “Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society” and “A Novel Without a Hero.”

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (2008)

Author origin : India

Genre: Picaresque novel

Goodreads rating: 3.76/5

Goodreads summary : Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village’s wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man’s (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram’s new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly (“Love — Rape — Revenge!”), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.

Misc. Information: The novel was adapted into a film in 2021 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in the same year.

Repeated Titles from the Open Question

That’s all the new titles for 2022, but certainly not all of the books included for the open question this year. The following titles were also suggested for the open question and have been listed as an option before. Titles marked with a * denote a popular title, having been suggested for the open question ten or more times.

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller*
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens*
• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison*
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë*
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Love Medicine by Louise Erdich
• The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
• Native Son by Richard Wright*
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Othello by William Shakespeare*
• A Passage to India by E. M. Forster*
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry*
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne*
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston*
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë*

Before closing, let’s not forget to highlight the texts chosen for Question 1 (poetry) and Question 2 (prose) of 2022.

Question 1: “shaving” by richard blanco.

Richard Blanco holds many accolades as a poet. In 2013, he recited his poem “One Today” at Barack Obama’s second inauguration. He was the youngest, the first immigrant, and the first openly gay U. S. inaugural poet at that time. Currently, Blanco works as a professor and the first Education Ambassador for the Academy of American Poets. His work “Shaving” can be found in his collection City of a Hundred Fires . To learn more about Richard Blanco you can check out his website .

Question 2: People of the Whale by Linda Hogan (2008)

Goodreads rating: 4/5

Goodreads summary : Raised in a remote seaside village, Thomas Witka Just marries Ruth, his beloved since infancy. But an ill-fated decision to fight in Vietnam changes his life forever: cut off from his Native American community, he fathers a child with another woman. When he returns home a hero, he finds his tribe in conflict over the decision to hunt a whale, both a symbol of spirituality and rebirth and a means of survival. In the end, he reconciles his two existences, only to see tragedy befall the son he left behind.

To view all the titles used for the open question, check out this free download from my TpT store. You can use this to help inform your choices in cultivating a student library, selecting whole class reads, or your own personal reading.

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Contemporary Novels for AP Literature

We all know convincing teenagers to read is a challenge, and this is true even for our AP students. On the AP Literature exam, however, students must write one of their three essays about a novel, play, or epic poem of literary merit. Naturally, all the tried and true classics are common staples in AP classes, but it’s often challenging to get our students to engage with old texts, putting us in a dilemma: are there adult books for teens or contemporary novels for AP Literature that aren’t too mature or unrelatable but have more substantial themes than traditional young adult fare?

Over the last ten years (but especially the last 3–4), the College Board has made an effort to include more contemporary novels on the list of suggested titles students see on exam day, and many of these books are really good. If you’re looking for contemporary novels for AP Literature (or even adult books for teens you know), these ten titles are worth considering for your curriculum or classroom library.

Note: Do be sure to read these titles and consider your particular audience before assigning these books to students. While we believe these are appropriate adult books for teens (especially mature seniors, a year away from college literature courses), they do include mature content that may be upsetting for some students.

10 Contemporary Novels for AP Literature

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Doerr’s 2014 novel has shown up on the College Board’s list a few times, and we’ve started seeing it on AP Literature syllabuses in our local schools. And it’s no wonder. Doerr’s gorgeous World War II book tells the intertwining stories of Marie-Laure, a 12-year-old blind girl who flees with her father to Saint-Malo when the Nazis occupy Paris (hiding a dangerous and valuable jewel from the Museum of Natural History), and Werner, a young man from Germany who grows up in a coal mining community but earns a place in the Hitler Youth because of his skill in fixing radios.

Over the course of the novel, the paths of these two young people wind closer together, and the story offers rich opportunities to discuss the effects of war on the human spirit.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

In the interest of full disclosure, we must admit Steph loves this 2001 novel far more than Kate does, but it has become a regular staple on the College Board’s list of suggested titles. Set amidst World War II, the novel tells the story of a party gone tragically wrong and of two lovers, Cecilia and Robbie, separated by the war.

It’s an engaging story, but what makes the novel most appropriate for discussion in an AP Literature class is the fact that the story is told from multiple perspectives, allowing for explorations of miscommunication, honesty, misunderstanding, and how, in fact, we can atone for the mistakes we make. Steph still feels viscerally angry about the changes between the book and the 2007 film, and those differences would make for an engaging class discussion.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver’s 2022 novel is fantastic. It’s one of Steph’s newest favorites, and Barbara Kingsolver has long been a featured author on the College Board suggested lists. Kingsolver, inspired by Dickens’s focus on poverty in 1800s London, tells the story of Demon Copperhead, a boy born into poverty in southern Appalachia.

The novel is heartbreaking, tracing Demon’s life through foster homes, a series of unpleasant jobs, and the opioid epidemic, but Demon is resilient, and his narrative voice is a delight (one reviewer compares him to Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn, comparisons which work). The novel offers an uncomfortable, and yet somehow beautiful, look at an American experience often overlooked. (A shorter, similar text? Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing , featured in the suggested titles list on the 2021 exam).

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Hosseini’s 2003 novel has been one of the most-referenced contemporary novels for AP Literature since we started teaching the course in 2007, and for good reason. Not only does Hosseini’s novel offer readers the opportunity to visit and learn about Afghanistan and its culture, it tells the heartbreaking, yet ultimately redemptive tale of Amir’s attempts to absolve his guilt for betraying his childhood friend, Hassan.

While we didn’t assign the novel as a full-class read, it was regularly a popular choice for independent reading in our AP classrooms.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Celeste Ng’s novels are increasingly appearing on AP syllabuses and in teaching resources for AP teachers. Her excellent 2017 novel focuses on the stories of two families in Shaker Heights, a traditional suburb near Cleveland. Mia Warren, an artist and single mother, rents from and works for the Richardson family, and her daughter Pearl becomes friends with the Richardson children.

As Pearl and Mia get to know the Richardson children, we see them wrestle with the challenges of adolescence; at the same time, Mia and Elena Richardson get involved (on opposing sides) in a fierce custody battle for a Chinese-American baby in their community.

The novel explores themes of race, class, and family from shifting perspectives that make for engaging discussion, and the teenage characters will help draw your students into the story.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

While we’re not sure we would use O’Farrell’s 2022 novel for full-class discussion (or even recommend students write about it on the exam), we’re including it here because your AP Lit students might enjoy this fictionalized backstory behind Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess,” a commonly assigned AP Literature text.

If this is a poem you teach, you and your students will enjoy the story of Lucrezia, forced to marry the Duke of Ferrara when her older sister (who was actually betrothed to the Duke) dies just before her wedding. In the days after her wedding (as she sits for that famous portrait, of course), Lucrezia’s sense of danger sharpens the more she learns about her new husband.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Again, we wouldn’t use Van Pelt’s 2022 novel as a core class read or encourage students to write about it on the AP exam, but we think it would make for great discussions in any AP Literature class if used as a summer read, literature circle option, or independent reading selection.

The story is delightful: alternating between multiple points of view (including that of Marcellus the octopus), we watch Tova, a widow contemplating a move to a retirement home, and Cameron, a young man unable to hold down a job, develop an unlikely friendship as they navigate a significant period in both their lives.

We’re not convinced the unusual point of view choices work or that all the plot developments are entirely believable, but this is, ultimately, what makes the engaging novel ripe for a discussion in an AP Literature course: do the author’s artistic choices enhance or detract from the story she’s telling?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

We found great success teaching this 2006 novel and taught it for years during our time in the AP Literature classroom because we found our students had a lot to say about the text.

Set in the post-apocalyptic southeastern United States, McCarthy’s novel tells the story of an unnamed father and son trying to stay alive and hold onto their hope in the desolate, cruel, and dangerous world that surrounds them.

McCarthy’s use of language is stunning and rich in the use of literary techniques to reinforce the novel’s themes about human nature; we found it made a good introduction to the skills needed for close reading in AP Literature.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

We both read this 1994 novel when we were in school ourselves (anyone else remember the 1999 Ethan Hawke film adaptation ?), so it’s been awhile, but this title shows up on the College Board’s suggested titles list several times, and it’s an engaging (and highly atmospheric) story.

Part crime novel, it tells the trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese American fisherman accused of drowning a local (read: white) fisherman. But it also tells a love story, the story of prejudice in a small community, and the story of Japanese-American internment during World War II.

The mystery elements will hook readers in, but there is a rich and compelling story that goes beyond just the drama of a court case.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Owens’s popular 2018 novel tells the story of Kya Clark, the “Marsh Girl,” who grew up in the marshes of the North Carolina coast, and has shown up several times on the College Board’s suggested titles list.

Described as part coming-of-age story (as Kya grows up alone in the marsh) and part murder mystery (the town suspects her of the 1969 murder of the handsome Chase Andrews), the compelling narrative keeps the reader turning the pages of the beautifully-written text.

(Disclaimer: There is some controversy over Owens’s past that you may want to address, or at least be aware of, before assigning this text to students.)

Do you assign contemporary novels for AP Literature? What adult books for teens have you found successful with your students? Reach out to us at [email protected] or on Instagram @threeheads.works and let us know your top picks.

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our monthly First Chapter Friday Nearpods : we send out FIVE free quick and easy First Chapter Friday activities each month that we think you and your students will love.

Looking for YA books to suggest to your students for lighter recreational reading? Check out the YA book section of our website for all our recommendations.

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25 Short AP Lit Books for Quick Wins

• December 27, 2023
• AP Literature , Novels/Full Length Plays

Sometimes you just need to let your students have a quick win.  These short AP Lit books might just be the thing.  All of these novels come in at under 250 pages and most of them are under 200.

*** This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org.  If you click through and make a purchase, I might receive the tiniest of commissions.  Bookshop.org is an organization dedicated to helping small independent bookstores.  When you make a purchase through Bookshop, you can also select a bookstore that will earn the full profit from the title. ***

Why Use Short AP Lit Books

There are a variety of reasons you may look for short AP Lit books.  

I have pulled from this list of short AP books when there is enough time to read another full length book, but not quite enough time for one that is over 300 pages.

There is a break coming and you don’t want to carry a title over through the break.  Novels under 200 pages can easily be accomplished in three weeks without feeling rushed or slighted.

This list might come in handy for the non-readers in your class.  It is hard to believe, but every year I have students sign up for AP Lit who don’t like to read.  Often they are encouraged when they see that the book is short.

You want a long-fiction title to anchor a theme based essential question unit.  My students love gothic literature, and Frankenstein is always a hit, but if I wanted to highlight a lot of shorter works along with the novel, I would definitely use Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

25 Short AP Literature Books

I made a conscious decision to focus only on novels and novellas for this list of short AP Lit books.  However, many full length plays also fit the bill for works under 250 pages.  One of my favorites is Our Town .

Short AP Literature Books Around 100 Pages

The Awakening (Kate Chopin, a little over 100 pages) A novel about self discovery.  The main character is a wife and mother in turn of the 20th Century New Orleans.  She feel lost in her current life.

The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros, 110 pages)  This collection of vignettes tells the story of Esperanza growing up in the Latino neighborhoods of Chicago.  This is deceptively easy.

The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka, 44 pages)  A man wakes up as an insect.

Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck, 106 pages) Dust Bowl migrant workers George and Lenny are unusual because they travel together.  George feels responsible for mentally challenged Lenny–a large man who doesn’t know his own strength.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson, 112 pages)  Dr. Jekyll is a respectable man of science.  He creates a new will making one Mr. Hyde the beneficiary of his will.  Many questions surround this decision.

Books Under 200 Pages

Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton, 128 pages)  Mattie starts as a caregiver for Zeenie, her cousin and wife to Ethan.  Zeenie is a difficult woman and Ethan is immediately taken with Mattie’s youth and vivaciousness.

Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury, 158 pages)  A future age where Firemen don’t put out fires, instead they burn books.  Montage is a Fireman until the day he steals one of the books he is supposed to be burning.

The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitgerald, 180 pages)  This classic takes place during the roaring ‘20s.  Gatsby is new money.  He lives on the Long Island Sound, throws lavish, alcohol filled parties, and is in love with a married woman.

Montana 1948 (Larry Watson, 169 pages) David recounts the summer he was twelve.  It is the story of love, murder and family all tied together.  It deals with prejudice against Souix and how that tore a family apart.

Night (Elie Wiesel, 144 pages) The quintessential memoir of a Jewish boy surviving the Holocaust.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 176 pages) Ivan is a prisoner in a work camp in Siberia where they pray that the temperature will get down to -40 degrees so they will not have to work outside.

A Pale View of Hills (Kazuo Ishiguro, 183 pages)  It is post-World War II England, Etsuko is dealing with the suicide of her daughter and its connection to her survival of the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan.

Passing (Nella Larsen, 160 pages)  Clare Kendry is married to a white man who does not know that she is only passing as white.  Her childhood friend, who is also light skinned, has chosen to remain true to her African American heritage.

The Stranger (Camus, 144 pages) Meursault has recently lost his mother.  He wanders through life with an unclear purpose.

Sula (Toni Morrison, 174 pages) Nel and Sula are best friends.  They would do anything for each other until the betrayal happens.

The Women of Brewster Place (Gloria Naylor, 192 pages)  This story is told through vignettes and focuses on each of the various Black women who live in the apartments of Brewster Place.

Short AP Literature Books Just Over 200 Pages

Agnes Grey (Anne Bronte, 240 pages)  Agnes leaves her family’s home to become a governess for a wealthy family.  Of course, there she fall in love with a local man.

The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison, 224 pages)  Eleven-year old Pecola, a poor brown-skinned girl, wants nothing more than to have blonde hair and blue eyes like her doll.

The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger, 240 pages)  Holden Caulfield is disenchanted with his boarding school life.  He has just been kicked out of another one.  And before he faces his parents he spends a few days wandering around New York City.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Saffran Foer, 326 pages, but really only around 242 because of the images included)  This is a story told with 3 narrators, each having experienced trauma.  Oskar’s father died in the Twin Tower, Thomas survived the bombing of Dresden and Grandma is connected to both.

A Lesson Before Dying (Earnest Gaines, 272 pages) Okay, so this one IS over 250 pages, but it is a quick read and a student favorite.  Told from the perspective of Grant, a well-educated Black man in the Jim Crowe south on the 1940s.  Grant is tasked with helping one of his former students (Jefferson, on death row for murder of a white man) regain his humanity after his defense attorney refers to him as a hog.

Nickel Boys (Colsom Whitehead, 224 pages) Elwood Curtis, a Black boy living in Tallahassee is unfairly sentenced to serve time at the horrible Nickel Academy. He makes friends and just barely survives.

A Separate Peace (John Knowles, 206 pages) Gene Forrester returns to the boarding school he attended at the height of World War II.  He must face his demons from that time in his life.

Silas Marner (George Eliot [Maryann Evans], 206 pages) Reclusive and greedy Marner finds and adopts an orphan girl.  Of course, her presence in his house changes him.

Surfacing (Margaret Atwood, 206 pages)  A woman returns to her family’s lake house in rural Ontario, Canada after her father’s death.  She is looking for clues to her parents and her childhood.

About these Short AP Lit Books

I have only included books on this list which I have read.  That means that there are additional short AP Lit books that appear on the AP Open Question Book List that fit the criteria of being under 250 pages that are not included here.  

Let me know which books you have read or if you have suggestions to add to the list (and that I should add to my TBR).

Additional Resources

The Power of Choice Reading

How to Use the Literature Circle in AP Literature

High School Literature Circles:  7 Lessons After Nearly 20 years

Great Summer Reading Lists for Teens to Plunge into Today (An ELA Experience)

How to Refresh Your Independent Reading Ideas That High School Students Will Love (The Teacher Rewrite)

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Maia Kobabe’s ‘Gender Queer’ tops list of most criticized library books for third straight year

FILE - Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents on Dec. 16, 2021, in Salt Lake City. Kabobe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer” continues its troubled run as the country’s most controversial book, topping the American Library Association’s “challenged books” list for a third straight year. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer” continues its troubled run as the country’s most controversial book, topping the American Library Association’s “challenged books” list for a third straight year.

Kobabe’s coming-of-age story was published in 2019, and received the library association’s Alex Award for best young adult literature. But it has since been at the heart of debates over library content, with conservative organizations such as Moms for Liberty contending that parents should have more power to determine what books are available. Politicians have condemned “Gender Queer” and school systems in Florida, Texas and elsewhere have banned it. Last December, police in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, responded to a complaint from a custodian about the book by showing up and searching for it in an 8th grade classroom.

The ALA released its list Monday, along with its annual State of America’s Libraries Report.

“A few advocacy groups have made ‘Gender Queer’ a lightning rod,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. ”People are trying to shut down conversation about gender identity.”

Many books on the ALA’s top 10 snapshot had LGBTQ themes, including the four works immediately following “Gender Queer”: George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” Juno Dawson’s “This Book is Gay,” Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and Mike Curato’s “Flamer.” The list’s other five books all were cited for being sexually explicit: Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” Ellen Hopkins’ “Tricks,” Jesse Andrews “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan’s “Let’s Talk About It” and Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.”

“These books are beyond the pale for some people simply because they touch upon sex,” Caldwell-Stone says.

In March, the ALA reported that bans and attempted bans in 2023 again reached record highs since the association began tracking complaints in the early 2000s. More than 4,240 works in school and public libraries were targeted, compared to a then-record 2,571 books in 2022.

Many of the books challenged — 47% — have LGBTQ and racial themes.

The ALA defines a challenge as a “formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.” The association bases its findings on media accounts and reports from librarians but has long believed that many challenges go uncounted, or that some books are pulled by librarians in anticipation of protests.