My Three Books

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A bunch of adolescent English boys get stuck on a deserted island following a plane crash. What follows is an exploration of the wild: literally as they explore the uninhabited land and figuratively as some of the boys discover their primal side emerging. The book is literarily rich, with running themes like childhood and innocence versus adulthood and death, civilization and barbarism, community and individuality. All these themes play out as the boys figure out how to fend for themselves against the wild in the island and against each other. Friendships form and get destroyed, and the text lends itself to analysis and study with its many symbols and oppositions. The novel concludes with them getting rescued, but not without trauma and the loss of innocence through a few deaths.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

This is a story of Lakshmi, a thirteen year old Nepalese village girl sold into prostitution unknowingly. The novel traces her life from poverty to prostitution to freedom poignantly but evocatively. It begins with her struggling to make ends meet living with her family in an agrarian society. With a good for nothing father habitually gambling, her mother holds the fort but things get real tough when the weather turns unfavourably. Crops fail to grow, resulting in money and food becoming scarce. Her father sells her away, and thinking she is merely sent to do menial work for a family, she sets out on a journey to slavery in India. The book details her narrative and her pain, and gives the world an insight into a horrifying reality for young girls in this part of the world.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

A dystopian young adult novel set in a fictional post-apocalyptic world, the book opens with a protagonist named Thomas who has lost his memory and find himself in an agrarian community of adolescent boys situated in the middle of a gigantic maze. The boys have everything they need to survive: each has a specific role and task, and they have regular supplies sent to them. The catch is that they are trapped and the Runners run the maze every day (and have done so for 2 years), hoping to find a clue to an exit, the challenge being that every night, the maze walls shift. Things start changing once Thomas arrives and he is caught in the thick of the action. The book concludes with them finally managing to escape the maze, and finding out that they are subjects in an experiment. They are the only hope for humanity’s survival in the real world devastated by solar flares and disease. This is the first book of a trilogy.

*second image is Singapore Edition, found online

Choice for suitable O level text:

I would go with The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Although the book is longer than average standing at about 369 pages, I find the plot to be interesting enough to appeal especially to boys in that age range (e.g. secondary school). The book has various themes that can be dug into and discussed, ranging from the concept of utopias and dystopias, (e.g. Is the former really good? Is the latter really undesirable?) to more relatable human traits and values such as courage, fear and friendship. It also contains many binary oppositions (e.g. the catchphrase wicked is good, the idea of freedom vs imprisonment – are they really free after exiting the maze?) that beg questions of morality and value that may yield rich discussions for inquiring minds at this age level. Central to the book that may be featured as a theme would be the indomitable human spirit – what gets those boys and one girl out of that maze despite the odds. This may be of great value as it gives an insight into an enduring trait of humanity through the ages.