Good High School Literature for US history

[Sunkirst]

We are studying the "2nd half" of US History this year - from The Civil War to the present.  I'm teaching a 7 yo who's wiggly, a 10 yo who can read anything, and a 15 yo who didn't read til he was 11 (He's doing great now, and his comprehension has always been outstanding, even when I was reading everything to him).

 

I love the Sonlight approach, and have been looking through their picks for core 100.  The literature reading strikes me as lots of great stories, but most of them rather short and simple. I'm actually ordering many of them for my 10 yo, or as read alouds for the whole crew. 

 

For my 15 yo, however, I want more.  I'd rather he read fewer books of more consequence. I will have him read Tom Sawyer, The Call of the Wild and To Kill a Mockingbird from the Sonlight list (and maybe more - so many of them sound fantastic), but I'm wondering if The Hive can offer some suggestions.  The books don't necessarily have to be famous, or lengthy, but I guess I am looking for things that would qualify as American classics.

 

Thanks for the help!

[klmama]

I'm not sure what's on the Sonlight list, but these are ones you might consider:

 

Red Badge of Courage

The Great Gatsby

Their Eyes were Watching God

The Old Man and the Sea

Fahrenheit 451

The Chosen

Altas Shrugged

 

[klmama]

I just realized you were looking for literature for HISTORY, not just as literature.  If historical fiction is what you want, scratch Fahrenheit 451 and Atlas Shrugged.  Instead of Old Man and the Sea, read A Farewell to Arms.  The Jungle might be good. 

 

Do you want some autobiographies?  Biographies? 

 

What about some plays?  The Crucible is set in the time of the Salem witch trials, but it's really a commentary on the McCarthy era.  Maybe Our Town.