74Heaven Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Need a novel or nonfiction book for a teen - it is supposedc to be about a foreigner's view of America. The essay or report that my teen needsto write will answer questions like: character's insight into American life? how did character iew American life? What did the character view as problems in America at the timeperiod of the book? What did the character feel were strengths about America at the time? when and why did the person come to America? The two books dtr found at the library were about fitting tinto the typical high school & who's popular, who's dating who, and how to date teenage boys? Surely there are some books with deeper issues or more developed chractres for this type of reading assignment? LMK some suggestions, authors, etc. She has 2 weeks to find the book, read it and write the report. thx Lisaj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 "American Notes" Charles Dickens Written forever ago, but there are some really good insights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 This book is not at all like the movie. It would be perfect for you. Then, of course, there is De Tocqueville, but that might be a little heavy. And it's nonfiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 The "classic" text would be Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. It is hardly "modern" (1835/1840) but it is still an incredibly prescient look at our Republic, and it's hard to imagine something more worthwhile to the assignment. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 A novel offering a British view of the American Revolution is True to the Old Flag by G.A. Henty. It was written in the late 1800s and promotes a Christian worldview. Henty wrote many adventure novels for boys designed to instill good morals. There are many places to find the whole text free online. Here is just one: http://www.fullbooks.com/True-to-the-Old-Flag1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 The "classic" text would be Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. It is hardly "modern" (1835/1840) but it is still an incredibly prescient look at our Republic, and it's hard to imagine something more worthwhile to the assignment. Bill I agree completely! Excellent independent view of America and generates discussions pertinent to today as well!! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Need a novel or nonfiction book for a teen - it is supposedc to be about a foreigner's view of America. The essay or report that my teen needsto write will answer questions like:character's insight into American life? how did character iew American life? What did the character view as problems in America at the timeperiod of the book? What did the character feel were strengths about America at the time? when and why did the person come to America? The two books dtr found at the library were about fitting tinto the typical high school & who's popular, who's dating who, and how to date teenage boys? Surely there are some books with deeper issues or more developed chractres for this type of reading assignment? LMK some suggestions, authors, etc. She has 2 weeks to find the book, read it and write the report. thx Lisaj Joy Luck Club China Boy How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Farewell to Manzanar HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Also, there are a number of books by Lawrence Yep that may work. Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnUK Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I just ordered a book for myself called Domestic Manners of the Americans, by Fanny Trollope. It was written in the early 1800's. I thought that it would be good for our bookclub which includes British and American ladies. It looks interesting. You can read a bit by clicking on the 'look inside' like above the picture of the book. --Dawn http://www.amazon.com/Domestic-Manners-Americans-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140435611/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233387152&sr=1-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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