Havre de Grace High School is full of avid readers of all grades and classes. Each grade has their favorite novel and a novel they wish would go up in flames. Yet, the school as a whole has agreed on one absolute favorite book, and one book they wish to keep locked in the book room forever.

            Khaled Hosseini’s redemptive novel, The Kite Runner, is the number one novel read and enjoyed by the entire school. Once read solely as one of the dreaded Advanced Placement English 12 summer novels, many voluntarily choose The Kite Runner to read for pleasure. Its haunting plot of betrayal between two best friends must hit a tender note for teenagers as Hosseini’s novel continues to be almost impossible to catch at both the school’s library and the Public Library.

            Alternatively, Curtis Sittenfeld’s novel, Prep, seems to be the most abhorred book owned by the school. The only similarity between Sittenfeld’s book and Hosseini’s is that both are summer novels for advanced classes. But, while The Kite Runner has kids counting down the days until they can discuss the novel in class, Prep has many counting down the days until the guidance office calls them back to change their schedules so that they never have to mention the novel’s title again. The main character’s shallow view of others and her painfully low self esteem makes the reader want the main character to fail miserably at the end of the novel, so as to finally stop her complaining!

            All in all, the broad literary genres at Havre de Grace High makes for a large group of well-rounded readers. Simply mentioning either of the aforementioned authors and their novels will trigger a fiery debate at any lunch table.