Selected frequently-challenged titles available for check out from Plough Library:
The Diary of a Young Girl by "Margot and I started packing our most important belongings into a schoolbag. The first think I stuck in was this diary, then curlers, handkerchiefs, schoolbooks, a comb, and some old letters. Preoccupied by the thought of going into hiding, I stuck the craziest things in the bag, but I'm not sorry." (p. 20)
The Great Gatsby by First published on April 10, 1925, The Great Gatsby is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City during the summer of 1922. The novel chronicles an era that author F. Scott Fitzgerald himself dubbed the "Jazz Age."
Huckleberry Finn by "And he said if a man owned a bee-hive, and that man dies, the bees must be told about it before sun-up the next morning, or else the bees would all weaken down and quit work and die. Jim said bees wouldn't sting idiots; but I didn't believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myslef, and they wouldn't sting me." (pp. 54-55)
Invisible Man by "It was exhausting--as though I had held my breath continuously for an hour under the terrifying serenity that comes from days of intense hunger. Any yet, it was a strangely satisfying experience for an invisible man to hear the silence of sound." (pp. 12-13)
Lord of the Flies: Casebook Edition by The classic tale of a group of English school boys who are left stranded on an unpopulated island, and who must confront not only the defects of their society but the defects of their own natures.
The Odyssey by The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.
Of Mice and Men by The tragic story of the friendship between two migrant workers, George and Lenny, and their dream of owning a farm.
Slaughterhouse-Five by "Weary's version of the true war story went like this: There was this big German attack, and Weary and his antitank buddies fought like hell until everybody was killed but Weary. So it goes. And then Weary tied in with two scouts, and they became close friends immediately, and they decided to fight their way back to their own lines. They were going to travel fast. They were damned if they'd surrender. They shook hands all around." (p. 42)
Song of Solomon by This novel takes readers into a magical and richly peopled world which encompasses four generations of African American life.
To Kill a Mockingbird by A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father--a crusading local lawyer--risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.650 E Parkway S, Memphis, TN 38117 · (901) 321-3432