Why AP?

In the fall we read The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. That story while it was of literary merit was also a fun read. Oryx and Crake is very similar in that way. 

The author does a great job bringing a reader in with exciting diction, tone, and stories in general. The book moves at a quick pace making it enjoyable to read. Because of the literary devices used in this novel I think it could make a good AP book.

There are also some things that make it seem like a book you might just read at home and not in a school setting. It is definitely meant for an older grade and I probably wouldn’t recommend it to freshman, but for AP literature it might be worth a shot. There are many references to “inappropriate topics”, but for the most part it is school appropriate. 

I would even recommend this book as just a fun book to read on the side especially if you enjoy dystopian novels. It is only the first book in a series of three and at some point I hope to read the others.

Allusions, imagery, diction, set-up, and many more devices are used to make this book of literary merit. I really enjoyed how it was broken up and jumped back and forth in time.

Just because I like the way it was broken up doesn't mean others will too. To some it may be hard to follow along and notice the different character and setting changes. This may also make it hard to find stopping points where the class can discuss what's happening.

The main character Jimmy/Snowman is an interesting character who after the world has basically “ended” is a whole new person recalling on his past life with his friend Crake. This is a plot line which I've never read nor heard about before.

While I found this book to be of literary merit some may argue that it shouldn’t be taught in an AP class because it isn’t a classic. I think that there should be a range in novels read as a class.

So to conclude, I'm half and half on whether or not this should be an AP book. Trying it one year might be a good idea.