Great literary fiction. Definitely worth reading. I had tried getting through it twice before but couldn’t finish—this time I finally did. At the start, I had a hard time picturing the island, which made things confusing. I’d suggest looking up a map of the island online before diving in; it really helps.

The book leans heavily into the darker side of human nature. I couldn’t fully side with either of the leaders—Ralph was too soft, Jack was too hard. Both felt like extremes. Despite enjoying the book, I don’t share such a bleak view of civilization. Still, it surprised me that this is part of so many high school curricula.