From George Orwell’s 1984 to William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, certain classics appear on nearly every high school reading list throughout the country. But this year, librarian Chelsea Hamilton wanted to give students a new way to experience them. 

This year, Hamilton created a “readalikes” section called “Reading with a Twist,” featuring modern books similar to some of her and her students’ favorite older titles. 

“I was talking to someone over the summer about Lord of the Flies, and I thought, this is just like To Kill a Mockingbird,” Hamilton said. “Then I had to find all the other readalikes.”

To build the collection, Hamilton examined the school’s curriculum and pulled out titles she knew her students would encounter. From there, she searched for modern books that could give readers fresh perspectives while still connecting to the classics. 

“I went through and found a list of books that I knew we would cover, and then I looked into the curriculum for other titles,” Hamilton said. “The internet is full of comparisons and readalikes all over the place.”