Great Expectations
Dickens' thirteenth novel (and arguably his best) follows the early adventures and coming of age of the young orphan Pip. Back in 9th grade, I thought I was "lucky" that MY English class didn't have to read this one, unlike my poor friends who were assigned to a different teacher. Flash forward ten years, when I plucked this off the shelf as a "duty read," and then stayed up way too late turning the pages so I could find out how it ended.