The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016

Kudos to the youth editorial board who selected the 25 unique entries for the 15th annual publication that includes an interview with the president of the United States, a book review, Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative journalism, as well as poetry, stories, and essays. While the chosen pieces stand on their own, the reward for readers is amplified with the understanding that high school students brandished their passion for reading and writing to comb through literary journals and magazines to identify the pieces that best illustrate modern history. Michele Scott's "How I Became a Prison Gardener" reveals how she studied, observed, and tended to plants while in a California women's correctional facility. The excerpt from Adrian Tomine's graphic novel Killing and Dying demonstrates a student's introduction to stand-up comedy. Molly Brodak's "Bandit" tells of a young girl's relationship with her father who robs banks. Rebecca Makkai's "The Miracle Years of Little Fork" details the death of a circus elephant.