Top Ten Tuesday--Contemporary and Classic Pairings

I am so excited to be participating in my first Top Ten Tuesday!  It's hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and is a really fun way to stay connected with other book bloggers and see some of their book favorites!

Today's Top Ten is about YA books that could be paired with classics.  I love this topic because I think there are some great YA books that could really be explored in a classroom.  So here's my list:

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding/The Maze Runner by James Dashner--A group of teen boys trying to survive together.  Some turn bad, some become leaders, and danger lurks...

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne/Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson--Two female protagonists turned into outcasts because of a decision they made.  But if only people looked beyond their initial judgment... 

• Night by Elie Wiesel/Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys--Intense view of life in a concentration camp...and anything by Ruta Sepetys is SO GOOD!

• 1984 by George Orwell/Matched by Ally Condie--Societies where everything is chosen for you and constantly monitored.  But these main characters aren't satisfied with staying in that life.  Not a lot of action in either of these books but both are very thought-provoking.

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen/Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles--They hate each other, then they love each other--both SO GOOD!  The most popular classic and YA romances, for sure.

• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan/Blue Plate Special by Michelle Kwasney--The lives of various women are connected through time.  Nice and sentimental with a few surprises thrown in here and there

• The Crucible by Arthur Miller/Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill--Obviously both about the Salem Witch Trials, but Hemphill's book gives light to some of the minor characters of Miller's play.  

• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger/An Abundance of Katherines by John Green--Young men trying to find themselves by taking a literal and metaphorical journey (and shouldn't all schools have SOMETHING by Green in their curriculum???)

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee/My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow--Both focus on civil rights with adult decisions affecting the young protagonists

• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien/The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness--Unanticipated journeys with crazy action, unique characters, and special powers