For high-school students in 2023, maybe “Moby Dick” is not the best choice.

There are so many great new writers nowadays, whose memes, posts, and influencer tweets are all available at the tremble of a buzz in students’ pockets right there in class.

Since less than half of the adult American population now reads literature — for them I’d recommend sticking with the Harry Potter books —or at least something that has a tie-in with a movie currently playing at one of the popcorn bucket theaters.