Few books are as messed up and well-remembered as former schoolteacher William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. First published in 1954, this classic explores themes of human nature and civilization vs. savagery.

A group of young boys are the lone survivors of a plane crash and find themselves alone in the wild. They elect Ralph as their chief and establish rules using a conch shell (whoever holds it gets to speak). Jack becomes increasingly obsessed with hunting and ends up forming his own tribe, separate from Ralph’s. Before long, all of the boys descend into moral collapse.

With so much symbolism and eerie commentary on human nature, this book has been disturbing high school English classes for decades. It definitely isn’t one for the weak.

The first time I read it (about a year ago), I actually knocked out the whole book in one sitting, but frankly, that felt hard to do. Having taught boys this age, it’s frightening to picture the horrors that fill the pages. But the scariest part is how realistic the book is because it reflects a society where law and order are replaced by greed and apathy.