Can I please have your expertise in selecting texts?

Hi all. I'm hoping a bunch of you can help me with some ideas for text selection. I know this topic has been re-hashed a few times but I feel that each case needs its' own attention.

I teach yr 11 and 12 Literature (what we call the last two years of secondary school in Australia).

I need to submit the syllabus for year 11 Literature in 2014 soon. Up until now there has been a lady 'driving' the Literature area of the school who has a background as a university lecturer (although not in Lit - go figure). Anyway, her knowledge base is astounding and her choices for Lit in previous years have been fantastic, however, ignoring the classics that are a 'must have', her choices have been very out-of-touch with students. I feel I need to bring more modern stuff into the classroom or some of the older more dynamic texts. I have a few that I automatically gravitate to but I would like to hear other's thoughts on this.

Here is this year's syllabus:
Pride and Prejudice - Austen
Selected war poems - Owen, Hardy, Yates, Dawe
Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas
Australia Felix - Henry Handel Richardson
The Taming of the Shrew - Shakespeare

Any comments or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I hated 'Pride and Prejudice' at school. Although I was taught this when I was 12, I didn't enjoy Austen at Uni either'!

'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte is far better, I think! 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is also a fantastic novel and one teenagers enjoy.

War Poetry is incredibly powerful. If taught well, you can move your classes and make them appreciate poetry and the war. I'd stick with this!

I taught 'The Taming of the Shrew' to 13/14 year olds last year, so I know there are many things you can do with this play. Make sure to encourage some performances! Have they already studied 'Macbeth'? Teenagers love the grit and gore in that. ;) So if you can teach that instead, I'd do so. :)

You could teach some Chaucer! The Canterbury Tales are amazing.

When it comes to contemporary fiction... Tove Jannson's books for adults are beautiful and filled with descriptions and tales which can be used to fulfil numerous purposes. Neil Gaiman is another possibility. I've always wanted to teach 'His Dark Materials'! You could link this to 'Paradise Lost' and explore extracts from the two alongside one another, particularly as these are older students.

I'll second the MacBeth recommendation, as well as To Kill a Mockingbird.

I also recommend 1984, along with Cory Doctorow's Little Brother. Doctorow has a free download of the book in a number of formats --just google it.

His novel is an updated version, so to speak, of 1984, and it makes for compelling reading.

Sorry for the late reply, I hope it's not too late to help.

Your syllabus does seem a little old fashioned. I recommend anything from the Harlem Renaissance. Brilliant stuff.

The Catcher in the Rye has a good reputation among high school students that I know here in California, though personally I thought it was ****.