If Elon University’s incoming students are adventure lovers, this year’s selection for the common reading assignment — “Little Princes” by Conor Grennan — is sure to please.
But this book isn’t just another action-packed thriller. The Common Reading Committee chose “Little Princes” — a New York Times and No. 1 international bestselling memoir — to be read by all new students for the 2013-2014 academic year because it connects with themes such as global engagement, human trafficking, poverty and personal development.
“The book also touches on critical topics such as diversity, South Asian culture, global religious traditions and personal responsibility,” said Jeffrey Coker, Common Reading Committee chair and director of General Studies. “Overall, it is a great starting point for a year of critical thinking on these issues.”
“Little Princes” tells the true story of 29-year-old Grennan as he embarks on a yearlong adventure around the globe, beginning with a three-month stint volunteering at an orphanage in civil war-torn Nepal.
His life is changed when he learns these children were not orphans at all, but had been taken from their families by child traffickers who falsely promised to keep them safe from war. Grennan makes it his mission to unite these children with their parents, despite risking his own life by traveling through the dangerous Nepalese mountains to bring the children home.
“It is a special book that can deal with difficult global issues yet still be enjoyable and uplifting,” Coker said. “You can’t help but get sucked into the story and want to know more.”
Grennan’s heroic tale doesn’t stop with the end of the novel.
In April 2006, nearly two years after his journey began, he founded Next Generation Nepal, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reuniting trafficked children with their families. Today, the program has reconnected more than 300 families with their children.
Junior Mary Kate Gorman, who served as a student representative on the Common Reading Committee when “Little Princes” was selected, said it is because of Grennan’s inspirational story that “Little Princes” is an ideal selection for new students.
[quote]You can’t help but get sucked into the story and want to know more. -- Jeffrey Coker, Common Reading Committee chair and director of General Studies, on 'Little Princes'[/quote]
“It encompasses everything Elon is about,” Gorman said. “It places importance on following your passions and working hard to accomplish your goals, which I believe uniquely illustrates Elon students as a whole.”
But sophomore Ruthie Robinson, who also served on the committee, said the book’s themes will impact students more personally by touching upon the importance of home.
“The book focuses on reconnecting orphans to their distant families and the struggle of not having a stable home base,” Robinson said. “Elon will become a home for new students just as Conor Grennan cultivated a home for the orphans out of nothing.”
The Common Reading Committee is comprised of two student representatives, as well as faculty members who represent the areas in the First-Year Core where it is expected the common reading will be used, such as General Studies 110, English 110 and Elon 101.
The common reading selection is agreed upon by Sept. 15 in the year before it will be used to ensure adequate time for speaker scheduling and other advance preparation.
For this year’s choice, Grennan will be visiting Elon’s campus Sept. 16 and 17 to speak with students and give an evening lecture about “Little Princes.”