Rules: in a text post, list ten books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard—they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you. Tag a handful of friends, including the person who tagged you, so they’ll see your list. Make sure you let your friends know that you’ve tagged them.
I was tagged by the talented isolationary.
1. Sabriel by Garth Nix
2. Ronia the Robbers Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
3. The Diary of Anne Frank
4. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
6. Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
7. Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
8. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
9. The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia) by C.S. Lewis.
10. The King's Equal by Katherine Peterson.
Little Bee by Chris Cleave.
I was always into stories featuring strong lady characters (both literally or mentally).
Sabriel is a teenager thrown into an adventure to save her father, and though a talented and smart girl, still makes mistakes. The world is impeccably built, and paints Sabriel with such realism and humanity that it makes her even more extraordinary and inspiring.
Ronia is a wild girl who I related to due to our penchant for running around in the woods and befriending boys. It's an awesome story that illustrates a totally platonic love between a girl and boy, and each character is well-made and interesting.
Much of the reasons I began keeping a journal and started writing poetry was inspired by the honest confessions of Anne Frank.
The Horse and his Boy was always my favorite in the Narnia Chronicles, and the odd one out. It's mostly set outside of Narnia, but the horse is sassy and awesome, and the story features daring escapes and adventures across a desert. THE BEST.
My copy of The King's Equal was bought through those scholastic book catalogs when I was in grades school, and has the most gorgeous illustrations. The story highlights how wealth is not tied to money, intelligence not to degrees or book learning, and the value of internal beauty, integrity and kindness. It has magical creatures and universal lessons. Every kid should read it.
Little Bee is about a Nigerian illegal immigrant girl who comes to London and stays with a woman whose husband recently committed suicide. Their stories are more entangled than that synopsis, but it contains the most gut-wrenching plot I've ever experienced. Chris Cleave is a phenomenal writer, whose characters are so breathtakingly real and carefully composed. This book haunted me. It still does.
I don't want to outline how each book on the list is awesome. You may already know or have read them. If you don't, you should! I can't recommend them enough.