Although reading is an expensive and time-consuming hobby, it’s one that I fell in love with doing ever since I was a little girl. My dad and I would go to the library every week with a blue plastic crate, ready for me to put the books I wanted to read inside. I would fill the crate up until it got too heavy for me to add on, and I would come back every time the dates to return were up only to fill in that same crate over again.
Reading is a way to take your mind someplace else, teach you lessons, make you feel human, and allow you to empty your mind with only the story in your hands. It’s a great way to reset.
I read quite a few books throughout my life, but these particular five have never been ones that I could ever forget.
- Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
I was so excited to hear that TikTok has blown up Girl In Pieces because this novel helped me cope with my loneliness and self-harm back when I read it in middle school. It’s a story that follows Charlie Davis, a girl who is in a group home of other girls who self-harm. She was placed there due to her suicide attempt. It follows her journey into staying clean, and how difficult that journey can be especially when life throws you hard, sharp, sour lemons.
This book in particular left a mark on me for sure, as it has helped to give me confidence in my own mental health journey. It inspired and reminded me that although life lemons are hard, sharp, and sour, you can still make them into lemonade.
- Jeremy Fink And The Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
This book was one that I also read in middle school, which was one of the times when I felt so lost within my purpose in life. This book follows Jeremy Fink and Lizzy Muldoun’s journey in unlocking a wooden box that supposedly holds the secret to the meaning of life. The box came from Jeremy’s deceased father and was given to Jeremy on his 13th birthday.
This book, especially as I have read this at a similar age as the main characters, helped me to realize why I was on Earth, and how I bring something to the table, even if I couldn’t realize it myself. It clarified so many things for me and has helped me navigate through mentally tough times.
- Dune by Frank Herbert
I had to read this book as part of an AP class I took in high school, and although it was about 600 pages, I was hooked every page of the way. It was my first impression of the sci-fi genre, and after that, I’ve grown a special kind of love for sci-fi.
Simply put, Dune follows the story of Paul Altreides who was born to fulfill his remarkable destiny and save his people and family. It follows his journey through dangerous parts of the universe fighting off enemies and facing conflicts that mirror our political issues.
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
This one was also very significant, even though I had to read this book for a different AP class as well. The Power follows a world where women grow powers that allow them to attack, defend, and even kill people with their (literal) electrifying hands. This causes the world to shift, as women have the upper hand over men. The novel follows how the world would be different with interactions between men and women if women were to have a higher stride rather than men. This book gave a sense of empowerment as a woman, but also a sense of healing. It’s a great read and one that will challenge moral beliefs.