Sometimes I miss my middle school days, back when I could come home in the evenings after school with little-to-no homework and curl up in my bed with a good book.
Reading is something I have always loved to do, and while I would still say I love it, I barely have the time anymore as a hardworking woman in STEM (who’s also trying to juggle adulting). So today, I want to take a second and reminisce about some of the books that changed my adolescent life for the better.
With that being said, here’s my top three book series’ from childhood that have stuck with me to this day. Fellow book lovers: let’s see how many of these we have in common!
- The Percy Jackson Series
Now I know for a fact that even if you’ve never read this series, you’ve heard of it. Rick Riordan really knew what he was doing with the series, that’s for sure. What started out as a way to inspire his son using captivating stories from Greek mythology turned into the creation of an exciting fantasy world – featuring troubled teens – that caught the interest of millions. This book series really fostered my love for all things mythology (mainly Greek, but Riordan has delved into Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology as well). Pivotal characters such as Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase helped shape my own personality as a young girl with troubles of my own.
Side note: it’s true that the Percy Jackson movies sucked (I believe that the fandom has collectively agreed to pretend that they don’t exist, except we love Logan Lerman). BUT all everyone’s been talking about lately is the Disney+ Percy Jackson TV series that’s expected to come out in a year or so, featuring an amazing cast such as Walker Scobell (as Percy Jackson), Leah Jeffries (as Annabeth Chase), and Aryan Simhadri (as Grover Underwood). It’s safe to say that me and so many others can’t WAIT for this upcoming release.
With Riordan at the helm of the show, I feel like I’m about to see my childhood come to life. Shed a tear for little me, everyone.
- The Hunger Games
Another one that I know a lot of people have heard of. I will say that, unlike in the case of the Percy Jackson series, the Hunger Games film directors did their jobs RIGHT. I remember walking out of theaters after seeing the first Hunger Games movie and feeling like I’d just seen everything I’d read about brilliantly and accurately pop up on the big screen. It was one of the biggest moments of my life.
I was a total book nerd, I know. And I loved every second of it.
Anyways, queen Katniss Everdeen was another one of my huge personality inspirations as a child. I mean she was strong, intelligent, self-sufficient, and an all-around baddie. She would also do absolutely anything for her little sister Prim, and as someone who has a baby sister of her own, I resonate so powerfully with Katniss’s character that I still draw inspiration from her strength and loyalty to this day.
Plus, when dystopian worlds are built right, they are an absolute thrill to read about, and author Suzanne Collins did an amazing job of it, in my opinion.
If you haven’t read the Hunger Games – or at least seen the movies – I 10/10 recommend it. It’ll have you hooked with gut-wrenching twists and turns up till the last minute.
- The Lunar Chronicles
Alright y’all, now this one is much lesser-known, and that is a total shame indeed.
The Lunar Chronicles is one of the most well-written, complex, intriguing, thoroughly researched pieces of dystopian/fantasy literature I have ever read. The wordplay, the plot twists, the diversity of main characters, everything was absolutely well done with this series. Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors to exist, and her standalone works are equally entrancing as this series of hers.
And get this – the Lunar Chronicles is essentially a powerful sci-fi adaptation of Disney fairy tales.
Yeah, you read that right.
Think Cinderella, but she’s actually a cyborg and the heir to a powerful throne on another planet. The story follows this main character, Cinder, and branches out to include the author’s intricate spins on Little Red Riding Hood (fiery red-head Scarlet), Rapunzel (innocent tech-genius Cress), and Snow White (princess Winter, with a beauty that captivates every man and woman on every planet and a spiraling sanity to boot).
It might sound a bit cheesy, but I promise you, this is worth the read. The story is definitely intended for mature audiences since it’s very dark and deals with a lot of violence and gore, but it is also a heart-wrenching storyline that will be ingrained within you forever.
…yeah, I definitely shouldn’t have been reading that in middle school.
Anyways. It’s amazing, and if you’ve read it (or are going to read it) you’re already my best friend.
Well, those are my top three childhood reads. Hope y’all enjoyed learning a bit about them, and if you want to hear more of my adolescent faves, don’t worry – I read waaayyyyyyy too much as a kid, so I have plenty more to tell you about. 😉