Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely love to read. Winter is officially here, and one of my favorite things to do on a cold day is curl up in a blanket with a good book. This list is filled with books everyone should read at least once. I have asked several friends to comment and add their favorites to the list.
1. "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster with this one. This book is about a young girl who has to donate one of her kidneys in order to save her sister's life. These sisters have a bond like no other, and this is arguably one of the best books of all time.
2. "Twisted" by Andrew E. Kaufman
Nothing says psychological thriller like this book. When I read this book, I was confused throughout most of it. But at the very end, everything made sense which made it so worth reading. The book starts with a psychologist who works in a mental facility. He has a patient that he feels like he knows, but he doesn't know how. The whole book revolves around their creepy relationship and mysterious sense of knowing each other.
3. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
It doesn't get much more classic than this one. This book is about two men who are migrant field workers in California. George is intelligent, but he has no formal education. Lennie is incredibly strong, but he also suffers from a mental disability. George is somewhat Lennie's caregiver. This story tells stories of hardship, friendship, and fate.
4. "The Soldier's Bride" by Rachelle J. Christensen
I am still in the process of reading this one, but it is so good and I will be done very soon. This book is about a young mother in the middle of World War II. Her husband is dead and now she has to live on without him. The only memory she has of him is a music box he gave her just before he left.
5. "The Diary of Anne Frank" by Anne Frank
No horror story could ever compare to this true story of a young Dutch girl in World War II. She writes while her whole family is hiding from the Nazis. There is no book, in my opinion, more heartbreaking than this one. However, everyone needs to read it to get a unique perspective of what it was like to be a victim in Nazi Germany.
6. "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
While this is a children's novel, it is still one of my favorites. This story tells the friendship of a pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur finds out that he is about to be turned into bacon, Charlotte comes up with a plan to save his life. Get ready for the tales of barn life and a wonderful lifelong friendship between two different species.
7. "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
This book tells the story of two best friends and their time at boarding school during World War II. The friends, Gene and Phineas, are always competing with each other to see who can do different tasks the best. However, one day their competitions go too far. This story is all about friendship and the hardships that go along with World War II.
8. "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
This novel is about a young girl who is a victim of rape. Through the book, she cannot come to tell anyone what has happened, because there is too much pain associated with the crime. This book is all about overcoming the past and trying to have a better hope for the future.
9. "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold
10. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This book is about a young man, Jay Gatsby, who lives an extravagant lifestyle in New York in 1922. He is in love with Daisy who lives nearby. This story is about his love and almost obsession with Daisy, but he fears he will never have her because she is married.
