Once in a while there is a book that finds me just when I need it the most, and it makes such an impact on me that my life is changed just from reading. These are the books that cut me, make me cry and make me see the world a little more clearly. Ahead is a list of books, their summaries, and the circumstances under which I read them. Maybe you’ve read these books under different circumstances, maybe you have more books to add to the list, all that really matters is that you read.
1. Matilda by Roald Dahl
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Matilda by Roald Dahl was the first chapter book I ever read cover to cover and it’s movie adaptation is a sentimental favorite because it was one of the first things I watched with my parents. Most know the summary, but let me jog your memory. "Matilda" is about a five-year-old girl who taught herself how to read and lives with beastly, greedy parents and encounters a tyrannical principal who inflicts mean punishments to her innocent classmates. The book’s plot follows Matilda as she attempts to get justice and punish the mean adults of her world.
I think this was the first book that showed me justice and punishment in a way that made sense to me as a kid. It was also one of the first books that I related to on a personal level, having been a bookworm my entire life. At the time that I read it, I was just discovering what books could do to a person’s mind and sought to expand my own little library. My parents, even though they weren’t readers themselves, always encouraged reading in our house and after they saw I had read Matilda, they started buying me chapter books to continue my reading habits.
2. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
"Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls was one of the first books that actually made me bleed. I swear I cried for three days after it ended. "Where the Red Fern Grows" is one of those classic coming-of-age stories and a tale of animal friendship, which is always heartwarming and tragic. It’s an age-old classic tale of a boy and the way dogs can love in the purest, deepest way possible. Whether you can relate to loving a dog or pet doesn’t matter because this book really puts you in the place of Billy Colman, the main character, and his journey to get the raccoon hunting hound dogs he’s always wanted. I read this book at time when I debated whether this life was worth living. This book made feel like I’ve lived another life, which is really what you want out of a good book. I’ve never been hurt so badly by a work of fiction.
3. The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
"The Girl Who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester is about Piper McCloud, who has the odd ability to fly. The fact that she can fly frightens her simple country parents, so they allow this smooth-talking business woman to take Piper to a school with other abnormal children. The story then follows Piper’s realization that the school, while friendly and fancy from the outside, has the ulterior motive to suppress anything that makes these children abnormal in their minds. And they’re not just doing it with children.
It’s an amazing and inspiring story that really hit me deep when I read it in middle school. It was one of the first children’s books that I saw through the medium of fiction and fantasy to the social criticism underneath. The life lesson of the book was clear, what makes you unique also gives you individuality, but many are going to try and change you. That’s a battle you’ll always have to fight throughout your life. This book gave me hope during my middle school days of being bullied for being “weird." It’s a book I think everyone should read at least once in their lives.
4. Hidden Talents by David Lubar
"Hidden Talents" by David Lubar is a book that’s not given enough credit, doesn’t have a big enough following, but it’s brilliance has never been matched. "Hidden Talents" follows the story of 13-year-old child delinquent Martin Anderson as he goes to an alternative school for problem kids and meets some very unusually gifted boys. Martin discovers some of the kids at this school have psychic powers that cause them to accidentally get in trouble and they work together to sharpen their skills and get rid of the psychopathic bullies that were also sent to this school.
The book features some of my favorite things: psychic powers, a sassy narrator and down-to-earth hilarious characters. It was one of the first books that actually caused me to laugh out loud while reading. Although hilarious in nature, it also cuts deep with its messages of not giving up on problem kids and everyone deserves a second chance.
5. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
"The Rules of Survival" by Nancy Werlin is one of the realest books I’ve ever read. It’s the horrific story of a boy and his two sisters surviving the emotional and physical abuse of their psychotic mother. It’s one of the most accurate portrayals of abuse that I’ve ever seen in literature. Don’t worry, it has a happy ending, yet when reading the book there was never a moment when I wasn’t afraid for the main characters. The tension that I felt throughout the book made it one of the most thrilling books I’ve ever read, and after I finished it it was like a rubber band snapped in me and unleashed a flood of tears and emotions. At the time I read this, I was going through an abusive relationship similar to the one in the book. I was protecting my sister from my mom’s mood swings, never as drastic as the mother in "The Rules of Survival," but still pretty harmful. I’m happy to say that I got my own happy ending but when reading the book I realized that sometimes the person who loves you the most can do the most harm. It’s definitely the book I recommend for anyone looking for a cathartic thrilling novel.
This is where my list ends. Trust me when I say I would have added more books that have cut into or tickled my soul. But these books are definitely worth reading if you haven't read them already.
