Books are one of the greatest things in the world to me. So here's five books that, in my opinion, you should have read in high school and if you haven't read them, do it now.

1) "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte

If you love all things dark and brooding, then "Wuthering Heights" is your kind of book. Join Heathcliff and Cathy as they navigate the English moorlands, try to figure out a love that was doomed from the start and what happens when you place wealth and privilege above everything else. The twists and turns that happen within this book are made all that more extraordinary when you learn this is Emily Bronte's only published book, as well as the fact that she along with her sisters didn't venture from their home all that much, yet she wrote a story that has stood the test of time.

2) "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

"To Kill A Mockingbird" is that rare kind of book that you'll learn something different every single time you read it. Especially if you read it at different stages in your life. I know I, personally, find something new or take something different away from this book every time I read it. Join Scout, Jem, and Atticus as they learn the difference between what's right and what's wrong, how you're viewed and how that changes based on your skin color in 1930's Maycomb, Alabama.

*Shout Out to my Aunt Glynne Rose for giving me this book when I was young and letting me be able to understand it more and more as the years went on*

3) "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Set in the Jazz Age, the 1920's, Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire who appeared out of nowhere. No one knows where he comes from or even how he made all this money, cause the stories change based on who you ask. This is one book that I read in high school that, when I did a reading challenge with Justin, I had him read it too. So go ahead, get lost in the 1920's glamour and nightlife, just remember: things aren't always as they seem.

4) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison

One of the most moving stories I've ever read. I read this book for AP English IV in high school and I'll never forget when the story pieces finally fell together for me. I was so shocked, I emailed my teacher freaking out at the climax. "Beloved" is a book that will grab you from the beginning and not let you go. Follow Sethe and Denver as they try to escape the ghosts from their past as former slaves in Kentucky while rebuilding their lives in Ohio after the American Civil War.

5) "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

Okay, I'll admit. I might have fibbed at the beginning cause I didn't read this until my second semester of college for a religion course, nevertheless, I have grown to love this book. Join Celie as she tries to figure out where she stands as a black woman in rural Georgia and where she stands with God and the stories that intertwine with her own.

-BrittanyNicole