I love reading. I used to read start a book and finish it in three days or less. I did not, however, love reading school books. I don't know if the books we had to read for school just were never my type or I just immediately hated them because they were for school. There were a few that I really enjoyed. I read my two favorite books in the world because of school. Now that I am in performing arts school my reading list consists of plays and I get to choose most of the shows I read. Here are the books I didn't hate from middle school to high school.

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

In sixth grade you read "The Giver" to expand vocabulary and to start kids thinking about morals. I remember loving reading that book and most of my classmates loving it too. The idea of a perfect world wasn't a topic I had ever read about. They made a movie based off the book that did a decent job at sticking to the story in the book. It's a small book that can really start you thinking.

"Night" by Elie Wiesel

I don't remember if we read this book in sixth or seventh grade, but it was the first time I had ever understood the depth of the cruelty that the Jews experienced during the Holocaust. It was hard to read about those things but that’s why I enjoyed it. History shouldn't be sugar coated. If something horrible happens we should tell people not hide it. The book was written by a survivor.

"Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare

People get so nervous about reading Shakespeare because they don't think they can understand it. I thought the same thing before I read this play. Reading "Merchant of Venice" was difficult at first but once I got the hang of it I started realizing how funny Shakespeare is.

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

This is another book that I love because of how raw and real it is. It's stories from a man who served during the Vietnam War. The way he does it makes you fall in love with his friends so you feel the loss when they die.

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin

This is one of my all-time favorite books. The character Elizabeth Bennet and her spunky, feminist before there were ever feminist, aura is the best. This was a summer reading book that I was able to choose from a list and I ended up choosing the most amazing book. The Keira Knightley movie version is really good.

"The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton

This one is my other all-time favorite book. It is a book that is a kind of a coming of age story. The book was written by the author when she was 19. The story reminds us that life is hard all around and that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The movie is amazing.