This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a rewind, meaning we get to revisit a past topic that we missed (or want to do again). For this week I chose my top ten books I wish I read when I was younger.
Since I read a lot of YA, I am constantly thinking -- wow, I wish I would have had this book when I was a teenager! I always wonder how a book could have changed things for me. I also wonder how reading in general could have changed things, since I wasn't much of a reader as a teen. So here are the books I wished I had when I was going through all those awkward exciting growing years!
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1. Golden by Jessi Kirby - this book is about deciding your fate, or letting fate decide things for you. If given the opportunity to read this story as a teen, I know for a fact it would have changed some pretty major decisions in my life.
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - oh gosh, this book would have opened my eyes to so many beautiful things if only I'd looked a little deeper. It also would have set the bar pretty dang high for when a boy was to hold my hand for the first time!
3. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han - I would have LOVED to read this at the same age as Belly was in the story. I can totally see teen Ginger swooning for Conrad right along side Belly.
4. The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart - I sometimes wish teen Ginger had been like Ruby Oliver, so I think that's why I would have liked to of read this book when I was younger. Being a teenager is tough, I don't care who you are or where you're from. It's not one big happy family/friendship party 24/7. You get screwed over by friends, and by boys too, and you have to learn how to deal with all that by yourself sometimes. I wish I would have had this book to remind me of that.
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - technically this book was published my senior year of high school, but I didn't experience it until years later. It's a story I wish I would have picked up back in high school though. I know it would have changed me. It changed me as an adult, and it's a book I hold very close to my heart.
6. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger - I could have used a story like this when I was a teen. Especially for those times when I thought I was the ugly one among my friends. Teen Ginger was lacking in the self esteem department, and unfortunately ended up with boys who took advantage of that. This book reminded me of my poor choices, but it also represented the options I didn't know I had at the time.
7. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway - for the pure enjoyment of this novel, and how hilarious and fun it was for me to read - that is why I would have wanted it in my teen years. I know I could have identified with Audrey and her best friend's relationship, because for me it was my friends who were the center of my life. Plus all those concerts they went together? I was totally doing that, too.
8. Harry Potter by JK Rowling - yes, I am aware that the first Harry Potter book came out when I was in high school, but again, books were not my priority back then. If there ever was a series I wish I would have experienced as each new book was being born, it would be this one. I feel like I missed out on something pretty spectacular.
9. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen - pretty much any Dessen book would have been great for teen Ginger. Her stories are so rich in teen drama with a deeper meaning and a swoon-worthy boy. I would have been all about that!
10. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse-Anderson - this book was so shocking to me to read as adult, I wonder what teen Ginger would have thought. It gives such a true portrait of what young girls go through when tackling personal demons. Its portrayal is both frightening and eye-opening. Anything Halse-Anderson has written would have impacted me as a teen, I just know it.
I wished I'd followed the hype with Harry Potter too. I read them after they'd all come out, but I missed out on all the excitement of waiting for each installment and ordering them before they were all sold out. I missed out on everyone going crazy about the chapter they were on and what was happening. This is a great list!
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd started Harry Potter when they were first released, too. I didn't get to them until right before Goblet of Fire was released. And yes, 100 times yes to Audrey, Wait! I loved that book as an adult but would have been completely enamored as a teen.
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Ginger, this is a wonderful list! I've read a couple of these and I have to say that I agree with you. These books are all realistic and can really open a teen's eyes a bit and help them out in life. Considering that I'm a teen, I know what books are must-reads now! That's why I think romance in stories is so important-- because us teens deal with the same issues. Fabulous list, Ginger!
ReplyDeleteI have to absolutely agree with you on Golden by Jessi Kirby because I was a LOT like Parker and while I did loosen up the teensiest bit, it was like the last week of my senior year. Not that I expected to have the same situations and life Parker does, but just a friend like hers. GREAT CHOICE for this topic you've chosen.
ReplyDeleteAlso, goodness gracious Eleanor & Park. I can say that I can identify with Eleanor in too many ways, so this book would have just helped me. Period. Anytime anyone can see themselves in a character, it leaves an impression on them, I think. So, yeah. Another great choice for this topic.
As for many of the rest of these, I just need to get my butt in gear and keep up with my tackling of the contemps. I'm SO getting there but I have a long way to go to catch up with everyone!
I read Wintergirls as a teenager and, as corny as this sounds, it actually changed me. I recommend this book to everyone.
ReplyDeleteSamantha @ Reading-AndCoffee
What a fantastical topic my dear! WINTERGIRLS has been on my bookshelf for far too long... :-/ I just found it when I was cleaning this weekend. The amount of unread books is just still SO out of control. Okay, back to the topic. I agree I would have loved E&P and The Summer I Turned Pretty when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteI'm still kicking myself for not knowing that Jessica Darling existed when I was in high school because I would have been OBSESSED.
I agree with Harry Potter - I'm reading them for the first time right now and I can't help think it would have been a much more exciting experience had I read them when everyone else was reading and discovering them and anxiously awaiting the next book in the series to come out! And I want to know what young me would have felt about the books, not just old me lol. Great list!
ReplyDeleteI also feel the same way while reading lots of these YA books. *sigh* But I was too busy being a YA book, but not always with the same end results, lol. I was not as smart as the girls in these stories. I can't wait to read GOLDEN!!
ReplyDeleteGreat picks G! I actually have read most of them, except for three: The Boyfriend List (which I have!), The DUFF (which I also have!) and Audrey, Wait (which I think I should read). Everything else, I've read, some as a teen and some as an adult.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that context (including age and situation in life) affect how a book comes across to the reader. So it would be curious indeed to see how I'd react to a book like Golden or E&P as a teen - since I only got to read them now as an adult. I love that you picked this topic! It certainly made me think :)
YES I totally agree...err...well...not with one of them youknowwhichone but the rest are perfection! Love this topic...going to steal it for the next freebie!
ReplyDeleteSeriously - why didn't I read YA as a YA?!
ReplyDeleteI SO wish I had had Ruby Oliver in my life when I was a young adult! I totally didn't read any YA books back then, but looking back, I really wish I did! Funny how our tastes change as we get older!
ReplyDeletethis list made me even moooore excited to read Golden! from what I hear, it's definitely a book I would have wished I read when I was younger too.
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