There are a million ways I could answer this question. What I say today will probably be different a year or ten years from now. Still, the books that have truly influenced me will always make up a part of who I am.
In fifth grade, I read THE YEARLING, a big, fat, lovely, tragic, challenging story about the end of childhood. I read it again last school year with my sixth and seventh-grade book club. It still hit me in the heart, but differently this time. As an adult, I could watch Jody’s life change in a way I didn’t understand when I was eleven. As a parent, I empathized with Penny, the father who would do anything to protect his son yet ended up in the position of causing him the most pain.
If you had to pick a book that has affected you deeply (with the permission to switch titles tomorrow!), what would it be?
Deenie by Judy Blume helped me understand my mother and the roles she tried to impose on my sister and me.
The Accidental Tourist taught me about relationships.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone made me want to write for children.
Sorry, I couldn’t choose just one!
Oh gosh, there are so many. But I think I’d have to settle on _The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle_ by Avi.
I love strong and independent female characters who live life by their own terms and I think Charlotte may have been the first I encountered. I mean, of course there was Ramona and Kristy Thomas, but Charlotte’s story was full of dangerous adventure. It involved her leaving behind a familiar and easy way of life to pursue something completely unconventional.
I love her. I’ve read this book probably close to 30 times.
“Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana De Rosnay. Not only is it a wonderfully written book – it’s partially based on a true event in WWII. Some of it was hard to read because of the description of some atrocities to the Jews, but very compelling mixture of POV going back and forth from past to present day. It moved me very much and everyone I have shared it with feels the same way. It’s good for us to remember what happened during that time in history.
Jane Eyre really moved me. Something abut her siutaion growing up, her looks, etc.. and how she handled everything with such grace.
I have to pick The Mountain is Young by Han Suyin, because any time in my life I lose my way, that’s the book that helps me to find it again. What could be more powerful or life changing?
Great topic! 🙂
Gotta go with The Handmaid’s Tale. It was the first book I ever read (I was 13 at the time) that made me appreciate how lucky I am to have been born a female in the 20th century, and not to take things for granted because they can be taken away from you without warning. And that life’s not fair.
Not the most uplifting message for a 13 year old girl, but it definitely changed the way I saw the world, and hopefully made me a little less naive.
Theresa, I loved The Accidental Tourist. I listened to it on CD several summers back. I love the way Ann Tyler can take make so many tangents and weave them into a story.
HH, I read Charlotte Doyle in a college kidlit class and fell in love. I read Crispin with my after-school book club last year, and it was a hit. Avi really can connect with young readers.
Jan, I read Sarah’s Key an a book club last year. It definitely made an impression on me (I listed it in a Fast Five post called Books That Broke My Heart).
Jennifer, another strong female lead! I love Jane Eyre, too.
Julie and Tere, I’ve never read your books (Tere, Margaret Atwood, right?). Look like titles worth reading!
Thanks for sharing, everyone!
Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist”, hands down. That book changed my life. (You know it must be life-affecting when both you and your husband read it – seperately – on your honeymoon. True story.) It was the book that helped me understand what is possible in life.
Kathryn, The Alchemist has been on my to be read list for years. Must get to it!
Good question. There are several, but first place has to go to Anne of Green Gables. It opened my reading world 🙂
1984 by George Orwell and Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles. Also, The Narnia series.
Jemi, I’m a huge Anne fan. Have you read all the way through to Rilla of Ingleside?
Catherine, my husband and I both re-read 1984 several years ago and had some good discussions. I was thinking of this book just a few days ago. Chilling and wonderfully done.
We’re actually reading The Magician’s Nephew as a family right now!
The Clan of the Cave Bear Series by Jean Auel. It helped me to stick up for myself and know that it was okay I was a little different.
Well the book that changed my life the most is a little-known book called Papa’s Daughter. A novel. I went from being a drug addict to being a Christian, as I read it. Powerful things novels can speak into the heart that is ready to hear.
I loved the Anne books and the Narnia books and the Lord of the Rings. I loved The Mysterious Island and Treasure Island. I loved the Scarlet Pimpernel and many more. They all changed my life some. The author shares his thoughts with you and you take what you think is good and make it your own.
Terry, I can’t believe I’ve never read Clan of the Cave Bear. Love the connection you feel with the story.
Sally, by any chance is Papa’s Daughter by the same author who wrote Papa’s Wife? Is it about a large Norwegian family?
When we’re young, books can change us for the worse and lead us astray. One book did that in my life: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I read when I was seventeen. It’s a complicated story of how it messed up my idea of relationships between men and women. But it’s a permanent caution to me about the power of books and the tenderness of young minds without guidance.
A book that changed my life for the better, forever? Perelandra, from the space trilogy by C.S. Lewis. Much though I love the Narnia series, I think Perelandra may be Lewis’s greatest work.
Rosslyn, thanks for sharing this. Though not every author agrees with me, I think those of us who write for children have a responsibility presenting what we do.
I’ve never gotten to Lewis’s space trilogy. Need to.
Yes, Papa’s Daughter was by Thyra Ferré Bjorn.