TGIF: Books That Make a Difference

September 2, 2011

Well hello there new TGIF graphic. You are nice lookin’. *low whistles*

This week the oh-so lovely Ginger at GReadsBooks has asked:

Which book(s) would you put in the hands of today’s teenagers in hopes of making a difference in their lives?

Questions like there are always really hard for me to answer. Part of it is because I tend to avoid books that tackle difficult subjects (yes, that means I haven’t read Thirteen Reasons Why) and those are the types of books that I expect a lot of people would recommend. So I’m going to recommend books that I think help make people better. Or at least, books that help people have a greater sense of understanding or humanity.

Consequently, these are the types of books that a lot of teens think of as “required reading.” But whatever. These required for a reason, and that’s because they’re good. So! Here we go!

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Alright, I’m gonna stop there. Although, I should probably add in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. And Voltaire. And Dickens. And more women. And The Beats. But. If I start naming EVERYTHING I think has the ability to make a difference in a person’s life, then we’ll be here from now ’til kingdom come. So let’s call it a day shall we? *grins*

I hope that y’all have all had a wonderful week and that you’re gearing up for a languorous long weekend! TGIF!