Top Ten Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About
Note: I would add The Hunger Games to this list, but I'm sure just about everybody has strong emotions about it. I thought I'd focus on some others that are not quite as obvious.
1.
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. Hands down, this is the one book that I will always remember as a book that I loved so much, I hated it. The ending, just thinking about it even now, makes me want to go find the nearest copy and either 1) go read it or 2) throw it across the room.
2.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Oh, the tears. I'm sure a lot of readers felt the same way about this book. There was always something to be crying about, and I vividly remember the day I read it: I was sitting in my bed surrounded by tissues and empty A&W cans, and I would go out to the living room every once in awhile with tears in my eyes, just to take a break from the SADNESS! And then, when it was over, I took it out and said, "Mom, you have to read this book."
3.
Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot. Meg Cabot has been one of my favorite authors for a long time (although I have to admit, I have not read any of her recent books), but I especially love her adult books. The humor in them is so much different than that found in her teen books, and I find them especially hilarious. This book was one that I could not put down because I was laughing so hard.
4.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. Such a sad, sad book. Not much to say about it, except that it was known to my family as "that crying book" for the longest time.
5.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I'm fairly certain that this is required reading for a lot of kids in middle/high school, but I'm not sure if everyone reacted quite like I did. I was sad, for sure, but I was also incredibly... touched. I don't know how to explain it, but I read this book right before taking a week-long vacation, and instead of enjoying my vacation I seemed to think about this book nonstop. It kept me awake at night, honestly, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it was just because it is so incredibly real.
6.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Another sad one. Not much to say about it, really. Just that it was sad and thought-provoking.
7.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. I think I mentioned this in a previous TTT post, and I'm more than happy to mention it again. This book had me in tears, which was a pleasant surprise, because I wasn't expecting such emotion to come from it. I really wish someone else would read this book so I can talk about it.
8.
Sold by Patricia McCormick. The idea of children being sold into prostitution is such a heartbreaking one, and Patricia McCormick did the subject justice by writing this depressing, thought-provoking novel.
9.
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. I had such strong feelings about this book because it was sad, funny, and it also confused me a little. It's hard to say too much without spoiling some o
f the main ideas, but when a book is this thought-provoking and deals with so many issues, it's natural that it should carry so much emotion behind it.
10.
Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks. I'm not the hugest fan of Nicholas Sparks (I can only handle his books in small doses; maybe, one book per year?) but this is one of the first books I read of his, and I remember locking myself in the bathroom and bawling like a baby throughout the ending. That was, until I realized that most of his books end in a similar way... now, I don't care one way or another.
Jane
