TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books I'm Thankful For

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

                                                         

This week's topic is: Top Ten Books I’m Thankful For

As books are a huge part of my life (duh), I am thankful for each and every one I read. I am thankful for the wonderful, talented authors who write them. I am thankful for the publishers who get them into our hands. I am thankful for the teachers, students, family, friends, and bloggers who recommend them. I am thankful.

Below are the ten books I am most thankful for this year - some because their messages are life-changing, beautiful, and oh-so-necessary; others because they possess the power to reach some of my most stubborn reluctant readers.

For Their Message:

    

                                              

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio - Choose Kind...simple as that! But seriously, this book will move you to tears - both happy and sad - and change the way you look at life. It needs to be a One Book One WORLD read!

2. Reality Boy by A.S. King - Wow! A book that shows the real, devastating side of teenage anger. Gerald’s story is funny and tragic at the same time. King shows her readers the realness of anger and the downward spiral it can send one on.

3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - I know, I know, you’ve all heard me gush about this book all year, but I promise it’s for good reason. Months after finishing this book, I still can’t get Eleanor and Park out of my head (or my heart).

4. Winger by Andrew Smith - Not only is Ryan Dean one of my all-time favorite narrators, but this ending? Devastating! I can’t tell you what the message of the book is, because it will ruin the ending, but trust me, you need to read this one.

5. Every Day by David Levithan - This book isn’t widely read in my classroom, but those who read it are forever changed. It’s one of those books that makes you question the way you look at the world, the way you look at other people. Really, I could say the same about all of Levithan’s books.

For Their Must-Readability:

     

    

6. Looking for Alaska by John Green - Honestly, I’m thankful for all of John Green’s books, but for some reason this one is my go-to recommendation. It’s not quite as mainstream as The Fault in Our Stars, but there’s just something about it.

7. Unwind by Neal Shusterman - We used this as our One Book One School, which should tell you something about its mass appeal. I’m always amazed, year after year, by the diverse crowd this story reaches.

8. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles - This book is gold! For hooking reluctant readers, it doesn’t get much better than Simone Elkeles, and this book is the king of them all!

9. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - This book! Oh, this book! Is it wrong if I say I’m thankful for Noah Shaw? The girls, myself included, can’t help but swoon over Noah. Plus, the story is phenomenal, and Mara, herself, is a pretty kick-butt, if not entirely sane, main character.

10. Divergent by Veronica Roth - No book, in the last few years, has had quite the impact in my classroom that this book has had. Now with the movie coming out, I can’t keep my three copies on the shelf. I’m using it as a read-aloud for my lowest readers and they would read all day every day if I let them. (I could still say the same for the Hunger Games, too)