Anything by Dr. Suess, all the Harry Potter books, everything by Gary Paulsen, the 39 Clues series, and maybe Artemis Fowl and Alex Rider, too. More so Artemis Fowl. 

Counting by 7s

I. Loved. This. Book. I don't even know how it impacted my life, it just DID. The characters are amazing, and the plot is so sweet. I can't remember ever feeling that way about a book. I don't know how to describe it. You just have to read it. 

The Shack! This was one of the best books I've ever read. I'm pretty sure I cried at one part. It kind of made me change my whole view on the world, and I spent a lot of time having existential crises afterwards... It has an amazing movie, too!

Also, Life of Pi. I don't know what it was about that book, but it was wonderful.

When I was little (like 1st grade? 2nd?) I used to check out this book about Leukemia every time I went to the library. I'm not exactly sure why...?, but I remember it always made my problems seem insignificant and kind of kept me from complaining so much. 

And finally, Fish in a Tree. I definitely cried in this one. 

I have a few...

~ Out Of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper
- This book helped me understand people with mental disorders much better.  It also taught me that sometimes people are huge meanies to you, but you kinda just have to deal with it and show them who's boss.

~ Catwings, Ursula K. Le Guin
- This book inspired my love for fantasy and fiction.

Elena says afff.  What? 

Oh my gosh, I loved Beautiful Blue World! That was an amazing book! I haven't read Threads of Blue, however.

Probably the most influential book for me when I was little was Alanna; the First Adventure (From the Song of the Lioness quartet). It does have some fairly mature-ish stuff in it, and I definately would not recommend it to anyone under twelve (although I was probably eight when I read it the first time), but it is an amazing, fantastical book. I don't know for sure why I love it so much, but I know I've learned so much from the characters: how to perservere, how to be brave, how to take whatever happens and use it to become stronger. It's also probably where my fascination with sword fighting, magic, and medival knights comes from.

Oh, this is such a good idea! I have a lot, so I narrowed it down a bit. (Narrowed it down meaning did not include all of the books in my bookshelves.)

Red Thread Sisters

This book is about an older girl who gets adopted fro China. She can't speak English very well and it helped me realize that just because someone can't communicate in the same way you do doesn't mean they're any less intelligent or any less of a person.

Out Of My Mind

This book helped me become more open-minded and again, not base people off their ability to communicate. 

The Hate U Give 

This book has a lot of violence and talks frequently about death so I probably wouldn't reccommend it to anyone under 13 (sorry guys) but this book helped me recognized the racial inequality and injustice in my community. It also helped me realize that it's unfair to stereotype different neighboorhoods and their residents.

Return to Sender

This book is about the children of undocumented immigrants and is so beautifully written.

The Book Theif

I don't even have words to explain how much I love this book!!!