I have read a few life-changing books I have read throughout my life, even those I read as a child. It would be a shame to narrow it down to just one, so here is my list of life-changing books and the reasons why they were so incredible. They are in no particular order.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
This book changed my life as a child. It was the first book I had read that really opened my mind to the world of possibilities that can exist within and outside of your very own room. It was the book that taught me it was okay to dream, imagine, and create a world much greater than the one you think you've been given. The book gave a whole new meaning to "time out". It truly did make me enjoy getting sent to my room because I knew within my room existed a whole 'nother world worth exploring. This is a book I will be reading to my kids and giving them as a gift when they get older. It truly was and still is a life-changing book.
Can't Get There from Here by Todd Strasser
Before I read this book, I judged homeless people. I looked at homeless people as scary, criminals who deserve to be where they are. After reading this book, I know homeless people are diverse. Not all are criminals, not all are addicts, not all are bad people. Not all deserve to be where they are. Thanks to this book, I know homeless people are just like me. They are humans. They are just as deserving of my life, if not sometimes, more. Homeless people are not scum to be looked down on, they are not people to be scared of, and they are just people. This book changed the way I looked at the world around me and the people in it. Because of this book, I take every opportunity I get to share kindness and wealth with those who are less fortunate than me.
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
This is the book that helped me accept myself and my group of friends. This is the book that helped me see it is okay to be different. It is okay not to be popular. Best of all, it is okay to be yourself, no matter what happens or what people say. This will be the book I give to my future children when they become teenagers. This will be the book that will change their high school days. This will be the book that helps them realize differences within groups of people are not bad and should be welcomed. It truly is a must-read and a literary classic, if I do say so myself!
Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo
I read this book as an extra credit assignment in a remedial reading class shortly after starting my college career at SAC. The professor I had simply asked me to read it and write a chapter by chapter report. When I finished the book, I would get my extra credit points. I had no idea how much I would come to love this book. This was truly one of the first books I had been assigned to read that I actually loved! By the end of the book it had me in tears. It opened my eyes to a world outside of my own and made me realize child slavery still goes on today. Iqbal, was a hero to many people in his country and inspired this book telling his story. Thanks to this book, he is not only known as a hero to people in his homeland, but he is also a hero in my eyes. He allowed people to see how child slaves were being treated and just what was really going on. It is an inspiring book about an inspiring boy.
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