Every reader has a book that stays with them long after they’ve read it. Sometimes you have more than one. Each one leaves an impression on a certain time in your life you look back on. My list spans from contemporary Young Adult novels to heavy science fiction. I hope you find a new favorite among this list and learn a little more about me.
“Anne of Avonlea” by L.M. Montgomery
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Starting with the second book in L.M. Montgomery’s classic series follows Anne as she begins working as a teacher and navigates her life as she moves into adulthood. I see many readers talk about “Anne of Green Gables” or “Anne of the Island” but never “Anne of Avonlea.” I think this book offers a huge part of Anne’s life when it comes to building relationships with the people in your community. One of my favorite parts of this book isn’t about Anne herself but of a subplot between two characters reuniting after spending years apart. The hopeless romantic in me adores how Montgomery writes about romance even if it’s not about the main character.
“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Image courtesy of Goodreads
Taking place in El Paso, Texas in 1987, follows Aristotle Mendoza as he navigates coming of age through his friendship with Dante Quintana. Ever since I’ve finished this book in high school, I’ve read it three separate times and each time I catch something different. I’ve grown more attached to this book especially after hearing about Sáenz’s passing this July. Sáenz did a wonderful job capturing Mexican-American identity, the struggles of communicating with your family, and what it’s like growing up queer.
“Kindred” by Octavia Butler
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada
Everyone has a book that’s required reading for school, but has one actually stuck with you? “Kindred” was one of these books for me. Blending science fiction and historical fiction, Butler writes about the harsh and horrifying truths of slavery. Being pulled from 1976 into 1815, Dana must figure out how to survive and keep a young boy safe as time progresses. This book doesn’t sugarcoat any of the events or details that happen to the characters in this book. For all the bad things in this book, it’s stuck with me for the right reasons.
“Look Back” by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Image courtesy of Goodreads
As our first manga in the Reading Raft column, “Look Back” focuses on the lives of Fujino and Kyomoto as they work to make their own manga despite their differences. I’ve always been as much a visual artist as I am a reader and if you’re a creative person yourself, you’ll understand the struggles these characters grapple with in the story. Having an anime and live-action adaptation, “Look Back” talks about what drives us to create in the first place. However you experience this story, it still manages to grip you to the core.
None of these books carry their stories lightly no matter the form they are in. I still manage to compare these stories to every book I read and only few have joined this list. I hope this handful of books gives you something to add to your TBR and impact you as much as they impacted me.