Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, they post a subject and the goal is to answer the question with your top ten picks. Once you've done it, link back to The Broke and the Bookish and check out what other bloggers have to say!

Top Ten Books That Made Me Think

1) If I Stay by Gayle Forman- There are few books that made me question life the way Ms. Forman's novel did. Watching as each person comes to visit Mia and tell her whether she should grip onto life or if she sould go made me think about what I would do if I was in her position. If life or death was a decision in your hands and death was easy and life was so much harder, what would you have the strength to do?

2) A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass- Setting apart the fact that this is an intense emotional read about death, A Mango-Shaped Space introduced me to this amazing new condition called synesthesia. Basically, what this means is that sounds, shapes and numbers have colors, tastes and certain sounds to Mia. I can't imagine the world being painted so vividly as it is in Mia's mind, how doing math problems becomes a literal paint by numbers. We all walk around this world but it's rare that we actually stop to see the colors. This book reminded me of that.

3) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher- I've heard two sides of an arguement about this one. Some people say that it can make survivors feel like they didn't do enough to stop the person they love from commiting suicide. I'm on the opposite side. What Thirteen Reasons Why did for me is remind me that everything we do in life has a rippling effect. Even somethign as smile as saying hi to someone can make all the difference in the world. We should never live in fear of acting because acting can make someone's life better.

4) Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott- This is one of those novels that you don't want to think about afterwards but it creeps up on you slow and haunting. I've never started a book over in the same sitting but I had no choice. My hands moved of theit own accord. If anything, this novel made me think about how lucky I've been and also about the darkest places in a human heart. Alice was molded by her circumstances and desperation to get out of a horrible situation and because of that, she was willing to do anything to get out. It was haunting and horrible and something that will always stay with me.

5) Hate List by Jennifer Brown- Can you be held responsible when you helped create a list that would be used as by a lonely high school to target and kill people in a school shooting? That is the heavy question that Hate List addresses.Valerie definitely meant every name she added to the list she and her boyfriend created. She just had no idea he was taking note and absolutely no inkling that he'd show up with a gun to school and target these people. This book made me think about all the things we say out of anger such as "I could kill him." The things we say are powerful, sometimes more than we know, and this made me think about all the times I've said things that I'd never mean to actually happen. We have to be careful because sometimes someone is listening to the worst parts of us.

6) How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford- A lot of books never address the power of friendship the way that this novel does. When Robot Girl and Ghost Boy start talking, Ghost Boy shows her a great wide world of things she never thought possible and he makes her life interesting. This book made me appreciate the things I have now because they can slip through your fingers like sand in the blink of an eye.

7) Hold Still by Nina LaCour- Mr. Asher's book addressed the survivors of suicide and talked about what they could. LaCour's book does the opposite, in that it explores the effect suicides have on the living. Watching Caitlin walk around while trying to put together the pieces of her best friend's suicide is a great reminder that sometimes there are no signs and there is nothing we can do but remember and go forward. It made me think about how to get past the tough things in life that we have no control over.

8) Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi- What would it be like if your touch killed? You could never experience someone else's embrace or your mother's hand on your cheek. These things are so powerful because they make a person who they are. I couldn't imagine having hands that could kill with an accidental brush. And on the other side of this, imagine finally finding someone that can withstand your touch. I love that we experienced both of those sensations with Juliette.

9) XVI by Julia Karr- There aren't too many books out there that breach the subject of sexism the way XVI does. From a young age, girls are taught to want the tattoo that will allow them to have sex because that will make them attractive to men. But in XVI's society, if you have the tattoo, you're free game whether you want to be or not. That is absolutely horrifying to think about. It forced me to think about the way women veiw themselves and how other's view them. We might not walk around with tattoos that say come get me but we are certainly taught at an early age that looking attractive is a good thing.

10) Stay by Deb Caletti- Not all abuse leaves bruises. Some abuse goes even deeper than the body. Stay looks at the mental and physical impacts that a verbal and physical abuse can have. The face of an angel can hide a monster underneath and not all abusers are bad all the time which can cause people to stay. What this book did is force me to examine the darker parts of giving your heart to someone and made me feel blessed to have such an awesome and supportive husband!

This was a tough list to put together because I wanted to remember books that truly affected me. I'm very happy with my list now though!

Which books made your list?