Books That Make a Difference

Oldest Son came to me with the requirements for his final English paper in honors English, sophomore year of high school. Choose one of the 75 books, give or take, listed, and work up about 10 pages of various projects and essays. Some of the titles included:

• Catcher in the Rye
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Slaughterhouse Five
• The Color Purple
• As I Lay Dying
• Wise Blood
• Fences
• Invisible Man
• Winesburg, Ohio
  

When I looked at the list, as the mother of a Mexican-American son, I was pleased to see writers of color represented, and Hispanic writers represented (Oscar Hijueles and Isabel Allende, for example). Favorite writers made the list. Cormac McCarthy made the list. As did Mark Twain. As did Kate Chopin.

I know my kid. So I went through the titles and said, basically, running down the list, "You would like this.... You'd get his humor.... This one would bore you to tears.... This one . . . nope....Not sure the themes in this one would be meaningful to you....This one is AWESOME."

And so he has narrowed his choices to Vonnegut (I'm lobbying for this) and Salinger, I think.

But what this little exercise did for me? When I went through the list, I physically was aware of my facial muscles. I smiled at this novel's title or that one. I thought, sadly, of the tragedies in The Good Earth. I frowned at the injustice in The Color Purple. And in each case, it was not about what HAPPENED, but what each book made me FEEL. And I realized, at least for me, as a reader, I carry the feelings a book brings up. It's a connection that is more than intellectual. The books that stay with me, long after "The End" (and I can tell you, it's been 20 YEARS since I read some of these and I still INSTANTLY recall my feelings), are the ones that somehow awaken something inside me.

And all I can hope is my books do a little of the same.

Thoughts? If you had to come up with a list for a 16-year-old, what books would you want the teen in your life to read? Why? When did you read that book? What did it mean to you?

Share. Discuss. I can't wait to hear what books changed you.