Top Five Childhood Rereads

Great books are great books, period.  I became a voracious reader at an early age, taking eager trips to the library and literally checking out as many books as I could carry.  Today, many of the novels and series I consumed are fond pieces of nostalgia, but some are every bit as enjoyable to read now as they were when I was 10, 11, or 12.  Here are five books I still love.  (Note: I didn’t start A Series of Unfortunate Events until high school, so it’s beyond the range of this post.)

 

 

The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)

 

Cards on the table – I couldn’t bring myself to see the movie in theaters.  The book is too important to me, and the film looks too wrong.  Maybe someday…  This was one of my first dystopian novels, and I was pulled entirely into its world.  I love Jonas’s messy, complicated journey, his gradual awakening to the possibilities of the extremes his gray society has pared away.  The message, that colors and snow and love are worth pain and ugliness, is gorgeous.

 

 

Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White (1996)

 

This was assigned reading in 6^th grade, but I’ve read it on my own numerous times since then (don’t bother with the sequel, though – it’s not bad, it’s just not masterful.)  Gypsy and Woodrow are such rich characters, and I adore every bit of their friendship, from the jokes to the secrets to the stories.  The story of Woodrow’s missing mother and his desire to find her fascinates me, and I like the thoughtful way the book deals with Gypsy’s feelings about her beauty.

 

 

Tangerine by Edward Bloor (1997)

 

I bought this one through a book order on a whim, and I haven’t come across anything else quite like it.  The eerie atmosphere of the town is terrific, and the darkness within Erik is startling.  Beyond that, the book is stuffed with vibrant, memorable characters and excellent dialogue.  It’s also one of the most thoughtfully diverse books I read as a kid – Paul, the protagonist, is disabled, and the multiple characters of color feel informed but not defined by their race.

 

 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)

 

So I love the entire Time Quartet, but I picked this one because my memories of first reading it are still so vivid.  It’s unapologetically smart and almost audaciously inventive, fastidiously detailed and beautifully written.  The fantasy shines, the themes are striking, and the characters are odd, rough, and wonderful.  Meg is absolutely a character I needed at that age, and Charles Wallace remains the most compellingly-written child genius I’ve ever encountered in fiction.

 

 

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1977)

 

(I just realize four of my top five are by female authors.  Awesome!)  5^th-grade reading this time.  Like Gypsy and Woodrow, Jess and Leslie’s relationship is spectacular.  I’m captivated by their time together, and of course the world they create.  In a dingy nowhere town, amidst bullies, poverty, and distant fathers, they bring the impossible to life.  What could be better than that?