the five people you meet in heaven
by Mitch Albom
any book that can make me cry is good by me, and this book did that well. it's about a man named eddie who after a life of monotony and feeling like his life never amounted to much, dies in an usual accident. his final act was trying to save a little girl, and he spends the entire book questions whether he succeded or not. meanwhile, he's meeting 5 people that affected his life greatly and finding out why they were in his life, what they were there to teach him. touching.

the perks of being a wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
"charlie" is a socially-awkward high school freshmen trying to understand society. this is the tale of his freshman year, the friends he meets, the drugs he tries, and his well-hidden past emerging. humurous parts as well as deep, philosophical parts. favorite line: "but because things change. and friends leave. and life doesn't stop for anybody."

a tale of two cities
by Charles Dickens
you'll probably recognize the opening lines, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." and have definitely heard of this book. i picked it up for a summer english project and loved it. it follows a family and a few other characters through the early stages of the french revolution. while it is full of history, i loved the relationships of the people and the ending note of love and sacrifice.

7 habits of highly effective teens
by Sean Covey
son of the author of 7 habits of highly effctive people, sean covey writes a similar book aimed for teenagers. i read it from time to time or open it to random pages now and then. it's good advice to keep your head on straight and be successful in school/work as a teenager, and to keep yourself less stressed and communicate better in all relationships. definitely a good read, even if you don't use all the advice, you'll probably use a lot. i know i've used a lot from the listening and being proactive skills he discusses. to top it off, it isn't as boring as this description or it's cover might make you think. try it!

the lorax
by Dr Seuss
so it's a children's book. read it again for the first time sicneyou were 7. the message is obvious. i love the message and the writing, and while i love all of dr seuss' books, this is my favorite.