Five Books I Loved When I First Became a Reader

When did you first become a reader? My love of reading first stemmed around 7th grade when I first read The Fault in Our Stars (I know…I know). Looking back, I remember loving it so much because it was the first time I read a book that wasn’t ‘PG’. It dealt with death and making the most out of the one life we had. To 12 year old me, that was life changing. It opened me up to all of the other books out there, and I’m honestly so grateful for John Green’s books for that.

In this post, I wanted to talk about the books after The Fault in Our Stars. The books that I discovered when I would beg my parents to drive me to Barnes & Noble so I could browse the shelves and choose a new one. I can’t guarantee that if I read these books now that I would enjoy them, but I feel like that’s one of the best parts! Let’s talk about some of the early books I loved!

1. Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

This book holds a special place in my heart because it was the first book I remember receiving for a birthday! My friend in fourth grade gave it to me and actually wrote the date and a small note in the front of the book! Sadly, I don’t know where she is now but I treasure this book nonetheless. I remember reading it while on a road trip and absolutely loving it! I may re-read it just so I can remember more of the concrete details of the book.

2. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

If y’all say you don’t remember Delirium, you are LYING! This was one of the first dystopian trilogies I read that wasn’t The Hunger Games or Divergent, and I remember loving it so much. I don’t remember anything else about it, but I remember it was all the typical Young Adult dystopian tropes and I LOVED IT. This is definitely one that I would be curious to read it now and see how I enjoy it nearly six years later.

3. My Life With The Walter Boys by Ali Novak

Honestly, I completely forgot about this book until someone recently mentioned it. My Life With The Walter Boys was initially published on Wattpad, and it was honestly just as addicting as other Wattpad originally stories. Around this time, I had a family friend who had five boys that I would hang out with almost every day. So, reading this book around that time really made me fall in love with this book even more. If I were to read it now, I don’t know if I would like it as much because it does follow a lot of typical YA tropes. However, back in 2015 this book was GOLD to me.

4. Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards

I distinctly remember buying this book shortly after reading the “classic” John Green books after I first started reading. I choose this book, yes because it looked interested, but the main character on the cover had the same hair as me! This is one that I also don’t remember a whole lot about, but I remember really liking it and it’s been on my bookshelf ever since!

5. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

I actually have such fond memories of reading this book because I read it during the summer before freshman year of high school when I was in California for about a month! I remember just devouring this book and really connecting to it in a unique way. I do think I may still like this one if I went back and read it so we’ll see!

Hope you are all doing well! What books did you love when you first became a reader? Do we have any books in common or have you read any of these books? I can’t wait to read your responses and compare books!