Five Books I Read In High School That Changed My Life
These classics have stuck with me through the years.
High school can be a tumultuous time. It’s a life filled with school, stress, parents, and no shortage of homework. It can seem like one repetitive day after another, and often young students are blinded by tunnel vision.
In high school, the idea that most of your life still lies in the future can be difficult to comprehend.
But every once in a while, something can come along that has a profound impact on your thinking. It might be a book you can relate to or a song that describes exactly how you feel.
These are some books that had a meaningful impact on me during that time of my life. They made me think of new ideas, they helped me make sense of the world, my mental state, and my emotions. Perhaps most importantly, they stuck with me.
These books are widely regarded as classics. They have that label for a reason. Everyone has a different opinion on what makes a book “good” or not. The idea of a classic novel can be interpreted subjectively.
Some people surely would be disappointed in these, not connecting to the meanings, the symbolism, or the characters.
But all these books have one thing in common; they’ve stood the test of time. Most people that read them are emotionally and intellectually touched by them.
The other thing they have in common is that they were the books I simply couldn’t forget. Their messages resonated with me profoundly enough for me to buy my own copy years later.
Let’s begin…
1. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
by Ken Kesey
One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
- children’s folk rhyme
Many readers find it nearly impossible to pick one favorite book. There’s so many books on the market, and they all have a mix of positive and negative qualities.
But if I absolutely had to pick just one novel as my all-time favorite, it would probably be One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
This novel revolves around an insane asylum. Nurse Ratched, the head nurse in charge of the ward, rules with rigid structure and routine.
Everything is going according to plan, until a new resident shows up, a loudmouth, boisterous guy with a wild streak of independence and no patience for tyrannical rule.
McMurphy challenges the status quo. As the story progresses, the residents of the insane asylum realize they might not be truly insane after all- perhaps they were simply too weak and frightened to stick up for themselves.
This book is about personal freedom and nonconformity. It’s about questioning authority, standing your ground, and always trying your best. McMurphy is arguably the most memorable and entertaining character I’ve ever read in literature.
With a good mix of humor and obscenity, this is one of the few books where I always laugh out loud multiple times. It’s hilarious, obscene, powerful, and real.
Despite all the strengths of this novel, I’ll admit I wish women were portrayed in a more positive light. If I had one complaint about this book, that would be it.
2. Night
by Elie Wiesel
I read this book in 12th grade, and then we took a field trip to the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
It was an experience I’ll never forget.
This was one of those books where I had to set it aside for a few minutes and take a break.
It affects you hard. It can make you cry. It can make you question your preconceived notions about human compassion and empathy.
Horrifyingly enough, it’s all based on a true story.
This is Elie Wiesel’s memoir about his time spent in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. With a stoic writing style, Wiesel recounts his arrival at the camp, the mistreatment and death he witnessed, and the horrors he endured by his father’s side.
This book is thoughtful, honest, and deep. Wiesel’s story is both detailed and heartbreaking, and it beautifully illustrates what can happen when we stay silent in the face of injustice.
This is one of those books I believe everyone should read at least once.
3. The Giver
by Lois Lowry
For the first time, he heard something he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps, it was only an echo.
- Lois Lowry, The Giver
To be fair, I read this in Middle School, but it stuck with me enough that I went out and bought a copy as an adult, so I included it here.
This is a 1993 dystopian novel about an alternate society. At first glance, it seems like a sort of utopia; there’s no war, crime, or pain.
When 12-year-old Jonas is given the role of “The Giver,” his life changes forever. He can hold on to the memories of the past. For the first time, he can see color, feel authentic emotions, and experience what it means to be fully alive.
His life is turned upside down.
This book forces you to stop and think about society and the way we live. It gives the reader a new appreciation for music, art, creativity, and human emotion.
There are many everyday things, like colors or the sounds of music, that we simply don’t think about. Imagining a dry, colorless world ruled by sameness and indifference brings to light the beauty of the ordinary things about our mundane existence.
4. Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
This is a dystopian novel about books. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature that books burn.
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn and destroy something deeply illegal- books.
He’s never questioned his occupation. He goes to work, does his job, and goes home. His life is peaceful and uneventful.
But then he starts to question things.
Why is 17-year-old Clarisse McClellan so different? Why are people willing to die to protect their books? What’s so special about the written word? Are there any secrets in those books? Is there a different way to live?
Guy Montag has always found pleasure in burning, but now he has to face an ethical dilemma; will he continue to live how he’s always lived, or will he try to make a change?
But books are illegal and change doesn’t come easy.
This novel is a must-read for literature lovers. It shows how powerful the written word can be, and how essential.
If there’s one novel that truly showcases the importance of books, both for society and individuals, it would probably be this one.
5. The Bell Jar
By Sylvia Plath
Note: I am biologically related to Sylvia Plath on my paternal grandmother’s side of the family. This fact is way too awesome not to share. I think it’s the coolest thing ever.
To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.
— Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar may be the last novel on this list, but it’s a book that shouldn’t be ignored.
If you’ve ever gone through depression, or experienced indecisiveness or neuroticism, you could probably get something meaningful from this book.
Sylvia Plath suffered from depression. She died by suicide in 1963 at the age of 30. She wrote journals, letters, and plenty of poetry, but The Bell Jar is her only novel.
The ironic thing is that she didn’t even take it seriously.
She wrote The Bell Jar mostly for herself, and didn’t regard it as a work of serious literature.
Despite the circumstances, this book had a profound affect on me. I was going through a mental rough patch when I first read it, and it was both honest and relatable.
The main character, Esther Greenwood, is a young woman going through many internal conflicts. On the outside, her life looks fine, even ordinary. But her mind is a whirlwind of despair. Esther is suicidal, indecisive, and untrusting of others.
Many people, especially adolescents, can relate to how Esther views her life. She can imagine her entire life ahead of her, with all its glorious choices and possibilities, and it makes her feel sick.
Will she choose to become a writer? Will she go into business? Will she get married? What about children? Esther doesn’t know how to face these questions.
One reason I recommend The Bell Jar is because of how honest and timeless the story is. The time period may have changed (it was written in 1961) but the themes of the story are still relevant to modern life. The Bell Jar touches on many subjects; career, marriage, friendship, sex, dating, parenthood, personal advancement, mental health.
That’s quite a list of topics. But all of it remains relevant to today’s world. Plath wrote this book with sincerity and personal experience; it’s a raw compendium of her mindset and struggles as a young woman. But this book doesn’t just apply to her. It applies, in one way or another, to just about all of us.
That’s why this book is so important.
Everyone has a different preference for what they like to read. Some people might find that these novels don’t resonate with them. That’s okay.
These powerful stories helped to change my perspective. I hope they can do the same for you.
