Books that have changed my life:

• Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott:

"Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate's invisible.
And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can't stand even though she can't stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she's sure she's just his latest conquest.
Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen -- but only if she lets them.."

This book changed my life because during the time that I was reading it, around eight grade, I seriously needed it. It's a very sweet story about a girl who has a lot of stuff going on in her life and she's dealing with a lot of issues we deal with. I found out very helpful because it help me move on from a particular hard experience I had with some friends. Elizabeth Scott helped realize with her story that friends fall apart and it's not always you're fault, it happens, and they don't deserve you. This book, apart from being super sweet and being able to reread it a bunch of times because I never get tired of it, helped me to grow up. 

• The Faults In Our Stars by John Green:

"Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten."

Not a big summary on this one! But I bet you all know what this is about, and I'm guessing most of you read it (if not what are you doing? go read it!). There should be no question why this book changed my life; it's just one of those books. It changes people's life.

I read this one last year and it will always be one of those books that you can reread like a billion times and you'll still love and you'll still cry. It's just flawless. It changed me so much! It changed the way I viewed death, the way I viewed illness. It just changed me in general.

I am Augustus Waters, basically. We have the same fears and all, so it was the best journal to read this book and see his character growth. 

• Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

"Charlie is a freshman.
And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.
Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor."

Now, I got Perks for my birthday. A friend of mine bought for me as a present and the day it arrived wasn't actually on my birthday, it was a week or two after. I was never so glad to receive a present late until this  moment. On this particular day, I was not okay at all. At geometry class we had to do a figure or something and had to use the ruler and it had to perfect. The teacher wasn't in the best of moods either, which effected me quite a bit. My hands were shaking and couldn't hold the pencil. My friends asked me if I needed help but I told them I didn't because I could do it by myself. I needed to. I was so frustrated with myself and my body for not working as it should I cried. I cried and I couldn't stop. I was shaking and had one of my worst anxiety attacks. Right there, in front of the whole class. It was so embarrassing.

The teacher sent me to the nurse with one of my best friends, she talked to me until I could calm down. Then at lunch, she went with me to the classroom to talk to the teacher. The teacher was asking me what happened and all, and I was trying to explain but she just didn't get it. She got mad and told me that I couldn't blame her bad mood. I wasn't. I got mad because she just didn't get it. I started crying again (I loath crying by the way) and headed to the back of the classroom to calm down while the nurse talking with my teacher. I walked over to my seat and found a wrapped present waiting for me. I laughed because I was expecting it. I opened it and there it was; Perks of being a wallflower.

I believe in signs quite a bit, and that right there was such a huge sign from the universe for me. It made me smile and I started to believe that everything was going to be okay.

Now, that was before I even read the book. Obviously once I read it, it also changed me. But not as quite as that small gesture did.

• Looking For Alaska by John Green:

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .

After. Nothing is ever the same

Yes, another John Green book. This book I read a couple of weeks ago, like a month or something. And it was during the time that I was questioning my beliefs. I grew up with a very catholic family and go to a catholic school, but I never felt like I belonged there at all. I wasn't completely comfortable with a few things and I always questioned them which makes some of my religion teachers quite uncomfortable. So, when I read in this book about the different religions and what each believed in, which believe it or not was not explained in my religion class because, you know, they're being biased and all. It all make me realize how little I know about it. The one that spoke to me the most was Buddhism. I researched about it and I realized this was basically everything I believed in. 

It was a bit difficult to convince my parents I was serious about it but they still accept me. Kind of. 

Anyway, if it weren't for this book I probably wouldn't have become a Buddhist. 

Other than that, this book taught me about death and grief and pain. (Given, it wasn't as good as Faults but I loved it).

...

So those are the books that have changed my life the most! Reading and books are a big part of my life and I'm ever so glad for it. 

They make me realize that life is much grander than how we think it is, that all our lives are stories. We just have to decide who's writing it; ourselves or someone else. 

xoxo,

- Merzy