Yesterday I wrote about the Top 10 books I would have loved as a child. Today, I’ll give you the Top 10 books that warped my imagination as a child. These are the ones that I find still color which stories I enjoy, what I’m more likely to read. These are the ones I remember best. Did I read other books, better books back then? Maybe. Regardless, these were the ones I revisited again and again. So here goes.
10. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. So lonely.
9. Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt. A cancer book. Or at least *spoiler* a death book. I can’t remember much beyond reading it over and over again.
8. Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. Remember when Fudge eats the Turtle? Or something like that?!?! Man, I was sooooo pissed.
7. Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink. Even then, I wanted to be a mom.
6. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. This book scared the crap out of me. But I loved it and I’d read it over and over again. Every SINGLE time I got freaked out. I’m writing a scary story now. I think I’ll re-read it to see what scared me then and if it scares me now.
5. The Vampire Diaries. All four of them. (That’s all there was when I was 12.) My sister and I both read them sooo much. Too much. Of all the books on this list, this is the one that sparks the slightest amount of shame. I re-read this as an adult. It didn’t hold up the same way for me. However, you know what? It’s probably still the reason I love cheesy escapist fiction. So no more shame Amanda. Own that love for Vampire Diaries. BTW, LOVE the TV series. Mmmm those boys are pretty.
4. The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. I didn’t have my own copy of this one, so I checked it out over and over and over again. Then, we moved, and I couldn’t find it. I mourned it and missed it. One day, like a light into my brain straight from God, I realized I could now google the plot points. I found it like 10 seconds later and bought my own copy as an adult about 35 seconds after that. It still held up for me. Course I probably could have rewritten it because I’d read it so many times.
3. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffery. Also Dragonflight and the whole Pern series. But it was Dragonsong and Dragonflight that I re-read the most. Loved and still loved.
2. In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce. I never even realized this was as a second book in the series as a kid. I read it, checking it out from the school library over and over again. One of the brightest memories of my childhood? My science teacher seeing me reading it all the time, telling me it was in a series, and then lending me her copies. Best Weekend Ever!! I almost cried when I had to give her back the books.
1. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. This is the #1 by a clear margin. This was my Harry Potter. I loved The Hero and the Crown too, but it was Hari for me. I can clearly recall closing the book and opening it, immediately starting it over. I wanted to be Hari. I still want to be Hari.
Hey, did you notice that the book I most loved as a kid and the book I would have loved the most both have Harry/Hari as a name? I think I see a future child named Hari. Except…no. Just no.
What was your favorite book? Do you love it still?
I’ve re-read The Changeover, In the Hand of the Goddess, the Pern books, and The Blue Sword as an adult as well as Vampire Diaries. I still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the first four listed. Maybe I’ll revisit the rest.
~Amanda
Amanda A. Allen 
I loved Judy Bloome – was it her that published “Are you there God? It’s me Margaret?” – always remember that book.
Yes! That was Judy Blume, and I loved that one too. So awesome.
Wonder why that’s stuck with me all these years…?? Was that the one with the squeaky hair moment? Gosh, you’ve got me dredging the memory banks now!
I know right? That’s how I chose the Top 10. The ones that came immediately back to my mind.