This week, I’ll be listing my the top ten books I have read so far, and providing a brief description of them. Most of them can be found in local libraries, and if you want your own copy, they can be found on most online websites, like Walmart.com or Amazon. These are in no particular order until we reach the bottom of the list, until the last four, written by John Green.

The Outsiders is a classic story about two clashing groups of teenagers (the Socs and the Greasers) and the struggles they must deal with. I read this story at the age of 13, and it has forever changed both the way I look at literature and life.

The 5th Wave is about a teenage girl trying to stay alive after the on-set of an alien invasion. The story is written from multiple perspectives and it’s full of both action and beautiful thoughts.

If I Stay is about a girl who is in a terrible car accident. She wakes up, but soon learns that she is in a coma. She must chose between joining her parents and younger brother, who unfortunately passed away, or staying alive to be with her boyfriend.

Divergent is about a post-war world, and its population being split into five factions, or groups. Each faction has a “niche”, and although people are born into a faction, they have the right to choose which faction they want to be in at the Choosing Ceremony. However, once they choose, they cannot change again. People are 16 when they participate in the Choosing Ceremony. The day before, they take the aptitude test. The aptitude test tells their best fit faction. Their government is afraid of those who don’t fit into one category, and those who cannot be controlled. These people are called “Divergent”. So, what happens when the main character learns that she, is indeed, a Divergent?

Five Feet Apart is about two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis who fall in love, and their thoughts, feeling, and struggles with being in love, having a potentially lethal disorder, and never being able to touch each other.

Girl, Wash Your Face is a very motivating book about the lies society and other people tell us. Some of the content of this book I cannot relate to, but most of it, I can. It is a very uplifting read.

Turtles all the Way Down is narrated by a sixteen-year-old protagonist who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety, which greatly impact her daily life and her ability to maintain relationships. It follows the story of her reconnecting with someone from her past and the dealing with trauma they experienced. This is my fourth favorite story by John Green.

Paper Towns follows the story of a boy and a girl who were best friends, but grew apart as time went on. A few weeks before graduation, the girl asks the boy to help her enact a series of pranks. The next morning, he goes to talk to her only to discover that she has gone missing. Although everyone is convinced this is just one of her outbursts, including her parents, the boy is convinced she is leaving him clues about her whereabouts. The story follows the boy trying to understand the clues and find the girl who is his best friend and who he is in love with. This is my third favorite story by John Green.

The Fault in Our Stars follows a teenage girl with stage four cancer who meets a boy who is seemingly free of cancer, at a support group her parents forced her to attend. What happens while following them through the struggles of life, and being in love when it could all be over so suddenly? Between the first and second slot, it was tough, but I’d have to say this is my second favorite story by John Green.

Lastly, my favorite book by John Green is Looking for Alaska. This story follows a teenage boy who is done with his safe life at home. 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, who is about to implode his whole life. What happens when he must deal with unexpected changes?

I have a lot more reading to do in my lifetime, but these are some of my favorites book so far. Let me know some of your favorites!