Reviewers' Roundtable- Life Changing Books

So this is a discussion feature that we've been doing for a while now... but we've decided to change it up a little bit.  We're now discussing a topic every Thursday and opening it up to anyone else who wants to make a post and discuss these bookish topics with us.  So just add your info to the Linky below and link back to either me or Emily and we'll stop by and chat with ya!

The Host Bloggers:

Me (Michelle) from Pink Polka Dot Book Blog
Emily from Read Your Bookcase 

Books that Changed Your Life & Why

School Books:

• Night by Elie Wiesel- I can't remember what grade we read this in, but I remember reading it and for the first time real understanding what the Holocaust was all about.  Powerful stuff.
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer- Ok so the thing about this collection of stories is that before reading this I felt like I was stupid when it came to reading school books.  I just could NOT get into the old English way they wrote (stuff from people like Shakespeare and Hemingway).  I would always rely on my teacher or Cliff's Notes to tell me what the hell I was reading.  But The Canterbury Tales was the first time that I really GOT what was going on all by myself.  It proved to me that I'm not dumb and gave me a lot of confidence going forward in English class.
• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding- This was the first book that really made me think about human nature and how people would act if society ever broke down.  Scary stuff.
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker- It was just a wow reading moment for me.  It made me realize that I could be forced to read a book in school and that I could really love it as well!

Why I Love YA:

• Harry Potter by JK Rowling- How could this not be on here.  It's a book I will never forget and will probably read like 10 more times.
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson- A book that made me stop and take notice of YA in a big way.
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen- A book that finalized in my mind that YA is my genre of choice.
• You Don't Know Me by David Klass- The first book that featured a male m/c that I just fell in love with.

Emotionally Touching:

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- Yep totally had me contemplating the meaning of life for a week.  Definitely life changing.
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher- Just a book that stands out as one that really touched me.
• Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott- One of my favorite YA books ever. 

Others:

• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom- A cool book that stood out as something completely different.  It opened my eyes to how creative writing could really be.
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein- Traumatized the hell out of me.  This is the first book I can ever remember reading that wasn't happy.  It kind of made me sad to be a human being.
• Fear Street by RL Stine- This series did a lot for my reading life.  It was my first big book obsession.  The first book I ever read in a day.  The first time I had to get books from the library because my mom cut me off from spending so much on books.  Just completely cemented my love for reading.  Thank you R.L. Stine!

So what books changed your life??  Books can be so damn powerful sometimes, I know you have to have a few that just boom once reading them you were never the same.