I've always loved to read. Just before I started first grade, when I went in to meet the teacher (orientation), the first thing she said upon hearing my name was, "You're the one who likes to read, right?" Exactly. When the other kids would go grab The Cat in the Hat, I'd be checking out five Boxcar Children books.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this to brag, I'm just explaining how much I've always loved to read. My mom used to PUNISH me by saying I couldn't read for a week. It was terrible. Anyway, here are some of my favorite books.

1. All of Brian Jacques' Novels of Redwall (Redwall, Mossflower, Mattimeo, Mariel of Redwall, Martin the Warrior, Salamandastron, The Bellmaker, The Outcast of Redwall, and The Pearls of Lutra). They're fantasy books about animals -- mice, moles, badgers, ferrets, weasels, rats -- who are battling and learning. They are SOOOOOOO good.

2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I just love the way it's written. It was just an all-around good book. That's all there is to say.

3. The Diary of Anne Frank. It's very touching. I have the version with pictures from her diary and stuff, and it's really awesome to have something that a teenager wrote during the worst war of all time. It's terribly sad, though.

4. Zlata's Diary. The same idea, only written by Zlata Filipovic of Bosnia. It's also very sad but very touching. I loved it but wished it never had to be there.

5. Mandy by Julie Edwards. Julie Edwards is actually Julie Andrews, only she got married. It's a wonderful book, sort of like The Secret Garden (see below) but different. It's great.

6. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. One of the best books of all time. It's also a wonderful, wonderful Broadway play.

7. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. I just recently read this and really liked it. It's a bit confusing if you're not used to Shakespearean sonnet, but I enjoyed it.

8. Sideways Stories From Wayside School, Wayside School Is Falling Down, and Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, by Louis Sachar. These are some of the funniest books I ever read. They're really wacky. I love them!

9. Another series of books I like is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read them, you're majorly deprived. Read them.

10. Yet another series that's wonderful is the books by Edward Eager. The books are actually in miniseries: A) Magic or Not & The Well Wishers. B) Half-Magic & Magic By The Lake. C) Knight's Castle & The Time Garden. Actually, Magic By The Lake and The Time Garden sort of overlap (you'll have to read them to understand).

11. And yes, like most girls, I was once a major Baby-Sitters Club fan. I have all the books up to #103, plus the Super Specials up to #12, Mysteries up to #16, and Super Mysteries #1 and #2. Oh yeah, and the Chain Letter book, Logan's Special Editions, Stacey's Book, The Baby-sitter's Club Notebook, The Baby-sitter's Club Trivia & Puzzle Fun Book, and The Baby-sitter's Club Guide to Baby-sitting. And the board game. OK, OK!!! I was obsessed, all right?? Leave me alone. :o)

12. I'm also a great fan of Roald Dahl (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The Witches, although he's written much more).

13. Bruce Coville's books were always favorites, too... Aliens Ate My Homework, Jennifer Murdley's Toad, and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher are the ones I own, but he also wrote some more.

14. William Sleator's books (The Boy Who Reversed Himself, The Duplicate, and Singularity) are also cool. The titles pretty much explain themselves.

15. Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and The River rock too. This boy gets lost in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet. It's rad. Read it. (The River is the sequel.)

16. I also like The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. It's about the relationship between the "Greasers" and the "Socs" in the 50's. Reminds me of West Side Story and Grease at parts.

17. We just read Oedipus Rex by Sophocles in school. I really liked it. I already knew the ending (because of that whole Freud thing) but I enjoyed reading it just the same.

I've read a lot of good books; these are just the ones I could think of at the moment. Happy Reading!