3 Books that Changed My Life

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I was 15 when I first read it, and let me say that I fell in love with it from the very first page. Basically the book is the story of Charlie, a teenager dealing with a mental health issue who struggles to fit in, to make friends and find happiness. He tried his best to „participate” in life, he was an introverted shy guy with incredibly good tastes in music. He was a wallflower. He never was one of the kids people noticed immediately, he was one of those who blended in so well that he was no longer noticeable. Charlie and I have so many things in common, and probably that’s the reason why I can relate to his story so much. Somehow, after reading the book, I realized that being a wallflower is okay. We’re all different, but we still can make a difference! I don’t even think I can truly convey how much I loved this book other than to say it was entirely life changing. Also, the book is full of nice quotes, but this one really stood out for me: So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them. 

2. Breaking butterflies by M. Anjelais

The book is about two girls who made a promise to each other:  when they get older their kids will marry each other. So, it eventually happened: Sphinxie and Cadence were born. They grew up as best friends, she was a completely normal girl, but there was something obviously wrong with him, because he put a knife on Sphinxie’s face which left a scar. After that incident they grew apart, Cadence’s family moved to England. Things take a turn when they reunite after Cadence is diagnosed with leukemia and Sphinxie wants to be next to him and moves to England even though she knows he’s a sociopath that could harm her. I don’t really want to go into too much depth because I might ruin the book for others, but this book is so much more than just a story about a teenage girl with a friendship she cannot say no to and a sociopath who’s asks her to commit suicide with him. It’s about childhood friendships built on need, of bonds and sickness (both mental and physical), and most of all, it’s a story about weakness. I cannot relate to the story very much, but it made me realize that sometimes you just have to cut people out of your life, otherwise you’ll end up hurting.

3. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The book’s about the Holocaust told through the eyes of a nine year old boy whose father is promoted to commandant in the German army, which means they need to move to a place he thinks it’s named „out-with”. I’m sure you can easily guess where his family have taken up residence. For a long time he feels homesick, he is not allowed to talk to people, he cannot go out of the house, etc. After a while he befriends a Jewish boy called Shmuel, who lives „on the other side of the fence”, where everybody is wearing striped pajamas. He keeps visiting Shmuel without the knowledge of his parents until one day when he decides to put on some striped pajamas and crawl under the fence to be closer to his friend. What happens there? It’s up to you to find out. I can warn you that the end is a real tear-jerker. This story about two boys building up a friendship in a world where they’re supposed to be enemies only confirms that children aren’t racist until they’re taught to be: He looked down and did something quite out of character for him: he took hold of Shmuel’s tiny hand in his and squeezed it tightly. “You’re my best friend, Shmuel,” he said. “My best friend for life.”