Katie's Virtual Bookshelf

1. The Frog Princess

When I was younger, my goal was to grow up to be a princess. Having my father deployed and my mother in residency made me feel like if I was royalty I could somehow make my family whole again. One day during elementary school, my second grade teacher gave me this book as a way to make me feel like the royalty I always wanted to be. The Frog Princess was the first book series that was able to get me through my family hardships due to the protagonist having to face worse struggles than myself. Getting to read this series after school everyday gave me the chance to avoid reality and be able to feel like a child all in one. This book faced adversity throughout the hardships of a family, and for that reason, I see it to be parallel to how Beloved had families face hardships and find a way to prevail as well. 

2. Coraline

I am an absolute baby when it comes to scary movies, and I blame my traumatizing experience on this novel. When I was in 6th grade, my father was deployed to Iraq, and we moved into a new house. The environment was foreign, construction was done everyday, and I felt as though I could contribute to my family's move by avoiding the mess and sitting on the dock reading a book. I read Coraline as a way to distract myself from the scary innovations going on around my house, yet this book left me scarred by the vivid imagery and the sketchy descriptions. This was the first book that made me feel as though my life was altered by reading it because now I hate buttons and I do not like black cats anywhere near me. Coraline was the first novel that made me realize that novels truly do impact our lives. Coraline's message of loving what you have reminds me continuously of why authors write literature, for this book's fanaticism continued to fill my childhood horrors. The underlining message of appreciating what I have can be seen throughout all the texts we have read in this class this year, for it is a constant message that continues to be overlooked. 

3. The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games was the first series that I finished in 2 days, and this series was also the first collection of books that I reread. As a dare, I asked my father to let me go to the premier of the movie. He told me if I could finish the series in 2 days I could go, so I sat down and read for 2 days straight. I was so fascinated by the colorful imagery and the fanaticism that for the years to come I got to see how everything Suzanne Collins wrote was parallel to the world we live in. This series allowed me to understand how books could be an outlet for authors to take the horrors of society and create a sanctuary away from the brutalities of the world. The Hunger Games also showed the power of unity and this message can be seen as yet another reason why authors write, for individuals alone are not as power as a unite.

4. Maximum Ride

I am someone who is very close to my family, so when my grandmother passed away my 8th grade year, I was destroyed. In her will, she left me trinkets and jewelry, but my favorite remembrance of her was her Maximum Ride series she gave me. These books continued to let me feel like a part of my grandma was still with me; I never felt more at home reading a series of fantasy books than when I read any Maximum Ride book. James Patterson's ability to take the unimaginable and create a world where magical realism can be appreciated allowed myself the chance to be introduce to a whole new world. James Patterson was able to take magical realism and create entertaining books while also getting major issues across, and I could see this done throughout this courses' texts.

5. Persepolis

Both my parents are retired veterans of the United States Army. War is something that is not foreign to my family, but getting the chance to read Persepolis opened up my eyes completely. Marjane's honest story allowed the outside world see the true horrors of war at home, and I stay honored everyday to say that I have never had to live with war at home. Marjane's ability to address the horrors of war and oppression while also maintaining a sense of cosmic humor made this my favorite book read in college so far. Her realness and complete honesty allowed my perspective on war and life to be much more inclusive and expanded. Satrapi's ability to show everyone what she went through was my favorite reason for why author's write, for we as individuals would never get to be given an inside glance at her reality without non-fiction books. 

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, J. K. Rowling