This weekend we went to B&N to look around. I was looking in the youth section. There were books there to deal with every type of tragedy that you could think of. This got me thinking about the types of books I used to read while in school.
I immediately thought of the book "Say Goodnight Gracie". I remember reading this in Jr. High. It really opened my eyes since I had not dealt with death at that age yet. There also alot of other books that dealt with pretty much adult content.
Where there any books you remember reading at a young age that changed the way you thought?
ETA: Or deemed inappropriate for your age group? My mom was upset that I read "Are you there God? It's me Margaret".
Re: Books for young audiences
I remember a book about Witchcraft coming out when I was a teenager. I forgot what it was called.... it was kind of a big deal. Basically it was a list of "spells." I never read it.
I used to read Babysitter Club books
I don't recall any book ever being off-limits to me when I was a kid. Despite not being a reader herself, my mom really encouraged me to read as much as I could. As a result, I always was at a much higher reading level than most of my classmates, and the habit stuck around: I (obviously) still love to read.
As far as books that changed the way I thought... Black Beauty was my first "chapter book." I read it in 2nd grade, and it is still a huge favorite of mine. It changed the way I viewed animals, definitely. It also made me love horses even more.
I remember also reading some short fairytale-esque books that each had a life lesson--sharing, helping others, etc.
my bookshelf!
Bloggy
I read alot of books in school. Actually out of other siblings I am the only one who has an addiction to books. My mom did encourage me to read as much as I can but as I said in my original post that some books had what she considered inappropriate material.
My first big chapter book I read was "Little Women" and then "Gone with the Wind". I was also a big R.L. Stein "Fear Street" fan. Which actually as I think about it there was always someone dying in those books.
I loved Say Goodnight Gracie. Didn't know that anyone else had ever heard of it.
I read all of Judy Blume (still do-she has three adult books, as well), my parents never really tried to stop for from reading anything. I also read all the Baby-Sitter's Club, Sweet Valley, etc.
I don't know if I just didn't know about good YA books back then, but I think there is a much higher-quality selection now. Half of what I currently read is probably considered YA - Harry Potter, Shiver, Percy Jackson, Golden Compass, etc are all some of my current faves.