Top Ten Tuesday - #31: Books That Made Me Think

{ ++ } Hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish, this meme features a different theme every week, and hey, it's Tuesday - we've got the rest of the week ahead of us.  We all need a little fun, and who doesn't love the challenge of ranking their top 10 anything...especially when it comes to books?!  I know I do, hence why I thought it'd be fun to participate, and spice things up a little!

September 11, 2012:  

Top Ten Books That Make You Think 

{ 1 }  Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  What would YOU do with a do-over?  This book made me take a hard look at my life, at my choices, and at how I treat others.  To this day I get chills when I think about it. 

{ 2 } Mercy by Jodi Picoult.  EVERY book of Jodi's makes me think and usually makes me cry, but this one especially.  If someone you loved was in pain and dying...and asked you to take their life, so they could die with dignity...would you?  I hadn't thought much about that before I read Mercy...but I did while I read this book.  It broke my heart but it definitely made me think. 

{ 3 } The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna.  This book made me think REALLY hard about our identities: how they're formed, how important they are, what they mean to us and to others. 

{ 4 } Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  What would you do for love?  What would you do WITHOUT love?  In a world where love is not just frowned upon, but doesn't exist and is seen as a disease...it's more important than ever, because with love, comes hope. 

{ 5 } Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf.  This one made me think about the lies we tell ourselves, and others.  And how sometimes, we accept less than we deserve, thinking it's ALL that we deserve.  This one struck a nerve with me because of how much the main character goes through - and how much she grows. 

{ 6 } The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  THG is probably an obvious choice but it scared me, and shook me.  Could we REALLY become THAT?  And then the focus on appearance in the Capitol...the "have's" versus the "have-nots" in the districts...GAH. 

{ 7 } My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  This one I REALLY struggled to finish, because it was so emotional...just really heart-wrenching.  It made me think about family, and what - I - would be willing to do if someone I loved was that sick.  I just...I can't imagine being one of the parents in this book. 


{ 8 } Tempest by Julie Cross.  For a book about time travel, this one was...fabulous.  Full of heart, and it made me think about my family, and about what I would or wouldn't be able to do if - I - could time travel.  It just...struck a huge nerve within me. 


{ 9 } The Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop.  There's a theme in this series about "normal," and a character who...is very different, who is human but also NOT human.  The saddest part is how she's treated - who accepts her and who doesn't.  Which made me

{ 10 } Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone.  What an amazing book.  It made me think about the path taken, and the path NOT taken.  It made me think about why we make our decisions: for ourselves, or for others?  And it's a book, ultimately, about being brave. 

What about you?  What books have made YOU really think, or feel?