Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is the top ten books dealing with tough subjects.

Here are my top ten "tough" books to read:

1.  Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys.  This books deals with WWII  but it's not your typical WWII book about Hitler.  It is about Stalin and his abuse of the Lithuanian people.  It was heartbreaking but a must read!

2.  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.  Another WWII book but this time it is about Hitler.  This book is told through the eyes of a young boy who's father has moved the family.   While exploring, he meets another little boy in "striped pajamas" on the other side of the fence.  What happens next is ironic and heartbreaking.

 

3.  Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley.  This book was about a girl who was abducted. While reading what happened to the girl and how she dealt with it, I was very disturbed.  It was a very good book but a very difficult one to process.

4.  My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  This book deals with cancer and even worse, it deals with a child who has cancer.  It also deals with a sister who is being used (in my opinion) by her parents to cure her sick sister.  It was just a very sad and emotional book and the end was totally ironic.

5.  Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf.  This book dealt with death and an abusive/jealous relationship.  While that might be enough of a "tough" subject for some, what made this book a tough read for me was the main character and her self blame and weakness.  I didn't care for the book because of the main character and her pathetic demeanor.  

6.  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  The relationship between Amir and Hassan is amazing.  It also takes place during a time of unrest in Afghanistan.  An extremely emotional read about friendship and betrayal.

7.  The Murder's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers.  This book deals with domestic violence, murder, guilt and forgiveness.  It definitely worth reading despite the difficult topics.

8.  Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult.  This is a book about false accusations.  It amazes me at how some people do not understand the consequences of their actions or their words.  A false accusation will follow someone even after proven untrue.  When someone accuses someone of something just to "get even", it really bothers me.  That's what you've got in this book.

 

9.  Night by Elie Weisel.  This is another heartbreaking book about WWII.  I had to read this in high school along with The Diary of Anne Frank.  This one affected me SO much more than Anne Frank did.  It was so amazing.  This is a book my kids will definitely be made to read!

10.  Something Like Normal by Trish Doller.  This book was about PTSD.  Travis comes home from war where his friend was killed.  It is so emotional!  I read this book in one day...it was that good!

These are my top ten tough reads.  What are yours?