Or: at least influenced the way that I thought or saw the world, or just managed to stick with me. Starred ones made me cry.

• The Giver, Lois Lowry
• Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore (*)
• Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCafferty
• The Westing Game, Ellen Rankin
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor (*)
• A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb (*)
• The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank (*)
• A Separate Peace, John Knowles
• World War Z, Max Brooks
• The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (*)
• Summer of My German Soldier, Bette Greene (*)
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume
• The Book Thief, Markus Zusack (*)