• demian by hermann hesse

this book is so beautiful. it really did make me appreciate writing so much more than i already do. i loved the long, detailed, drawn-out tangents. my favorite part were the narration of Emil Sinclair. he's such a wonderful and well-rounded character, and i'm so glad the story was told through his eyes. he's relatable yet untouchable. what a lovely book.

• 1984 by george orwell

my first dystopian literature... what a beauty this was. the horribly dreadful descriptions of the desolate world around Winston Smith only served to captivate me. i felt like i was with him in his disheveled apartment complex, in the ruins of the city, among the faceless crowd. i wish i could read it over and over again.

• brave new world by aldous huxley

heartbreaking. truly and utterly gutwrenching to read. it was hard to read the middle, especially. this book made me feel horribly alone, and the ending made me wail in horror. i wish i could read this book for the first time endlessly.

• feed by m.t. anderson

it's really a book that made me worry constantly. the world Titus and Violet live in is so far from what i could possibly imagine, yet it parallels our own in very worrying ways. i was drawn in by the cover, yet this book provided much more than i ever expected it would. the vague and bittersweet ending tugged at my poor heart, and it left me wanting more.

• shadow of the dragon by sherry garland

this book hit close to home for me, as a child of similar immigrant parents. however, the story takes a turn as Danny Vo meets his vietnamese cousin, Nguyen Sang Le, and it all goes tumbling downhill from there. at times, i pleaded with the book to give the boys a break, yet it never halted, not even at the ending. i was left heartbroken and miserable by the end, yet i felt the same closure Danny felt. again, i wish i could read this book for the first time again.