RTW: Thanks for the Memories

Road Trip Wednesday is a weekly blog carnival hosted by YA Highway. This week's topic is: What book brings back a memory?

It's been a while since I could make a road trip. It's good to be back!

In fifth grade, my class read The Westing Game together and tried to solve the mystery as we went along. I can picture my fantastic teacher, Mrs. Gerlach, writing our clues on the board and leading us in brainstorming sessions about what the book's clues and secrets could mean. Every kid in my class seemed to feel a real sense of urgency about the story and characters. This wasn't the first time I found a book really exciting--I was your typical voracious-reader kid, flashlight under the comforter and all--but it was the first time I found reading a book collectively thrilling. Maybe that's why I like getting wrapped up in hyped books today like The Hunger Games or Girl With a Dragon Tattoo: it's fun to breathlessly debate what's happening on the page with friends (and sometimes strangers on the subway!). Shameless plug for the YA Book Club: discuss Insurgent with us later this month!

I read Ann Patchett's Bel Canto while I was living and working in Chicago. It's a beautiful, operatic novel. I finished it one morning as my CTA express bus headed down Lakeshore Drive toward the Loop. When I got to the final chapter, I just started bawling. After I turned the last page, I stared out the window at glistening Lake Michigan and was overwhelmed with ALL THE FEELINGS. Still weeping, of course, which seemed at odds with the ridiculously beautiful, optimistically sunny morning. Even though I tend to be a self-conscious person IRL, I did not give a crap what the other commuters thought as I cried. The book was worth the catharsis. I consider this a happy reading memory--my favorite books are the ones that make you feel deeply.

Which books bring back memories for you?

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