So I saw this on Heather Manning’s blog several weeks ago, and I decided to try it myself. It was much harder whittling the list down than...

Top Ten Most Influential Books/Series

Alexa Mintah

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So I saw this on Heather Manning’s blog several weeks ago, and I decided to try it myself. It was much harder whittling the list down than I thought it would be – took me all week – but finally, I have here the top ten most influential books/series I’ve ever read... in no particular order.

1) Dragons in Our Midst and all the following series by Bryan Davis: The last series, Children of the Bard, isn’t finished yet, but reading these books has been incredibly exciting. What’s more, my own Christianity has been challenged, particularly when I read The Bones of Makaidos. Some deep stuff happened in that book, and I still remember one of Bonnie's prayers. Mr. Davis does a brilliant job of combining fantasy and adventure with faith and Christian teaching, and it's one of the best series I've ever read.

2) Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene: The girl sleuth has been one of my favorites for years! She really inspired me to enjoy mysteries, thinking, and deductive reasoning. Plus, she’s just so cool.

3) American Girl books by Various Authors: Pretty much all of them, though the Addy, Samantha, Kaya, and Josefina series are probably my favorites. These books are awesome, a history lesson and fun all in one. I still read them sometimes – and I’m 16.

4) Dear America and the Royal Diaries by Various Authors: Again, pretty much all of them and for the same reason as the American Girl books. My favorites from these series are The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow and Kaiulani: The People’s Princess. From each series, these are the two that stuck in my head the most. They’re both absolutely heart-wrenching, yet there’s such joy and power mixed into these girl’s stories.

5) Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn: Like Bryan Davis’ books, Ms. Gunn combined faith and fun in a spectacular way. My favorites are the latter ones, as they focused specifically on trusting God, and on relationships, how to deal with them in a God-honoring way.

6) Laylie’s Daring Quest by Kersten Hamilton: Laylie is such an amazing, inspiring character, and her story rings true for many Black people of that time. Definitely one of my favorite books as a kid, and honestly, it still is.

7) Say Goodnight, Gracie by Julie Reece Deaver: I read this book about three years ago, but I still think about it fairly often. It’s a very emotional, moving story.

8) Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series by Stephanie Morrill: Reading Skylar’s story was very inspirational for me. It made me think about my own faith and my own life as I read about Skylar wading through high school, trying to deal with her whole family as well as her own feelings of fear and guilt. Plus, Skylar was such a great character to read about. We really aren’t much alike, and yet, I related to her so, so much.

9) Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor: Unlike Skylar, me and Alice are almost identical. I mean, honestly it’s kind of scary. Her awkwardness, the way she deals with situations, even the way she thinks, though slightly less in the latter books. Still, she could just about be my twin, and it was quite comforting to know that I am not alone. Even if she doesn’t technically exist.

And number 10) A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: This series is just hilarious! It made me want to write like him, to make people laugh the way he does. Obviously, I know it’s impossible to ever use his style exactly, because it’s uniquely his. But it did inspire me, and I do want to shine such humor in dark situations someday, to make people laugh out loud as they read.

Well, that’s my list! Hope you enjoyed reading it! Have you ever read any of these? And what are some of your favorites?

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