Childhood Books That Have Stayed With Me
In school, I garnered a reputation as a daydreamer. My memories of parent-teacher reviews and report cards are littered with that age-old feedback: “she’s a bright, promising student… if only she could stay focused on anything long enough to apply herself and finish her work.”
Yes, you’d often find me staring out of the window instead of completing my work (thanks, undiagnosed ADHD), but it isn’t entirely accurate to say I couldn’t focus on anything. You just needed to put me in front of something I enjoyed.
Those daydreams I mentioned had a source — I spent many of my childhood weeknights unwinding from the struggle of sums and science with a book, and if it was a good one, you’d still find me there hours later, long after I should have been in bed (in hindsight, that sleep deprivation probably did nothing to help my focus at school, but little Laura wouldn’t have listened).
Thus began my lifelong love for getting lost in a good story. And while I read many books growing up, there are a handful that stick out as being particularly formative to the person I am today.
Diary of a Young Girl — Anne Frank
Penguin Books
I think I first read this somewhere around the age of 13 — the same age Anne was when she penned a large portion of her now infamous diary.
Perhaps that’s the reason it left such an impression on me; while it remains incomprehensible to this day that something so tragic could happen to someone so young, it was particularly poignant to be a reader of the same age as the author, realising that Anne should have been writing about many of the experiences that I was enjoying and not the devastating series of events that unfolded for her family.
Tiger, Tiger — Lynne Reid Banks
HarperCollins
I can’t remember exactly how old I was when I read this, or under what circumstances the book came into my possession. I just know that, for whatever reason, it has stuck at the forefront of my mind compared to the countless other middle grade books I consumed.
Tiger, Tiger, unsurprisingly, tells the story of two tigers — siblings born in the wild. Separated upon being captured by Romans, one is declawed and gifted to the princess Aurelia to keep as a pet, while the other is trained to become the star of the Emperor’s bloodthirsty circus.
For a book aimed at preteens, Tiger, Tiger certainly covers some heavy topics, including animal cruelty, class divides, and slavery. Perhaps that’s why this one stuck with me so much — Reid crafted a tale that, even at a young age, propelled me to keep thinking about my own morals long after the final page.
Lizzie Zipmouth — Jacqueline Wilson
Young Corgi
Jacqueline Wilson’s books were a staples in many British family homes through the 90s and 00s. Her most well known works include Tracy Beaker, The Illustrated Mum and Double Act, but I haven’t seen or heard much discussion about the book that shaped me the most: Lizzie Zipmouth.
Lizzie Zipmouth follows a young girl who experiences a huge upheaval to her family situation. How does she deal with it? Why, by keeping to herself and refusing to say a word to anyone, of course.
As a kind unknowingly growing up neurodivergent, and thus prone to anxiety and non-verbal stints, Lizzie was a character I immediately connected with — huge chunks of the story almost had me feeling like Wilson had been spying on me and writing the story of my childhood.
The Bad Beginning — Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins
I couldn’t write this list without mentioning A Series of Unfortunate Events. There was always a copy of one of these books in my school bag, and I would steal moments to pore over the chapters and illustrations to seek out the clues the author had left for us.
This was my version of Harry Potter. The first book release when I was 4, so a good chunk of the series was release by the time I was old enough to jump on the wagon. By the time I’d caught up, I was regularly stalking the shelves of my local bookstore awaiting news on the next release.
I consider A Series of Unfortunate Events hugely formative in my desire to seek out books that encourage me to dive beneath the surface and think more deeply about what I’m reading. This habit has served me and my worldview well over the years, so to Snicket I am eternally grateful.
Lord Loss — Darren Shan
HarperCollins
Not too long ago, I saw a viral tweet that read “nobody understands the bond between a girl and the mediocre book she read when she was 13”, and the book that immediately popped into my head was Darren Shan’s Lord Loss — or, more accurately, the whole 10-book Demonata series.
Perhaps the lesser known of Shan’s YA horror series, second to vampire series The Saga of Darren Shan, the 10 books of Demonata follow three protagonists from different eras spanning hundreds of years as they deal with the world-dominating plans of demon master Lord Loss and his familiars.
To this day I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what it was about Demonata that gripped me, as supernatural horror hasn’t exactly remained front and centre on my adult reading lists. But, Darren Shan will always hold a special place in my heart for teaching me to value that feeling of anticipation that comes with awaiting a new release in your favourite series.