The Book Babe: Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

The Godmother

Hmm... well, even though this is considered "chick-lit" and does have it's fun, juicy, gossipy moments- I remember there being lots of tough stuff in here. Miscarriages, affairs, sexual harassment in the workplace, being the only one of your close group of friends without a husband or children yet. This book gets some negative reviews, but I really liked it.

Cat's Eye

Bullying. Girl-on-girl hate. Dropping your friend's coat off of a bridge so she has to crawl down it's frozen, slippery, rocky-terrain to retrieve it and almost die in the process. Girl stuff. It's that psyche of girl bullying where it's quiet, you wouldn't know it's even there unless you really understood the dynamics of each individual friendship.

In The Time of The Butterflies

I read this book in middle school. I remember seeing it in Barnes and Noble and having no idea what it's about and thinking, "cool, butterflies." I read the back of the book for the description and I saw it was set in The Dominican Republic. I've always loved learning about different cultures, so I bought it. While reading, I think this is the point in my life that I truly understood how fortunate I am to live in America. While it's not perfect, it's no dictatorship. None of my friends or family will go to prison because they don't like or agree with The President. We don't really have to fear our government. It's just one of those books that make you realize that.

Nine Parts of Desire

This book, if you can't see the subtitle in the image, is The Hidden World of Islamic Women. This is already a sensitive subject, especially post-9/11 and coming from a non-Muslim author. Geraldine Brooks is one of my favorite authors. I love both her fiction and non-fiction. I think she did a great job with this book and she really seems to have a love for the Mid-East and a passion for the women there. She remained fairly unbiased and was able to show both sides of things very well.

A Stolen Life

Another one of those books that make you really appreciate what you have. Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped when she was in the fourth grade and lived with her captors for 18 years. Eighteen... years. Can you even imagine? It's hard for me to even wrap my mind around. However, she's absolutely inspiring. Just think when you're having a bad day- if Jaycee Dugard can survive 18 years with the freak who kidnapped her, I think I can survive a flat tire or spilling coffee on my blouse!

White Oleander

That awkward moment when your mother murders her lover and you become a foster child to a series of really messed up people. One of my all-time favorite books.

If I Stay

When your entire family dies in a car crash and you're the only survivor. This is one of those rare young adult novels that adults can like, relate to, and enjoy as well. No matter what your age this book will likely touch you.

The Bell Jar & Girl, Interrupted

Dealing with mental illness. Both of these together are going to put me over my "ten" limit, but since they're the same subject matter, I'm going to include them kind of as one.

Stolen Lives

I reviewed this book on my blog, HERE. This book really touched me. This is the true story of a family being locked up in the slammer in Morocco for a crime committed by the authors father. They were in prison- a prison that would make the prisons of America look posh- for 20 years. Twenty years for something they didn't even do. One of the many things that kind of shows a good example of the grimness of their life in prison is eating bread soaked in rat pee and topped with rat droppings. Think about it.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers

There's so many more things you do with your body after your dead other than bury it or cremate it. Some of the things I guess are looked at as sensitive or controversial.

The Lovely Bones