Why am I passionate about this?

I’m passionate about the theme of this list because I’ve experienced a lot in life already, even though I’m only 24 years old, and I know about the different situations that these books describe well. I’ve experienced a few traumatic situations later in my life (after I read these books) that these books have, it has turned me into somewhat of a realist over time, and I like to use my own talent of writing and creating characters to create, teach, and make people aware of scary and traumatic situations that can happen to anyone in real life. I hope more people will see the valuable lessons in these books.


I wrote

Caliphate Ave.

By Leilani Graceffa,

Book cover of Caliphate Ave.

What is my book about?

My book is about a college student named Bradley Carleslie, who gets thrown into being the sole detective of an…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Night

Leilani Graceffa Why did I love this book?

This book is nonfiction, so it’s about real people rather than fictional characters. I love this book because it gives a descriptive perspective on what was happening and what was going on in Nazi-occupied Germany and Poland during World War II, and the horrors of the concentration camps (mainly Auschwitz) that were built and used to kill everyone the nazis hated for whatever insane reasons they had.

I’ve always had an almost alarming interest in World War II. It was my favorite lesson from the history classes I’ve taken, and this book really put some of the evil things that were done during that time into perspective.

By Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel (translator),

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Born into a Jewish ghetto in Hungary, as a child, Elie Wiesel was sent to the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. This is his account of that atrocity: the ever-increasing horrors he endured, the loss of his family and his struggle to survive in a world that stripped him of humanity, dignity and faith. Describing in simple terms the tragic murder of a people from a survivor's perspective, Night is among the most personal, intimate and poignant of all accounts of the Holocaust. A compelling consideration of the darkest side of human nature and the enduring power of…


Book cover of Bad Dreams

Leilani Graceffa Why did I love this book?

I love this book because even though it’s fictional, it delves into phenomena that actually happen to people in real life. There is such a thing as having repeated nightmares that are linked to a real-life incident and/or person, mainly when it directly happens to someone. Still, it also happens to people who either witnessed something and/or have an item with energy attached to it.

A lot of people refuse to believe in stuff like this. It’s like having a dream of a ghost or an entity one night, just to later figure out it was the thing haunting your house or it’s something that attached itself to you.

By R.L. Stine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bad Dreams as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It’s just a bad dream—but it seems so real.

Every night Maggie Travers has the same horrible dream. Every night she is forced to watch the same murder. And every night the girl in her dream cries out for help. Maggie is afraid to go to sleep again. But when the terrifying dream starts to come true and the gruesome accidents begin, staying awake is the real nightmare!


Book cover of Gathering Blue

Leilani Graceffa Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it depicts a world that is very similar to ours and how disabled people are treated in the real world. While I didn’t notice how I could heavily relate to the main character, Kira, in a few ways when I was reading it, I definitely notice it now, and I find it kind of sad.

By Lois Lowry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Gathering Blue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The fascinating sequel to THE GIVER which inspired the dystopian genre and is soon to be a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift.

GATHERING BLUE is a return to the mysterious but plausible future world of THE GIVER. It tells the story of Kira, orphaned, physically flawed, and left with an uncertain future until she is summoned by the Council of Guardians...

On her quest for truth that follows, Kira makes discoveries that will change her life and world forever.

Award-winning author Lois Lowry challenges readers to imagine what our world could become, how people…


Book cover of Because of Winn-Dixie

Leilani Graceffa Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it’s cute; it teaches you not to judge a book by its cover/judge people by how they appear, how to get along with different people, and how to deal with grief. And I really love how the main character, Opal, lets her dog, Winn-Dixie, help her with her issues and meet new people. Had she and her father not adopted Winn-Dixie, Opal probably would’ve never met her eventual friends.

By Kate DiCamillo,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked Because of Winn-Dixie as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Funny and poignant, this 2001 Newbery Honor novel captures life in a quirky Southern town as Opal and her mangy dog, Winn-Dixie, strike up friendships among the locals.

One summer's day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries - and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It's because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it's because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that…


Book cover of The Boxcar Children

Leilani Graceffa Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it teaches about real-life situations like children being orphaned, being homeless, family alienation, and even some survival tips (if that’s what you’re into). I would say that this book is cute, but now that I think about it, it’s really not. It’s cute in some aspects but mainly sad and scary.

I didn’t really understand what was going on in it back when I last read it (I was really young), but I do now.

By Gertrude Chandler Warner, L. Kate Deal (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Boxcar Children as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are brothers and sisters. They're orphans too, and the only way they can stay together is to make it on their own. When the children find an abandoned boxcar in the woods, they decide to call it home―and become the Boxcar Children!


Explore my book 😀

Caliphate Ave.

By Leilani Graceffa,

Book cover of Caliphate Ave.

What is my book about?

My book is about a college student named Bradley Carleslie, who gets thrown into being the sole detective of an unreported child abuse situation after his little sister, Cheryl, gives him a flash drive she found in the backyard. Despite having a lot of schoolwork to turn in, Bradley stays awake for multiple nights after first looking into the strange flash drive, scanning and viewing the multiple grisly photos and videos on it, and thanking God he didn’t let his sister take it back home with her.

Instead of letting her take it, like a responsible older brother, he purchases a blank, duplicate flash drive for her and keeps the real one while contemplating on telling his girlfriend, Eden, about what he found on it.

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The Stark Beauty of Last Things

By Céline Keating,

Book cover of The Stark Beauty of Last Things

Céline Keating Author Of The Stark Beauty of Last Things

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Novelist Environmentalist Beachcomber Classical guitar player

Céline's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

This book is set in Montauk, under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauk’s last parcel of undeveloped land. Everyone in town has a stake in the outcome, among them Julienne, an environmentalist and painter fighting to save the landscape that inspires her art; Theresa, a bartender whose trailer park home is jeopardized by coastal erosion; and Molly and Billy, who are struggling to hold onto their property against pressure to sell. When Clancy…

The Stark Beauty of Last Things

By Céline Keating,

What is this book about?

The Stark Beauty of Last Things is set in Montauk, the far reaches of the famed Hamptons, an area under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauk's last parcel of undeveloped land.

Everyone in town has a stake in the outcome, among them Julienne, an environmentalist and painter fighting to save the landscape that inspires her art; Theresa, a bartender whose trailer park home is jeopardized by coastal erosion; and Molly and Billy, who…


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