It is often said that books can be a portal to other worlds. However, what many forget is that books can be a portal to our own world as well. Through reading, we get a glimpse into the struggles of the characters, many of which parallel real-world situations. With contemporaries and classics, historical fiction and fantasy, books can teach us valuable moral lessons and also educate us about issues in the world at large. These are my top books that I think everyone should read to have a fuller understanding of the world. Whether you choose to read (or have already read) the entire list or just one book, I believe that you will be better for it.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

This book is always the first one I would recommend. It follows one young girl, Liesel Meminger, as she adapts to life in her foster family, develops a passion for words, and struggles against the Nazi regime in Germany. It’s a story full of friendship, love, loss, history, and bravery. While it is fiction, it teaches the reality of the time period in a way that is still scary and real. If you only read one book off this list, let this one be it.

2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

“All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries.”

For a book that was assigned to me as high school summer reading, this book exceeded all expectations one could have. Set in Mississippi during the civil rights movement, it follows Aibileen, a black maid who has spent her life raising white children, Minny, Aibileen’s friend who has never held a job for very long, and Skeeter, a white socialite looking to make a stand against the system she was raised in. The three come together against all odds to write a book and make a change in their racist community. This book is so important to society today as we struggle to ensure equality for everyone.

3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”

Classic books are classics for a reason, and Fahrenheit 451 is well-deserving of the title. One of the original dystopian novels, it is set in a world where books are illegal, and firemen are used not to stop fires but to start them, destroying any houses where books may be hidden. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman who takes pleasure in burning, until a new neighbor starts to make him question everything he’s known. This book is a lesson on the dangers of censorship and ignorance tied into an well-written story.

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”

Told through letters written to an anonymous “friend,” this book properly illustrates the realities of high school and growing up. It’s a coming-of-age story that gets everything right about both the good moments and the tragedies teenagers may experience. You’ll find yourself laughing and crying along with Charlie, the narrator, who is a very relatable character. An essential book for any high school student (or adult.)

5. Night by Elie Wiesel

“Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.”

Like The Book Thief, Night is set in Nazi Germany. However, this book shows the other side of life during the Holocaust as it follows Elie as he and his father experience imprisonment in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. A completely true story, this book gives a first-person viewpoint of the horrors of the Holocaust and the loss of faith in humanity. With tragedies still happening in the world today, it is important everyone understands the struggles of a victim of one of the worst genocides in history, and this book ensures that they do.

6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

Hailed as one of the great American novels, it is almost assured you’ll read this book in a high school English class. Set in the Jazz Age and Prohibition, this book follows Nick Caraway as he gets wrapped up in the high-society life of his neighbor, Gatsby, and Gatsby’s love for a married woman. It’s a look into an important time period in America’s history as well as a story about an idealized kind of life. Not to mention, the writing is simply beautiful.

7. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Telling a story through the eyes of children is a sure-fire way to make tough topics easier to understand, as Harper Lee does in her classic, renowned novel. Scout and Jem watch as their father, Atticus, an attorney, takes on a case that turned their small Southern town upside-down in a battle of racism versus justice. This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and it’s easy to see why. This compassionate story is sure to move you, and even if you read it in tenth grade English, maybe consider picking it up again.

8. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

“I can't eat and I can't sleep. I'm not doing well in terms of being a functional human, you know?”

This book is not your average coming-of-age story. It’s about Craig Gilner, a teen who is determined to get in to an elite Manhattan prep school. But once he gets in? He realizes he can’t handle it and checks himself in to a mental hospital. The story tells all about his stay there, the people he met, and the revelations he had, written by an author who spent time in such a hospital. This book is clever, heart-warming, and even kind of funny. It has a lot to teach about how we view mental illness in our society.

9. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

“Everything you're sure is right can be wrong in another place. ”

Another high school summer reading book that completely blew me away, The Poisonwood Bible is a truly amazing work of literature. It’s a story narrated by the wife and four daughters of a preacher who decides to take his family with him spread the word of God on a mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. There, everything they thought they knew is destroyed, and they must learn to rebuild themselves. This book teaches important lessons on family dynamics, xenophobia, and how to adapt to a world entirely different from yours.

10. The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath

“To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.”

This book gets deep into the mind of a talented and intelligent girl who goes through a breakdown and falls into depression. It explores how she handles life and everything thrown at her while struggling through her mental illness. This book is the only novel Sylvia Plath—who was known for her poetry—ever wrote, and it is a beautifully tragic way to see inside the mind of someone afflicted with depression.

11. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...”

This book starts as a story of two boys, Amir and Hassan, growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan, the son of a wealthy merchant and the son of his servant. They are best friends against all societal odds, until Amir chooses to abandon Hassan amongst the political turmoil and tensions of the crumbling Afghan regime. Amir and his merchant father are able to flee to America, until many years later when Amir makes the choice to go back to Afghanistan to right past wrongs. This book is a story of friendship and love illuminated against the history of Afghanistan the past few decades. This book teaches moral lessons, but also may educate on historical and global issues that aren’t frequently talked about in America today.

12. The Giver by Lois Lowry

“It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?”

In the world of The Giver, everyone is the same. Life is planned out, and choices are made for the people to ensure peace. Twelve-year-olds receive predetermined jobs at a special ceremony, which is when the protagonist, Jonas, is chosen to work with The Giver, one who no one knows much about. Jonas becomes privy to knowledge of the world as it used to be, with memories and emotions and colors. Jonas then has to make important decisions as to how he uses his new powers. This book is a must-read for its lessons about the importance of individuality.

13. The Harry Potterseries by J.K. Rowling

“We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.”

Of course, I can’t complete a list of book recommendations without including Harry Potter. This book series follows a young boy as he learns he is a wizard and attends Hogwarts, a special school for wizards and witches. The series grows as he does, each book becoming more complex and developing the story into an amazing world of magical creatures and terrifying villains. Arguably one of the most well-known stories of our generation, I believe everyone should read these books. Not only are they thoroughly entertaining, but they teach beautiful lessons of friendship, loyalty, and, most importantly, the power of love. Do yourself a favor and read Harry Potter.