If you're looking for some decent reading recommendations that are not just any book, but one with some academic value, then look no further than this article because chances are one of these books will be the book for you:

1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (from Percy Jackson and the Olympians series)

There's probably a decent chance you know of this book/series, but if you haven't read any of them, or at least this first one, I strongly recommend you do so. (Just don't watch the movies that were made of the first 2 books, because they were likely the worst movie adaptions of books that I've ever seen. Many PJO fans, including myself, were beyond disappointed with the horrendous lack of accuracy to the books.)

The books follow the adventures of a young demigod, Percy Jackson, and his friends who all go to Camp Half-Blood, an overnight camp for kids who are demigods. In each book of the series, there is a different battle or quest upon which Percy and his friends must embark. It's an enjoyable series for all ages, especially if you're a nerd about Greek mythology like I am (though I must admit that is partially due to reading these books). The Lightning Thief, the first of the series, is about when Percy first discovers that he is a demigod and gets taken to Camp Half-Blood. There are just 5 books in the original PJO series, but there is a subseries branching from it called Heroes of Olympus, also by Rick Riordan (which I still have yet to read, even though I've been meaning to for years).

I read The Lightning Thief for summer reading back in middle school. I remember we had to pick from a list of recommended books for our grade, and that was the book I picked. We also had to do a double-sided journal entry assignment on our summer reading books, which of course at age 13 was not what I wanted to spend my summer away from school doing-- but at an older age at which this series is still important to me, I feel fairly grateful that my middle school made me do this assignment, because it's what spiked my continued interest in the rest of the PJO books...and in mythology as well.

2. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This one probably seems like a cliche, because I know that most people have had to read this in school at some point. However, whether you've read it or not, it's a very lovely book. Whether you loved or hated the book, it was probably not among the worst books you were ever assigned to read, right? From what I remember of studying it in high school, Harper Lee wrote it based on events that were taking place in the world around her at the time. The book was written and set in sometime around the 1950s/60s and faces a lot of issues from that time period in America, mainly racism, among other things like mental illness and childhood innocence. The story is told from the viewpoint of a young girl named Scout, who starts out narrating the story at age 6, and it follows her adventures growing up with her older brother Jem and her father Atticus (I don't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure their mother is dead). I just love it because it's such a sweet, pure story and reading it through the eyes of Scout really makes you root for her. She's such a precious and endearing protagonist.

3. Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster

Even if there are some books I have to read for academic purposes that I tolerate more so than others, it's a rare occurrence that I've enjoyed them so much I read ahead of the class because I couldn't put it down. That happens all the time with books I've read for pleasure, but not usually for school! Mr. Vertigo was definitely one of those times. It's not extremely well-known; at least I don't think it is, because I haven't heard much about it being taught in other schools besides the one I attended. However, I feel it should be. The book has a crazy, completely unrealistic plotline, yet still addresses serious issues like racism and anti-Semitism, and even has a lot of genuinely laughable and entertaining aspects to it, including a few sexual innuendos slipped in. It follows a young orphan named Walter who lives on the streets until a man named Master Yehudi takes him in, and over the course of many years, teachers him to fly. That's right. Teaches him to fly. It's somewhat like The Karate Kid or those stories among animes or mangas in which young kids are taken in by master-type people who teach them to fight and defend themselves-- only this dude is teaching a kid how to fly. It's very entertaining, but as crazy as it sounds, there are many legitimately important messages and issues brought up all throughout the book. AND it will still give you major feels at times! A wild read, but definitely a good one.

4. Being Emily by Rachel Gold

This is another one of those books that, despite having to read it for academic purposes, I couldn't put it down while reading it. I was genuinely propelled to keep wanting to know what would happen next. I have the LGBT fiction class I took in my sophomore year of university to thank for this, because I likely wouldn't have known of this novel had it not been for that class. It's not as well-known as the others I've mentioned due to it still being fairly recent-- the most recent out of all the ones on this list. I hope eventually Being Emily does gain more popularity though; it's an extremely important book that in my opinion everyone should read.

Why? It's about, and told from the perspective, of a MTF (male to female) transgender girl. The story is narrated by a teenage trans girl named Emily (well, eventually becomes known as Emily) as she discovers herself, transitions, and comes out. I actually wondered if the author herself was trans because she seemed to do such an accurate job of getting inside a trans person's head. I can't say that for sure since I don't know firsthand what goes on inside trans people's heads, but just going off of what I know from the multiple trans friends I have, Emily's whole narration and thought process seemed very realistic. (Spoiler alert: I found out the author is not actually trans, but she was able to write the novel in such a way due to extensive research and conversations with trans people she knew.)

Emily is also another very endearing protagonist and reading the story through her eyes really makes you feel for her. I strongly suggest this book to anyone who hears of it because transgenderism, and LGBT in general, is still a relatively new concept to most of society and because of that there are many people struggling to understand and come to terms with it. Even if not everyone is necessarily closed-minded or bigoted, it's a somewhat difficult concept to understand at first. Also, a lot of the conflicts Emily faces throughout the novel, both internal and external, are very genuine issues faced by real-life trans people. I had an understanding of transgenderism before I read Being Emily, but I think it helped me gain an even fuller understanding of what it actually entails. This is why I advocate this book to everyone out there. If you're closed-minded maybe it will expand your views a bit, if you simply don't quite get the concept of transgenderism it will open your eyes to a better understanding, and if you get it and are just looking for a progressive novel to read it will be just the book for you-- and if you're trans and looking for books with decent representation or just decent books in general, then it will definitely be just the book for you!

5. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

I saved the best for last. The Book Thief is a story I hold very dear. Chances are you're familiar with this book or at least know of it; I haven't heard about it being taught in schools other than my own high school but I know it's a pretty renowned book. And for good reason. I've always been a nerdy bookworm so I have many favorites, but this one always will be one of my top picks. I can forever thank high school AP English for that! I've even decided to delve back into studying the book again, over 4 years later, and make it the text I will be writing my undergraduate thesis on.

The storyline follows the life of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl growing up during the Holocaust. It starts out when her mother and brother are killed while she is very young, and she is taken in and raised by foster parents. Many significant events in Liesel's lifetime occur throughout the book, such as her family hides a Jewish refugee in their house for a while, she witnesses bombings, and the childhood friendship and eventual budding romance between her and a boy she grows up with named Rudy.

Liesel's main focus and solace throughout the story, and the reason the novel-- and Liesel herself-- are called "the book thief", is because every time she is in someone's house and sees books, or witnesses an accident or fire somewhere where there are books left behind, she steals them. She teaches herself to read and in the midst of all the hardship she endures, finds comfort in reading. But all of these aspects aren't even what makes The Book Thief such an exquisite piece of work. A huge part of what makes it so interesting is the fact that it's narrated by Death. Death is personified and you learn through its (his? her? I don't think Death has a gender) perspective how Death feels while watching Liesel her whole life and while "taking" all the people who die throughout the story. Death even has emotions!

There are so many things, that included, that make The Book Thief very much an emotional rollercoaster. And that's all why I'd recommend it to anyone from any age or background. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and experience a major case of The Feels, but this book is so very worth it.

And the same can be said for all the other books I've recommended here.