Day 24: A book you wish more people would’ve read

I have no idea where I found this book, or what even made me want to read it as it’s not what I’m usually drawn to, but Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran is an absolutely breathtaking book.

It’s written beautifully, about a woman whose husband goes missing very shortly after they get married. She goes on a very long journey through Tibet trying to locate him, and everything that she learns and goes through during that time is very moving and eye-opening. Definitely recommend it to everyone I know!

When I was in high school, I was on a Teen Choice panel for our city library. Our job was to read a bunch of books and vote on our favorite to win the Teen’s Choice for the year. It was an intense job, but boy, did I find the book. I fought tooth and nail for it to be the choice, and it ultimately won (you haven’t seen a heated discussion until you get a bunch of nerdy, teenage bookies in the same room, fighting for their favorite book of the year).

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer was not the winner that year, but it won for me. A meteor knocks the moon closer to the Earth, which throws everything in complete and utter chaos. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes—the entire population is devastated, and people are fighting to survive. Summer turns to a freezing winter, and Miranda and her family are forced to survive on stockpiled canned goods, a small amount of water, and the wood in their stove.

It’s a heartwrenching, terrifying read that reminded my teenage self that we can’t take everything for granted.