This is the sort of list that evolves over time and new books are added to this list and because the books that I recommend are dependent on the person that I am recommending it to. But here are some staples that I will likely always recommend to readers.
1) The Daring Game by Kit Pearson - great for middle school readers (grade 5-8) and is also set at an all-girls boarding school.
2) The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi - read this about the same time when I read The Daring Game and is really a great read for middle school readers. It is also an award winner and it is a book that adults would like as well.
3) Guests of War trilogy by Kit Pearson - for the same group of readers as above. It was one of the first "series" that I read and really liked the fact that it talked about the Guests of War during World War II that were brought to Canada after the start of World War II.
4) A Handful of Time by Kit Pearson - Same group of readers as above. I went through a Kit Pearson phase when I was in grade 6 or 7. This one deals with a 12-year-old girl who spends the summer with her mother's family in Alberta and discovers an old watch that transports her to the summer that her mom was twelve.
5) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Probably my favourite classic. I first read the book when I was in Grade 8 and just loved the story. I don't know why but I connected with the story in a way that I haven't in other books.
6) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - read this in my Grade 11 English class and despite the complaints of my classmates, I felt that it was a pretty good book and I quite enjoyed it to the point that I reread the book a few years later when I was in university.
7) Possession by A.S. Byatt - Read this book after I saw the movie adaptation of the book. And I recall just being enthralled by the story that I thought that some of the characters were actually real.
8) All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - First read it for my Grade 12 English class and really didn't see the point of the book until I read it for a university History course that basically dealt with WWI.
9) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - read this for my Grade 10 English class and for the first time really enjoyed a class-assigned book. I really liked the historical aspect of the book.
10) The Help by Kathryn Stockett - When I read the book last year, I was reading the book because of the hype and because of the movie. And trust me, it was the one book that really did live up to the hype of the book.
Honorable mention:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - I know that it is a long book but honestly the payoff is worth it and truly worthy of its epic status. Its only in this section because I only finished the book a few months ago and have yet to formulate where it is in my books that I would recommend.
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