Best Novels of All Time

The Top Ten
1 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

I loved this book. It hit home. I think it would for any young person, struggling to find his compass in life. I also found it deeply emotional. Particularly, as the protagonist reveals his loving connection to his youngest sibling. It's a book I read at least once every few years. It, strangely enough, realigns my compass. As both a writer, and a person.

It's a lovely book! If you take away all the swear words from it you'll just get a flimsy para. At most. No offence, but I really was annoyed with this book. Catch-22 was worse.

A brilliant story illustrating the struggles of being a young adult and losing innocence as you grow up.

2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

This novel is one of the classics and will remain so for a long long time. It has all the elements in the right proportion. Love, happiness, grief, loss, tragedy... It's a novel you can read 10 times and find something new on the 11th read.

The way he writes, Tolkien is just awesome.
A beautiful fantasy. The pioneer of fantasy. Every other fantasy that exist today be it a video game or a movie, has some element from this novel.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is AMAZING. Also in film, but the film doesn't show some essential parts which the books include. I love them. The father novel of all fantasy.

3 1984 - George Orwell

It's the ONLY novel that makes you aware of the shenanigans of any government anywhere. Read it and wake up to a new realization. But it should have been called 2020!

4 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird, read that book in 8th grade. It just satisfies me just to think about how much Scout Finch has grown and opened her mind.

My favourite stand-alone book. I absolutely love the characters and I love the plot.

This is my favorite book, with Animal Farm by George Orwell following behind.

5 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
6 Going Bovine - Libba Bray
7 The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
8 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

I haven't read the whole book yet, but so far, it's one of the most interesting books I've ever read! This book is exactly Leo Tolstoy himself, it's a good example of how great he was!

I'm 13 and I just finished it I almost cried that I had to leave this book

9 Penpal - Dathan Auerbach

It's not only a novel, but more of creepypasta novel and that's why Wikipedia brought me.
It's about a narrator trying to write to his penpal, but as he grew up the penpal is dead. That cover in the book was the scene where the stalker chased the two main characters.

10 The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
The Contenders
11 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling

How is this not higher up? Seriously...It's amazing and worth reading! If you're a little kid who hasn't read Harry Potter, I urge you to try! I'd be very proud, even if I don't get to see you!

Harry potter is one of my two obsessions, though I like my other obsession more, disney.

This book and the lord of the rings are the only ones that I know. Everythingelse I have never even head of it!

12 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

This is such a good book. Certainly worthy of number 8. Personally I think it should be second. Of course my favorite is Pride and prejudice, but TLOTR is a great novel too. But this is so vivid in the description of characters, and has such sophisticated humor and dialogue. What a good book and sweet story, but also teaches a good lesson.

Every time I read it I can't stop myself from smiling...

13 Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

A classic work of romantic literature, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a story from different perspectives. At times we hate the creature Victor created and sometimes we have compassion for the creature. The creature did what he did because of how he was treated by his creator, Victor, just because the creature is ugly.

14 Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
15 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
16 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

A painfully beautiful portrayl of
complex human emotions and relations set on the backdrop of war stricken Afghanistan. It emotionally consumed me throughout and how! One of the best reads of all time.

Never read it but heard its one of the greatest novels of all time. I am going to try this novel very soon.

Really nice historical novel about a boy's life in Afghanistan.

17 Animal Farm - George Orwell

Do you know what I love about this book, the fact that the book never directly tells you there is something wrong with how the pigs are running the farm. You are able to draw your own conclusions from the facts given. I also like how everything the pigs do is the direct opposite of what Big Major wanted, spreading the rebellion, be free, overtake humans, don't act like humans. Although this is not my favorite book (that goes to Fahrenheit 451) it's probably my second with The Book Theif and The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane close behind it.

A genius allegorical and satirical novel about the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union. It's an amazing work of art that also tells one of the greatest tales of the downfall of a civilization.

I don't read novels often, cause I'm not a fan of reading novels, but this is a really good one. Deep, meaningful. You want to see what happens next, but the ending will paralyze you.

18 The Giver - Lois Lowry
19 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
20 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre should be number one. I've never read the Harry Potter series, or the Kite Runner. I absolutely HATED reading Pride and Prejudice because nothing that interesting ever really happened. Besides, the theme of Pride and Prejudice was so cliché and boring! Jane Austen was a good writer, but in my opinion her story-telling lacked conviction and action. I have read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye, and I enjoyed them because they brought me back to childhood, and made me think of some historical issues (To Kill a Mockingbird). However, none of those novels compare to Charlotte Brontë's, Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre is my favorite novel because I love the heroine. She's intelligent, independent, moral, strong-willed, self-respecting, and passionate. Jane Eyre is the perfect role-model for any young woman. I also had a crush on the dark, brooding, yet charming Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester, but I admire Jane for not being willing to compromise who she is to be with him. Unlike modern heroines, like the weak, and whiny Bella Swan who's willing to give up everything to be with her love, Edward Cullen, Jane Eyre is strong and willing to sacrifice her life with Mr. Rochester to stay true to herself.

21 The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
22 The Green Mile - Stephen King

The most heartbreaking story ever told, and possibly the best story ever told

23 The Godfather - Mario Puzo
24 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

Pick up this book if you love mysteries and murder... The best Agatha Christie novel out there

25 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Such an elegant and beautifully written book...so much better than Stargirl, which is currently the next book on this list.

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