Kate

This is one of my favorite books of my childhood. I reread it nearly every time I'm at my parent's house.

I was always intimidated by this book, because I was intimidated to meet Jean Little. She was billed to us in second grade as an inspiration; a partially blind author as evidence that we could do whatever we set our hearts to. I was nervous to meet her less because she was an inspiration and more because it was the first time that I'd ever met an author. But then I was nervous to read her books because I was scared that they would be books about being an inspiration over and over.

However, her books stand completely on their own merit. Kate in particular is my favorite. It is the most honest narrative I've ever read about friendship and the perils of being friends as middle schoolers, who are constantly changing, but trying to be the best self that they can. It also deals with being the product of an inter-faith marriage and about finding an identity separate from that of your parents while still being a part of the family.

More than any other childhood book, Kate still speaks to me when I read it. It's rare to find a book about middle school that's this faithful, especially one like Kate, which deals with the parts of middle school that apply to everyoneover and over throughout life