TTT: Tough Stuff

This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and The Bookish) is the top ten books dealing with tough/difficult topics. As you can imagine, this week's lists are probably not going to be that uplifting. 

But, still. Books with tough topics are an important part of literature. They provide an outlet for people - both for those who write them as well as those who read them. Not necessarily the easiest reads, but often times the most important and empowering.

1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4. Looking For Alaska by John Green

5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

6. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

7. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

8. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

10. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I know there are a lot more that I've read, but these are the big ones that come to mind today for me. I'm not going to give much if any of a description of these books and why I feel the way I do about them here, because a few of them have really big plot twists associated with my feelings about the books. And no one likes a spoiler, especially when they're not looking for one. But, you can go read the reviews I wrote for some of them (especially Thirteen Reasons Why - I think this is the best example of a  tough stuff book being written and used they way it ought to be used). 

My only advice for you then? Read these books. I promise you they'll change your life in some way or another. They may haunt you for a while, or lift you up at the end. But you won't forget them.

What about you? What are the best Tough Stuff books you've read?