A big Hypable welcome to Kami Garcia as she tells us about the five books that have left a lasting impression on her as a reader, an author, and a person.
A while back, many of your Hypable staffers took the time to reveal the five books that affected them most, so we are all aware of just how hard it can be to choose. Kami Garcia, whose book, Broken Beautiful Hearts hits shelves and e-readers today, regales us with her top five more impactful books, and why those have gone on to shape her outlook on writing and life.
Top 5 Books that have Impacted Kami Garcia
1. ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E. Hinton
This book was like my lifeline in junior high and high school. It made me feel less alone and it explored a question that I explored in The Lovely Reckless and I touch on again in my new book, Broken Beautiful Hearts: Is it ever okay to do the wrong this for the right reason?
2. ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis
This is the book that made me fall I love with fantasy. I must have read it a hundred times. I remember desperately wishing I could go to Narnia. To me, the possibility that a place like Narnia existed was completely within the realm of possibility. Years later, I taught the book to my third-grade classes and it still felt magical.
3. ‘Cujo’ by Stephen King
This book was my introduction psychological horror and it taught me everything I needed to know about writing suspense. The book takes place in a car, which could be boring in the hands of another author. When the family dog, Cujo, gets rabies and goes crazy, a mom locks herself in the car with her child to escape the dog. But she drops the keys outside and it’s hundred degrees. I love this book so much that I named the dog in The Lovely Reckless Cujo.
4. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee
I remember physically cringing when I read this book. I still do. It exposes layer upon layer of bigotry and discrimination. Though the African Americans in the novel are the targets of the vilest discrimination, the small-minded people in the community save some disdain for the poor as well. The stereotypes in the novel, like the representation of Calpurnia, also reflect how we still had to go as a country. And we still aren’t there, yet.
5. ‘Interview With a Vampire’ by Anne Rice
Interview With a Vampire is Southern gothic literature at its very best. It’s woven from threads of history, romance, magic, horror, and the monsters we both love and fear. She built a world I wanted to live in and I love revisiting.
You can find Kami’s newest release, Broken Beautiful Hearts, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, or just about anywhere books are sold.
About Kami Garcia
Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times–bestselling and Bram Stoker–nominated author and the coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures and Dangerous Creatures novels. Her solo series, the Legion, includes the instant New York Times bestseller Unbreakable and its sequel, Unmarked. Kami is also the author of The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos and The Lovely Reckless.
Kami was a teacher for seventeen years and coauthored her first novel on a dare from seven of her students. If she isn’t busy watching Supernatural, Kami can teach you how to escape from a pair of handcuffs or bake a Coca-Cola cake. Kami lives in Maryland with her family and their dogs, Spike and Oz.
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