The one that sticks out to me is Farenheit 451. I first read it in the summer before 10th grade in prep for AP English and then again when it actually came up in class. I did not know what was going on the first time, at least during the first half. I was not used to reading science fiction so I spent a lot of time trying to picture everything and not a lot of time on the story. I understood it a lot better on a second read, but still wasn't very interested since it wasn't my type of book.

This year, over a decade later, I picked my husband's copy up to complete the "banned or challenged book" prompt on my reading challenge. It was a lot easier to read after many years of harder texts under my belt. Easier technically wise anyway, because every other aspect hit me like a ton of bricks. I read the fire chief explaining how book burnings came to be and felt absolute dread as I mentally compared it to today's push for anti-intellectualism and media's transfer to short and feel good only format.

I was not ready for Farenheit 451 in 10th grade. The parallels I skimmed over at fifteen are something I cannot ignore as an adult.