The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye is the first Toni Morrison book I read, and it's something else—her writing alone is worth picking it up for, with sentences and language that earned her the Nobel Prize. We're following a young girl who believes she's ugly and dreams of having blue eyes to be seen as beautiful. It's a devastating story, as you'll see I love those kinds of emotional punches. You just have to read it; I can't put Morrison's genius into words, but it's essential.