Author Richelle Mead.
  Author Richelle Mead.

The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
I stumbled onto this gem when I was starting high school. I'd expected it to be just another retelling of the King Arthur legend, little knowing how it would completely change my outlook on life. Aside from opening my 14-year-old world to religion and spirituality in a way I'd never imagined, it also challenged my views of gender, showing me most stories have both male and female sides. I've since read this book countless times and always learn something new.

 The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
I think what was most extraordinary about this book was that my mother let me read it (and its increasingly graphic sequels) when I was nine years old. That might have been a bit too young for some of the sex and violence, but it was the perfect age to be reading a tale of a young girl surviving in the wilderness. All the other books of that nature I'd found had male heroes, so it was empowering to see a girl battling the elements and taming cave lions.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
True fact: I don't like many classics. I grew up reading modern genre novels and still stick to them. This coming-of-age book, however, is one I make an exception for and one that everyone should read. Lee's cutting insights on race and prejudice, not to mention human nature, are just as relevant today as they were in her time - which says something about both her brilliance and modern society's shortcomings.

 Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
This is a very recent favourite. In my profession, I'm surrounded by writers and readers alike who mesh better with fictitious worlds than they do with the real one. The internet has intensified this, allowing people to separate themselves even further, making it difficult to connect with people who aren't on a page or screen. Rowell gets this in a beautiful, funny, and at times heartbreaking way, while also doing a spot-on job of describing the wonders and newness of the university years.

 Dragons of Winter Night - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
I pilfered this from my older brothers when I was in middle school. It's the second book in a series meant to sell Dungeons and Dragons modules in the 1980s. What could have been a fluffy book of swords and sorcery turned into a gritty tale with amazing emotional depth in its characters, which taught me hard lessons I bring into my own writing today: not everyone gets a happy ending. Readers who've thrown my books in rage over my love of cliffhangers have this one to blame. I mean, thank.

 American fantasy author Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series (Penguin) has sold more than 750,000 copies in Australia and is published in 32 countries. The film Vampire Academy opened this month.