My oldest daughter started her senior year of high school yesterday. To mark the occasion, I gave her a box containing six books and a letter about wisdom. In the letter, I challenged her to read all six books before her high school graduation in May. I offered a $1000 reward for finishing all six.

Here’s an excerpt from the letter I wrote her:

“Here’s my challenge for you: I’ve assembled a small stack of 6 books for you I’m calling “the wisdom set.” Most of them are short and sweet. Read each of them, and give me a couple paragraphs about how you learned to see some little part of life differently through these pages. Do that by graduation day, and you get $1000 cash from Mom and me — a jump start on your fun money fund for college.”

And, the factors I kept in mind while selecting the books:

• Remember this is a list specifically for her, not a list of my favorites.
• Remember she is a busy kid (advanced classes, volleyball, basketball, track, FFA, being a responsible big sister…).
• Remember she is not a recreational reader.
• Remember she is 17.
• Challenge and expand her thinking.
• Provide a diversity of voices (authors).
• Give her perspectives she may not have gained just by living with her parents in this rural small town for 17 years.

So, what 6 books would you challenge a 17-year-old to read before finishing high school?