I love to read. I can’t tell you how many afternoons I’ve sat by the pool, or in my room with a candle burning, immersed in a novel. While I love reading the stories that unfold in books, my favorite aspect is by far the dedication page. Here, you find endearing notes to loved ones, praise for those involved in the creative process, and timeless words to inspire generations to come. I can’t think of a more meaningful gesture than dedicating a labor of love and passion to someone. I find this so moving. I would like to share some of the best book dedications I have read.
“For my mother, Penelope Niven, my brightest place of all.” – All the Bright Places by Jennifer Nevin
“This book is dedicated to all the readers who have been such a happy part of my life for the last fifteen years. When we first met, many of you were young teenagers with bright, beautiful eyes full of dreams for the future. I hope that in the years that have passed, you’ve all found your dreams and that the reality of them was even better than you’d hoped.” – Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
“For those who need a reminder to make every day count. Shout-out to Mom for all the love and Cecilia for all the tough love. I’ve always needed both.” – They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
“My Dear Lucy, I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand a word you say but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather.” – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
“For Beatrice – When we met my life began, Soon afterward, yours ended.” – The Austere Academy: Book the Fifth (A Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
“For my father, who tried his very best not to be his worst. And for my mother, who made sure we never saw him at his worst.” – It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
“This book is dedicated to the far-too-many young people who ended their lives because they couldn’t see beyond the pain of the present to the joy waiting for them in the future. Also to those who loved them then, and still love them now.” – Rumble by Ellen Hopkins
I hope reading these made you feel something or even made you think about your own dedication page if you were to write a book. Who would you dedicate it to? What would you tell them? Maybe you should tell them now; I think it would mean more to them than you know.