>>24521711
My favorite book of all time is Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Reading it helped get me out of the circumstances I'd been living in since I was a kid, and is still probably the most uplifting book I've read. Of course it starts out rough and miserable, but for someone coming from that same position (absent family, poverty) it makes a lot of sense, and it all pays off in the end. Just make sure to go into it blind (I already feel like I'm spoling it by saying it's uplifting).

I'm sure all the other books here are good, but read Jude the Obscure first. It's not a tough read and I think it's perfect for you.