Atkinson focuses on the eccentric characters who witnessed an incident of road rage in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each character is well developed as the perspective shifts and their lives are unexpectedly linked. If you’re looking for twists and turns and an emphasis on character more than action, Atkinson’s wit and literary style will appeal to you.

--Recommended by Connie

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Valentino Achak Denk is a real life hero, a refugee of the Sudanese civil war of the 1980s and 1990s. Separated from his family at 7 years old, when an Arab militia destroys his village, Valentino joins thousands of other “lost boys” on their harrowing march to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

After 15 years of disease, starvation and rebel attacks, Valentino finally reaches America where his quest for education and safety is threatened by thugs who robbed him and kept him captive in his own apartment. Eggers recorded hours of conversation with Valentino, and the tale is told in matter of fact, understated, even humorous, prose. This fictionalized memoir clarified the Sudanese “Lost Boys’ to me in a way that no history book or journalism article could.

--Recommended by Connie

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--Recommended by Connie

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--Recommended by Andrea

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This was a compelling, quirkily but creatively written story about a truly admirable young woman, Lydia, who has tremendous self-understanding and achieves her dreams even through much hardship and difficulty. Lydia’s character is ever engaging, so the reader perseveres with her throughout many twists and turns in her life. The asides of “ghosts” in the margins commenting on the plot and the actual use of newspaper ads and accounts from the era enhance the driving of Lydia’s story, and add tremendous interest to Goldberg’s writing style.

--Recommended by Susie

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This book was exquisite, nearly perfect in its beauty. The author was born in 1971, and I am blown away with her perception, wisdom, and knowledge of the world and humanity--she is gifted truly. I would call this book a true work of high art (and it did take a few extra of my brain cells to digest, as a result). I wept with emotion at the ending. The title is true to the story. Losses of identity, home, loved ones, pride, possessions and more happen to the characters and the cultures in which they move and live. Yet, the truth of what must not be lost (love), in the face of so much loss for each of these characters, at the very end was, again, exquisitely meaningful.

--Recommended by Susie

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I wanted to stretch myself with both genre and subject matter. This is the first graphic book I have ever read. It was interesting and engaging. The graphic aspect, mixed with the narrative and "conversation" bubbles, worked together to create a real plot and story, with cohesion.

I felt like I had read a good, literary tale. This was Alison Bechdel's coming of age story based on journals she kept from the age of ten. It tells of her ambivalent feelings about her upbringing and parents, which culminates in her understanding that she is a lesbian. At the same time, her father's homosexuality is openly revealed, bringing some closure to her life of ambivalence, but he is hit by a truck and killed a short time after, so she is able to communicate this part of their shared understanding only once with him. I found this story compelling and all the characters very sympathetic.

--Recommended by Susie

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The main character, Harriet, is so strong in character and so admirable and self-reliant. She enters into a marriage of convenience with Joseph and starts a new life homesteading in New Zealand. The gold rush occurs and Joseph becomes obsessed with striking it rich. As Joseph spirals downward, Harriet is able to be true to herself and rise above his baseness.

--Recommended by Susie

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I read this 760 page book in 5 days! It was one of those books you stay up and lose sleep for to keep reading. This was reminiscent of gothic novels like Jane Eyre, had similarities to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and reminded me of Harry Potter for grownups or the drawn-out, quest- like story of the Lord of the Rings series. The three heroes, Miss Temple, Cardinal Chang, and Dr. Svenson, are compelling in their humanness and super-hero-like behavior. Their hold on their humanness is what keeps you rooting for them throughout the unbelievably challenging adventure and intrigue, as they fight an insidious evil cabal bent on world domination through mind control of their "adherents" using an at-once entrancing and imprisoning alchemy of specially prepared blue glass "books" that entrap the memories and experiences of those recruited to the cabal's intentions.

--Recommended by Susie

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This is a fictionalized account of a specific period, 1895 to 1899, in the life of Henry James.

It was beautifully written and I was pleased to discover upon doing some of my own research that the author stuck to the facts. Because of this book I became fascinated with the contributions and working and living style of James.

I looked into a number of the reference material about him and really enjoyed getting a deeper understanding about what he meant to the culture at the time, as well as in the modern day, as so many of his novels and stories have been made into films, which our library also have in its collection, “The Innocents,” “The Heiress,” “Daisy Miller,” and “Wings of a Dove.”

--Recommended by Susie

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