Allende, Isabel

City of the Beasts

An adventure story that takes place during a treacherous trip down the Amazon river.  Ghosts, snakes, an adventurer grandmother … there’s a lot going on in these 400 pages! 

translated from the Spanish; YA

Almond, David

*Clay

Two young, mischievous altar boys befriend another boy who can bring clay creations to life.

YA, British

2005

Alvarez, Julia

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

A good read about the four Garcia girls and their trials and tribulations.  Somewhat like a series of connected short stories.   Some sexual content but not too explicit.  Interesting chronology: goes continually backward in time; immigrant experience (Caribbean; Spanish-speaking); family dynamics; “literature of exile”.

American, born in the Dominican Republic

(SWC)

Anderson, Laurie Halse

Speak

Tough, tender, darkly funny story of a teenage outcast.  Gripping plot, powerful characters.  Melinda’s sarcastic wit, honesty & courage make her a memorable protagonist.  Highly recommended.

YA (SWC)

Anderson, Laurie Halse

Fever 1793

Fictional account of the yellow fever epidemic that killed thousands in Philadelphia in, you guessed it, 1793.  Good historical detail, and a compelling story of the events that befall an independent-minded young girl.

YA

 2000

Anderson-Dargatz, G.

A Cure for Death by Lightning

Farming life and family dynamics through the life of a teenage girl.

Western Cdn

Atwood, Margaret

The Handmaid’s Tale

Alias Grace

Set in a futuristic society where women are oppressed and society is strictly controlled.  Interesting issues surrounding the relationship between men and women and reproductive rights.

Based on a true crime story; point of view changes as crime is described through different perspectives.

Cdn

(SWC)

Austen, Jane

Pride and Prejudice

The Bennet family and their romantic trials and tribulations in England in the early 1800s.  And, of course, the love story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

British

Aw, Tash

The Harmony Silk Factory

Story of a Malaysian Chinese family told through 3 different perspectives.  Set in 1940 before the Japanese occupation.  Excellent study of how perspective can change the reading experience; outsiders; complexity of relationships.

Malaysian/British

2005

Baird, Alison

The Hidden World

A girl is sent to Newfoundland for the summer and discovers a secret world of Celtic myths and legend.

YA, Cdn (SWC)

Baldwin, Shauna Singh

The Tiger Claw

What the Body Remembers

Love, espionage, war, clash of religious faiths … this has it all.  Historical fiction.

Set in the late 1930s, deals with the romantic and political strife experienced by a Sikh family as the departing British prepare to divide the land into India and Pakistan. 

Cdn

2004

Bell, William

Crabbe

An 18 yr.-old boy learns important lessons about life in Algonquin Park.

YA, Cdn (SWC)

Bell, William

Stones

Boy in his last year of high school meets mysterious girl.  Together they learn about prejudice and persecution in their community.

YA, Cdn

Boyden, Joseph

Three Day Road

Narrative alternates between the story of a young aboriginal man and his experiences on the battlefield in WWI and a parallel story involving his grandmother who lives in the bush.   Loosely based on the true story of a famous aboriginal sharpshooter.

Cdn/Métis

2005

Bronte, Charlotte

Jane Eyre

Classic gothic romance.

British

Brooks, Martha

True Confessions of a Heartless Girl

Set in a little Manitoba town, a 17 yr. old girl is on the run, and she's pregnant too. Fiercely independent and stubborn, she is taken under the wing of the owner of the local café, and Del, a bachelor farmer and poet.  A novel full of startlingly insights into the rich inner lives of ordinary, yet always extraordinary, people.  Winner of 2002 GG award. (adapted from an Amazon.ca review)

YA (SWC)

Card, Orson Scott

Ender’s Game

classic science fiction; written in the 70s but doesn’t seem dated at all; very readable (war games, personal clashes)

Amer (SWC)

Cather, Willa

My Antonia

Beautiful novel about immigrants settling in the American West (prairies) in the mid-1800s.

Amer  (SWC)

Choy, Wayson

The Jade Peony

"A lyrical tale of growing up in Vancouver's early Chinatown."  Witty and intelligent.

Cdn

Cormier, Robert

Heroes

After World War II, an 18 yr old boy returns without a face to murder his childhood hero.

YA (SWC)

Crew, Linda

Children of the River

A Cambodian girl whose family has recently immigrated to Oregon faces cultural conflicts.  Excellent!

YA (SWC)

Dallaire, Roméo

Shake Hands with the Devil

(Non-fiction)

Dallaire’s first-hand account of the Rwanda genocide of the early 1990s.  Intense; well worth reading.

Cdn

Danticat, Edwidge

The Farming of Bones

A gritty, haunting story of a young housemaid to a wealthy Spanish family in 1930s Haiti.  Wonderfully lyrical prose describes heartbreak, political upheaval and the carnage that follows.  The events described are historically accurate.  A challenging read, but well worth it.

Haitian

Davies, Robertson

Murther and Walking Spirits

Narrated by main character, who has just been killed!  Blend of farce and mystery.   Retraces lives of his ancestors, including life in late 1700s to the present.

Cdn

Dickens, Charles

A Tale of Two Cities

The classic story of a family caught in the middle of the conflict during the French Revolution. 

Brit (SWC)

Dinesen, Isak (also known as Karen Blixen)

Shadows in the Grass

Letters from Africa

A Danish woman tries to manage a coffee farm in Africa.  (The movie Out of Africa is based on these two books.)

Danish

Ellis, Deborah

Looking for X

Rebellious young girl, with special needs brothers, seeks to regain her mother’s respect.  Governor General’s Award winner.  132 pages.

YA, Cdn

Flagg, Fannie

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café

Story of racism and strong women told with humour.

American

 Franklin, Miles

 My Brilliant Career

 Life in rural Australia at the beginning of the 20^th century, from the perspective of an independent minded young woman.

Australian

Frazier, Charles

Cold Mountain

One soldier’s odyssey while struggling to return home from the American Civil War.

American

Gaines, Ernest J.

A Lesson Before Dying

the relationship between a young black man on death row and a teacher in 1940s Louisiana

Amer (SWC)

Galloway, Priscilla

Snake Dreamer

An exciting mystery combining ancient mythology with modern characters.  When Dusa sees two doctors on TV claiming to be able to cure the strange condition called "snake dreaming," she heads off to their special clinic hoping to rid herself of the imaginary snakes haunting her. But there is something strange about the doctors and the island their clinic is on…

 (SWC)

YA

Gibb, Camilla

*Sweetness in the Belly

A small cast of characters including Lilly, a white Muslim woman who finds herself in Ethiopia and in love in the days before a revolution erupts; and Amina, an Ethiopian woman with two young children who has been forced to leave her husband behind.  Now in London, the two women have to learn how to live all over again.  A rich and compassionate story that both enlightens and challenges the reader.  Giller Prize finalist; Trillium Book Award.

Cdn (SWC)

2005

Gibbons, Kaye

Ellen Foster

The story of a spunky girl from the American South who overcomes adversity with humour, honesty and determination.  First person narrative.

 American

Golden, Arthur

Memoirs of a Geisha

A young girl is sent away from her home to become a geisha.  She struggles to find love and acceptance; an interesting exploration of some aspects of Japanese culture before the war.

American

Grenville, Kate

The Secret River

When he is caught stealing to feed his family in the slums of London, William Thornhill is sent, along with his wife and child, as a convict to Sydney in New South Wales (Australia).  He and Sal struggle in this largely unsettled land and are put to the test as they have to deal with the aboriginal people that were there first.  Historical fiction.

Australian

2005

Guterson, David

Snow Falling on Cedars

A story of three young people during the Japanese-American internment, one of whom ends up accused of murder.

American

Haddon, Mark

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

told from the point of view of an autistic boy as he tries to unravel a number of mysteries.

British

Hardy, Thomas

Far From the Madding Crowd

A young woman inherits a sheep farm and must learn how to manage it as well as her love life.

British

Haruf, Kent

Plainsong

Story of several members of a tiny prairie community who come together in the face of great personal difficulties.  Beautifully written.  Deals with some tough issues but is never sentimental.  Sort of a grown-up version of Martha Brooks’ True Confessions of a Heartless Girl, where kindness and generosity ultimately triumph.

American

1999

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

The Scarlet Letter

Set in 1642 Puritan Boston where a young woman becomes a social outcast due to her illegitimate child and her unwillingness to name the father.

American

Hay, Elizabeth

*Late Nights on Air

Story of a group of people who work for a radio station in the Northwest Territories: their dreams, losses, loves.  Culminates in a canoe trip to the Far North in which they imitate the voyage of a doomed adventurer.

Cdn

Heller, Joseph

Catch 22

Classic satire about war.

American

Hickam, Homer

October Sky

A blend of fiction and autobiography; about a boy, his friends, and their rockets.

American

Holeman, Linda

Mercy's Birds

Grade 10 girl's life is spinning out of control.  Selected by NY Public Library as one of its 1998 recommended books for teens.  Mother has problem with depression and creepy boyfriend.  Highly recommended.

 YA

Holeman, Linda

Raspberry House Blues

16 yr. old Vancouver girl doesn’t get along with her adoptive mother, stays with her dad and his new family in Winnipeg.  Searches for biological mother and discovers what real family love can be like.  Lovely story!

YA, Cdn (SWC)

Holeman, Linda

Search of the Moon King’s Daughter

Set in 1830s London and Manchester, a young girl must fend for herself when her mother is injured and her young brother, who is deaf, is sold.  Vivid portrayal of the contrasts of Victorian life, with an engaging, determined protagonist.  Wonderful supporting characters, drama, suspense, and a hint of romance.

YA (SWC)

Hughes, Monica

Blaine's Way

A young man's World War II experiences and how they have changed him.

YA, Cdn (SWC)

Hughes, Monica

Hunter in the Dark

An 18 yr.-old boy comes to terms with his serious illness during a hunting trip.

YA, Cdn (SWC)

Hughes, Monica

Storm Warning

Sandra Williams seems like an ordinary teenager, on holidays with her family at a northern Ontario resort town.  Then she is paired up with Bryan for scuba diving.  Only he can help Sandra solve a terrible mystery that links the two families in a tragic history.

YA (SWC)

Hurston, Zora Neale

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Set in the 1930s, about an African-American woman in the South.  Challenging to read because of the use of dialect, but worth the effort.  On many highly regarded reading lists.

Huxley, Aldous

Brave New World

About an oppressive society and how it deals with people that don’t fit.

British

Itani, Frances

Deafening

Historical fiction; story of a deaf young woman, set during WWI.  Includes the effects of war on the people at home and the soldiers on the front lines, as well as an account of the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918.

Jansen, Hanna

*Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You

The account of a young Rwandan girl’s survival during the 1994 genocide.  Retold by her adopted mother; translated from the German.  At times painful to read, but authentic and compelling.

YA, African

2006

Kesey, Ken

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Life in a somewhat unusual insane asylum that was made into a very successful movie starring Jack Nicholson.

American

King, Thomas

Green Grass Running Water

Magical realism/fantasy.  Includes characters from aboriginal mythology.

Cdn

Lawson, Mary

Crow Lake

The Other Side of the Bridge

Story of the loss suffered by one family and how each individual copes.  Set in Northern Ontario.

Two very different brothers, a farm, a small-town doctor and his son, a beautiful young woman and her children are all the ingredients of a deceptively simple tale that is set against the backdrop of World War II in a northern Ontario town. 

Cdn

LeGuin, Ursula

Tehanu

The Dispossessed

The Left Hand of Darkness

Sequel (written years later) to the Earthsea trilogy.  Fantasy.

Science fiction with a more philosophical bent.

Fantasy about a society where gender changes by the season.  Very interesting to read today as the notion of “family” evolves.

YA,(SWC)

Lohans, Alison

No Place for Kids

A story about two girls on the run after the death of their mother and their father's descent into drugs and alcohol. Honest and direct, this story follows the two sisters' journey through enclaves of urban homelessness in Winnipeg and Regina as they travel to their aunt's in Vancouver.

YA (SWC)

Lynch, Chris

Inexcusable

Keir is a high school senior about to graduate.  He knows that he’s a good guy but he’s being accused of something that good guys just do not do.  A story about truth, lies and responsibility.  Not for the faint-hearted but very realistically presented.  National Book Award finalist.

2005

YA

Marsden, John

So Much to Tell You

A young girl's journal entries are her "voice" as she struggles to come to terms with personal tragedy.

YA, Aus  (SWC)

Marsden, John

Winter

Another great book by Marsden, this time about a girl who returns to her home 12 years after being orphaned at age 4.  Very strong-willed and independent, she unravels the mystery of her mother’s death.  Suspenseful, and well-written.  At only 150 pages in length, a quick but satisfying read.

YA, Aus

2000

Marsden, John

Tomorrow, When the War Began (series)

A group of teens are caught in the middle of a war.  Set in Australia.

YA, Aus (SWC)

McClintock, Norah

Password: Murder

17-year-old Harley faces the nightmare of his father’s death, in a car accident in which Harley was the driver.  But he is visited by a ghost who assures him that murder was the cause of death. Harley and his best friend Rat try to solve the mystery.  (Two-time Arthur Ellis Award-winning mystery writer.)

YA (SWC)

McNaughton, Janet

An Earthly Knight

Set in 1162, 16 yr. old Lady Jeanette, daughter of a minor Norman nobleman, is chosen as a potential bride for the heir of the King of Scotland.  She meets a mysterious young man said to have been kidnapped by fairies.  A beautifully woven story set in a magical, medieval world about a young woman with an independent spirit.

YA, Cdn

(SWC)

Mori, Kyoko

Shizuko's Daughter

A young  Japanese girl is forced to deal with the loss of a beloved mother.

YA, Japan (SWC)

Mortenson, Greg and David   Oliver Relin

*Three Cups of Tea

An utterly inspiring and captivating read about Greg Mortenson, an American mountaineer who gets lost on his way down a mountain and ends up building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Subtitled “One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time”, it is an antidote to today’s debates over the war in Afghanistan and far more realistic and informative than The Kite Runner.

Amer 2006

Non-fiction

Na, An

A Step from Heaven

Wait For Me

A young girl from Korea struggles to adjust to life in California.  Told from her point of view as she grows from a child to an adolescent.  A “ tale of both tragedy and triumph” and multiple award winner.

As her senior year in high school approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in life but working at the family business, taking care of her little sister (who is deaf), and dealing with her mother's impossible expectations are as stifling as the southern California heat, until she falls in love with a young man who offers a way out. (amazon.ca)

YA, Korean-Amer

Nattel, Lilian

The River Midnight

The Singing Fire

The interwoven story of four young Jewish women and their lives and secrets in a Polish village in the 1890s.

Story of two Jewish women who emigrate from Poland to 1880s London accompanied by their ghostly grandmothers. Very realistic portrayal of the gritty streets of London.

Cdn

(SWC)

Nix, Garth

Sabriel  (first book of trilogy followed by Lirael and Abhorsen)

 Fantasy series that “reads like realism”.  Intelligent, inventive, and written with careful attention to detail.  Adventure/fantasy; Australian award winner.

YA, Aus (SWC)

Richler, Mordecai

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

A young ambitious Jewish boy sets out to get himself some land and be a somebody, no matter what it takes.  Set in post-war Montréal.

Cdn

(SWC)

Salinger, J.D.

Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield seeks to discover meaning in his life.

 (SWC)

See, Lisa

*Snowflower and the Secret Fan

Set in 19^th century China, this novel explores the relationship between two young girls who are pledged to one another in an effort to improve their social status.  Includes a horrifying description of the cultural practice of footbinding, as well as details about nu shu, a secret language that allowed isolated women to communicate with each other. 

American

Slade, Arthur

Tribes

An intriguing story about the very unique Percy Montmount, Jr. and his last year of high school.  Can’t say much more without giving too much away.  If you want to read something a little different, check this one out.

YA, Cdn

Smith, Alexander McCall

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

First in a series of 5 books.  Set in Botswana (Africa).  35 yr. old Mma Ramotswe solves cases ranging from missing husbands to suspected murder.  NOT your typical suspenseful mystery; “smart & sassy” with “the power to shock, amuse or touch the heart”. 

Afr

Suskind, Ron

A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League

Based on the Wall Street Journal series that won a Pulitzer Prize, this is an inspiring account of a young African-American teen and his rejection of the inner city world of drug dealing and violence.  His academic and social struggles are chronicled very realistically, without melodrama, providing a gritty glimpse into his world.  Reads like fiction but is far more intriguing than the usual Disney-like fare.  NY Times Book Review ‘best book’.

Non-fiction

(St. Cath. Library)

Tan, Amy

The Joy Luck Club

The story of four Chinese mothers and their Chinese-American daughters, told through the perspective of each one.  Interweaves the experiences of the Chinese mothers and their past lives in China with the lives of their more modern, Americanized daughters.

American

Tolkien, J.R.R.

The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)

Fantasy; hobbits and wizards battle evil. 

Brit (SWC)

Tsukiyama, Gail 

The Samurai’s Garden

Women of the Silk

The Language of Threads

Night of Many Dreams

All beautifully written books!  For someone who wants a bit more of a challenge. Tsukiyama, an American with Chinese and Japanese parents, provides an interesting cultural perspective.

Asian-Amer

Yolen, Jane

Briar Rose

Sleeping Beauty and the Holocaust woven together in an unforgettable, powerful story.

American

Zusak, Markus

The Book Thief

It’s about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.  Narrated by Death, this is an unusual but unforgettable book about people living in Nazi Germany from about 1935 to 1943.  Both brutal and beautiful and well worth reading.  Highly recommended.

Australian

2006 (SWC)

Zusak, Markus

*I am the Messenger

19 yr. old Ed has little to do except share a run-down apartment with his faithful yet smelly dog, drive his taxi, and play cards and drink with his amiable yet similarly washed-up friends. Then, after he stops a bank robbery, Ed begins receiving anonymous messages marked in code on playing cards and his life begins to change.  Zusak’s style and characters are edgy and the plot has its dark moments.  Young Adult fiction award-winner.

Australian