Belben's Favorite Long Books
Compiled by Ms. Belben, Librarian, Burlington-Edison High School
Updated May 2004

NOTE: This list is merely a collection of long books that I have read and enjoyed. This list should not be considered an endorsement by the BESD for any particular titles. For more information about any of the books, use OPAC.

Allende, Isabel. The House of Spirits.432 p. (F ALL)
The epic story of the passionate Trueba family begins at the turn of the century in South America. Fascinating blend of magic and reality.

Atwood, Margaret. Cat's Eye. 395 p. (F ATW)
Painter Elaine Risley, pushing fifty, returns to Toronto for a retrospective of her celebrated work. While there, she takes time to confront her past. Girls will appreciate this story of friendship, both good and bad.

Auel, Jean. Clan of the Cave Bear. 468 p. (F AUE)
Ayla, clearly a member of the Others, is raised by the Clan of the Cave Bear, a rival race of humanoid creatures living in prehistoric Europe.

Burns, Olive Ann. Cold Sassy Tree.391 p. (F BUR)
Grandpa Blakeslee marries a young milliner just three weeks after Granny Blakeslee has gone to her reward. Young Will is boggled by this act but becomes the newlyweds' conspirator and confidant; meanwhile he does some growing up on his own.

Brown, Rosellen. Before and After.  (F BRO)
A New England couple finds their marriage and family life strained when their teenage son becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his girlfriend.

Conroy, Pat. The Lords of Discipline. 498 p. (F CON)
In 1966, Will, a senior at the Carolina Military Institute, finds his views conflicting with those of his conservative, gung-ho classmates.

Conroy, Pat. The Prince of Tides. 567 p. (F CON)
Tom Wingo is a high school football coach whose marriage and career are crumbling. He flies to New York after learning of his twin sister's suicide attempt. He realizes that while trying to save her, this may be his last chance to save himself as well.

Duncan, David James. The Brothers K. 645 p. (F DUN)
60s embattled over the ideals represented by baseball and religion. The family is thrown into turmoil by the Vietnam War and when their father's baseball career is disrupted by a mill accident.

Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. 527 p. (F EUG)
Three generations of a Greek American family find themselves plagued by a mutant gene which causes bizarre side effects in the family's teenage girls.

Fitch, Janet. White Oleander. 390 p. (F FIT)
A girl is transferred from one foster home to another over a series of years while her mother serves a prison sentence for killing her boyfriend.

Flagg, Fannie. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe. 403 p. (F FLA)
Evelyn Couch hears 80 year old Ninny Threadgoode's life story which centers on a cafe in the railroad town of Whistle Stop, Ala., and on Idgie and Ruth, the two women who own the cafe.

Franzen, Jonathan. The Corrections. 568 p. (F FRA)
An aging mother hopes to gather her three grown children together for one last Christmas at her home in Kansas, where she takes care of her husband, an ailing Parkinson's Disease patient, but her offspring have troubles of their own. Her oldest son, Gary, is a materialistic investor with a self-absorbed wife who refuses to travel to her in-laws', her middle son, Chip, has recently been fired from his job as a community college professor and is involved in an illegal Internet operation in Lithuania, and her daughter, Denise, has lost her job as a promising chef.

Grisham, John. A Time to Kill. 515 p. (F GRI)
A young lawyer finds himself threatened when he agrees to defend a black man who committed an act of vigilantism against white men who attacked his young daughter.

Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. 460 p. (F GUT)
When a newspaper journalist covers the trial of a Japanese American accused of murder, he must come to terms with his own past.

Hegi, Ursula. Stones from the River. 525 p. (F HEG)
Trudi Montag a dwarf, living in a small German town, through both world wars, learns to find acceptance, because she learns that all humans are different.

Hidier, Danuja. Born Confused. 413 p. (F HID)
As Dimple Lala turns seventeen, she realizes that life is about to become more complex as her best friend starts pulling away and her parents try to find a suitable boyfriend for Dimple, despite the fact that she is not interested.

Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. 617 p. (F IRV)
An eleven-year-old boy, Owen Meany, hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother during a Little League game in 1953. Owen believes he was God's instrument during the incident.

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. 546 p. (F KIN)
An eleven-year-old boy, Owen Meany, hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother during a Little League game in 1953. Owen believes he was God's instrument during the incident.

Lamb, Wally. She's Come Undone. 465 p. (F LAM)
A series of tragedies, including the death of her baby brother, her parent's divorce, her mother's nervous breakdown, and her own rape at the age of thirteen, leaves Dolores Price wounded both mentally and physically, but she miraculously finds the strength to give herself one more chance at life and love.

McMurtry, Larry. Lonesome Dove. 945 p. (F MCM)
Tells of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana and shows how one man's dream to create an empire affects others.

Mitchard, Jacqueline. The Deep End of the Ocean. 434 p. (F MIT)
A family finds their lives disrupted dramatically when their youngest child, 3-year-old Vincent, disappears.

Morris, Mary M. Songs in Ordinary Time. 740 p. (F MOR)
A woman struggling to raise her four children in the 1950's finds even more complications when she befriends a charming traveling salesman.

Payne, C.D. Youth in Revolt. 499 p. (F PAY)
Nick Twisp uses his journal to vent his frustrations over his parent's divorce, his school problems, his girlfriend troubles, and other annoying aspects of life.

Picoult, Jodi. Plain Truth. 405 p. (F PIC)
When an infant is found dead in a barn on an Amish farm, the main suspect is a teenage Amish girl who, despite medical evidence, claims she has not given birth and did not kill the baby. Defense attorney Ellie Hathaway, the girl's cousin, is called in to defend the girl against the charges, but discovers a case--and a culture--far more complex than she had imagined.

Picoult, Jodi. Salem Falls. 434 p. (F PIC)
Jack St. Bride arrives in the quiet town of Salem Falls, determined to rebuild his life and leave behind the accusations which ruined his reputation as a teacher, but just as his life is getting back on the right track, his past catches up with him.

Russo, Richard. Empire Falls.
A wide variety of characters populate the small town of Empire Falls and form the core of the drama in this story. Miles Roby, owner of the local greasy spoon, copes with his recent divorce and his new responsibilities as the single parent of a teenage girl while also dealing with his alcoholic, gambling addicted father.

Turow, Scott. Presumed Innocent. 421 p. (F TUR)
The county's chief deputy prosecutor is asked to investigate the rape and murder of one of his colleagues, a former lover.

Udall, Brady. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint. 422 p. (F UDA)
A young half-Apache man named Edgar Mint tells his life story, in which he is run over by a car at the age of seven, suffers a stint in a boarding school for Native American orphans, and is placed in the home of a dysfunctional Mormon foster family.