Prepared by Cathy Belben, Librarian,
Burlington-Edison High School
Updated January 2003
A series of interrelated stories about
members of the Spokane Indian tribe capture the determination and humor required
to survive on the modern reservation.
Allende,
Isabelle. House of the Spirits. (F ALL)
The
epic story of the passionate Trueba family begins at the turn of the century in
South America.
Alvarez,
Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost
Their Accents. (ALV)
Four
girls from a Dominican family adjust to life in the U.S.
Atwood,
Margaret. Cat’s
Eye. (F ATW))
A woman returns to her hometown years after
suffering mistreatment at the hands of a manipulative friend and recalls her
experiences growing up with the girl and their group of peers.
Atwood,
Margaret. The
Handmaid’s Tale. (F ATW)
In a futuristic society, a woman tells her
story of having been selected to breed children for government officials.
Baker,
Nicholson. The Mezzanine.
(F BAK)
Readers follow the journey of our hero up
the escalator and learn why straws don't sink in milk cartons; whether the hot
air blowers in bathrooms are really more sanitary than towels; the physics of
shoelaces; and how the most trivial of objects can lead to the deepest
revelations of the human heart.
Banks,
Russell. The
Sweet Hereafter.
(F BAN)
A small town is rocked when an accidental
school bus crash kills and injures many of the residents’ children.
Bardi, Abby. The Book of Fred. (F
BAR)
Mary Fred Anderson is sent to live with
Alice and her daughter Heather when Mary Fred's parents are sent to jail for
failure to provide medical care for their two sons, who die.
Mary Fred has a powerful impact on her foster family, giving Alice
someone to love and care for, and transforming Heather from a sullen, lazy teen
into a caring and warm-hearted volunteer.
Berg,
Elizabeth. Durable
Goods. (PB BER)
After her mother’s death, Katie and her
father move to a Texas Army base. Her older sister Diane runs away to escape her
grieving, distant father, and Katie is left to deal with the joy and pain of
growing up alone.
Bohjalian,
Chris. Midwives.
(PB BOH)
A woman’s world begins to crumble when she
is accused of malpractice in the childbirth death of one of her clients. Her
daughter learns information about the night of the incident that may alter the
course of the trial.
Burns,
Olive Ann. Cold
Sassy Tree. (F BUR & PB
BUR)
When his grandmother dies, Will’s family
is shocked by his grandfather’s decision to marry a much younger woman soon
after his first wife is buried.
*Chevalier, Tracy. Girl With a Pearl
Earring. (F CHE)
A teenager hired as a maid for the Dutch
painter Johannes Vermeer becomes embroiled in a scandal when he asks her to
assist him with his art and later, to pose for a painting.
Cisneros, Sandra.
Woman Hollering Creek. (F CIS)
A collection of short stories giving voice
to the vigorous and varied life on both sides of U.S.-Mexican border.
Conroy,
Pat. The
Lords of Discipline. (PB
CON)
A secret society and unspoken racism plague
cadets at an elite military school.
Conroy,
Pat. The
Prince of Tides. (F CON)
A family’s hideous secrets are exposed
when one of three grown children suffers a mental collapse and must be helped
back to sanity by her therapist and her brother.
In 1939, the seeds of apartheid were newly
sown in South Africa, and a boy named Peekay is born into a childhood marked by
humiliation and abandonment. He vowed to survive, however, and becomes a boxer,
with the assistance of a caring and inspirational older man.
Dallas,
Sandra. The
Persian Pickle Club. (F DAL)
A young couple enters a rural western town
and stirs up secrets the women of the community have been trying to keep hidden.
Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. (F DIA)
The story of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob,
is told from her point of view, beginning with the story of her mothers, Leah,
Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah. These
wives of Jacob give her the fits that are to sustain her through a damaged
youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land.
Dorris,
Michael. A
Yellow Raft in Blue Water. (F
DOR)
Three women in a family, a mother, daughter,
and a grandmother, tell the story of their troubles and triumphs.
Dubus, Andre.
House of Sand and Fog. (F
DUB)
An intense thriller that revolves around and
unlikely plot: an Iranian immigrant
purchases a home at auction that has been wrongly repossessed from its owner, a
divorced, recovering alcoholic woman struggling to make ends meet. A battle for
the house erupts, with both sides stubbornly refusing to give in to the
other—and their unwavering positions on the matter end in tragedy.
Duncan,
David James. The
Brothers K. (F DUN)
While their father mourns the destruction of
his nascent baseball career and their mother clings obsessively to her faith,
the four Chance brothers choose their own ways to deal with what the world has
to offer them.
Duncan,
David James. The
River Why. (F
DUN)
This coming-of-age tale of Gus Orviston's
search for the Pacific Northwest's elusive steelhead, a metaphor for Gus's
internal quest for self-knowledge, appeals to all who cherish a good yarn and
memorable characters.
Fitch,
Janet. White
Oleander. (F FIT)
After her mother is jailed for killing her
boyfriend, teenage Ingrid is sent to live in a series of foster homes, where she
experiences numerous forms of mistreatment, and finally learns that she is the
only one who can rescue herself.
Flagg,
Fannie. Fried
Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.
(F FLA)
A depressed middle-aged woman meets a charming elderly lady,
who tells her about the events and people in her small southern town, focusing
on a special relationship between two women and their restaurant.
Franzen, Jonathan.
The Corrections. (F FRA)
The engaging saga of the Lambert family,
whose matriarch hopes to gather her three adult children together for one last
Christmas, but who is oblivious to the various complications in their lives.
Fromm, Pete.
How All This Started. (F
FRO)
A brother and sister living in Texas are the
main characters in this novel about baseball and mental illness. Abilene, whose
failed high school baseball career is a source of constant pain, is determined
to make her brother into a pitching prodigy. Her enthusiasm for his success,
however, is fueled by a mania that threatens her life and begins to unravel
their family.
Goldberg, Myla.
Bee Season. (F GOL)
Fourth grader Eliza Neuman’s newly
discovered spelling talent thrills her father, who has begun to give up his
hopes that his son Aaron will become the Jewish scholar he has hoped for.
As he becomes obsessed with his daughter’s competition, he fails to
notice that his son is slipping away, into a religious cult, and that his wife
is gradually becoming increasingly obsessed in a bizarre project of her own.
Hamilton, Jane.
The Book of Ruth. (F
HAM)
Jane Hamilton leads us through the arid life
of Ruth Grey, who extracts what small pleasures and graces she can from a tiny
Illinois town and the broken people who inhabit it. Ruth's prime tormentor is
her mother May, whose husband died in World War II and took her future with him.
Ruth is left to survive on her own resources, which are meager. She struggles
along, subsisting on crumbs of affection meted out by her Aunt Sid and, later,
her screwed-up husband Ruby. (review from Amazon.com)
Hamilton, Jane. Disobedience.
(F HAM)
Henry Shaw sets his mother up with an email
account and later discovers she is using the online accessory to conduct an
affair with a fellow musician. As Henry toys with the knowledge, contemplating
whether or not to reveal what he knows, he watches the effects of the affair on
his mother’s behavior.
Hamilton, Jane.
A Map of the World. (F
HAM)
Alice Goodheart and her husband find
themselves at the center of a town’s outrage when a small child drowns on
their property. Angry about the death, community members begin accusing Alice,
the school nurse, of other, more heinous crimes, and she struggles to stay
afloat amidst the sea pf controversy and ugliness that threatens to drown her.
Hanauer,
Cathi. My
Sister’s Bones. (F HAN)
Billie has always depended on her older
sister, Cassie, for help, but when
Cassie returns from her first semester of college anorexic, her illness
complicates Billie’s life.
Haruf,
Kent. Plainsong. (F HAR)
The lives of a group of people are brought
together by circumstance in a rural town in Colorado. A teenage girl, pregnant
and recently kicked out of her house, is taken in by two elderly brothers; a
high school teacher is left alone with his two young sons when his wife leaves,
and their lives all become intertwined in this simple, but elegant story.
Hoffman, Alice.
Local Girls. (F HOF)
While her family falls apart around
her—her father leaves for a younger woman, her brother get increasingly
involved with drugs, her mother battles cancer—Gretel Samuelson and her best
friend Jill, gain revenge on neighbors who’ve done them wrong and commiserate
about failed relationships and mistakes.
Humphreys,
Josephine. Rich
in Love. (F
HUM)
The story of a tumultuous summer in the life
of 17-year-old Lucille Odom, whose mother has recently abandoned the family
and whose father begins an obsessive search for her. In the meantime,
Lucille might be falling in love with her best friend, but she also thinks
she’s in love with her history teacher…who also happens to be her sister’s
new husband.
Irving,
John. The
Cider House Rules. (F IRV)
A boy raised in an orphanage by a
much-loved doctor who performs abortions must choose between staying and
inheriting the man’s medical legacy or striking out on his own.
Irving,
John. A
Prayer for Owen Meany. (F IRV)
In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old
boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in New
Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother.
Owen Meany believes he didn't hit the ball by accident. He believes he is God's
instrument. What happens to Owen after 1953 is extraordinary and terrifying.
Jackson, Jeremy.
Life at These Speeds. (F JAC)
Kevin Schuler's track teammates are killed
when their van crashes off a bridge after a meet. Following the incident, Kevin
can remember nothing about the event, including the names of his teammates and
the connections he had with them before they were killed. When he enters high
school, he is persuaded to turn out for cross country and track, and although he
insists he isn't interested in either sport, he immediately begins making
incredible progress in both, setting running records for sprinting and distance
events. As he does so, he also begins to regain some of his memories of the
past.
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of
Bees. (F KID)
Lily has always felt responsible for her
mother's death, but when an explosive argument with her abusive father indicates
that she may, in fact, hhave killed, she decides to run away. She takes with her
the family's housekeeper, Rosaleen, who has just had a confrontation with three
racists in town and is being held in the town jail. The two escape to a small
town in South Carolina, Tiburon, using a clue from a picture of Lily's mother
about where they might go. In Tiburon, they find three African-American sisters
living together and raising bees for honey. The women take them in, and Lily
soons learns much about beekeepping, friendship, and herself.
King,
Thomas. Green
Grass, Running Water.
(F KIN)
A lively, engagingly loopy tale of modern
Indians in Canada who are struggling to find their identity while still fighting
white oppression. Lionel Red Dog is a disaffected Blackfoot on the eve of his
40th birthday; he sells televisions in a rural part of southern Alberta, but
tells himself that one day he'll go back to college to get his Ph.D. Meanwhile,
his relationship with his girlfriend Alberta lacks certainty also, since he has
to share her with his lawyer cousin Charlie, but she resists the mere mention of
marriage, preferring to have a child by artificial insemination than be saddled
with any man. Things begin to change on that fateful day, however, when Lionel
and his aunt stop to pick up four ancient Indian hitchhikers who take an avid
interest in him. (Amazon).
Kingsolver,
Barbara. Animal
Dreams. (F KIN)
From the acclaimed author of The Bean Trees
and Homeland, comes a powerful story of love and courage in an exotc
southwestern landscape. Blending flashbacks, dreams, and Native American myths,
thisis a suspenseful love story and a moving exploration of life's greatest
commitments. (Amazon).
Kingsolver,
Barbara. The
Bean Trees. (F KIN)
Taylor Greer leaves behind her mother and
her small Kentucky town, determined to find a future different than that of her
high school classmates. What she discovers, however, may be an adventure far
larger than she is capable of handling. After an Indian woman leaves a small
child in her care, Taylor becomes a surrogate parent, travels to Arizona and
befriends another single mom, and finds herself embroiled in a refugee-smuggling
operation. Funny and wise.
Kingsolver,
Barbara. The
Poisonwood Bible. (F KIN)
The year is 1959 and the place is the
Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a
remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are
woefully unprepared would be an understatement. But of course it isn't long
before they discover that the tremendous humidity has rendered the mixes
unusable, their clothes are unsuitable, and they've arrived in the middle of
political upheaval as the Congolese seek to wrest independence from Belgium. In
addition to poisonous snakes, dangerous animals, and the hostility of the
villagers to Nathan's fiery take-no-prisoners brand of Christianity, there are
also rebels in the jungle and the threat of war in the air. Could things get any
worse? In fact they can and they
do. (Amazon)
Kingsolver, Barbara.
Prodigal Summer. (F KIN)
Three intertwined stories show how
inextricably involved humans are with the world around them. Deanna Wolf, a
forest ranger living alone in a remote area meets Eddie Bondo and discovers
love, while on a farm in the valley
nearby, a old agriculture teacher argues with his neighbor (with whom he find an
unlikely friendship) and tries to recreate the extinct American Chesnut tree.
Not far away, Lusa Landowski, a transplant to the country, finds herself
suddenly widowed and struggling to decide what to do with the tobacco farm
she’s been left and the in-laws who would like to see her leave their
family’s land.
Kinsella,
W.P. Shoeless
Joe. (F KIN)
After a man hears voices urging him to
construct a baseball diamond in his corn field, he goes on a quest to gather
together members of Shoeless Joe Jackson’s White Sox to replay the games they
were denied years earlier.
Lee,
Gus. China
Boy. (F LEE)
A warm, engaging story of 7-year-old Kai
Ting, set in the tough Panhandle District of San Francisco in the 1950’s. The
story reads like a modern fairy tale with an evil stepmother, a totally
obnoxious bully, and a group of
“knights” who teach Kai to stand up to his enemies.
Mason, Bobbie Ann. In Country. (F
MAS)
Sam Hughes lives in Hopewell, Kentucky with
her Uncle Emmett who is a Vietnam veteran.
Sam's father was killed in Vietnam and she wants to understand about the
war, but Emmett and other vets refuse to tell her much.
McMurtry,
Larry. Lonesome
Dove. (F McM)
A cattle drive across the west is the
backdrop for a group of unusual characters in this Pulitzer-prize winning saga
of the American West. Long, but well worth the effort. Unforgettable.
Mirvis, Tova. The Ladies’ Auxiliary. (F
MIR)
The Ladies Auxiliary, the group of women at
the heart of this close knit Orthodox Jewish community in Memphis, and their
voices, tell of how a carefully structured world begins to unravel with the
arrival of Batsheva, young, beautiful, a convert, and a widow with a small
child.
Nissen, Thisbe. The Good People of New
York. (F NIS)
Roz Rosenzweig and her unlikely husband, a
Christian from Nebraska, marry and have the ideal life in New York city--for a
few years. They bring into the world Miranda, their spunky, intelligent
daughter, who is the center of her mother's world. When her parents are
divorced, Miranda and her mother become even closer, sharing a bond similar to
that of two best friends. Both know
much about the other--almost too much. They
support each other as Miranda grows up and Roz tries to be a good single mother,
and as each of them navigates the murky waters of love and family.
A funny, insightful read about mothers and daughters and their
relationships.
O’Brien,
Tim. In
the Lake of the Woods. (F OBR)
After losing his bid for the Senate when an
ugly secret from his past emerges, a man and his wife retreat to their cabin in
the woods to recover. While they are there, the woman disappears, and the real
story begins.
Reiken, Frederick. The Lost Legends of
New Jersey. (F REI)
The members of the Rubins family struggle to
find true love and happiness, even as their family begins to fall apart.
Roiphe, Katie. Still She Haunts Me. (F
ROI)
A fictionalized account of the unusual
relationship between Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland and Through
the Looking-Glass.
Rubio, Gwyn.
Icy Sparks. (F RUB)
Icy Sparks struggles to come-of-age in
Kentucky while dealing with her Tourette's Syndrome. She meets an elderly woman,
also an outcast in their small community, and the two form a bond that helps
them transcend the mistreatment they receive at the hands of others in town.
Salzman, Mark. Lying Awake. (F SAL)
Sister John of the Cross has spent years
serving God at a Carmelite monastery, and when she begins to see holy visions,
she is viewed as a spiritual master, but she learns that her visions are due to
a deadly illness and she is forced to choose between her commitment to God and
her own life.
Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. (F SEB)
Fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon, the victim
of a sexual assault and murder, looks on from the afterlife as her family deals
with their grief, and waits for her killer to be brought to some type of
justice.
Shields, Carol. The Stone Diaries.
(F SHI)
The fictionalized autobiography of Daisy
Goodwill Flett. After a youth marked by sudden death and loss, Daisy escapes
into conventionality as a middle-class wife and mother. Years later she becomes
a successful garden columnist and experiences the kind of awakening that
thousands of her contemporaries in mid-century yearned for but missed in
alcoholism, marital infidelity and bridge clubs.
Sijie, Dai. Balzac and the Little
Chinese Seamstress. (F SIJ)
Two Chinese teenagers are sent to a small
village for "re-education" during the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-Dung
in the 1970's. While in the
village, they are forced to perform menial tasks, such as hauling human
excrement up a mountainside. To
keep their spirits up, they recall movies they viewed in the city. Their talent
for story-telling comes to the attention of the village leader, and he sends
them to town to watch movies and re-tell them to the villagers. Their lives
improve even more markedly when they discover a forbidden cache of western books
that have been translated to Chinese and begin reading them. Never having read
anything but textbooks and propaganda, they are moved by the fictional
characters and dramas, and soon begin plotting to obtain more of the literature.
Strauss, Darren. Chang and Eng.
(F STR)
A fictional account of the lives of the
most famous conjoined twins of all twin, Chang and Eng Bunker, who were born in
Siam (now Thailand) and brought to the United States to perform in circus
sideshows, including the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The novel, based on what is
now about the lives of the twins from factual accounts of their lives, creates
an imaginary story about what the two might have experienced as conjoined
brothers sharing their homes, marrying sisters, and raising twenty children
together.
Styron,
William. Sophie’s
Choice. (F STY)
A young writer meets an unusual woman and
learns of the tragic choice she was forced to make during the Holocaust.
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club.
(F TAN)
Chronicles the lives of four Chinese women,
their forty-year friendship and how the death of one brings her daughter into
the fold and a new understanding for each.
Tan, Amy.
The Kitchen God’s Wife. (F TAN)
Winnie and Helen have kept each other's
worst secrets for more than fifty years. Now, because she believes she is dying, Helen wants to expose
everything.
Trumbo,
Dalton. Johnny
Got His Gun. (F TRU)
A soldier who has been completely disable
from war injuries learns to communicate with a nurse and tries to convince her
to let him die.
Vreeland, Susan, Girl in Hyacinth Blue.
(F VRE)
In a series of interrelated short stories,
the history of a mysterous, previously unknown painting by Johann Vermeer is
traced. As it passes from one owner
to the next, the circumstances under which it is acquired, and then lost, by
each person, is told, until it finally falls into the hands of a private school
teacher.