*Adams,Douglas.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
(F ADA)
Seconds
before Earth is demolished to make room for a galactic freeway, an earthman is
saved by his friend. Together they
journey through the galaxy.
*Alcott,
Louisa. Little Women.
(F ALC)
A
classic American story about four sisters growing up during the Civil War in New
England.
*Alexie,
Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (F ALE)
(Movie is titled Smoke Signals).
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,
Isabel. The House of the Spirits.
(F ALL)
The
epic story of the passionate Trueba family begins at the turn of the century in
South America.
*Atwood,
Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale (F
ATW)
Set
in the near future, America has become a puritanical theocracy and Offered tells
her story as a Handmaid under the new social order. A scary, fascinating story
*Babbitt,
Natalie. Tuck Everlasting.
(F BAB)
The
Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a
ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring
whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.
*Binchy,
Maeve. Circle of Friends.
(F BIN)
The
worlds of Dublin and Knockglen will suddenly be joined in intrigues and dreams
as the mysteries of the past and the hopes of the future test the bonds of Benny
and Eve's friendship.
*Brown,
Rose Ellen. Before and After.
(F BRO)
A
Family must decide what to do when a teenage girl in their town is found
brutally murdered and their own son has vanished-presumably because he is the
prime suspect. When the boy’s
father discovers, what may be evidence pointing to his son’s guilt, he has a
horrible decision to make: hide the evidence and live with the guilt, or turn in
his own son on suspicion of murder.
*Burgess,
Anthony. A Clockwork Orange.
(F BUR)
In
the Slav-oriented state of the future, the Lower Orders are in ascendance and
happy hooligans roam the London streets, bashing senior citizens in the eyes
with bicycle chains.
*Burns,
Olive Ann. Cold Sassy Tree.
(F BUR)
Much
like Fried Green Tomatoes, this is another southern story of a family going
through major changes. 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. A very funny and enjoyable read.
*Cabot,
Meg. The Princess Diaries.
(F CAB)
In
her ninth-grade year, Mia Thermopolis struggles with numerous problems,
including her lack of physical development and her difficult algebra class. Then
things get much worse--her mother begins dating her algebra teacher, and her
father returns to New York to announce that Mia is the heir to his throne in the
small country of Genovia. Mia must
learn to deal with her suddenly royal status, as well as cope with the usual
problems.
*Conroy,
Pat. The Lords of Discipline. (F
CON)
An
all-male military school is the setting for this story full of secrets and
mystery. A group of cadets is
“tapped” each year to become members o f a secret, elite organization-no one
knows who will be asked to join, why they are selected, or what happens to them
once they are a part. But this year
is different than others. When a
black cadet is admitted to the school, traditions are questioned and age-old
mysteries revealed.
*Conroy,
Pat. The Prince of Tides. (F CON)
A
man from a South Carolina family full of secrets recalls the tragedies and
horrors that have befallen himself and his siblings and left his sister
emotionally and mentally unstable. A
fascinating, suspenseful book that will keep you reading just when you think
you’ve learned the worst there is to know about this family, you will find out
more.
*Cormier,
Robert. The Chocolate War.
(F COR)
A
high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join
in the school's annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school
bullies.
*Courtnay,
Bryce. The Power of One.
(F COU)
Story
of Peekay, an English boy, living in South Africa during World War II whose
dream is to become a winner.
*Crichton,
Michael. Jurassic Park.
(F CRI)
An
account of the attempt, through a hair-raising twenty-four hours on a remote
jungle island, to avert a global emergency--a crisis triggered by today's rush
to commercialize genetic engineering.
*Dann,
Patty. Mermaids.
(F DAN)
Fourteen-year-old
Charlotte Flax, who is seeking a religious experience, moves with her sister
Kate and their mother to a Massachusetts town.
There Charlotte becomes smitten with a shy young caretaker at the local
convent.
*Davis,
Terry. Vision Quest.
(F DAV)
Eighteen-year-old
Louden Swain pursues many interests as he strives to achieve maturity. During
his senior year, he drops a weight division so that he can wrestle against a
cross-town legend and gets involved in a relationship with an older woman.
*Dickens,
Charles. A Christmas Carol.
(F DIC)
A
miser learns the true meaning of Christmas, when three ghostly visitors review
his past and foretell his future.
*Dickens,
Charles. Great Expectations.
(F DIC)
Charles
Dickens' chronicle of a young man's progress from lower-class urchin to
gentleman of means.
*Esquivel,
Laura. Like Water for Chocolate.
(F ESQ)
A
love story about a family of three sisters and their mother, who has plans for
their lives that disregard their individual passions. She plans for the oldest daughters to be married and the
youngest one to stay and care for her. Her
plans don’t always mesh, however, with the feelings and desires her daughters
experience.
*Evans,
Nicholas. The Horse Whisperer.
(F EVA)
A
mother brings her teenage daughter and their horse, Pilgrim, both seriously
injured by a speeding truck, to the Horse Whisperer in Montana.
*Flagg,
Fannie. Fried Green Tomatoes at the
Whistle Stop Café. (F FLA)
If
you’ve already seen the movie, you’re only familiar with part of the story,
and you miss the background stories and some of the humor that make this story
great. Told from the points of view
of many of the townspeople in Whistle Stop, Alabama, and from the “current”
viewpoint of the aged Mrs. Threadgoode, who was there in Whistle Stop to see it
all happen.
*Goldman,
William. The Princess Bride.
(F GOL)
Westley,
a farm boy, goes off to seek his fortune shortly after declaring his love for
Buttercup, the most beautiful woman in the world, but their relationship is put
to the test when his ship is captured by pirates and she is summoned to become
the bride of the prince.
*Groom,
Winston. Forrest Gump.
A
man with mental disabilities has a series of adventures and achievements.
*Guest,
Judith. Ordinary People.
(F GUE)
When
a family’s older son commits suicide, his younger brother must cope with his
loss, a task made extremely difficult by his controlling, angry mother.
Eventually, his grief and her coldness drives him to the brink.
*Guterson,
David. Snow Falling on Cedars.
(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.
*Hamilton,
Jane. A Map of the World.
(F HAM)
When
a neighbor's daughter drowns while under Alice Goodwin's care, a seemingly
trivial incident from Alice's past resurfaces and takes on gigantic proportions.
*Harris,
Joanne. Chocolat.
(F HAR)
Beautiful,
mysterious Vianne Rocher and her young daughter arrive in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes
at the start of the Lenten season where she proceeds to set up a chocolate shop,
much to the chagrin of the local priest.
*Hawthorn,
National. The Scarlet Letter.
(F HAW)
This
challenging novel is the story of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman whose out of
wedlock affair has left her with an illegitimate daughter and a lifetime of
shame. Forced to wear a red letter
A (for “adultress”) attached to her clothing at all times, Hester struggles
to raise her daughter when the Puritanical forces are against her at all
times-and even more so when the identity of her child’s father is revealed.
*Hedges,
Peter. What’s Eating Gilbert
Grape. (F HED)
Gilbert
Grape is the caretaker for his bizarre family:
his younger mentally retarded brother, Arnie, who has a penchant for
climbing the town’s water tower, and his grossly overweight mother, who
hasn’t left her home in years. When
a young woman arrives in their town, Gilbert begins to imagine other
possibilities for his life.
*Herbert,
Frank. Dune. (F HER)
The
story of a young prince, Paul Artreides, scion of a star-crossed dynasty, and of
his journey from boy to warrior to ruler of a dying planet destined to become a
paradise regained.
*Hinton,
S. E. The Outsiders.
(F HIN)
The
struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parents' deaths, and
their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent
society.
*Hoffman,
Alice. Practical Magic.
(F HOF)
The tale of Gillian and Sally Owens, two sisters brought up by elderly aunts in a world of magic spells and exotica.
*Hornby,
Nick. About a Boy. (F HOR)
Will, a thirty-six-year-old London bachelor, undergoes a change in his outlook about marriage and children when he lies to join a single parents group in order to meet women, and becomes friends with a needy twelve-year-old named Marcus.
*Hornby,
Nick. High Fidelity.
(F HOR)
Recently
dumped by his wealthy girlfriend, record store owner Rob Fleming finds himself
in financial trouble and sets out on a pilgrimage to ask his former girlfriends
where their relationships went wrong and to learn where his life went off track.
*Humphreys,
Josephine. Rich in Love.
(F HUM)
In
the spring of her senior year, Lucille Odom returns home to find that her mother
has decided she needs a break from her thirty-plus year marriage and has left
with no forwarding address, leaving Lucille in charge of managing the household
and escorting her father around town. Things are complicated even further when her older sister
arrives home with a handsome new husband and a child on the way.
*Irving,
John. A Prayer for Owen Meany.
(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.
An incredibly funny and insightful book.
I haven’t met a person who read this book and didn’t love it.
*Kinsella,
W. P. Shoeless Joe.
(F KIN)
The
basis for the movie Field of Dreams, Shoeless Joe is the story of a farmer who
follows a mysterious urge to build a baseball diamond in cornfield-with
miraculous results.
*King,
Stephen. The Shining.
(F KIN)
A
summer resort comes chillingly to life in the off-season when the Torrances
arrive to take over as winter caretakers. Young
Danny has the gift of precognition, "The Shine", and the horrible
things he sees are only the beginning of the family's nightmare.
*Lee,
Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird.
(F LEE)
The
only novel written by Harper Lee, TKAM won the Pulitzer.
A funny, terrific read featuring the Finch family:
young Scout, the narrator, her older brother, Jem and their father,
Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the small Alabama town of Maycomb.
The story takes place in the late 20’s, when racial tensions in the
south made blacks the targets of white rage and accusation.
When Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white woman,
Atticus Finch defends him-and Scout and Jem are there to witness the trial and
the townspeople’s reaction to their father’s decision to defend Tom.
*MacLean,
Norman. A River Runs Through It.
(F MAC)
Nominated
for the Pulitzer Prize, this novel tells the story of a preacher who attempts to
raise noble, moral sons by teaching them the subtleties and grace of fly-fishing
in the rivers of Montana. More than
just a fishing story, it is also the story of a family, and how its different
members make different choices about how to spend their lives, and how their
decisions affect everyone who loves them.
*Mason,
Bobbie Ann. In Country. (F MAS)
Samantha
Hughes lives in Hopewell, Kentucky with her Uncle Emmett who is a Vietnam
veteran. Sam's father was killed in
Vietnam and left her uncle emotionally crippled. She wants to understand about
the war, but Emmett and other vets refuse to tell her much.
Sam strives to learn how history affects the present.
Beth
Cappadora’s three- year- old son, Ben, disappears from a hotel lobby at her
class reunion. Despite frantic
searching, they are unable to find the boy, and the family struggles for years
to put themselves back together. Then
one day, the boy reappears.
*Oates,
Joyce Carol. Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang. (F OAT)
In
the 1950’s, a group of girls form a gang, forming a tight bond and isolating
themselves from their families and peers.
As
a young woman prepares to be married, she sits around the quilting table with a
group of elderly women, who instruct her in the ways of life and love as they
teach her how to quilt.
*Quindlen,
Anna. One True Thing.
(F QUI)
An
intelligent but selfish young woman is asked to leave her career behind to
return home and care for her mother, who is dying from cancer.
In so doing, she rebuilds her relationship with her mother and learns a
great deal about herself, her father, and the rest of her family.
*Ray,
Jeanne. Julie and Romeo.
(F RAY)
Julie
and Romeo is a love story about two rival families who own flower shops, the son
and daughter from each who ignore family rivalries to be together, and the
inevitable clash of households when the families discover the budding romance.
*Rice,
Anne. Interview with the Vampire.
(F RIC)
A
New Orleans reporter interviews Louis, a vampire, and learns how he came to be a
vampire and what his life is like now that he is one.
*Schine,
Cathleen. The Love Letter. (F SCH)
Helen
MacFarquhar owns a tiny bookstore in a seaside town, where her life is exactly
as she planned it, comfortable and full, but then an anonymous love letter
arrives in her mail written by an unknown lover to a mysterious beloved.
The letter becomes Helen's obsession.
*Shaara,
Michael. The Killer Angels.
(F SHA)
The
basis for the movie Gettysburg, this is the story of a number of major military
figures in the Civil War. Narrated
by various characters, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel offers a realistic
firsthand look at the nation’s bloodiest battle.
*Sparks,
Nicholas. A Walk to Remember.
(F SPA)
When
a twist of fate makes Jamie Sullivan his date at the homecoming dance, Landon
Carter never dreamed they would fall in love, but as he comes to realize his
true feelings for Jamie, he learns of a terrible secret that will take his love
away from him forever.
*Steinbeck,
John. East of Eden.
(F STE)
This
family saga spans decades and reveals the secret lives and desires of a
California family and their connection with the woman who threatens to destroy
them.
*Steinbeck,
John. The Grapes of Wrath.
(F STE)
The
extended Joad family travels from Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl to
seek their fortune on farms.
Tan,
Amy. The Joy Luck Club.
(F TAN)
Four
daughter of Chinese-American parents tell the stories about their heritage and
how it has affected their lives in the United States.
*Trumbo,
Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun.
(F TRU)
A
man awakens in a hospital room to learn that he has lost every limb, as well as
his eyes, ears, and ability to speak in WWI.
He lays on a table, basically just a torso with a brain, unable to
communicate, but fully able to remember his previous life and sense the horror
of existence.
*Twain,
Mark. Huckleberry Finn.
(F TWA)
Huck
Finn barely escapes his drunken father, and meets up with Jim, an escaped slave.
They travel down the Mississippi on a raft, engaging in numerous
adventures.
*Tyler,
Anne. The Accidental Tourist.
(F TYL)
Macon
Leary is a travel writer who hates to travel.
When his young son dies, he and his wife try to piece their life back
together, without much success.
*Walker,
Alice. The Color Purple.
(F WAL)
This
Pulitzer Prize winning story of African-American Celie reads like a diary.
Celie writes to God about the struggles she endures as a black woman and
a young wife.
*Wells,
Rebecca. Divine Secrets of the
Ya-Ya Sisterhood. (F WEL)
Siddalee
Walker, a successful theater director, is thrown into a void of uncertainty when
she has a falling out with her mother, Vivi, over a New York Times article in
which Vivi is characterized as an abusive parent, and the Ya-Yas, Vivi’s gang
of lifelong girlfriends, conspire to restore the mother-daughter relationship.