The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman: Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Sage is stunned to discover that her stepfather has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing. Fact, fiction, and urban legend blend in this haunting story about a young woman mistakenly imprisoned at Willowbrook, the real-life institution later shuttered for its horrendous abuses.
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey: Natalie Walker is the reason her older brother and sister went to prison more than fifteen years ago. She fled California shortly after that fateful night and hasn’t spoken to anyone in her family since. Ten years later, Natalie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her estranged mother has died and left the family’s historic Santa Cruz house to her–sort of. To inherit it, Natalie and her siblings must claim it together. This is a novel about learning to love and forgive your family, even when they accidently put you behind bars.
The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony: All it takes is the right book to turn a Book Hater into a Book Lover. That was Elliott’s belief and the reason why he started The Book Haters’ Book Club—a newsletter of reading recommendations for the self-proclaimed “nonreader.” As the co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookstore, Elliott’s passion was recommending books to customers. Now, after his sudden death, his business partner, Irma, has agreed to sell Over the Rainbow. Filled with humor, family hijinks and actual reading recommendations, The Book Haters’ Book Club is the ideal feel-good read.
The Winter Orphans by Kristen Beck: In a remote corner of France, Jewish refugee Ella Rosenthal has finally reached safety. It has been three years since she and her little sister, Hanni, left their parents to flee Nazi Germany, and they have been pursued and adrift in the chaos of war ever since. Now they shelter among one hundred other young refugees in a derelict castle overseen by the Swiss Red Cross. The Winter Orphans is a poignant and ultimately triumphant novel based on the incredible true story of children who braved the formidable danger of guarded, wintry mountain passes in France to escape the Nazis.
Lucy on the Wild Side by Kerry Rea: Lucy Rourke has two great loves in her life: the gorilla troop she cares for as a primatologist and the laundry list of reality TV shows she watches to escape the fact that her actual love life doesn’t exist. And like a reality contestant gunning for the final rose, Lucy’s laser-focused on one thing: getting promoted to head keeper. So when a wildlife docuseries hosted by hotshot TV personality Kai Bridges chooses her zoo as its summer filming location, she sees an opportunity to showcase her beloved gorillas to the world and land a starring role in her department.
The Net Beneath Us by Carol Dunbar: In the aftermath of her husband’s logging accident, Elsa has more questions than answers about how to carry on while caring for their two small children in the unfinished house he was building for them in the woods of rural Wisconsin. To cope with the challenges of winter and the near-daily miscommunications from her in-laws, she forges her own relationship with the land, learning from and taking comfort in the trees her husband had so loved. If she wants to stay in their home, she must discover her own capabilities, and accept help from the people and places she least expects.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell : Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Moderna and Regio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf. Full of the drama and verve of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life, and offers an unforgettable portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.
The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh: Everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knew that the Duong sisters were cursed. It started with their ancestor Oanh who dared to leave her marriage for true love—so a Vietnamese witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that they would never find love or happiness, and the Duong women would give birth only to daughters. A novel brimming with levity and candor, The Fortunes of Jaded Women is about mourning, meddling, celebrating, and healing together as a family. It shows how Vietnamese women emerge victorious, even if the world is against them.
An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson: Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s, the son of a homemaker and a theoretical physicist. His idyllic childhood was soon marred by increasing levels of bigotry against his family and the rest of the Jewish community, and after his uncle is arrested on Kristallnacht, he leaves Germany for New York City with only his mother’s wedding ring to sell for survival. An Affair of Spies is an action-packed tale of heroism and love in the face of unspeakable evil.