Amy and Isabelle
By Elizabeth Strout

Recommended By:
Judy Lockman, Library Director

"Evocative...one of those rare, invigorating books that take an apparently familiar world and peer into it with ruthless intimacy, revealing a strange and startling place (New York Times Book Review)."

Genre: Domestic Fiction

The Brass Verdict
By Michael Connelly

Recommended By:
Nancy Lowenstein, Library Page

"Connelly is firing on all cylinders in this epic page-turner. The intriguing story line, the chance to view Bosch from another perspective, and Haller's reappearance as a main character add up to a fantastic read. One of the best thrillers of the year (Library Journal)."

Genre: Suspense Fiction

Brother, I'm Dying
By Edwidge Danticat

Recommended By:
Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk

"She has written a fierce, haunting book about exile and loss and family love, and how that love can survive distance and separation, loss and abandonment and somehow endure, undented and robust (New York Times Book Review)."

Genre: Biography / Memoir

City of Thieves
By David Benioff

Recommended By:
Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

"Novelist and screenwriter Benioff's glorious second novel is a wild action-packed quest, and much else besides: a coming-of-age story, an odd-couple tale and a juicy footnote to the historic World War II siege of Leningrad (Kirkus Reviews)."

Genre: World War II Fiction

Damnation Falls
By Edward Wright

Recommended By:
Sonia Grgas, Librarian Trainee

"The complex plot makes the most of tangled smalltown connections, moving fluidly from nostalgic remembrances, ruminations on friendship and filial devotion, to old-fashioned suspense and violence. Wright captures the rich, earthy essence of the South and wraps up his story with a sweet coda, all the more touching for being understated (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Mystery Fiction

Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama

Recommended By:
Amy Badagliacca, Reference Librarian

"... tells the story of Obama's struggle to understand the forces that shaped him as the son of a black African father and white American mother--a struggle that takes him from the American heartland to the ancestral home of his great-aunt in the tiny African village of Alego (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Biography/Memoir

Getting Rid of Matthew
By Jane Fallon

Recommended By:
Pam Martin, Head of Programming

"Fallon takes "careful what you wish for" to hilarious heights in her debut novel, a comedy of errors triggered by a mistress who discovers thrice-weekly hookups with her married lover are better than a 24/7 relationship with him (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Chick Lit

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
By Jamie Ford

Recommended By:
Evelyn Hershkowitz, Library Assistant

"In his first novel, award-winning short-story writer Ford expertly nails the sweet innocence of first love, the cruelty of racism, the blindness of patriotism, the astonishing unknowns between parents and their children, and the sadness and satisfaction at the end of a life well lived (Library Journal)."

Genre: Historical Fiction

In Harm's Way
By Doug Stanton

Recommended By:
Christine Belling, Systems Manager

"The definitive account of this harrowing chapter of World War II history-- In Harm's Way is a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Non-Fiction

Little Bee
By Chris Cleave

Recommended By:
Susan Santa, Readers' Services Librarian

" ...a haunting novel about the tenuous friendship that blooms between two disparate strangers---one an illegal Nigerian refugee, the other a recent widow from suburban London (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Lush Life
By Richard Price

Recommended By:
Lisa Caputo, Head of Adult Services

"With its perfect dialogue and attention to the smallest detail, Price's latest reminds readers why he's one of the masters of American urban crime fiction (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Urban Fiction

A Man in Full
Tom Wolfe

Recommended By:
Jill Jacobson, Readers' Services Librarian

"The novel contains passages as powerful and as beautiful as anything written -- not merely by contemporary American novelists but by any American novelist.... The book is as funny as anything Wolfe has ever written; at the same time it is also deeply, strangely affecting (New York Times Book Review)."

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Match Me If You Can
By Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Recommended By:
Lisa Corallo, Library Clerk

"Phillips' latest captivating romance follows a pair of reluctant lovers from their combative first acquaintance to a happily ever after... Phillips has once again created a delightful page-turner (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Fiction Love Stories

The Middle Ages
By Jennie Fields

Recommended By:
Helene Pfeffer, Reference Librarian

"With warmth and humor Fields explores the territory of middle age, proving that it's never too late to reinvent your life, or to take the risks that bring us the pleasures we all deserve (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Domestic Fiction

The Middle Place
By Kelly Corrigan

Recommended By:
Lisa Jones, Readers' Services Librarian

"A cancer survivor's memoir with a welcome twist: a laughter-filled celebration of family... The author is, in her words, living in "the middle place-that sliver of time when childhood and parenthood overlap (Kirkus Reviews)."

Genre: Biography / Memoir

Riding the Bus With My Sister
By Rachel Simon

Recommended By:
Jennifer Rottkamp, Library Clerk

"This perceptive, uplifting chronicle shows how much Simon, a creative writing professor at Bryn Mawr College, had to learn from her mentally retarded sister, Beth, about life, love and happiness (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Biography/Memoir

Spandau Phoenix
By Greg Iles

Recommended By:
Ali Tirmazi, Library Clerk

"In an adventure- and suspense-filled novel, Iles answers the greatest remaining mystery of World War II in a lightning-fast tale that ranks with the works of Follett and Ludlum (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Mystery Fiction

Still Alice
By Lisa Genova

Recommended By:
Betty Petreshock, Reference Librarian

"Fifty-year-old Alice Howland, a highly respected linguistics professor, suddenly begins feeling disoriented and confused. Her diagnosis-early-onset Alzheimer's-irrevocably changes her life as well as the lives of her husband and three grown children (Library Journal)."

Genre: Domestic Fiction

This I Believe II
By Jay Allison

Recommended By:
Donna Litke, Reference Librarian

"Here is a welcome, stirring, and provocative communion with the minds and hearts of a diverse, new group of people--whose beliefs and the remarkably varied ways in which they choose to express them reveal the American spirit at its best (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Non-Fiction

This Is How It Happened
Jo Barrett

Recommended By:
Marianne Leavell, Reference Librarian

"At the start of Barrett's very funny second novel, Madeline Piatro, a powerhouse marketing whiz, vows to kill her ex-fiancé, Carlton Connors, the sexy but selfish son of an equally self-absorbed millionaire (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Humorous Fiction

Tilt a Whirl
By Chris Grabenstein

Recommended By:
Brenda Cherry, Reference Librarian

"Grabenstein's writing is direct and punchy, providing many laugh-out-loud moments. Though a bit surreal, the ending is unexpected and satisfying and wraps up a good pace. Highly recommended (Library Journal)."

Genre: Mystery Fiction

True Colors
By Kristin Hannah

Recommended By:
Marie McLaughlin, Senior Library Clerk

"With breathtaking pace and penetrating insight, Kristin Hannah's True Colors is a novel about sisters, vengeance, rivalry, betrayal-and ultimately, what it truly means to be a family (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Domestic Fiction

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
By Louise Murphy

Recommended By:
Jackie Ranaldo, Readers' Services Librarian Trainee

"A provocative transformation of the classic fairy tale into a haunting survival story set in Poland during WWII, Murphy's second novel is darkly enchanting ... (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Holocaust Fiction

Ultra Marathon Man
By Dean Karnazes

Recommended By:
Megan Kass, Reference Librarian Trainee

"Many would see running a marathon as the pinnacle of their athletic career; thrill-seeker Karnazes didn't just run a marathon, he ran the first marathon held at the South Pole (Publishers Weekly)."

Genre: Non-Fiction

White Noise
By Don DeLillo

Recommended By:
Christine Kingsley, Reference Librarian

"Winner of the National Book Award in 1985, Don DeLillo's postmodern masterpiece is about Jack and Babette, a middle America couple with children from previous marriages. After a deadly toxic accident and Babette's addiction to an experimental drug, Jack is forced to question everything about his life (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

The White Tiger
By Aravind Adiga

Recommended By:
Lakshmi Kasturi, Library Clerk

"... A penetrating piece of social commentary, attuned to the inequalities that persist despite India's new prosperity. It correctly identifies--and deflates--middle-class India's collective euphoria (New York Times)."

Genre: India (Bangalore) Fiction

Wuthering Heights
By Emily Bronte

Recommended By:
Jessikah Chautin, Children's Librarian

"... remains one of literature's most disturbing explorations into the dark side of romantic passion. Heathcliff and Cathy believe they're destined to love each other forever, but when cruelty and snobbery separate them, their untamed emotions literally consume them (From the Publisher)."

Genre: Classic Fiction