A Piece of the World
A Piece of the World is a wonderful historical fiction book based on the real life of Christina Olson. The farm never had electricity, so there are many survival lessons thrown in for living without power, too. Overall, the books shows the importance of loving those who are in our lives and reaching out to them, even when they push us away.

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

Printed Letter Bookshop
The Printed Letter Bookshop is full of how family, friends and even new acquaintances all weave into our own world and create a web that sometimes supports and sometimes hides us. Madeline changes for the better throughout the book, but has to learn some hard lessons to do that.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

Sooley
As Sooley gets used to American college life, he practices basketball every day, despite being red-shirted for the first season. However, injuries lead him to finally being put in for a game and he shows how much he had advanced as a player … and his whole world starts to change.

Sooley by John Grisham

Micro
This book is fascinating and the topic is very Crichton-worthy. I don’t quite think it would have completely ended up with the storyline it did if Cricton had finished it instead of someone else.

Micro by Michael Crichton

Paris Architect
Books set during World War II tend to stick with me and this one will. Paris was a city under German control, but Parisians had certain freedoms as long as they didn’t sympathize with the Resistance or hide Jews. Lucien was more than happy to follow these rules until he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure

Last Telegram
In The Last Telegram, a family silk mill near London stays in business during World War II by managing to get a contract to make parachute silk. It’s business to the family, but to the soldiers using the parachutes, the quality of the silk is life and death.

The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow

Woman Who Smashed Codes
History lovers will really enjoy reading The Woman Who Smashed Codes. While the FBI and CIA often took credit for what the Friedmans accomplished for the U.S., this book tells the true story. And, it’s fascinating.

The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone