Recommendations based on Ordinary Graceby William Kent Krueger

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. This Tender Land

    by William Kent Krueger
    Four orphans escape a cruel boarding school and embark on a journey down the Mississippi River during the Great Depression.

    INSTANT, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER! “If you liked, Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love, This Tender Land, ...This story is as big-hearted as they come.” —, Parade, The unforgettable story of four ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Light Between Oceans

    by M.L. Stedman
    A lighthouse keeper and his wife make a heartbreaking decision that has lifelong repercussions.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse ... (Goodreads)

  4. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. Before We Were Yours

    by Lisa Wingate
    Family torn apart is reunited across generations, revealing a powerful tale of resilience and hope.

    Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the ... (Goodreads)

  6. News of the World

    by Paulette Jiles
    Captain Kidd travels through Texas in 1870, reading the news to townspeople. He is tasked with returning a young girl to her family.

    The book opens in 1870 on the wild border between Texas and Indian Territory , where a 10-year-old girl has been released after four years of captivity. Kiowa raiders had killed her family and taken ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Alice Network

    by Kate Quinn
    Two women in WWI join forces to unravel secrets of a spy network in search of a missing girl.

    The plot follows pregnant American college student Charlie St. Clair in the aftermath of World War II , as she travels around France looking for her missing cousin, Rose. Her story intersects with ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Our Souls at Night

    by Kent Haruf
    An elderly couple's exploration of love, loneliness, and companionship.

    A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future. In ... (Goodreads)

  9. Small Great Things

    by Jodi Picoult
    A gripping story of racism and justice, exploring the intersections of power and privilege.

    #1, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race,, Small Great ... (Barnes & Noble)

  10. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Giver of Stars

    by Jojo Moyes
    A group of women in Kentucky during the Great Depression form a traveling library, facing challenges and finding friendship.

    From the author of, Me Before You, set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond. Alice ... (Goodreads)

  12. Lilac Girls

    by Martha Hall Kelly
    A story of three women's lives, intertwined by World War II, and their remarkable courage.

    Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades. On the eve of a ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Art of Racing in the Rain

    by Garth Stein
    An uplifting story of a race car driver and the bond between humans and animals.

    Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by ... (Goodreads)

  14. Olive Kitteridge

    by Elizabeth Strout
    An exploration of the life of a small-town woman, revealing her struggles and emotional complexities.

    Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition – its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires. At times stern, at other times ... (Goodreads)

  15. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

    by Fredrik Backman
    An imaginative quest to uncover the truth behind a beloved grandmother's mysterious stories.

    The story takes place in Sweden and follows Elsa, a 7-year-old who knows she is different from other children her age. Elsa has a habit of correcting others' grammar, she is smart for her age, and is ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Nobody's Fool

    by Richard Russo
    Sully, a 60-year-old handyman, navigates life in a small town, dealing with family drama and personal struggles.

    Richard Russo's slyly funny and moving novel follows the unexpected operation of grace in a deadbeat town in upstate New York—and in the life of one of its unluckiest citizens, Sully, who has been ... (Goodreads)

  17. Still Alice

    by Lisa Genova
    A woman's struggle to hold on to her identity in the face of a devastating diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

    Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

    by Kim Michele Richardson
    A young woman, Cussy, delivers books to the rural people of Kentucky during the Great Depression, facing discrimination and finding solace in her blue skin.

    In 1936 eastern Kentucky, 19-year-old Cussy Mary Carter works for the New Deal–funded Pack Horse Library Project , delivering reading material to the remote hill people of the Appalachian Mountains . ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Pecan Man

    by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, as she uncovers the truth about her family's past.

    The Pecan Man is a work of Southern fiction whose first chapter was the First Place winner of the 2006 CNW/FFWA Florida State Writing Competition in the Unpublished Novel category. In the summer of ... (Goodreads)

  20. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

    by Jamie Ford
    A touching story of the intersection of love, family, and culture during World War II.

    Henry Lee, the son of Chinese parents in Seattle , Washington, is the only Asian child at his elementary school. His father makes him wear an "I Am Chinese" button so he will not be mistaken for a ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Lonesome Dove

    by Larry McMurtry
    Epic tale of two former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.

    It is the late 1870s. , Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, two famous retired Texas Rangers , run the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small Texas border ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

    by Robert Dugoni
    Sam Hell, born with ocular albinism, navigates life's challenges with the help of his mother, a nun, and a friend.

    Wall Street Journal, and, New York Times, bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s coming-of-age story is, according to, Booklist, “a novel that, if it doesn’t cross entirely over into John Irving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. The Kitchen House

    by Kathleen Grissom
    A young Irish girl is taken in by a plantation family in Virginia and becomes entangled in the lives of the slaves who work there.

    When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship ... (Goodreads)

  24. Calling Me Home

    by Julie Kibler
    An interracial friendship between two women, challenged by the realities of racial prejudice.

    Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler is a soaring debut interweaving the story of a heartbreaking, forbidden love in 1930s Kentucky with an unlikely modern-day friendship. Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Last Child

    by John Hart
    A suspenseful mystery about a family's search for their missing son, uncovering a dark conspiracy.

    Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel, John Hart's, New York Times, bestselling debut,, The King of Lies, announced the arrival of a major talent. With, Down, River, he surpassed his earlier ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. Boundary Waters

    by William Kent Krueger
    A gripping wilderness adventure exploring the depths of a man's courage and the power of friendship.

    The Quetico-Superior Wilderness: more than two million acres of forest, white-water rapids, and uncharted islands on the Canadian/American border. Somewhere in the heart of this unforgiving ... (Goodreads)

  27. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    by Betty Smith
    A coming of age story set in Brooklyn, depicting a young girl's struggles and growth.

    The novel is split into five "books", each covering a different period in the characters' lives. Book One opens in 1912 and introduces 11-year-old Francie Nolan, who lives in the Williamsburg ... (Wikipedia)

  28. 11/22/63

    by Stephen King
    A time-traveler attempts to prevent the assassination of JFK.

    Jake Epping is a recently divorced high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine , earning extra money teaching a GED class. Epping gives an assignment to his adult students, asking them to ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Language of Flowers

    by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
    A young woman's journey of healing and redemption through the power of flowers.

    The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in ... (Goodreads)

  30. Blood Hollow

    by William Kent Krueger
    A small town sheriff investigates a murder that uncovers dark secrets and long-held grudges.

    When the corpse of a beautiful high school student is discovered on a hillside four months after her disappearance on New Year's Eve, all evidence points to her boyfriend, local bad boy Solemn Winter ... (Goodreads)