Recommendations based on All-of-a-Kind Family Downtownby Sydney Taylor

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  1. All-of-a-Kind Family

    by Sydney Taylor
    Five sisters navigate life in early 1900s New York, learning lessons in love and family.

    Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertrude are five sisters growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1912. The book follows them through a year of their childhood, as they deal with mundane ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Complete Anne of Green Gables 8-Book Box Set

    by L.M. Montgomery
    Follow the life of Anne Shirley, an imaginative and talkative orphan, as she grows up on Prince Edward Island.

    Favorites for nearly 100 years, these classic novels follow the adventures of the spirited redhead Anne Shirley, who comes to stay at Green Gables and wins the hearts of everyone she meets. Includes ... (Goodreads)

  3. Betsy-Tacy

    by Maud Hart Lovelace
    The adventures of two best friends, Betsy and Tacy, growing up in a small town in the early 1900s.

    Best Friends Forever There are lots of children on Hill Street, but no little girls Betsy's age. So when a new family moves into the house across the street, Betsy hopes they will have a little girl ... (Goodreads)

  4. Anne of Windy Poplars

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A young woman's journey of self-determination, navigating society's expectations of her.

    Anne Shirley has left Redmond College behind to begin a new job and a new chapter of her life away from Green Gables. Now she faces a new challenge: the Pringles. They're known as the royal family of ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Little House Collection

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    Series of stories recounting a pioneer family's journey through the American West.

    This nine-book paperback box set of the classic series features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams. The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Bronze Bow

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.

    This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)

  7. A Separate Peace

    by John Knowles
    A coming-of-age story about two boys and their complex friendship set during World War II.

    Gene Forrester returns to his old prep school, Devon (a thinly veiled portrayal of Knowles's alma mater, Phillips Exeter Academy ), , 15 years after he graduated, to visit two places he regards as ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Mara, Daughter of the Nile

    by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
    An adventure story set in Ancient Egypt, featuring a brave and courageous girl who rises to a heroic challenge.

    The story opens introducing the reader to Nekonkh, an Egyptian river boat captain on the Nile during the rule of Queen Hatshepsut . Nekonkh is on his way to Thebes, carrying his usual cargo and an ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Nine Tailors

    by Dorothy L. Sayers
    A murder-mystery set in rural England, featuring an amateur detective and a series of perplexing clues.

    Stranded after a car accident in the Fenland village of Fenchurch St. Paul on New Year's Eve, Lord Peter Wimsey helps ring a nine-hour peal on the church bells overnight after William Thoday, one of ... (Wikipedia)

  10. These Happy Golden Years

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery as she moves through adulthood.

    As the novel begins, Pa is taking Laura 12 miles from home in the dead of winter to her first teaching assignment at Brewster settlement. Laura being only 15 and a schoolgirl herself, is apprehensive ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Emily Climbs

    by L.M. Montgomery
    Emily Starr continues her journey of self-discovery and literary aspirations, facing challenges and triumphs along the way.

    Emily Byrd Starr longs to attend Queen's Academy to earn her teaching license, but her tradition-bound relatives at New Moon refuse. She is instead offered the chance to go to Shrewsbury High School ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

    by Fannie Flagg
    A nostalgic tale of friendship, courage and resilience set in the American South.

    Throughout the novel the narrator and time period change, and the reader relies on the chapters' headings to establish the date and the source of the chapter. Some of the narration comes in the form ... (Wikipedia)

  13. A River Runs Through it and Other Stories

    by Norman Maclean
    A series of stories about the life of a family and the relationship between two brothers.

    Just as Norman Maclean writes at the end of "A River Runs through It" that he is "haunted by waters," so have readers been haunted by his novella. A retired English professor who began writing ... (Goodreads)

  14. Sunshine

    by Robin McKinley
    Rae, a young girl, discovers her magical powers and must navigate a world of politics and power struggles to save her kingdom from darkness.

    The story is set in an alternate universe , taking place after the "Voodoo Wars", a conflict between humans and the "Others". The Others mainly consist of vampires , werewolves , and demons , though ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Gaudy Night

    by Dorothy L. Sayers
    Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater to solve a mystery, while grappling with her feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey.

    Harriet Vane returns with trepidation to her, alma mater, , Shrewsbury College, Oxford to attend the Gaudy dinner. Expecting hostility because of her notoriety (she had stood trial for murder in an ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Witch of Blackbird Pond

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young girl's struggles to find her place in a Puritan Connecticut town.

    In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Dark Is Rising

    by Susan Cooper
    A young boy embarks on a quest to save the world from a mysterious, magical force.

    This night will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining. It's Midwinter's Eve, the day before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. ... (Goodreads)

  18. Code Name Verity

    by Elizabeth Wein
    Two female spies' harrowing mission during WWII and the secrets they discover.

    In 1943 Nazi-occupied France, a British Lysander spy plane crashes in the fictional town of Ormaie. On board are two best friends, a pilot (Maddie, code name: Kittyhawk) and a spy (Julie, code name: ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer

    by Sena Jeter Naslund
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, defying society's expectations and finding her own path.

    A magnificent, vast, and enthralling saga, Sena Jeter Naslund's Ahab's Wife is a remarkable epic spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby Dick , it is the ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Frog and Toad Treasury: Frog and Toad are Friends/Frog and Toad Together/Frog and Toad All Year

    by Arnold Lobel
    A collection of heartwarming stories about the friendship between two amphibians, Frog and Toad, and their adventures throughout the year.

    Why do I love Frog and Toad? I'm not really sure. Not much really happens in these stories. The illustrations are beautiful but rather small. The eponymous friends carry on their friendship through ... (Goodreads)

  21. Low Country

    by Anne Rivers Siddons
    A woman returns to her childhood home in the Low Country of South Carolina, confronting family secrets and personal demons.

    Caroline Venable has everything her Southern heritage promised: money, prestige, a powerful husband—and a predictable routine of country-club luncheons, cocktail parties, and dinners hosting her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. Roots: The Saga of an American Family

    by Alex Haley
    A multigenerational saga tracing the journey of an African American family in the U.S.

    Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte —a young man taken from the Gambia when he was seventeen and sold as a slave—and seven generations of his descendants in the United States. Kunta, a Mandinka ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Outlaws of Sherwood

    by Robin McKinley
    A retelling of the classic tale of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, fighting against injustice and tyranny in medieval England.

    New York Times bestselling author Robin McKinley's vivid retelling of the classic story of Robin Hood breathes contemporary life into these beloved adventures-with Marian taking a pivotal role as one ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. Summer at Willow Lake

    by Susan Wiggs
    Reunion of childhood friends at a summer camp leads to rekindled romance and healing of past wounds.

    Olivia Bellamy has traded her trendy Manhattan life for a summer renovating her family's crumbling holiday resort. Tempted by the hazy, nostalgic memories of summers past - childhood innocence and ... (Goodreads)

  25. Little House on the Prairie

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A family's journey of settling and persevering on the American Frontier.

    Meet Laura Ingalls, the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from ... (Goodreads)

  26. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

    by E.L. Konigsburg
    Two adventurous children who run away from home and hide in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere — to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, ... (Goodreads)

  27. Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception

    by Maggie Stiefvater
    A faerie queen's deception leads to a dangerous game of love and betrayal.

    Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. Trans-Sister Radio

    by Chris Bohjalian
    A professor undergoes gender reassignment surgery, causing upheaval in her small town. Told from multiple perspectives.

    With Trans-Sister Radio , Chris Bohjalian, author of the bestseller Midwives , again confronts his very human characters with issues larger than themselves, here tackling the explosive issue of ... (Goodreads)

  29. Becoming Naomi León

    by Pam Muñoz Ryan
    Naomi León's journey to find her true identity and reunite with her family. A heartwarming story of love, courage, and self-discovery.

    Naomi Outlaw is a Hispanic girl who lives a carefree (if not lonely) life with her great-grandmother, Mary Outlaw, and deformed younger brother, Owen, in the fictional town of Lemon Tree, California. ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Just One of the Guys

    by Kristan Higgins
    A woman disguises herself as a man to work at a construction site and falls for her boss.

    Being one of the guys isn't all it's cracked up to be...So when journalist Chastity O'Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it's time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny ... (Goodreads)