Recommendations based on The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cakeby Aimee Bender

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

  1. Little Bee

    by Chris Cleave
    A Nigerian refugee's quest for survival and a British woman's search for redemption.

    Using alternating first-person perspectives , the novel tells the stories of Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee, and Sarah O'Rourke (née Summers), a magazine editor from Surrey . After spending two years ... (Wikipedia)

  2. 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)

  3. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

    by Helen Simonson
    A widower finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, challenging social conventions.

    You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as ... (Goodreads)

  4. This Is How You Lose Her

    by Junot Díaz
    A collection of stories about young love, heartache, and the struggle to find one's place in the world.

    On a beach in the Dominican Republic, a doomed relationship flounders. In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover’s washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a ... (Goodreads)

  5. Tell the Wolves I'm Home

    by Carol Rifka Brunt
    A young girl's journey of grief and healing as she discovers the secrets of her beloved uncle's life.

    June Elbus is a 14-year-old girl living in Westchester in 1986. She is in love with her gay uncle, Finn Weiss, a fact she is scared to admit even to herself. Finn is dying of AIDS. Being a ... (Wikipedia)

  6. 1Q84

    by Haruki Murakami
    A surreal journey of two people entangled in a mysterious dual-world conspiracy.

    The events of 1Q84 take place in Tokyo during a fictionalized year of 1984, with the first volume set between April and June, the second between July and September, and the third between October and ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Falling Together

    by Marisa de los Santos
    Three estranged friends reunite to fulfill a dying friend's last wish, leading to revelations about their past and present selves.

    “Her writing is both vividly descriptive and surprisingly insightful.” — Boston Globe “It’s the three-dimensional men, women, and children who populate her fiction that I’ll remember for a very long ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. The End of the Affair

    by Graham Greene
    A man's obsession and journey of love, struggling with faith, hatred and forgiveness.

    "A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses a moment of experience from which to look ahead..." "This is a record of hate far more than of love," writes Maurice Bendrix in the opening ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Imperfectionists

    by Tom Rachman
    A story of interconnected lives, exploring the fragility of human relationships.

    Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman’s wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language ... (Goodreads)

  10. The History of Love

    by Nicole Krauss
    A journey through a web of intertwining stories, searching for the meaning of love.

    Approximately 70 years before the present, the 10-year-old Polish-Jewish Leopold (Leo) Gursky falls in love with his neighbor Alma Mereminski. The two begin a relationship that develops over the ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Bitterblue

    by Kristin Cashore
    Young Queen Bitterblue must unravel the secrets of her kingdom and confront a legacy of lies.

    Enter the Graceling Realm and let it work its magic in this unforgettable novel from, New York Times, bestselling author Kristin Cashore. When Queen Bitterblue took the throne of Monsea, she was a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. Leaving the Atocha Station

    by Ben Lerner
    A young poet's journey of self-discovery, struggling to find a sense of purpose in life.

    Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his relationship to art. What is actual when ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Sisters Brothers

    by Patrick deWitt
    A unique western, following two brothers on a quest to find and murder a prospector.

    In 1851, Eli and Charlie Sisters, a pair of assassins of minor repute, are hired by a wealthy businessman known only as "the Commodore" to travel from Oregon City to California in order to murder a ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Complete Poems 1927-1979

    by Elizabeth Bishop
    A lyrical exploration of life's moments, relationships, and nature.

    This study guide consists of approx. 36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. This ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

    by Ben Fountain
    Billy Lynn and his fellow soldiers are hailed as heroes during a football halftime show, but the reality of war and their uncertain future loom over them.

    19-year-old Specialist Billy Lynn is part of an eight-man unit, Bravo Squad, fighting in Iraq. After key moments of a brief but intense fight anointed as "the Battle of Al-Ansakar Canal" are filmed ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Between Shades of Gray

    by Ruta Sepetys
    A young girl's story of survival and resilience in the face of oppression during World War II.

    Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family ... (Goodreads)

  17. Wool Omnibus

    by Hugh Howey
    Uncovering the truth behind a post-apocalyptic world, where society is hidden beneath a giant dome.

    The story of Wool takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth. , Humanity clings to survival in the Silo, a subterranean city extending one hundred forty-four stories beneath the surface. The series ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

    by Jessica Day George
    A girl with a magical gift must break a curse to save her family. A retelling of the Norwegian fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon."

    When a great white bear promises untold riches to her family, the Lass (as she's known) agrees to go away with him. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle. To unravel the mystery, the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. Wolf Hall

    by Hilary Mantel
    A historical fiction about the rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII.

    England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Wise Man's Fear

    by Patrick Rothfuss
    Epic fantasy adventure of a young man's quest for knowledge, power and love.

    On the second day of his recounting the story of his life to Chronicler at the Waystone Inn, Kvothe continues the narrative commenced in, The Name of the Wind, , wherein a younger Kvothe pursues his ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Wishin' and Hopin'

    by Wally Lamb
    A coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, following a young boy's journey through Catholic school and his first crush.

    Fifth-grader Felix Funicello (Ralff), the cousin of famous Mickey Mouse Club Mousekteer and teen idol / movie actress Annette Funicello , lives in the fictional small town of Three Rivers, ... (Wikipedia)

  22. 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)

  23. Tiger Lily

    by Jodi Lynn Anderson
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery, learning to accept her past while embracing her own identity.

    In this stunning reimagining of J. M. Barrie's beloved classic Peter Pan , New York Times bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson expertly weaves a gripping tale of love, loss, and adventure. When ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. The Namesake

    by Jhumpa Lahiri
    A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.

    The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Chocolat

    by Joanne Harris
    An enchanting tale of love, belonging, and the power of chocolate.

    Vianne Rocher, with her daughter Anouk, come to the small French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. They are brought by "the wind" during the last days of Carnival to open a, chocolaterie, , La ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Crown Duel

    by Sherwood Smith
    A young woman's courageous fight against a powerful monarchy to restore justice to her kingdom.

    Battle on and off the field, with sword and fan, with might and manners... It begins in a cold and shabby tower room, where young Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother ... (Goodreads)

  27. True Grit

    by Charles Portis
    A young girl's quest for justice, accompanied by an aging U.S. Marshall.

    The landmark anniversary edition of the #1, New York Times, bestselling classic novel, “an epic and a legend” (,The Washington Post,) Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s most ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

    by Haruki Murakami
    A surreal journey of self-discovery, exploring the inner and outer worlds.

    The first part, "The Thieving Magpie", begins with the narrator, Toru Okada, a low-key and unemployed lawyer's assistant, being tasked by his wife, Kumiko, to find their missing cat. Kumiko suggests ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Turn of Mind

    by Alice LaPlante
    A retired orthopedic surgeon with dementia is suspected of murdering her best friend. She tries to piece together the truth before it's too late.

    A New York Times bestseller, Turn of Mind is a literary thriller about a retired orthopedic surgeon suffering from dementia and accused of killing her best friend. With unmatched patience and a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. The Paris Wife

    by Paula McLain
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of a passionate and tumultuous relationship.

    The Paris Wife focuses on the romance, marriage and divorce of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson, who met when Hemingway was 20 years old, and Richardson 28. They marry and move ... (Wikipedia)