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Recommendations based on The Wonderby Emma Donoghue
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The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead
An escaped slave's daring escape to freedom, fighting against the brutality of slavery.
The story is told in the third person, focusing mainly on Cora. Scattered single chapters also focus on Cora's mother Mabel, the slavecatcher Ridgeway, a reluctant slave sympathizer named Ethel, and ... (Wikipedia)
Homegoing
by Yaa Gyasi
Spanning centuries, the intertwining stories of two African sisters, their descendants, and the legacy of slavery.
Effia is raised by her mother, Baaba, who is cruel to her. Nevertheless she works hard to please her mother. Known as a beauty, Effia is intended to be married to the future chief of her village, but ... (Wikipedia)
Pachinko
by Lee Min-jin
A saga spanning four generations of a Korean family living in Japan, struggling to survive and thrive amidst prejudice and poverty.
The novel takes place over the course of three books: Book I Gohyang/Hometown, Book II Motherland, and Book III Pachinko. In 1883, in the little island fishing village of Yeongdo , which is a ferry ... (Wikipedia)
Commonwealth
by Ann Patchett
Intertwining story of two families across multiple generations, and how their lives become intertwined.
It started at Franny Keating’s christening party. Bert Cousins wasn’t even invited, but looking for an excuse to get out of the house, away from his three noisy children and pregnant wife for a few ... (Wikipedia)
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
A grand narrative of life in a small English town, exploring the lives of its inhabitants.
Middlemarch centres on the lives of residents of Middlemarch, a fictitious Midlands town, from 1829 onwards – the years up to the 1832 Reform Act . The narrative is variably considered to consist of ... (Wikipedia)
The Museum of Extraordinary Things
by Alice Hoffman
A love story set in early 20th century New York City, featuring a museum of oddities and two young people searching for their place in the world.
The “spellbinding” (,People, 4 stars),, New York Times, bestseller from the author of, The Dovekeepers,: an extraordinary novel about an electric and impassioned love affair—“an enchanting love story ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Secret History
by Donna Tartt
A small group of misfit college students uncover a sinister secret and their lives become entangled with dangerous consequences.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the ... (Goodreads)
Eileen
by Ottessa Moshfegh
Eileen, a disturbed young woman, works at a boys' prison and becomes involved in a crime. A dark and unsettling character study.
The story of an unhappy 24-year-old woman named Eileen who works at a prison, and what happens to her during a bitter Massachusetts winter in 1964. The novel was well received by, The New York Times, ... (Wikipedia)
Another Brooklyn
by Jacqueline Woodson
A poetic story of four teenage girls growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s.
The story starts with August, an adult anthropologist, returning to New York to bury her father. On the subway, she encounters an old friend, and begins to reminisce. She remembers being an 8 year ... (Wikipedia)
Slammerkin
by Emma Donoghue
The turbulent life of a young woman in 18th century England, exploring the consequences of poverty and gender inequality.
Mary Saunders is a highly intelligent girl living in poverty in 1760 London. She is repelled when her mother Susan encourages her to become a seamstress, wanting nothing to do with the "wretched ... (Wikipedia)
The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton
A young woman's struggle to navigate New York high society, in pursuit of financial security and true love.
Lily Bart, a beautiful but impoverished socialite, is on her way to a house party at Bellomont, the country home of her best friend, Judy Trenor. Her pressing task is to find a husband with the ... (Wikipedia)
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
by Stephanie Oakes
Minnow Bly escapes a cult, but not before losing her hands. She navigates life outside the cult and confronts its leader.
With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Julie Berry's All The Truth That's in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins. The ... (Goodreads)
Holding
by Graham Norton
A small Irish town is rocked by a shocking crime, and the lives of its inhabitants are forever changed.
From Graham Norton—the BAFTA-award-winning and hugely popular BBC America television host—comes a charming debut novel set in an idyllic Irish village where a bumbling investigator has to sort ... (Goodreads)
The Book of Negroes
by Lawrence Hill
A gripping tale of resilience and courage, tracing the life of a woman kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in North America.
The Book of Negroes (based on the novel Someone Knows My Name) will be BET's first miniseries. The star-studded production includes lead actress Aunjanue Ellis (Ray, The Help), Oscar winner Cuba ... (Goodreads)
Brooklyn
by Colm Tóibín
A young Irish woman's migration to America, exploring themes of identity and belonging.
Eilis Lacey is a young woman who is unable to find work in 1950s Ireland . Her older sister Rose organises a meeting with a Catholic priest called Father Flood on a visit from New York City , who ... (Wikipedia)
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
by Mackenzi Lee
An 18th-century adventure of love, friendship, and self-discovery as a young man travels Europe.
A Kirkus Prize nominee and Stonewall Honor winner with 5 starred reviews! A New York Times bestseller! Named one of the best books of 2017 by NPR and the New York Public Library! "The queer teen ... (Barnes & Noble)
Frog Music
by Emma Donoghue
A murder mystery set in 1870s San Francisco, revolving around the death of a cross-dressing frog catcher.
Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. The ... (Goodreads)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
by Leslye Walton
A young girl's journey through a magical world filled with love, loss and longing.
Magical realism, lyrical prose, and the pain and passion of human love haunt this hypnotic generational saga. Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most ... (Goodreads)
A God in Ruins
by Kate Atkinson
An exploration of the life of a World War II pilot and the effects of trauma on his family.
The novel is about the life of Teddy Todd (younger brother of Ursula Todd, the protagonist of the companion work,, Life After Life, ). Events in his life are not revealed in chronological order. The ... (Wikipedia)
Second Glance
by Jodi Picoult
A family mystery spanning generations, revealing secrets and restoring relationships.
Second Glance follows the lives of several characters throughout the book. In Picoult's signature writing style, the novel flashes back and forth many decades to piece together the story. The novel ... (Wikipedia)
The Nature of the Beast
by Louise Penny
A murder investigation uncovers an intricate web of deception and evil.
Hardly a day goes by when nine-year-old Laurent Lepage doesn't cry wolf. From alien invasions, to walking trees, to winged beasts in the woods, to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his ... (Goodreads)
Behind Closed Doors
by B.A. Paris
Psychological thriller about a seemingly perfect marriage hiding a sinister secret.
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING DEBUT PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER YOU CAN'T MISS! The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie? “A hair-raising debut, both unsettling and addictive...A ... (Barnes & Noble)
Life After Life
by Kate Atkinson
A woman lives multiple lives, reflecting on choices and consequences and the power of love.
The novel has an unusual structure, repeatedly looping back in time to describe alternative possible lives for its central character, Ursula Todd, who is born on 11 February 1910 to an ... (Wikipedia)
Hidden Bodies
by Caroline Kepnes
A thrill-seeking serial killer's journey of mayhem and destruction.
NOW A HIT NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES THE RIVETING SEQUEL TO THE, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLING, YOU, “Kepnes hits the mark, cuts deep, and twists the knife.” —,Entertainment Weekly, “Delicious and ... (Barnes & Noble)
A Great Reckoning
by Louise Penny
A murder mystery set in a sleepy Quebec village, uncovering dark secrets and hidden dangers.
Instant, New York Times, bestseller:,#1 in Hardcover Fiction,#1 in E-book Fiction,#1 in Combined Print and E-book Fiction,"Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary....Miraculous.",—,The Washington ... (Barnes & Noble)
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)
His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae
by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Historical fiction on a haunting trial of a young man accused of a triple murder.
Man Booker Prize Finalist., LA Times, Book Prize Finalist., New York Times, Editor’s Choice. American Booksellers Association National Indie Bestseller! Named on “Best Book” lists by, Newsweek,, ... (Barnes & Noble)
A Great Deliverance
by Elizabeth George
A detective investigates a murder in the countryside, uncovering secrets in a rural community.
To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in ... (Goodreads)
Three Wishes
by Liane Moriarty
A triplets' birthday celebration turns into a life-changing event, revealing secrets and testing relationships.
The funny, heartwarming, and completely charming first novel from Liane Moriarty, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Nine Perfect Strangers and Big Little Lies . Lyn, Cat, and Gemma Kettle, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Burial Rites
by Hannah Kent
A woman awaits her execution in 19th-century Iceland, reliving her story of hardship, loss and faith.
Burial Rites tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a servant in northern Iceland who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer, and became the last woman put ... (Wikipedia)
