Crime and Culture

Try these books if you're looking for:

• short true crime or action thrillers
• books similar to Homeless Bird discussing culture

Jude 
By Kate Morgenroth
YA F MORGENRO
Still reeling from his drug-dealing father's murder, moving in with the wealthy mother he never knew, and transferring to a private school, fifteen-year-old Jude is tricked into pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit.

Nothing to Lose 
By Alex Flinn
YA F FLINN
A year after running away with a traveling carnival to escape his unbearable home life, sixteen-year-old Michael returns to Miami, Florida, to find that his mother is going on trial for the murder of his abusive stepfather.

Kissing the Rain 
By Kevin Brooks
YA F BROOKS
Fifteen-year-old Moo Nelson, shy, overweight, and bullied by his classmates, finds his life spinning out of control after he witnesses a car chase and a fight that results in a murder.

Esperanza Rising 
By Pam Munoz Ryan
J F RYAN
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Wonder 
By R.J. Palacio
J F PALACIO
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Mystery

Try these books if you're looking for:

• action
• mystery
• thriller
• fantasy 
• sci-fi
• similar to: Orson Scott Card, Julia Spencer Fleming, Diana Mott Davidson, Anne McCaffrey, David Baldacci, Michael Palmer
• NOT similar to: Jonathan Kellerman, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sandra Brown

The Expats 
By Chris Pavone
F PAVONE
"An international spy thriller about a former CIA agent who moves with her family to Luxembourg where everything is suspicious and nothing is as it seems"-- Provided by publisher.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder 
By Joanne Fluke
MYSTERY FLUKE Hannah #1
Cookie-baking sleuth Hannah Swenson must protect her reputation when a popular delivery man is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's cookies scattered around him.

Short Adventures and LDS Books

Try these books if you're looking for:

• books like The Hunger Games and Twilight
• adventures
• books with LDS history or messages
• books on CD
• books under 250 pages

Tide Ever Rising 
By Mandi Tucker Slack
MYSTERY Slack
Kadie Reynold loves to explore old ghost towns. When she visits Eureka, Utah, she finds an ancient journal and a beautiful pendant hidden in the depths of a crumbling house. Now strange dreams and premonitions are haunting Kadie as she learns more about the keeper of the journal, Charlotte Clark.

Wanted 
By Kathi Oram Peterson
MYSTERY Peterson
Escaped convict Branson Faulkner and rodeo veterinarian Jo Power team up to find new evidence that will prove Branson's innocence of a murder committed seven years ago. They soon discover an alarming connection between a string of homicides, and one truth is clear: there's a murderer on the loose who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. This title is also available as an audiobook.

Thirteen Reasons Why 
By Jay Asher
YA F Asher
When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death. This title is also available as an audiobook.

Nonfiction that Reads Like Fiction/Intelligent Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• creative non-fiction
• witty fiction
• intelligent writing style
• not cheesy

The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of the Ancient Bible 
By Matti Friedman
221.44 FRI 2012
The Aleppo Codex is a manuscript copy of the Old Testament created during the 10th century. In 1947 the codex was thought to have been destroyed in a fire when Arabs staged anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo. Then the codex turned out not to have been destroyed only damaged—pieces scattered and portions burned. The question of what damage occurred and when is one of the subjects of this book. Friedman is an investigative journalist who has dug thoroughly into the story of codex—especially the part of the story from 1947 until the present day—and it is a fascinating story. A mix of history, mystery, and thriller, Friedman has put together a great read.

Close Range: Wyoming Stories 
By Annie Proulx
F PROULX
Annie Proulx is an award winning author and a journalist. Her "westerns" are not typical at all--nevertheless they are evocative and beautifully written stories of the West featuring compelling characters, bleak landscapes, and interesting storylines.

The Kitchen God’s Wife 
By Amy Tan
F TAN
Although this novel begins and ends in California, the bulk of the story is set in mid-twentieth century China. Winnie tells her life story to her grown daughter—a story of a lonely childhood followed by an arranged marriage to a self-centered, second-rate businessman lacking honor and integrity. By her own wits and sense of values, her friendships, and more than a bit of luck, Winnie not only survives her marriage and Japanese bomb raids, but marries an American soldier, immigrates to the United States and settles in California. This is an inspiring, triumphant story of one woman’s courage.

Action/Thriller Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• action
• thriller
• fiction

The Black Box 
By Michael Connelly
MYSTERY CONNELLY Harry Bo #18
During the Los Angeles riots of 1992, much of South Central L.A. was a crime scene, and in Michael Connelly's latest, Harry Bosch and his team are moving at breakneck speed from homicide to homicide gathering only the most essential information and evidence and then moving on to the next shooting. But one murder stands out for him -- a Danish journalist, shot to death execution style in an alley somewhat removed from the worst rampaging. Harry does as much on the case as he can but then must move on and leave the case to others. Twenty years later when the L.A. cold case division is asked to look into homicides from that era, Harry picks out Anneke Jesperson's file and revisits the crime scene he once so hastily secured.

Adrenaline 
By Jeff Abbott
F ABBOTT Sam Capr #1
Sam Capra’s life is almost perfect. He has a beautiful wife he loves, a new baby on the way, and an exciting job with the CIA. However, in the blink of an eye everything is gone, his wife and child are missing, his coworkers are all dead, and the government he has served faithfully believes he has betrayed them. Desperate to rescue his family and restore his professional reputation, Sam is willing to do almost anything. And while he makes some shocking discoveries about people he has trusted in the past, his greatest shock may be the discovery of his own capacity for violence when the ones he loves are at risk.

Gold of Kings 
By T. Davis Bunn
F BUNN
An art historian unravels the mystery surrounding her grandfather's untimely death and quickly becomes entangled in a web of international intrigue dating back to biblical times.

The Atlantis Code 
By Charles Brokaw
F BROKAW Thomas #1
When the ancient ruins of Atlantis are discovered along the Spanish coast, linguist and archaeologist Thomas Lourds joins a violent competition to be the first of its explorers, an effort marked by a series of puzzles that must be solved in order to gain entry into the lost civilization. 

Books Similar to Classics

Try these books if you're looking for:

• similar to classic books such as Tale of Two Cities, The Great Gatsby, The Outsiders
• well-developed characters
• romance

The Rules of Civility 
By Amor Towles
F TOWLES
A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a jazz bar on New Year's Eve 1938 catapults Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multi-millionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, and a single-minded widow.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald 
By Therese Fowler
F FOWLER
A tale inspired by the marriage of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald follows their union in defiance of her father's opposition and her scandalous transformation into a Jazz Age celebrity in the literary party scenes of New York, Paris, and the French Riviera.

Jellicoe Road 
By Melina Marchetta
YA F MARCHETTA
Taylor Markham isn't just one of the new student leaders of her boarding school, she's also the heir to the Underground Community, one of three battling school factions in her small Australian community (the others being the Cadets and the Townies). For a generation, these three camps have fought "the territory wars," a deadly serious negotiation of land and property rife with surprise attacks, diplomatic immunities, and physical violence. Only this year, it's complicated: Taylor might just have a thing for Cadet leader Jonah, and Jonah might just be the key to unlocking the secret identity of Taylor's mother, who abandoned her when she was 11.

Paris 
By Edward Rutherford
F RUTHERFO
Taking readers on a journey through Parisian history, this sweeping multigenerational saga, filled with romance, danger and rich detail, beautifully illuminates the City of Lights, from its founding under the Romans to the hotbed of cultural activity during the 1920s and 1930s that included Picasso.



Books similar to Emily Giffin:

Very Valentine 
By Adriana Trigiani
F TRIGIANI
Valentine Roncalli struggles to save her decades-old family business, finding love and the life she wants along the way.

What Alice Forgot 
By Liane Hearn
F HEARN
Suffering an accident that causes her to forget the last ten years of her life, Alice is astonished to discover that she is thirty-nine years old, a mother of three children, and in the midst of an acrimonious divorce from a man she dearly loves.

The Finishing Touches 
By Hester Browne
F BROWNE
A fading English finishing school is about to get a twenty-first-century makeover thanks to business-savvy Betsy Phillimore. But Betsy may have bitten off more than she can chew for she must first win over the school's snobby headmistress and its handsome but risk-averse treasurer. Returning to London also means facing her own unfinished business, as she crosses paths with her sexy girlhood crush ... and blowing the dust off clues to a lifelong mystery: who were her parents, and why did they abandon her?

Teen Fantasy Dystopias

Try these books if you're looking for:

• teen 
• fantasy
• dystopia
• digital copies available

The Maze Runner 
By James Dashner
YA F DASHNER Maze Run #1
Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape. Available as a print book and eBook.

Witch & Wizard 
By James Patterson
YA F PATTERSO Witch #1
Torn from their parents, teens Wisty and her older brother, Whit, are incarcerated in a totalitarian prison where they discover they have incredible supernatural powers. Available as a print book and eBook.

The Rithmatist 
By Brandon Sanderson
YA F SANDERSO
As Wilkd Chalklings threaten the American Isles and Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Available as a print book and eAudiobook.

Cinder 
By Marissa Meyer
YA F MEYER Lunar #1
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world. Available as a print book and eAudiobook.

Good Sci-Fi Reads

Try these books if you're looking for:

• science fiction, with perhaps an element of mystery
• read like Ender's Game and 2001: Space Odyssey

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline
SCI-FI CLINE
In a bleak 2044, Wade Watts, an impoverished high school student lives primarily online alongside billions of others via a massive online game, OASIS, where players race to unravel the puzzles OASIS creator James Halliday built into the game before his death, with the winner taking control of the virtual world's parent company, as well as staggering wealth. When Wade stumbles on a clue taken from a 1980s video game, he's plunged into high-stakes conflict with a corporation dedicated to unraveling Halliday's riddles. Immersed in 80’s pop culture references, and written in the world of video games, this is the book every self-proclaimed geek dreams of finding on the shelves.

Neverwhere
By Neil Gaiman
SCI-FI GAIMAN
Richard Mayhew's life is forever changed after he rescues a young girl named Door and finds himself living in a city of monsters, saints, murderers, and angels, and he must help Door on her mission to save this strange underworld kingdom from destruction. With his classic dark sense of humor, Neil Gaiman creates a unique shadow world below the London underground.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
By Robert Heinlein
SCI-FI HEINLEIN
Winner of the 1972 Hugo award, this book laid down the path for future science fiction. In the year 2076, the residents of the moon rebel, with the help of the legendary supercomputer ‘mike.’

Old Man’s War 
By John Scalzi
SCI-FI SCALZI
In this imaginative and original novel, the military recruits only retirees with experience and nothing to lose. With a cast of octogenarians, this novel balances hard scientific reasoning with light humor. The detailed and accurate science make this book hard science fiction.

Character-Driven, Issue-Oriented Young Adult Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• teen fiction
• character-driven
• issue-oriented

Homeless Bird 
By Gloria Whelan
YA F WHELAN
Koly is just thirteen when her marriage is arranged with a young boy. Her path is not easy. She must endure many difficulties. Her mother-in-law abuses her verbally and emotionally and eventually abandons her. She meets her challenges with courage and her situation does slowly improve, and she ultimately achieves happiness.

Life as We Knew It 
By Susan Beth Pfeffer
YA F PFEFFER
Miranda is 16 years old living with her mother and brothers in rural Pennsylvania when catastrophe hits the earth. This is the story of how their lives change and how the must struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon pushing it just slightly closer to earth, but resulting tidal waves and a great increase in volcanic activity worldwide. The story is told through Miranda’s diary entries. Gripping.

Notes from the Midnight Driver 
By Jordan Sonnenblick
YA F SONNENBL
After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.

It's Kind of a Funny Story 
By Ned Vizzini
YA F VIZZINI
A humorous account of a New York City teenager's battle with depression and his time spent in a psychiatric hospital.

Award-Winning Historical Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• historical fiction
• award winners (especially Newbery Award Winners)

Rifles for Watie 
By Harold Keith
F Keith
With fighting erupting around his Kansas farm, 16-year-old Jefferson Davis Bussey can hardly wait to join the Union forces. When he infiltrates Colonel Watie's Confederate camp as a spy, he discovers the enemy is much like himself--only fighting for a different cause.

My Brother Sam Is Dead 
By James Lincoln Collier
YA F Collier
Recounts the tragedy that strikes the Meeker family during the Revolution when one son joins the rebel forces while the rest of the family tries to stay neutral.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle 
By Avi
YA F Avi
Charlotte Doyle begins as a proper 19th century girl, but after being accused of murder and surviving a hurricane during a transatlantic voyage, ends up being anything but.

The King's Fifth 
By Scott O’Dell
YA F O’Dell
In 1541, 17 year old Esteban de Sandoval sets down his story while awaiting his trail for hoarding king’s share of treasure, or he king’s fifth’. Esteban is a mapmaker, not a treasure hunter, and only joined Mendoza's expedition to the famed Seven Cities of Cibola in order to draw the first maps of the region. So how is he accused of treason?

Try these books if you're looking for:

• sci-fi
• adventure

Game of Thrones
By George R. R. Martin
SCI-FI MARTIN Song of #1
The aristocratic Stark family faces its ultimate challenge in the onset of a generation-long winter, the poisonous plots of the rival Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, and the arrival of barbarian hordes.

Wizard’s First Rule 
By Terry Goodkind
SCI-FI GOODKIND Sword of #1
An unearthly adversary descends on an idyllic fantasy world, corrupting magic against good and slaughtering innocents, and only a single man can stop him.

Eyes of the Dragon
By Stephen King
F KING
After Flagg, the evil court magician sees a mouse chance upon a grain of dragon sand behind Prince Peter's shelves and die--as did the king--in fire and smoke, he plots to imprison Peter in the Needle and sieze control of the kingdom.

The Name of the Wind 
By Patrick Rothfuss
SCI-FI ROTHFUSS Kingkill #1
A hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, and assassin in his world.

Adventurous Paranormal Romance Books

Try these books if you're looking for:

• adventure
• paranormal
• romance

Vampire Academy 
By Richelle Mead
YA F Mead Vampire #1
Two years after a horrible incident made them run away, vampire princess Lissa and her guardian-in-training Rose are found and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy, where one focuses on mastering magic, the other on physical training, while both try to avoid the perils of gossip, cliques, gruesome pranks, and sinister plots.

Insignia 
By S. J. Kincaid
YA F Kincaid
Tom, a fourteen-year-old genius at virtual reality games, is recruited by the United States Military to begin training at the Pentagon Spire as a Combatant in World War III, controlling the mechanized drones that do the actual fighting off-planet.

Etiquette & Espionage 
By Gail Carriger
YA F Carriger
In an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is surprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage.

Catch Me If You Can: The Amazing True Story of the Most Extraordinary Liar in the History of Fun and Profit 
By Frank Abagnale
BIO Abagnale
Abagnale's first-person narrative of his misadventures as a conman, forger, imposter, and escape artist before the age of 21.

More Action/Thrillers

Try these books if you're looking for:

• action
• thriller

Don’t Turn Around 
By Michelle Gagnon
YA F GAGNON
After waking up on an operating table with no memory of how she got there, Noa must team up with computer hacker Peter to stop a corrupt corporation with a deadly secret.

Heist Society 
By Ally Carter
YA F CARTER Heist #1
A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector.

The Expats 
By Chris Pavone
F PAVONE
"An international spy thriller about a former CIA agent who moves with her family to Luxembourg where everything is suspicious and nothing is as it seems"-- Provided by publisher.

The Fear Index 
By Robert Harris
F HARRIS
A visionary scientist creates a revolutionary form of artificial intelligence that predicts movements in the financial markets with uncanny accuracy. His hedge fund, based in Geneva, makes billions. But after an intruder breaks into his home, he has to try to discover who is trying to destroy him.