Dramatic Real Life Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• fiction
• dramatic stories
• real-life stories
• books that are similar to White Oleander or Sarah Dessen novels

The Summer I Turned Pretty 
By Jenny Han
YA F HAN
Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different.

Miracle 
By Elizabeth Scott
YA F SCOTT
Rising senior and star soccer player Megan Hathaway, unable to remember the plane crash of which she was the sole survivor, feels like an empty shell and loses all interest in her life and her friends, but unlikely friends help her face life as a "miracle."

The Language of Flowers 
By Vanessa Diffenbaugh
F DIFFENBAUGH
The story of a woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own past.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet 
By Jamie Ford
F FORD
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered during renovations at a Seattle hotel, Henry Lee embarks on a quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment.

Scientific Thrillers

Try these books if you're looking for:

• scientific fiction
• thrillers

Ice Station 
By Matthew Reilly
F REILLY Shane #1
On Antarctica, special forces from several countries battle each other for control of what is believed to be an alien space ship buried in the ice. Non-stop action and treachery galore.

The Alexander Cipher 
By Will Adams
F ADAMS
Daniel Knox's first love is archaeology, more specifically Alexander the Great. In this adventure, he competes with rival archaeologists, Egyptian officials, and Macedonian nationalists in the hunt for one of the greatest archaeological prizes in the world--the tomb of Alexander the Great.

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.

Multicultural Books with Female Protagonists

Try these books if you're looking for:

• female protagonist
• focus on characters and relationships
• multicultural
• characters face difficult circumstances
• explicit content

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 
By Stieg Larsson
MYSTERY LARSSON Millenni #1
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pieced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Farishta 
By Patricia McArdle
F MCARDLE
An American diplomat is forced to confront the devastation of her past when she is assigned to remote northern Afghanistan.

A Tale for the Time Being 
By Ruth Ozeki
F OZEKI
Nao Yasutani is a Japanese schoolgirl who plans to kill herself as a way of escaping her dreary life. First, though, she intends to write in her diary the life story of her great-grandmother Jiko, a Zen Buddhist nun. But Nao actually ends up writing her own life story, and the diary eventually washes up on the shore of Canada's Vancouver Island, where a novelist called Ruth lives.

Sold 
By Patricia McCormick
F MCCORMICK
When she is tricked by her stepfather and sold into prostitution, thirteen-year-old Lakshmi becomes submerged in a nightmare where her only comfort is the friendship she forms with the other girls, which helps her survive and eventually escape.

Adventure Books like The Da Vinci Code and Eragon

Try these books if you're looking for:

• adventure books
• books that read like The Da Vinci Code  and Eragon

The Rule of Four 
By Ian Caldwell
F CALDWELL
The diary researches Sullivan and Harris obtain just might contain the key to the code that will help solve an ancient mathematical labyrinth. But then there are the murders and disappearances. As the diary pulls them into a web of intrigue they begin to realize just how dangerous the book actually is.

The Tourist 
By Olen Steinhaurer
F STEINHAU
Milo Weaver, former CIA “tourist”, is content with his past 6 years working a desk job for the CIA. When an international hit man is arrested, his former world and new one collide. This is a fast paced espionage thriller.

Ex-Libris 
By Ross King
F KING
This book has all the key elements for a literary thriller, mystery, history and religion. In 1660 London, bookseller Isaac Inchbold gets drawn into the dark world of ciphers, smugglers and forgeries while searching for a lost manuscript.

The Warrior Heir 
By Cinda Williams Chima
YA CHIMA Heir #1
Jack believed he was normal until that fateful day he forgets to take his medicine. His life quickly turns chaotic as he tries to sort out just who or what he has become.

Character-Strong Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• fiction with great characterization
• stories that transport you to a different time or place
• focus on characters, relationships, story, action, events

The Little Lady Agency 
By Hester Browne
F BROWNE Little L #1
Reviled by her snobby family but adored by her friends, unemployed etiquette expert Melissa Romney-Jones reinvents herself as Honey, and goes into business as a matchmaker for inept bachelors. I love the characters in this one. The second book is my least favorite in the series, but the third book is worth the wait.

Terrier 
By Tamora Pierce
YAF PIERCE Beka Coo #1
When sixteen-year-old Beka becomes “Puppy” to a pair of “Dogs,” as the Provost’s Guards are called, she uses her police training, natural abilities, and a touch of magic to help them solve the case of a murdered baby in Tortall’s Lower City. I’m generally not much of a fantasy reader, but this one gripped me from the beginning. The characters are a lot of fun and the plot is intense and gripping. I was sad when I finished the last book. The audio for these are excellent.

Forgotten 
By Catherine McKenzie
F MCKENZIE
Emma Tupper goes on an African vacation but falls ill and is stranded there for six months. In the meantime everyone back home thinks she’s died and her apartment has been leased to a handsome photographer. Throwing herself into her work, Emma struggles to reconnect with her friends and rebuild her life. I loved the way this book made me think about what I would do in her situation. It created a lot of natural empathy.

The Eyre Affair 
By Jasper Fforde
SCI-FI FFORDE Thursday #1
In a world where one can literally get lost in literature, Thursday Next, a Special Operative in literary detection, tries to stop the world’s Third Most Wanted criminal from kidnapping characters, including Jane Eyre, from works of literature. The synopsis doesn’t really do the book justice, but it is exceptionally hard to describe. Jasper Fforde can be trusted to take you on a wild, witty, and often bizarre ride that is both fun and extremely intelligent. Also try his YA series, The Last Dragonslayer.

Popular Adult and YA Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• popular fiction
• adult fiction
• young adult fiction

Sundays at Tiffany's 
By James Patterson
F PATTERSO
Whether writing edge-of-one's seat novels of hard-edged suspense or heartwarming tales of romance and relationships, James Patterson captivates male and female readers alike with sympathetic characters, short chapters, and compelling, labyrinthine plots.

Lake News 
By Barbara Delinsky
F DELINSKY
Many people who love Danielle Steel also love Barbara Delinsky. She’s known for writing fiction focused on contemporary women and their lives and relationships. Delinsky's skillfully developed characters are central to her stories, as they struggle to resolve difficulties in their lives.

Cuckoo’s Calling 
By Robert Galbraith
F GALBRAIT
Robert Galbraith is actually a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter. In this mystery, Rowling writes about a hard-boiled private investigator, Cormoran Strike. The forgiving temp, Robin, quickly proves useful when they get a case: a famous young model supposedly jumped from the top of her penthouse apartment, but her brother believes she was murdered. Entering the realm of the mega-rich, Strike and Robin question celebrities and fashionistas, trying to uncover the truth.

Fast-Paced Adventure with Teenage Male Protagonist

Try these books if you're looking for:

• fast-paced plot
• adventure
• teen male protagonist

Middleworld 
By Jon Voelkel
YA F VOELKEL
When Max Murphy discovers that his archaeologist parents have mysteriously disappeared while excavating an ancient Mayan site in Central America, he sets off in search of them, with the assistance of a Mayan girl named Lola.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp 
By Richard Yancey
YA F YANCEY Alfred_K #1
Through a series of dangerous and violent misadventures, teenage loser Alfred Kropp rescues King Arthur's legendary sword Excalibur from the forces of evil.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians 
By Brandon Sanderson
YA F SANDERSO Alcatraz #1
On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world, and Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own special talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization.

SilverFin: A James Bond Adventure 
By Charles Higson
YA F HIGSON Young Bo #1
Prequel to the adventures of James Bond, 007, introduces the young James when he is just starting boarding school in England and is about to become involved in his first adventure.

Fantasy Books with Complex Worlds

Try these books if you're looking for:

• fantasy books with complex worlds
• well-written
• focus on story, action, or events
• reads like Brandon Sanderson, Robin McKinley, Anne Bishop, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Patricia Wrede, and J.K. Rowling.

The Iron Tower 
 By Dennis L. McKiernan
SCI-FI MCKIERNA Iron Tow #1-3
Tuck Underbank is a Warrow--think a hobbit with shoes and “large jewel-like eyes” -- living in the peaceful Boskydells. When an unnaturally cold winter strikes and the evil Modru threatens the world, he and a number of his fellow Thornwalkers go to the High King's aid. But a vast expanse of lightless blizzard called the Dimmendark (sounds bad, doesn't it?) is spreading over the land, and Tuck soon finds that the “dark tide” is going to swamp them all. Despite the fact that they're tiny and temperamental, the Warrows get included in the military forces. But the High King doesn't have enough warriors to hold off the horde of slobbering monsters who are coming to attack. And the battle goes horribly wrong, separating the friends from one another and possibly dooming them all.

Mystic and Rider 
By Sharon Shinn
SCI-FI SHINN Twelve #1
The Mystic woman Senneth, accompanied by a team of Shapeshifters and Riders, is sent by the king into the land of Gillengaria to investigate reports of retaliation against those who use magic.

Theft of Swords 
By Michael J. Sullivan
SCI-FI SULLIVAN Riyria #1
Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, are running for their lives when they're framed for the death of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy that goes beyond the overthrow of a tiny kingdom, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery before it's too late.

The Demon King 
By Cinda Williams Chima
YA F CHIMA Seven Re #1
Relates the intertwining fates of former street gang leader Han Alister and headstrong Princess Raisa, as Han takes possession of an amulet that once belonged to an evil wizard and Raisa uncovers a conspiracy in the Grey Wolf Court.

Clean Historical Romance

Try these books if you're looking for:

• romance
• historical fiction
• strong female characters
• clean read

The Blue Castle 
By L.M. Montgomery
YA F MONTGOME
When Valancy Stirling is diagnosed with a heart condition, she decides to throw aside her family’s overbearing standards and live exactly as she likes, much to her staid family’s dismay. But it’s when her rebellion puts her in contact with Barney Snaith, the town pariah, that Valancy’s new life truly begins.

Snobbery With Violence 
By Marion Chesney
MYSTERY CHESNEY Edwardia #1
When a marriage proposal appears imminent for the beautiful--if rebellious--Lady Rose Summer, her father wants to know if her suitor's intentions are honorable. He calls on Captain Harry Cathcart to do some intelligence work. But when Harry suspects a murder has been committed, he must seek help from Superintendent Kerridge of the Scotland Yard and Lady Rose herself.

Courting Miss Lancaster 
By Sarah Eden
ROMANCE EDEN
Harry Windover knows he can never make an offer for his adored Athena Lancaster, but when her brother asks him to help find a suitable suitor for Athena, Harry concocts a plot to help her see his own sterling qualities against a backdrop of alarming suitors.

Replica 
By Jenna Black
YA F BLACK
Sixteen-year-old Nadia lives a privileged life in the Corporate States, formerly the United States of America, but when her betrothed is killed and then wakes up in the replication tanks, the pair sets out to find a killer while keeping the secrets of human replication technology from the dangerous people who run their world.

Philosophical and Informative Reads

Try these books if you're looking for:

• philosophical fiction
• page-turning non-fiction
• informative, fast-paced fiction

Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy 
By Jostein Gaarder
F GAARDER
Finding two thought-inducing philosophical questions in her mailbox, Sophie enrolls in a correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher, and begins receiving some equally strange letters. SOPHIE’S WORLD was written by a philosophy teacher named Jostein Gaarder to teach readers the beauty of philosophical discourse. Gaarder presents philosophy in a clear, cogent way, using Sophie's and Hilde's experiences to illustrate his points.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 
By Robert M. Pirsig
BIO PIRSIG
While cycling through the Western States, a disillusioned American questions the meaning of existence after confronting the ghost of his former, uninstitutionalized self. A pop philosophy classic.

Outliers: The Story of Success 
By Malcolm Gladwell
302 GLA
Identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires and why the Beatles earned their fame.

The Lucy Variations 
By Sara Zarr
YA F ZARR
Sixteen-year-old San Franciscan Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. Her chance at a career has passed, and she decides to help her ten-year-old piano prodigy brother, Gus, map out his own future, even as she explores why she enjoyed piano in the first place. A fascinating look into the world of competitive young musicians and the pressure placed upon them.

Life as We Knew It 
By Susan Beth Pfeffer
YA F Pfeffer Last Sur #1
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. This novel imagines would survival would really be like at the end of the world, straight down to the food storage.

Modern Classics

Try these books if you're looking for:

• modern classics
• adventure stories
• historical fiction
• dystopian fiction

Wolf Hall 
By Hilary Mantel
F MANTEL
A detailed look into the life and times of Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in the 1520s, in particular the events leading up to the King's marriage to Anne Boleyn and the role Cromwell played in those events.

Handmaid’s Tale 
By Margaret Atwood
F ATWOOD
In a future world where the birth rate has declined, fertile women are rounded up, indoctrinated as handmaids, and forced to bear children to prominent men.

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.

Dystopian YA Books

Try these books if you're looking for:

• dystopia
• young adult novels
• focus on characters and relationships, story, action, or events
• read like Divergent, Maze Runner, Cinder, Unwind, Ender's Game

5th Wave 
By Rick Yancey
YA F YANCEY
Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them. 

Glitch 
By Heather Anastasiu
YA F ANASTASI Glitch #1
In the Community, where implanted computer chips have erased human emotions and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network, Zoe starts to malfunction, or glitch, and begins having her own thoughts, feelings, identity--and telekinetic powers.

Pathfinder 
By Orson Scott Card
YA F CARD Pathfind #1
Thirteen-year-old Rigg has a secret ability to see the paths of others' pasts, but revelations after his father's death set him on a dangerous quest that brings new threats from those who would either control his destiny or kill him.

Life as We Knew It 
By Susan Beth Pfeffer
YA F PFEFFER Last Sur #1
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

Fun Romances and a Non-Fiction Adventure

Try these books if you're looking for:

• romance
• fun
• light, but with some complexity
• not too much physicality
• read like Marina Adair, Robin Bielman, Deanna Raybourne

Queen of Babble 
By Meg Cabot
F CABOT
Lizzie Nichols discovers that her inability to keep her mouth shut has landed her in hot water when she aggravates her unfaithful boyfriend, is stranded in London, and takes a job as a bartender for a catered wedding at a French chateau. This title is also available as an ebook on Overdrive.

Can You Keep a Secret? 
By Sophie Kinsella
F KINSELLA
Terrified by a rough take-off, Emma Corrigan spills her darkest secrets to a stranger on an airplane. But come Monday morning, Emma's office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company's elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. This title is also available as an ebook on Overdrive.

The Rosie Project 
By Graeme Simsion
F SIMSION
Don Tillman, a professor of genetics, sets up a project designed to find him the perfect wife, starting with a sixteen-page, scientifically valid questionnaire. Then he meets Rosie, who is everything he's not looking for in a wife, but an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate to help Rosie find her biological father. Don comes to realize that despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

Venetia 
By Georgette Heyer
ROMANCE HEYER
Venetia Lanyon--beautiful, intelligent and independent--lives in comfortable seclusion in rural Yorkshire with her precocious brother Aubrey, but when she meets the dashing, dangerous rake Lord Damerel, her well-ordered life is turned upside down. This title is also available as an ebook on Overdrive.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon 
By David Grann
918.1104 GRA
In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called “The Lost City of Z.” In this masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett’s quest for “Z” and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century. This title is also available as an ebook on Overdrive.

You may also enjoy these titles:
Hero at Large by Janet Evanovich (ebook available)
Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes
Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (ebook available)