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![a gentleman in moscow book cover](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/a%20gentleman%20in%20moscow.jpg?itok=AliweAJA)
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
“A Gentleman in Moscow '' by Amor Towles is set in 1922 Soviet Russia and follows Count Alexander Rostov as he has to adapt to the changing world while trapped in a hotel. After being convicted of treason, he gets sentenced to house arrest inside a luxury hotel.
![The School for Good Mothers book jacket](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/Jacket_38.jpg?itok=DP263Z4b)
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Jessamine Chan's debut novel, The School for Good Mothers (2022), was recommended as one of the best novels of 2022, by many top reviewers and news outlets. It's a challenging and provocative read, as Chan herself acknowledges in author interviews. Her hope was that the book would leave readers thinking about the systematic pressures and demands imposed upon mothers, rooted in historical ideals, but ever-increasing due to the influences of technology and social media.
![Book cover of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/house%20on%20mango%20street.jpg?itok=cifasmr3)
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a tremendous book that is an enjoyable read while having deep themes of racism, sexism, and pride.
![Palace of the Drowned book jacket](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/Jacket_36.jpg?itok=rFkRgFq7)
Palace of the Drowned by Christine Mangan
When I read that Palace of the Drowned was set in Venice, Italy, off-season, and reminiscent of the novels of Patricia Highsmith, in that the prose is lush, the plot suspenseful in a kind of nagging, slow-burn way, I thought it sounded like my cup of proverbial tea.
![Book cover of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/scarlet%20letter.jpg?itok=nKdlO_HN)
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a difficult yet intriguing novel. The opinions may differ on this read, but I found it interesting. The author includes many uses of literary devices, one major one being symbolism that kept me reading the book.
![Vaster Wilds book cover](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/Vaster%20Wilds.jpg?itok=XFdiR8Ss)
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds (2023) transports the reader back to a horrifying and fascinating time in American colonial history known as the “starving time” at the Jamestown colony in 1609.
![Book cover of Lord of the Flies by William Golding](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/lord%20of%20the%20flies.jpg?itok=uLr9r-o5)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies is an exhilarating novel that demonstrates the reality of parts of human nature.
![Book cover of The Odyssey](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/Odyssey.jpg?itok=ouLDTmwn)
The Odyssey by Homer
The Odyssey by Homer, is a book that I severely disliked. This book is one that is forced upon high school students, either through short summaries or having to read it word for word.
![Scorched Grace book jacket](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/Jacket_34.jpg?itok=MOHJ63kH)
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy
There's a new mystery series in town! Scorched Grace (2023), by Margot Douaihy, is the first of the Sister Holiday Mysteries; it also happens to be the first novel published by Gillian Flynn Books.
![The Book of Goose jacket cover](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/goose.jpg?itok=ChGgjIPS)
The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
With her most recent novel, The Book of Goose (2022), author Yiyun Li gives us a coming of age story that explores the fraught friendship of two girls growing up in an impoverished village in rural France during the aftermath of World War II.
![Book Jacket for A Long Petal of the Sea](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/Jacket%20%283%29.jpg?itok=RK7j5BW5)
A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
If you enjoy sweeping historical novels then you may want to dig into A Long Petal of the Sea (2020), one of the most recent books by the prolific Chilean-American author Isabel Allende. And if you especially appreciate books that shed light on dramatic past events less likely to be on our reading radar than, say, World War II, A Long Petal of the Sea just might be calling your name.
![Tom Lake by Ann Patchett book jacket](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/content/blogs/tom.jpg?itok=8-BdANYz)
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett probably needs no introduction. I have always loved how she fills her books with such relatable characters and a delightful sense of place and Tom Lake (2023) is no exception. This novel is told in the voice of Lara, a wife and mother to three daughters, all living back at home on their Michigan cherry farm to wait out the pandemic.