For the adult who enjoys YA/Middle Grade books
Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno is a beautiful book about a middle schooler who experiences some homelessness, the death of her father, and living with a sister who is a bit different. Also, good recommendation for kids (8-13).
Front Desk by Kelly Yang is a must read for any reader of any age! I think it would be a great read aloud for the reader who may not be ready to read it on their own, and for adults it's just so good. I recommended it to a third grade teacher at my kiddos school as a book EVERY ONE needs to read.
"Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.
Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.
Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.
Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?
It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?"
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas is flippin good! It's realistic fiction for a group of teens that don't normally see themselves in print. Bre is a 16 year old who wants to be a rapper but has to fight stigmas, her own stubbornness, and her surroundings to get what she wants. If gifting to an under 18 reader I'd make sure they were high school age.
The Feel Good Reader
All Fudged Up by Nancy Coco is the first in a cozy mystery series set on Mackinac Island. Allie McMurphy has moved back to the island to run her family's hotel and fudge shop and she keeps running across dead bodies! And their are attractive men! I believe the series is up to 7 books now. The down fall is that you want to eat fudge while reading these books and there are recipes. You have been warned.
Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower is the first book in the Amish Candy shop mysteries. More books that make you hungry with food references! Set in Ohio Amish country with a big city girl who has come home and magically solves mysteries with the hot cop!
The Reader who Likes Sarah Jio novels
The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams is set on a small island in New England. It goes back in forth between 1951 and 1969. There is death, mystery, marriages, love affairs, and secrets galore!
Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin was such a great book! Great historical fiction set in WWII.
"Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel's director. The Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the secrets that they keep from their guests--and each other."
The Reader Who likes Suspense
The Dry by Jane Harper is a page turner and the start of a series!
"A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.
In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier.
But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds bleed into new ones."
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier.
But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds bleed into new ones."
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlin is another page turner set in 1944 small town North Carolina. Girl is engaged. Girl gets pregnant. Not with fiance. She tracks down the father and it is NOT what anyone expects.
The Reader Who Reads Long Books
Ohio by Stephen Markley is a huge book. But it really hits on the opioid crisis in the Midwest. There are twists and turns in it too, but it's a good book. Plus, it should keep the reader, occupied for a bit!
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is a commitment because one must keep the storyline straight, as Ursula's life ends and begins over and over again throughout the entire book.
Hopefully, this fun list may have given you ideas for a reader in your life or yourself! Obviously not an exhaustive list of what is out there but just a different perspective on what to give this holiday season!
Have you read any of these books? What book is on your Christmas wish list? Do you often gift books?
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