This booklist contains twelve titles in which the main character is either dealing with or creating a family of their own.
Foer, Jonathan Safran
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
RC 60319
Precocious nine-year-old Oskar Schell discovers a mysterious key labeled "Black" belonging to his father, who was killed in the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks. Oskar roams New York City on a quest to find the matching lock. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2005.
Frayn, Michael
Spies
RC 54025
Following one of their mothers around the neighborhood, two British schoolboys during World War II imagine that she is a German spy. Stephen and Keith soon enter the world of grownups and become entangled in events beyond their comprehension. Bestseller. 2002.
Gibbons, Kaye
Charms for the Easy Life
RC 35924,
CL 5340
The tale of three generations of North Carolina women, narrated by Margaret, daughter of Sophia and granddaughter of Charlie Kate. Charlie Kate once rescued the victim of a lynching, who gave her the 'easy-life charm' he had been wearing. It does not always work for Charlie Kate, known to the community as a midwife and healer, but she maintains her status as family matriarch and sees that Sophia and Margaret have a better life. Bestseller. 1993.
Haruf, Kent
Plainsong
RC 49056
Life in the small town of Holt, Colorado, includes a high school teacher caring for his two young sons as his wife leaves him. His coworker, later his lover, convinces two old rancher brothers to take in an outcast pregnant student. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 1999.
Kimmel, Haven
The Solace of Leaving Early
RC 61359
Langston Braverman abruptly abandons her PhD program and returns to her Indiana hometown. Shortly after Langston's arrival, her childhood friend Alice Baker-Maloney dies tragically, leaving behind two young daughters. Langston and disillusioned pastor Amos Townsend, who counseled Alice, become the girls' caretakers and gradually fall in love. 2002.
Krauss, Nicole
The History of Love
RC 60776
New York. Jewish octogenarian Leo Gursky learns that the novel he wrote to his true love when he was a young man in Poland was plagiarized and published by a Chilean. Meanwhile teenaged Alma Singer researches the book's main character--her namesake--discovering Gursky and the truth. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2005.
Letts, Billie
Where the Heart Is
RC 47380
Novalee Nation is seventeen and seven months pregnant when her boyfriend abandons her at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. While living in the store, Novalee befriends many of the town's quirky residents who help her out after her baby is born. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 1995.
Makine, Andrei
Dreams of my Russian Summers
RC 45019
A Soviet youth imbibes his French grandmother's tales of Paris and the Soviet Revolution during his summer visits to her home on the steppes. His fascination with her and her stories transcends his Russian life and leads him eventually to France. Some violence. Winner of top French literary awards: the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Medicis. Bestseller. 1995.
Ozick, Cynthia
Heir to the Glimmering World
RC 59528, CL 12432
Bronx, 1930s. Shy orphan Rose Meadows enters household service with the German-refugee Mitwissers, who are uprooted by harsh treatment from Berlin luxury. Rose witnesses the family's struggles as the patriarch, an obsessed Hebrew scholar, his depressed scientist wife, and five unruly children depend for survival upon an unstable sponsor. 2004.
Picoult, Jodi
My Sister's Keeper
RC 58402,
CL 12098
When Kate is diagnosed with a rare leukemia her parents create test-tube baby Anna to save her life. After years of medical procedures Anna, now thirteen, is expected to donate a kidney. She files for medical legal emancipation and throws the family into a fundamental moral crisis. 2004.
Tan, Amy
The Bonesetter's Daughter
RC 51557,
CL 7110
San Francisco writer Ruth Young discovers a memoir by her Chinese mother, LuLing, while she is dealing with LuLing's failing memory. After deciphering the Chinese calligraphy, Ruth gains insight into her family heritage that improves her relationship with her mother. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2001.
Tyler, Anne
Digging to America
RC 61734,
CL 12793
Two families--the middle-class American Donaldsons and the Iranian American Yazdans--meet at the airport when their adopted daughters arrive from Korea. Yazdan matriarch Maryam, who emigrated from Iran nearly forty years earlier, feels increasingly alienated as she observes the younger generations' interactions during their annual arrival-day anniversaries. Bestseller. 2006.
If you would like book club questions to any of the titles above, or are interested in titles similar to those listed, please contact the library.
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