Garden of Stones
by Sophie Littlefield

Miyako Takeda and her 14-year-old daughter Lucy lose everything when they are forced to live in a Japanese internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The story is interspersed with the tale of adult Lucy and her daughter, Patty. It’s a heartfelt chronicle of a time of terrible injustice in US history, and of what people will do through love to survive.

The Light Between Oceans
by M.L.

Stedman During a vicious storm, Tom, the lighthouse keeper on isolated Janus Island off the coast of Australia, and his barren wife, Isobel, discover a boat containing a dead man and an infant, barely alive. I'd hands down vote this as one of the best books I've read in a long time, a beautifully-wrought story of how one decision we make will drastically affect the rest of our lives.

Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand

This work of non-fiction is about Louie Zamperini, a man whose plane landed in the ocean during WWII. After forty-seven days in the water, he was put in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Even though I had to skip over many of the pages describing his treatment in the camp, I enjoyed this book because when learning about WWII, I never learned about the Japanese side of the war.

Me and Mrs. Kennedy
by Clint Hill

I picked up this book because it was written by a fellow Concordia alum—and enjoyed it! Mr. Hill was a secret service man assigned to Jackie Kennedy. When first assigned to this post, he was not excited. It was interesting to see how his professional relationship with Mrs. Kennedy grew into a friendship.

Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger

This is one of those, "I can't possibly go to work, eat anything that requires two eyeballs, or be bothered with life in general" books. I just want to sit and read this ALL THE TIME. Ordinary Grace, set in Minnesota during the summer of 1961, is narrated by an 11-year old boy. Five deaths occurred in the boy’s community that summer. Krueger has created a story and characters with great depth. Truly, this is literary fiction first and mystery second. (Krueger will be at Beagle to sign Ordinary Grace later this year.)

The Yellow Bird
by Kevin Powers

In Al Tafar Iraq, two young soldiers cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. In the endless days that follow, the two young soldiers do everything they can to protect each other from the forces that press in on every side. Powers is an Iraq war vet who has written a powerful and searing novel about the experiences of soldiers in that war. He also shows the effects of the war on the families at home.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen

The essays in this book are part memoir, part social commentary on the coming of age of Quindlen’s generation. (She was born in 1952.) They are both humorous and insightful.