Recommendations based on "No Friend to This House A Gripping Feminist Retelling of Greek Myth From the Bestselling Author of Stone Blind"

During a summer party at the family farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson has escaped to her childhood tree house and is happily dreaming of the future. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon is over, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that challenges everything she knows about her family and especially her mother, Dorothy—her vivacious, loving, nearly perfect mother.Now, fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress living in London. The family is gathering at Greenacres farm for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday. Realizing that this may be her last chance, Laurel searches for answers to the questions that still haunt her from that long-ago day, answers that can only be found in Dorothy’s past.Dorothy’s story takes the reader from pre–WWII England through the blitz, to the ’60s and beyond. It is the secret history of three strangers from vastly different worlds—Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy—who meet by chance in wartime London and whose lives are forever entwined. The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams and the unexpected consequences they sometimes bring. It is an unforgettable story of lovers and friends, deception and passion that is told—in Morton’s signature style—against a backdrop of events that changed the world.

THE MAGICAL INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'A compelling story of magic and survival against the odds.' SUNDAY TIMES 'Uplifting . . . a welcome escape from our turbulent times.' GUARDIAN 'An enchanting story of love, loss and survival' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Full of hope and bravery' PRIMA Brought together by magic. Torn apart by war. _________ Europe, 1938. Even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the World of Wonders - a travelling circus that traverses the continent in a luxury steam engine. Brilliant and curious, Lena yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, despite the limitations she feels in her wheelchair. But when a young French orphan, Alexandre, comes aboard the circus train, Lena's life is infused with magic and wonder for the first time. But outside the bright lights of the circus, darkness is descending on Europe. War is about to shatter Lena's world, and take away everything she holds dear. And to recover what she has lost, Lena will have to believe in the impossible. A must-read for fans of Water for Elephants, The Circus Train will take readers on a heart-wrenching two-decade journey across a continent in which great beauty and unimaginable horror live side by side.

'CLAIRE NORTH BRINGS A POWERFUL, FRESH AND UNFLINCHING VOICE TO ANCIENT MYTH' Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne Following the critically acclaimed Ithaca and House of Odysseus comes the final novel in Claire North's Songs of Penelope trilogy - an exquisite, gripping tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Many years ago, Odysseus sailed to war and never returned. For twenty years his wife Penelope and the women of Ithaca have guarded the isle against suitors and rival kings. But peace cannot be kept forever, and the balance of power is about to break . . . A beggar has arrived at the Palace. Salt-crusted and ocean-battered, he is scorned by the suitors - but Penelope recognises in him something terrible: her husband, Odysseus, returned at last. Yet this Odysseus is no hero. By returning to the island in disguise, he is not merely plotting his revenge against the suitors - vengeance that will spark a civil war - but he's testing the loyalty of his queen. Has she been faithful to him all these years? And how much blood is Odysseus willing to shed to be sure? The song of Penelope is ending, and the song of Odysseus must ring through Ithaca's halls. But first, Penelope must use all her cunning to win a war for the fate of the island and keep her family alive, whatever the cost . . . Praise for the Songs of Penelope series: 'Darkly fascinating, raw and breathtaking' Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne 'Richly poetic . . . This is an impassioned plea for the lost, disenfranchised queens of ancient Greece, a love letter to the silenced women of history' Booklist 'Everything I've wanted in a retelling: a vibrant cast, full of suspense, told with a phenomenal narrative voice - this is an absolute masterpiece' Sarah Bonner, author of Her Perfect Twin 'Penelope is proving to be an outstanding epic hero in her own right. The world building is sensational' Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den 'Conjures up a world in which women, abandoned by their men, must weave their own destinies' The Times 'Claire North has set a new standard for Ancient Greek retellings. Absolutely sublime' Hannah Lynn, author of Athena's Child The Songs of Penelope series: Ithaca House of Odysseus The Last Song of Penelope

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEARNAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, PARADE, REAL SIMPLE, and BUZZFEEDAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK"[Moore’s] careful balance of the hard-bitten with the heartfelt is what elevates Long Bright River from entertaining page-turner to a book that makes you want to call someone you love.” – The New York Times Book Review"This is police procedural and a thriller par excellence, one in which the city of Philadelphia itself is a character (think Boston and Mystic River). But it’s also a literary tale narrated by a strong woman with a richly drawn personal life – powerful and genre-defying.” – People"A thoughtful, powerful novel by a writer who displays enormous compassion for her characters. Long Bright River is an outstanding crime novel… I absolutely loved it."—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl on the TrainTwo sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn't be more different. Then one of them goes missing.In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late.Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters' childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.

A National Bestseller! “The perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer day.” —Washington Post “[A] charmer of a tale. . . Warm, witty and--like any good craft beer--complex, the saga delivers a subtly feminist and wholly life-affirming message.” —People Magazine A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer, from the bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself. With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz." Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late. Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up--will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family? Here we meet a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that's often stacked against them. In this deeply affecting family saga, resolution can take generations, but when it finally comes, we're surprised, moved, and delighted.

Heather O’Neill’s critically acclaimed debut novel, with a new introduction from the author to celebrate its ten-year anniversaryBaby, all of thirteen years old, is lost in the gangly, coltish moment between childhood and the strange pulls and temptations of the adult world. Her mother is dead; her father, Jules, is scarcely more than a child himself and is always on the lookout for his next score. Baby knows that “chocolate milk” is Jules’ slang for heroin and sees a lot more of that in her house than the real thing. But she takes vivid delight in the scrappy bits of happiness and beauty that find their way to her, and moves through the threat of the streets as if she’s been choreographed in a dance.Soon, though, a hazard emerges that is bigger than even her hard-won survival skills can handle. Alphonse, the local pimp, has his eye on her for his new girl—and what the johns don’t take he covets for himself. If Baby cannot learn to become her own salvation, his dark world threatens to claim her, body and soul.Channeling the artlessly affecting voice of her thirteen-year-old heroine with extraordinary accuracy and power, Heather O’Neill’s debut novel blew readers away when it was first published ten years ago. Now it’s sure to capture its next decade of readers as Baby picks her pathway along the edge of the abyss to arrive at a place of redemption, and of love.Featuring a new introduction from the authorCBC Canada reads winner, Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction winner, Orange Prize for Fiction finalist, Governor General’s Literary Award finalist, International Impac Dublin Literary Award finalistPraise for Lullabies for Little Criminals“A vivid portrait of life on skid row.”—People“A nuanced, endearing coming-of-age novel you won’t want to miss.”—Quill And Quire“Vivid and poignant. . . . A deeply moving and troubling novel.”—The Independent (London)“O’Neill is a tragicomedienne par excellence. . . . You will not want to miss this tender depiction of some very mean streets.”—Montreal Review of Books

Alice Raikes takes a train from London to Scotland to visit her family, but when she gets there she witnesses something so shocking that she insists on returning to London immediately. A few hours later, Alice is lying in a coma after an accident that may or may not have been a suicide attempt. Alice's family gathers at her bedside and as they wait, argue, and remember, long-buried tensions emerge. The more they talk, the more they seem to conceal. Alice, meanwhile, slides between varying levels of consciousness, recalling her past and a love affair that recently ended. A riveting story that skips through time and interweaves multiple points of view, After You'd Gone is a novel of stunning psychological depth and marks the debut of a major literary talent.

'a Wonderful Debut. Actually, A Tour De Force' -- Sarah Winman, Author Of Still Life 'utterly Captivating... Written With Great Heart, Humour And Humanity, It's The Kind Of Book You Want To Escape Normal Life To Read At Every Available Opportunity.' -- Elizabeth Day, Author Of Magpie 'this Is A Book That Will Be Loved Unreasonably And Life-long, I Believe, Like I Capture The Castle.' -- Francis Spufford, Author Of 'light Perpetual' 'maudie, Why Are All The Best Characters Men?' Maudie Closes The Book With A Clllump. 'we Haven't Read All The Books Yet, Miss Cristabel. I Can't Believe That Every Story Is The Same' Cristabel Seagrave Has Always Wanted Her Life To Be A Story, But There Are No Girls In The Books In Her Dusty Family Library. For An Unwanted Orphan Who Grows Into An Unmarriageable Young Woman, There Is No Place At All For Her In A Traditional English Manor. But From The Day That A Whale Washes Up On The Beach At The Chilcombe Estate In Dorset, And Twelve-year-old Cristabel Plants Her Flag And Claims It As Her Own, She Is Determined To Do Things Differently. With Her Step-parents Blithely Distracted By Their Endless Party Guests, Cristabel And Her Siblings, Flossie And Digby, Scratch Together An Education From The Plays They Read In Their Freezing Attic, Drunken Conversations Eavesdropped Through Oak-panelled Doors, And The Esoteric Lessons Of Maudie Their Maid. But As The Children Grow To Adulthood And War Approaches, Jolting Their Lives On To Very Different Tracks, It Becomes Clear That The Roles They Are Expected To Play Are No Longer Those They Want. As They Find Themselves Drawn Into The Conflict, They Must Each Find A Way To Write Their Own Story...

From the author of Girl One comes a spellbinding adventure about a strange power lurking in the Arkansas Ozarks, and the group of friends obsessed with finding it.Five friends arrive back in Eternal Springs, Arkansas, the small town they all fled after high school graduation. Each is drawn home by a cryptic, scrawled two-word letter that reads, You promised.It has been fifteen years since the summer that changed their lives, and they’re anxious to find out why Brandi called them back, especially when they vowed never to return.But Brandi is missing. She’d been acting erratically for months, railing at whoever might listen about magic all around them. About a power they can’t see. And about strange houses that appear only when you need them . . .Told in two enthralling timelines, The Wonder State is a gorgeous, immersive, speculative Gothic tale about searching for home. Sara Flannery Murphy has created another brilliant, genre-blurring novel―an adventure story laced with nostalgia, exploring belonging and the lasting power of community.

★ “Historical fiction at its finest.” –The Horn Book“There has never been a better time to read about healing, of both the body and the heart.” –The New York Times Book ReviewEcho Mountain is an acclaimed best book of 2020!An NPR Best Book of the Year • A Horn Book Fanfare Selection • A Kirkus Best Book of the Year • A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year • A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year • A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the YearAfter losing almost everything in the Great Depression, Ellie’s family is forced to leave their home in town and start over in the untamed wilderness of nearby Echo Mountain. Ellie has found a welcome freedom, and a love of the natural world, in her new life on the mountain. But there is little joy after a terrible accident leaves her father in a coma. An accident unfairly blamed on Ellie.Ellie is a girl who takes matters into her own hands, and determined to help her father she will make her way to the top of the mountain in search of the healing secrets of a woman known only as “the hag.” But the hag, and the mountain, still have many untold stories left to reveal.Historical fiction at its finest, Echo Mountain is celebration of finding your own path and becoming your truest self. Lauren Wolk, the Newbery Honor– and Scott O'Dell Award–winning author of Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea, weaves a stunning tale of resilience, persistence, and friendship across three generations of families.“Soothing and exquisitely written.” –People“This is a book that will soothe readers like a healing balm.” –The Wall Street Journal“Brilliant.” –Lynda Mullaly Hunt, bestselling author of Fish in a Tree