YA Crossover Books


Looking for Alaska by John Green
Paper Towns by John Green
Hollow City: the Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This Star Won't Go Out: the Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Esther Earl with Lori and Wayne Earl
The Selection by Kiera Cass

More and more titles written for the Young Adult crowd appeal to adults too. Check out these titles that are on this week's New York Times Young Adult Best Seller List (some have been on the list for over a year):
  • Looking for Alaska by John Green: Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.
  • Paper Towns by John Green: One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears. (Breaking News: Last week it was announced that Paper Towns is being developed into a movie starring Nat Wolff!)
  • Hollow City: the Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: A follow-up to the best-selling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children begins in 1940 with Jacob and his new friends escaping from Miss Peregrine's island and traveling to London, where they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals and other unexpected surprises.
  • This Star Won't Go Out: the Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Esther Earl with Lori and Wayne Earl : In full color and illustrated with art and photographs, this is a collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Essays by family and friends help to tell Esther’s story. 
  • The Selection by Kiera Cass: Preferring a relationship with her secret boyfriend, Aspen, but unwittingly selected to compete for the hand of the gorgeous Prince Maxon against dozens of hopefuls, 17-year-old America Singer grudgingly participates and clearly voices her distaste for the kingdom's caste system until she unexpectedly develops feelings for the prince.

An Isaac Bell Adventure

The Bootlegger by Clive Cussler and Justin ScottDetective Isaac Bell returns in the The Bootlegger by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott

It is 1920, and both Prohibition and bootlegging are in full swing. When Isaac Bell’s boss and lifelong friend Joseph Van Dorn is shot and nearly killed leading the high-speed chase of a rum-running vessel, Bell swears to him that he will hunt down the lawbreakers, but he doesn’t know what he is getting into. When a witness to Van Dorn’s shooting is executed in a ruthlessly efficient manner invented by the Russian secret police, it becomes clear that these are no ordinary criminals. Bell is up against a team of Bolshevik assassins and saboteurs and they are intent on overthrowing the government of the United States.

The Bootlegger is the seventh installment in the Isaac Bell Adventure series. New to the series and want to start at the beginning? Here's the reading order of the first six titles:

The Chase by Clive Cussler
1. The Chase
The Wrecker by Clive Cussler
2. The Wrecker
The Spy by Clive Cussler
3. The Spy
The Race by Clive Cussler
4. The Race
The Thief by Clive Cussler
5. The Thief
The Stricker by Clive Cussler
6. The Striker


What is Bildungsroman?

A popular label for our blog posts is bildungsromans. What is it you ask? Per the Oxford English Dictionary, bildungsroman is "a novel that has as its main theme the formative years or spiritual education of one person" Origin of the word bildungsroman is German, "bildung" for education and "roman" for novel. Simply put, it is a coming-of-age tale.

Interested in reading one? Check out one of these titles:

One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker
Etched on Me by Jenn Crowell
Whistling Past the Graveyard
Rules for Becoming a Legend by Timothy S. Lane
Pelican Point by Donna Kauffman

  • One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker: Livie faces a new set of challenges as she navigates freshman year at Princeton, a time involving wild parties and Ashton, the gorgeous rowing team captain. Facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, Livie’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father, and, with it, the only identity she’s ever known. 
  • Etched on Me by Jenn Crowell: Faced with an unexpected pregnancy in her 20s, Lesley, who has overcome sexual abuse and a troubled adolescence to become a social services success story, must fight for her unborn daughter when the same team that saved her as a teenager questions whether she is fit to be a mother. 
  • Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall: Fleeing her strict grandmother's home in 1963 Mississippi, 9-year-old Starla Claudelle becomes an unlikely companion to an African-American woman at whose side she learns harsh lessons about period segregation and family. 
  • Rules for Becoming a Legend by Timothy S. Lane: Destined for a legendary future in the NBA, a young basketball prodigy begins suffering the tragedies that have cursed his family for generations and destroyed his father's sports dreams, a situation that compels him to find a way to break the cycle.
  • Pelican Point by Donna Kauffman: Hoping to reconnect with herself after suffering a personal tragedy, Alex McFarland agrees to renovate the Pelican Cove lighthouse and finds herself falling in love instead.
Looking for more bildungsromans? Click the label below or stop by the reference desk on the main floor of the library to speak with a reference librarian.

If You Like Stephanie Plum Mysteries...

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in New Jersey, but she always gets her man. With more luck than talent, her life is full of bail-jumping criminals, car chases, missing persons, and trying to find a decent guy in Jersey. This series is full of non-stop action, high-stakes suspense, and the trademark Evanovich humor. (NoveList)

If you like Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries, you may also like these series recommended by NoveList:

Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer
Bubbles Yablonsky Mysteries by Sarah Strohmeyer
"Bubbles Yablonsky the hairdresser-reporter-sleuth, emerges from Lehigh, Pennsylvania, to rival Stephanie Plum the bounty hunter. Both of these series feature urban neighborhoods and a cast of quirky secondary characters. There's a little romance here and plenty of action, and lots of smart-mouthed dialog." (NoveList)
Start with Bubbles Unbound.

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
Heather Wells Mysteries by Meg Cabot
"In these two ridiculously fun mystery series [Stephanie Plum and Heather Wells], you'll enjoy outrageous situations, quirky heroines, eccentric and memorable supporting casts, reliably funny dialog, and zany plots." (NoveList)
Start with Size 12 is Not Fat.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
"Both series [Stephanie Plum and Heather Wells] feature female investigators who manage to get themselves into more trouble than their cases require. But what really unites these series is their eccentric casts (including memorable family members and hilarious senior citizens), scathing wit, and sardonic humor." (NoveList)
Start with: The Spellman Files.

Local Author's Debut

Savage Portrayals: Race, Media, and the Central Park Jogger Story by Natalie P. Byfield
Local author Natalie P. Byfield illuminates race, crime and gender bias in her debut book Savage Portrayals: Race, Media, and the Central Park Jogger Story, which Library Journal Reviews states is a "chilling, ultimately instructive portrayal of savage injustice."

In 1989, the rape and beating of a white female jogger in Central Park made international headlines. Many accounts reported the incident as an example of “wilding”—episodes of poor, minority youths roaming the streets looking for trouble. Police intent on immediate justice for the victim coerced five African-American and Latino boys to plead guilty. The teenage boys were quickly convicted and imprisoned. Byfield, who covered the case for the New York Daily News, now revisits the story of the Central Park Five from her perspective as a black female reporter in Savage Portrayals.

Natalie P. Byfield is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at St. John's University in Queens, New York. She has also taught in Journalism and Media Studies. She is a former Staff Writer for the New York Daily News.

Fiction into Film

This month in the library you'll find two displays featuring books that have gone Hollywood. Here are just a few of the many titles you'll find:

Austenland by Shannon Hale
Austenland by Shannon Hale: Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice which no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. 

Austenland was adapted into a film starring  Keri Russell, Jane Seymour, Jennifer Coolidge and J.J. Feild was released in United States in August 2013.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer: Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, and pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was made into a film with the same name starring Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock which was released in 2011. 

Under the Skin by Michael Faber
Under the Skin by Michael Faber: Isserley is tiny, scarred and awkward, yet strangely erotic and threatening as she cruises the roads of the Scottish Highlands sizing up male hitchhikers with big muscles. As she drives them deep into the Scottish wilds, they open up to her, revealing a complex and varied picture of life on earth - but Isserley is listening for clues such as who might miss them if they should disappear. If she decides they're worth the risk, she takes them farther than they ever dreamed of going. But takes them where?

Under the Skin has been adapted into a film starring Scarlett Johansson which will be released in the United States on April 4, 2014.

For more "Fiction into Film" titles, stop by the display in the alcove by the New Book collection, see the "From Page to Screen" display in the Video Room and stop by the reference desk to speak with a librarian.

A Patron Recommends. . .

Book of Ages: the Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore
Book of Ages: the Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore:  From one of our most accomplished and widely admired historians, a revelatory portrait of Benjamin Franklin’s youngest sister and a history of history itself. Like her brother, Jane Franklin was a passionate reader, a gifted writer, and an astonishingly shrewd political commentator. Unlike him, she was a mother of twelve.

Benjamin Franklin, who wrote more letters to his sister than he wrote to anyone else, was the original American self-made man; his sister spent her life caring for her children. They left very different traces behind. Making use of an amazing cache of little-studied material, including documents, objects, and portraits only just discovered, Jill Lepore brings Jane Franklin to life in a way that illuminates not only this one woman but an entire world—a world usually lost to history. Lepore’s life of Jane Franklin, with its strikingly original vantage on her remarkable brother, is at once a wholly different account of the founding of the United States and one of the great untold stories of American history and letters: a life unknown.

March Mysteries


The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan
North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo
Dead to Me by Cath Staincliffe


The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan: On a rainy night in April, a chance encounter on a lonely road draws David into a romance with Jana Fletcher, a beautiful young law student. Jana is an enigma: living in a run-down apartment and sporting a bruise on her cheek that she refuses to explain. David would like to know her secrets, but he lets them lie--until it’s too late. When Jana is brutally murdered, the police consider David a prime suspect. But as he sets out to uncover the truth about Jana, he begins to realize he’s treading a very dangerous path and that her killer is watching every move he makes. David Loogan’s dark past is revealed in this prequel to Bad Things Happen (2009), the first book in the David Loogan Mysteries.

Elisabeth Elo’s debut novel North of Boston introduces Pirio Kasparov, a Boston-bred tough-talking girl with an acerbic wit and a moral compass that points due north. Surviving a fishing boat collision that ends her friend's life, Pirio is convinced that the incident was not accidental. She is tapped by the Navy to participate in a research project on human survival in dangerously cold temperatures. With the help of a curious journalist named Russell Parnell, Pirio begins unraveling a lethal plot involving the glacial whaling grounds off Baffin Island. In a narrow inlet in the arctic tundra, Pirio confronts her ultimate challenge: to trust herself. 

Dead to Me by Cath Staincliffe is a thoroughly modern police procedural featuring a stellar but unlikely female detective team who are forced to work together --Janet Scott, tormented by personal demons, and Rachel Bailey, who is determined to make a name for herself--on the Murder Investigation Team. They must find the person responsible for stabbing a teenage girl death. Both detectives realize they must work together to stop a vicious killer. But the case quickly becomes more complicated than it seems, fraught with dangers neither woman could see coming. Eager to make her mark, Rachel’s reckless pursuit of the truth could threaten her future on the squad. And an unexpected turn in the investigation forces Janet to face personal demons. No matter the cost, both must race to stop a vicious killer before it’s too late


Book Review: Long Man

Amy Green's Long Man  is a searing portrait of a tight-knit community brought together by change and crisis, set against the backdrop of real-life historical event—the story of three days in the summer of 1936, as a government-built dam is about to flood an Appalachian town, and a little girl goes missing.  

Long Man by Amy Greene
A river called Long Man has coursed through East Tennessee from time immemorial, bringing sustenance to the people who farm along its banks and who trade among its small towns. But as Long Man opens, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to dam the river and flood the town of Yuneetah for the sake of progress—to bring electricity and jobs to the region—are about to take effect. 

Just a few days remain before the river will rise, and most of the town has been evacuated. Among the holdouts is a young, headstrong mother, Annie Clyde Dodson, whose ancestors have lived for generations on her mountaintop farm; she’ll do anything to ensure that her three-year-old daughter, Gracie, will inherit the family’s land. But her husband wants to make a fresh start in Michigan, where he’s found work that will bring the family a more secure future. As the deadline looms, a storm as powerful as the emotions between them rages outside their door. Suddenly they realize that Gracie is nowhere to be found. Has the little girl simply wandered off into the rain? Or has she been taken by Amos, the mysterious drifter who has come back to Yuneetah, perhaps to save his hometown in a last, desperate act of violence? 

Receiving a starred review from Booklist, "Greene, with searing eloquence, seems to channel the frustrations of generations of rural poor in this stark indictment of a soulless government hell-bent on destroying a long-standing community. Her stunning insight into a proud and insular people is voiced with cold clarity and burning anger." (Booklist Reviews)

Book Club Recommendations

Recently a patron asked us what we'd recommend for a book club read. In general, the answer to this is that any book, from the top of the latest books sellers lists to the classics, that inspires conversation will do. 

There are many resources (including this blog!) to help you find a book that suits your interests. Here are a few titles recently recommended by Book Group Buzz, a blog created by Booklist Online with book group tips, reading lists, and talk of literary news:

Let Him Go by Larry Watson
Let Him Go by Larry Watson: Dalton, North Dakota. It’s September 1951: years since George and Margaret Blackledge lost their son James when he was thrown from a horse; months since his widow Lorna took off with their only grandson and married Donnie Weboy. Margaret is steadfast, resolved to find and retrieve her grandson Jimmy, the one person in this world keeping James’s memory alive, while George, a retired sheriff, is none too eager to stir up trouble. Unable to sway his wife from her mission, George takes to the road with Margaret by his side, traveling through the Dakota badlands to Gladstone, Montana. When Margaret tries to convince Lorna to return home to North Dakota and bring little Jimmy with her, the Blackledges find themselves entangled with the entire Weboy clan, who are determined not to give up the boy without a fight.

Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg
Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg: He is a man with no past— a wanderer without memory of his origins. He calls himself Valentine. As a member of a motley group of entertainers, he travels across the magical planet of Majipoor, always hoping he will meet someone who can give him back what he has lost. And then, he begins to dream--and to receive messages in those dreams. Messages that tell him that he is far more than a common vagabond—he is a lord, a king turned out of his castle. Now his travels have a purpose—to return to his home, discover what enemy took his memory, and claim the destiny that awaits him…

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell: Marnie and her little sister, Nelly, are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren't telling. While life in Glasgow's Maryhill housing estate isn't grand, the girls do have each other. Besides, it's only a year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both. As the New Year comes and goes, Lennie, the old man next door, realizes that his young neighbors are alone and need his help. Or does he need theirs? Lennie takes them in—feeds them, clothes them, protects them—and something like a family forms. But soon enough, the sisters' friends, their teachers, and the authorities start asking tougher questions. As one lie leads to another, dark secrets about the girls' family surface, creating complications that threaten to tear them apart.

For more recommendations, stop by the reference desk on the first floor and speak with a reference librarian.

If You Like The Rosie Project. . .

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
In The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, a socially awkward genetics professor who has never been on a second date sets out to find the perfect wife, but instead finds Rosie Jarman, a fiercely independent barmaid who is on a quest to find her biological father.

If you liked The Rosie Project, then you may like these title read-alikes recommended by NoveList:

Courting Greta by Ramsey Hootman
Courting Greta by Ramsey Hootman: Samuel Cooke knows most women wouldn’t give him a second glance even if he were the last man on earth. So when he leaves his lucrative career to teach programming to high schoolers, romance definitely isn’t on his radar. Perhaps that’s why Greta Cassamajor catches him off guard. The sarcastic gym coach with zero sense of humor is no beauty—not even on the inside. But an inexplicably kind act toward Samuel makes him realize she is interesting. In this poignant, witty debut, Ramsey Hootman upends traditional romance tropes to weave a charming tale of perseverance, trust, and slightly conditional love.

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas: Billionaire playboy, and all-around ladies’ man, Jake Travis has a reputation as big as the state of Texas. He drives too fast, lives too hard, and loves too many women to count. In her advice column, and her love life, Ella Varner is always practical. So when she’s left holding her reckless sister’s baby, she decides to ask Jake Travis to take a paternity test. Ella is instantly struck by Jake’s bold good looks and easy charm—but she’s not falling for his sweet talk. This big sexy tomcat needs to take responsibility for his actions, and Ella’s making him stick to his word. Now if she can only ignore the unspoken attraction that smolders between them…

Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. Now, all she has to do to become the Windy City's hottest matchmaker is to land the city's hottest bachelor as her client. How hard can that be? With his money green eyes and calculated charm, Heath Champion is the best sports agent in the country, so why does he need a matchmaker? True, Annabelle has a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of his success -- the perfect wife.  When Annabelle promises she'll do anything to keep her star client happy ... does she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town -- a man who's beginning to ask himself: Exactly how perfect does perfect have to be?

For more recommendations, feel free to stop by the reference desk on the main floor and speak with a librarian.

Long Island Reads 2014


Join fellow Long Islanders in reading the 2014 Long Island reads selection The Manor: Three Centuries at a Slave Plantation on Long Island by Mac Griswold!

The Manor: Three Centuries at a Slave Plantation on Long Island by Mac Griswold
In 1984, the landscape historian Mac Griswold was rowing along a Long Island creek when she came upon a stately yellow house and a garden guarded by looming boxwoods. She instantly knew that boxwoods that large—twelve feet tall, fifteen feet wide—had to be hundreds of years old. So, as it happened, was the house: Sylvester Manor had been held in the same family for eleven generations. And so begins the author's journey to uncover the secrets and stories of The Manor.

Based on years of research and voyages that took Griswold as far as West Africa, this compelling history of a Long Island plantation located on Shelter Island, spanning three centuries and 11 generations, reveals the extensive but little-known story of Northern slavery. Griswold's The Manor is at once an investigation into forgotten lives and a sweeping drama that captures our history in all its richness and suffering.

An author talk and book signing will be held at Sylvester Manor on Saturday, May 17 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.. For more information click here.

For a Reader's Guide to The Manor click here.

Join us for a book discussion about The Manor on Wednesday, April 23 from 2:00 - 4:00pm. Click the "Book Discussion" box to the right to register. Copies of the book will be available at the circulation desk after March 20.

Irish Fiction

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Get swept away to Ireland with these titles:

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
The House on Willow Street by Cathy Kelly
The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley

  • A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy: A final novel by the late best-selling author of Tara Road follows the efforts of a woman who against the opinions of local detractors turns a coastal Ireland mansion into a holiday resort and receives an assortment of first guests who throughout the course of a week share laughter and the heartache of respective challenges. "This tale of love, friendship, redemption, growing up, and moving on is a lovely swan song for the beloved author." (LJ Express Reviews)

  • The House on Willow Street by Cathy Kelly: In the sleepy Irish coastal town of Avalon, four women--Tess, who faces a crumbling marriage; her sister Suki, who is the victim of a dirt-digging biographer; Mara, who is seeking sanctuary; and Danae, the village postmistress who guards the town's secrets--must confront their pasts before they can look to the future."This modern-day fairy tale, which starts out sad and ends up just fine, will please Kelly's fans and appeal to more mature readers of chick lit." (Booklist Reviews)
  • The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley: To escape a recent heartbreak in New York, Grania Ryan returns to her family home on the rugged, wind-swept coast of Ireland. Here, on the cliff edge in the middle of a storm, she meets a young girl, Aurora Lisle, who will profoundly change her life. "Tautly paced yet picturesque, The Girl on the Cliff is a compelling and romantic novel of recovery, redemption, new opportunities, and lost love." (Booklist Reviews)

Looking for more? See our book lists "Stories of Ireland" and "Irish Fiction" compiled by our very own librarians. Both lists can be found on our Book List web page (click here to access) and in our book lists shelves located in the fiction collection on the bottom floor of the library.

Award Winning Fiction

Each year, the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC), honors the best literature published in the United States in six categories—autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The 2013 award winners were announced this past week (to read full announcement click here.) Today we'll focus on the fiction category.

Winner: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Americanah.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Summary: Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

Americanah, a powerful, tender story of race and identity, was also named One of The New York Times's "Ten Best Books of the Year," an NPR "Great Reads" book, a Chicago Tribune "Best Book," a Washington Post "Notable Book," a Seattle Times "Best Book," an Entertainment Weekly "Top Fiction Book,' a Newsday "Top 10 Book," and a Goodreads "Best of the Year" pick.

The other finalists also considered for the NBCC 2013 award for fiction were:

Someone by Alice McDermott
Someone by Alice McDermott chronicles the ordinary life of a woman named Marie, from her childhood to old age, as she experiences the changing world of her Irish-American enclave in Brooklyn, in this novel that speaks of life as it is daily lived.

The Infatuations by Javier Marias
The Infatuations by Javier Marias: Breakfasting daily at a Madrid café where she fantasizes about her fellow patrons' idyllic marriage, María Dolz offers condolences to a widow whose husband has been shockingly murdered, an act that leads to a new relationship and disturbing insights into the crime.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: A novelist on a remote island in the Pacific is linked to a bullied and depressed Tokyo teenager after discovering a Hello Kitty lunchbox that washed ashore.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: Taken in by a wealthy family friend after surviving an accident that killed his mother, thirteen-year-old Theo Decker tries to adjust to life on Park Avenue

New Sci-Fi Books

Looking for stories about aliens, space warfare or time travel? Check out these new science fiction titles hot off the presses and available at the library:

Conquest: The Chronicles of the Invaders by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard
Conquest: The Chronicles of the Invaders by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard. A first entry in a planned trilogy depicts a world where humanity has been conquered by oppressive alien forces and where a group of increasingly powerful young rebels is assisted by an alien ruler's daughter, who risks her life after falling in love with a human. By the author of The Wrath of Angels.

Like a Mighty Army by David Weber
Like a Mighty Army by David Weber: Awakening in the form of a warrior from the time when the Earth was lost to a powerful alien race, cybernetic avatar Merlyn Athrawes assists the island empire of Charis to gain independence from the controlling Church that has forbidden technology and human development. (Book 7 in the Safehold Series following Off Armageddon Reef, By Schism Rent Asunder, By Heresies Distressed, A Mighty Fortress, How Firm a Foundation, and Midst Toil and Tribulation)

Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach
Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach: After a mysterious attack left her short several memories and one partner, she's determined to keep her head down, do her job, and get on with her life. But even though Devi's not actually looking for it -- trouble keeps finding her. She sees things no one else can, the black stain on her hands is growing, and she is entangled with the cook she's supposed to hate. (Book 3 in the Paradox Series following Fortune's Pawn and Heaven's Queen)

Orfeo by Richard Powers
Orfeo by Richard Powers: In Orfeo, Powers tells the story of a man journeying into his past as he desperately flees the present. Composer Peter Els opens the door one evening to find the police on his doorstep. His home microbiology lab—the latest experiment in his lifelong attempt to find music in surprising patterns—has aroused the suspicions of Homeland Security. Panicked by the raid, Els turns fugitive. As an Internet-fueled hysteria erupts, Els—the "Bioterrorist Bach"—pays a final visit to the people he loves, those who shaped his musical journey. Through the help of his ex-wife, his daughter, and his longtime collaborator, Els hatches a plan to turn this disastrous collision with the security state into a work of art that will reawaken its audience to the sounds all around them.