Shopgirl  by Steve Martin

Comedic actor Steve Martin creates the character of Mirabelle, a lonely young woman who is a long way from home and is in search of herself.  Instead, she finds herself caught between two unlikely and very different suitors. 

Forged by Fire  by Sharon Draper

After accidentally setting fire to his mother’s apartment as a child, Gerald is sent to live with his aunt.  Now, years later, he has moved back in with his mother, but will his continuing attraction to fire be their downfall?

Coming Out  by Danielle Steel

Mother of four and all-around supermom, Olympia, is faced with an unexpected challenge when her teenage twin daughters are invited to attend a “coming out” ball in New York City.

Monster  by Walter Myers

Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is not in a good position.  Standing trial for murder, he recalls and allows the reader to see in his mind what he endured in prison while also attempting to accept the route of his life.

Heaven  by Angela Johnson

14-year-old Marley’s life is forever changed when she realizes that the two people who raised her are not her biological parents and she must learn where she came from, and who she is.

47  by Walter Mosely

Named nothing more than 47, the narrator of this story is a slave on a plantation who is living under harsh and brutal conditions.  However, he learns that anything is possible as he meets a runaway slave and together they find 47 his freedom as he makes his escape. 

The Catcher in the Rye 

by J.D. Salinger

Knowing that an impending expulsion from school is imminent, Holden leaves his life for New York City for three days, and then relates what he endured there upon returning home. 

The Notebook 

by Nicholas Sparks

In-love teenage couple, Noah and Allie, are separated but eventually reunited, only to be again torn apart by Alzheimer’s.  Noah reads to Allie each day from the notebook detailing their life, hoping she will again find her way to him, if only for a few moments each day.

The Old Man and the Sea 

by Ernest Hemingway

Long-struggling fisherman Santiago, along with his loyal apprentice, Manolin, finally catch a huge Marlin, but the sea and all its dangers will test their return home and threaten their very lives.

Washington Square 

by Henry James

Catherine Sloper becomes engaged to handsome Morris Townsend, much to the dismay of her father, a wealthy doctor.  He threatens to disinherit Catherine if she marries Townsend and she must make a decision between the two men she cares for most.

The Christmas Letters: a Novella 

by Lee Smith

As much a story about generations as it is the exchanging of letters, Lee Smith’s novella captures the essence of family and discovery of self through the letters that a grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter exchange with one another, letters all folded into Christmas cards. 

The Great Gatsby 

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Called “the great American novel,” Fitzgerald’s novel tells the tale of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man hopelessly in love with the fabulous, but married, Daisy Buchanan.  This novel wonderfully reflects the spirit of the “roaring 20’s.” 

Gideon’s Gift  by Karen Kingsbury

Homeless man Earl Badgett lost his faith years ago, but eight-year-old Gideon, a victim of Leukemia, hopes to restore his belief in God.  This, not a Christmas filled with toys, or even the bone marrow transplant that could save her life, is her hope, and her gift.

Love Story  by Erich Segal

This  “opposites attract” story finds Harvard jock, Oliver, falling in love, almost instantly, with Jenny, an intellectual Radcliffe music major who challenges him like no one ever has.  They endure the ups and downs of life before finally facing a battle that even their seemingly unending love may have trouble surviving.

Ethan Frome  by Edith Wharton

Ethan Frome is a young man trapped in a marriage to a cruel, hypochondriac he does not love named Zeena.  When her cousin, Mattie, arrives to help with housekeeping, Ethan finds himself drawn to, and eventually falling in love with her.