Emma Rodriguez

This is the story of two Ghanaian half sisters who are separated at birth. One lives a life of luxury married to an Englishman on the Gold Coast of Africa, while the other is sold into slavery and sent to the United States. The book follows their families for eight generations through Mississippi plantations, the American Civil War, and Jazz Age Harlem. The subject matter is heavy, but it's an absolutely riveting read. 

The Book Thief is about a young German girl named Liesel Meminger after she is given up by her mother to live with a new set of parents shortly before the start of World War II. The story is narrated by Death and follows Liesel as she learns to read and as her new family shelters a Jewish man from the Nazis. I have read this book at least five separate times, and I have yet to tire of it. Again, the subject matter isn't very light, but this book is definitely worth the emotional toll.

Chris Bohjalian is an expert storyteller, and in this novel he weaves an intricate web of mystery surrounding the disappearance of Annalee Ahlberg, who is known for sleepwalking. Her husband and children desperately attempt to find their missing wife and mother. The unexpected twists and turns of their search will have you on the edge of your seat (or picnic blanket).

This book is not a novel, but instead a collection of essays and personal stories written by the cultural critic, novelist, and professor Roxane Gay. Her essays all talk about flaws - her own and ours as a society - and she poses important questions in a light and funny way. This is a great choice if you would rather read stand-alone chapters instead of a continuous plot, or if the phrase "bad feminist" has piqued your interest.

Jodi Picoult is my favorite writer of all time and she lives in Hanover (excuse me while I try to accidentally run into her at Dirt Cowboy)! Nineteen Minutes was the first book I ever read by her, and I was hooked. This book tells the story of a high school shooting and looks into the lives of the students involved - all culminating in a crazy twist that you have to read to believe.