Michelle’s Bookish Life

Ages 18+

somewhere-out-there

In the 1980s, a young woman named Jennifer was declared an unfit mother and sent to jail after she was caught stealing food from a supermarket while she left 4-year-old Brooke and 6-month-old Natalie in the car they lived in together.

Now, 35 years later, Natalie is married with two children, and the desire to find her birth mother is ignited when her daughter has to create a family tree for a school assignment. Natalie’s adoptive parents never liked to talk about her life before she was adopted.

Brooke was less fortunate than her sister, and grew up in countless foster homes until she aged out of the system. She never forgot her mother or her little sister and always wondered what happened to them all those years ago.

Fans of Jodi Picoult will love this novel about two sisters torn apart and their journey as they try to reconnect once again.

Adult Fiction, Romance

The Mistress by Danielle Steel

January 26, 2017January 12, 2017 Michelle

Ages 18+

mistress

Natasha was living on the streets of Moscow before Vladimir Stanislas, a Russian billionaire, discovers her and takes her in. Her role is to keep him happy and blend in while he is off gallivanting and taking care of shady business.

Theo Luca’s mother Maylis was widowed when her husband Lorenzo died and left her and Theo with artwork worth a fortune that they can’t part with. Maylis transformed their home into a restaurant and decorated it with the paintings. Then Theo sees Natasha at the restaurant and can’t take his eyes off her. That same night, Vladimir discovers Lorenzo’s artwork and is immediately obsessed.

Theo can’t stop thinking about Natasha and begins to paint her from memory night after night. Vladimir becomes angry when he realizes that the paintings of her aren’t for sale, and insists that he will purchase them for any price. Theo and Natasha long to be together, but Natasha doesn’t want to risk her safety as Vladimir’s mistress.

Romance, YA Fiction

In Real Life by Jessica Love

January 25, 2017January 12, 2017 Michelle

Grades 9-12

in-real-life

Hannah and Nick have been best friends for the last four years, but their friendship is anything but ordinary. Sure, they talk for hours on the phone and tell each other everything. The one thing that’s different about their friendship is that they’ve never actually met in person. When Hannah’s spring break plans fall through, she decides to surprise Nick by taking a road trip with her sister and best friend to Vegas and confess her romantic feelings for him. When she gets there, though, disaster strikes and she realizes that Nick has been less than honest with her, and she is crushed. The two of them have to decide whether to stay friends or let this ruin their relationship forever.

Memoirs, Sports

Just Don’t Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made It Down the Mountain by Josh Sundquist

January 24, 2017June 3, 2019 Michelle

Ages 18+

just-dont-fall

Nine-year-old Josh Sundquist’s life changed forever when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma and lost his left leg as a result of the cancer. He grew up in a small Virginia town and was home schooled with his siblings as his parents struggled to make ends meet. Then one day he attempts to ski for the first time on a nearby mountain. From then on he is determined to ski in the Paralympics, however, he still has academics, another cancer scare, and his physical abilities to worry about. He realizes that if he is to succeed, he has to persevere and conquer the mountain.

Memoirs

Under A Black Star by Jean Milone

January 23, 2017January 9, 2017 Michelle

Ages 18+

This memoir was written as fulfillment of a dying wish to the author’s mother. Eighty-nine-year-old Jean Milone wrote the story of her mother’s life. The story recounts the struggles she overcame as an Italian immigrant whose English was barely passable and as a single mother who was left to fend for herself and her children.

YA Fiction

Ana of California by Andi Teran

January 22, 2017February 13, 2017 Michelle

Grades 9-12

ana-of-california

Ana Cortez has blown her last chance to live with a foster family, and her only option is to live in a group home. Then she is given a chance to move to a farm and join a trainee program in Northern California. She agrees, but when she arrives, she doesn’t know the first thing about farming. She knows she has a lot to learn. She will have to know the difference between all the types of plants and vegetables, learn how to wake before the sun comes up, and how to get along with Emmet and Abbie, the two kids whose parents own the Garber Farm. This is Ana’s last chance and she will try her hardest to make it work.

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Series, Thriller

No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

January 21, 2017December 27, 2017 Michelle

Ages 18+

goodbye

In the 1980s, when Cynthia is 14 years old, she wakes up one morning and finds that her family is gone, without a trace. It is now 25 years later, and Cynthia is happily married with a young daughter. Cynthia is finally ready to learn the truth…or is she? She encounters things like strange phone calls and an unfamiliar car in her neighborhood, and realizes that whoever took her family when she was a teen has come back to finish the job. Will it be too late by the time Cynthia discovers who terrorized her family?

YA Fiction

Airhead by Meg Cabot

January 20, 2017January 9, 2017 Michelle

Grades 9-12

airhead

Em Watts suffers a bizarre accident, and she is suddenly gone. Poof. She is not herself, but rather Nikki Howard, a teen supermodel idolized by many. She is in denial and struggles to figure out how – and why – this happened. Her life is changed forever, and she’s convinced it’s for the worse. What will happen to her sister Frida, who needs her? What about her friends? Will her life ever be back to normal?

Memoirs

My Name Is Mahtob: The Story that Began the Global Phenomenon Not Without My Daughter Continues by Mahtob Mahmoody

January 19, 2017January 6, 2017 Michelle

Ages 16+

mahtob

Betty Mahmoody wrote about the incredible story of how she and her daughter Mahtob were held captive in Iran by her husband and escaped in Not Without My Daughter. My Name Is Mahtob is the story of life after the unimaginable ordeal. The author explains how she lived in constant fear of being re-abducted, her panic attacks and nightmares, and her triumph over it all.

Adult Fiction, Romance

The Happy Hour Choir by Sally Kilpatrick

January 18, 2017January 3, 2017 Michelle

Ages 18+

Beulah Land’s life hasn’t been easy: the daughter of a Baptist deacon, she was estranged from her family after her teenage pregnancy. Luckily, she was taken in by a lovely woman named Ginger. Now Beulah spends her nights playing piano at The Fountain, a local bar. When Ginger finds out she’s dying of cancer, it is her final wish that Beulah take over playing piano for the County Line Church. She doesn’t hit it off with the church’s pastor, Luke Daniels, and on top of that the choir members aren’t too keen on the non-traditional music she chooses for them to perform. Beulah begins to think things won’t ever go right when she starts to fall for Luke, and he shows her that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.