Have you just finished a great book and feel the urge to recommend it to everyone you know?  Now you can.  On this page you can recommend your latest read and look for what to read next.

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The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is the story of a young girl names Liesel Meminger, who comes to live with foster parents in Molching, Germany. The whole book is narrated by the character Death.

On the way to her foster parent’s home, her brother dies, and she steals a book from a cemetery, but doesn’t know how to read. Her foster father, Hans, teaches her how to read after they become closer. Liesel becomes obsessed with reading and books, and begins to steal books and food with her friend Rudy. Eventually, her new family takes into hiding a young Jewish man, Max, with whom she becomes fast friends. However, because Jewish sympathy is very dangerous for kind Germans, Hans sends Max away. Hans is also drafted into the German army. With two important people from her life missing, Liesel copes by reading books and exploring with her friend Rudy.

The young girl discovers what it means to live in Nazi Germany–about love and hate. It’s a heartbreaking and powerful story about growing up in a time of war and discovering the inspiring and repulsive power of human nature.

Recommended by Lindsey Oetken.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan

Percy is a normal kid, who suddenly finds out he’s not normal.  In fact, he’s a demigod with Poseidon as his dad.  Sadly, because of this relation, when Zeus’s master thunderbolt goes missing, Percy is blamed. Adventure ensues as Percy, Grover and Annabeth go in search of the bolt. (It is also #1 in a series of 5, followed now by the spinoff Heroes of Olympus.)

Recommended by Ann Jennings.

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Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

When his parents die suddenly, Jacob Jankowksi runs away instead of taking the exam to become a veterinarian.  He falls in with the Benzini Brothers Circus where he ends up in charge of the menagerie including an elephant named Rosie.  It is here that he meets the beautiful wife of the ring master, Marlena.  While Jacob is falling in love, the circus is falling apart putting Jacob, Marlena, Rosie and a rag-tag bunch of performers and workers in harm’s way.

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A Room With A View

E.M. Forster

While on a trip to Italy, a young woman, Lucy Honeychurch, and her cousin Charlotte trade rooms with their fellow guests.Mr. Emmerson and his son George  in order to get a view of the river Arno rather than the courtyard. This incident leads to many others throughout the trip and eventually follows Lucy home where she accepts the proposal of another man she met on her trip, Mr. Cecil Vyse, who looks down on her family and friends.  George reappears to cause trouble in the couple’s relationship and telling anymore would give away the ending.  There is also a very good movie that won multiple Oscars in 1987.

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