Almond (Audio) Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends—the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that—but his devoted mother and grandmother aren’t fazed by his condition. Then on Christmas Eve a shocking act of random violence shatters his world, leaving him alone and on his own. Yunjae retreats into silent isolation, until troubled teenager Gon arrives at his school and begins to bully Yunjae. Against all odds, tormentor and victim learn they have more in common than they realized.
The Falconer, Dana Czapnik Seventeen-year-old Lucy Adler, a street-smart, trash-talking baller, is often the only girl on the public courts. Lucy is in unrequited love with her best friend and pick-up teammate Percy, scion to a prominent New York family. As she navigates this complex relationship, Lucy is seduced by a different kind of life—one less consumed by conventional success and the approval of men. A pair of provocative female artists her into their world, but soon even their paradise begins to show cracks.
Breath, Tim Winton Recommended by Michele: "Australian writer Tim Winton is a master storyteller as well as a surfing aficionado, who deftly and beautifully describes the connection between two young surfers and a former surfing champion who becomes their teacher. This coming-of-age novel about a young man's tumultuous introduction into adulthood and the betrayals that he faces is told by the adult, reflecting on the choices that impacted his adult life."
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger (Student recommendation)
Patron Saint of Nothing, Randy Ribay (Recommended by Cassie)
The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey Scottish author Margot Livesey imaginatively reconfigures Jane Eyre for a contemporary audience in this novel, whose first line immediately connects to Charlotte Bronte’s classic. The basic story echoes the original: a vulnerable orphan, neglected by a cruel aunt, is sent away as a “working girl” to a boarding school, which she leaves to become an au pair on a isolated Orkey Island. There she begins a road to self-discovery and a reconnection to her roots. But the story is far more developed than mere imitation, and Livesey’s writing, particularly the descriptions of both Scotland and Iceland, are masterful. (Recommended by Michele)