TAB Recommends

Here are some books our TAB members have read and loved recently. We’ve included the call number so you can come and get them at Reston Regional Library! All summaries are taken from Novelist unless otherwise noted.

Twilight, Stephanie Meyer (YFIC MEY)

When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.

Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys (YFIC SEP)

Titanic. Lusitania. Wilhelm Gustloff. All major maritime disasters, yet the last is virtually unknown. Ruta Sepetys changes that in her gripping historical novel. Told in short snippets, Salt to the Sea rotates between four narrators attempting to escape various tragedies in 1945 Europe.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (SF BRA)

A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but one of the book burners, Guy Montag, suddenly realizes their merit.

Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan (FIC KWA)

Envisioning a summer vacation in the humble Singapore home of a boy she hopes to marry, Chinese American Rachel Chu is unexpectedly introduced to a rich and scheming clan that strongly opposes their son’s relationship with an American girl.

If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin (FIC BAL)

When Tish’s boyfriend is jailed for rape their families unite to prove the charge false.

Once and For All, Sarah Dessen (YFIC DES)

Cynical about happy endings, Louna, the daughter of a wedding planner, initially holds Ambrose at arm’s length, but Ambrose has finally found someone to save him from his serial dating ways, and he’s not about be discouraged.

Little & Lion, Brandy Colbert (YFIC COL)

Returning home to Los Angeles from her New England boarding school, Suzette considers staying home for good so that she can be near her friends, her crush, and her recently diagnosed bipolar brother, a situation that is complicated by her growing feelings for the girl her brother loves.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (FIC FIT)

Newly rich Jay Gatsby tries to recapture the past and win back Daisy Buchanan, his former love, despite the fact she has married.

A Long Walk to Water, Linda Sue Park (JFIC PAR)

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (JFIC ALC)

Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young women in nineteenth-century New England.

The Iliad, Homer (883 H)

Recounts the triumphs and defeats of the Greek and Trojan heroes during the Trojan War and the destruction of Troy by combined Greek armies.

The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (FIC OBR)

A collection of award-winning and utterly moving stories about the madness of the Vietnam war.