Houghton: 1009 books

A novel of a twentysomething, Algerian-born woman living on the edge in France, from “one of the hottest literary talents of multicultural Europe” (Sunday Telegraph). When Ahlème’s mother was killed in a village massacre, she left Algeria for France with her father and brother and never...

Delightfully unfussy meatless meals from the author of Moosewood Cookbook! With The Moosewood Cookbook, Mollie Katzen changed the way a generation cooked and brought vegetarian cuisine into the mainstream. In The Heart of the Plate, she completely reinvents the vegetarian repertoire, unveiling...

“Murphy’s darkly gorgeous debut . . . is an Irish coming-of-age novel. It’s also a meditation on why we tell stories.” —The Plain Dealer This is the story of John Devine—stuck in a small town in the otherworldly landscape of southeastern Ireland, worried over by his single, chain-smoking,...

National Book Award Winner: A “harrowing” novel of the Vietnam era filled with “white-knuckled suspense” (Time). In Saigon during the waning days of the Vietnam War, a small-time journalist named John Converse thinks he’ll find action—and profit—by getting involved in a heroin...

This novel about the struggle to identify a nameless victim in the wake of a terrorist bombing in Israel is “a masterpiece” (Claire Messud, The New York Times Book Review). A woman in her forties is a victim of a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem market. Her body lies unidentified in a hospital...

Linked stories exploring the dark heart of the American family: “Electrifying, daring . . . sure to appeal to fans of Karen Russell and Lorrie Moore ” (Booklist, starred review).   A St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best Book of the Year   The Bowmans are declining Texas gentry, heirs to an airline...

This novel of sorrow and suspense, set in rural Montana, is “a complex and powerful story—put Black River on the must-read list” (The Seattle Times). Wes Carver returns to his hometown—Black River, Montana—with two things: his wife’s ashes and a letter from the parole board. The...

This novel of murder and its aftermath in a small Vermont town in the 1950s is “reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird . . . Absorbing” (The New York Times). In Kingdom County, Vermont, the town’s new Presbyterian minister is a black man, an unsettling fact for some of the locals. When...

“Updates Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story . . . Teens who enjoy brooding love stories will not be disappointed” (School Library Journal). Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents’ rules—especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father’s office....

Mimi’s aiming to infiltrate her exclusive high school’s coolest clique, but it may not go as planned . . . “An irresistible read” (Booklist). After the collapse of her parents’ marriage, Mimi Schulman leaves her mother in Houston to look after her befuddled photographer father in...

This novel by the author of the U.S.A. Trilogy offers an “expressionistic picture of New York” in the 1920s (The New York Times).   Much like the vivid experience of riding the city’s mass transit system, Manhattan Transfer introduces us to a large and diverse cast of characters—from wealthy...

A white girl from the South dreams of becoming a blues singer in this novel by the National Book Award-winning author of Dancing on the Edge.   Janie has seen a lot of trouble as the daughter of a heroin addict—revolving foster homes, physical abuse, and more. There’s not a soul on earth she...

A taut YA crime thriller from the author of The Body of Christopher Creed. “There’s no doubt Plum-Ucci can tell a heck of a story” (Booklist). A tiny pistol, passed from friend to friend at a party on an abandoned pier, suddenly fires—and Casey Carmody falls into the water below. Kurt,...

“In addition to scaring the daylights out of us, The Diviner’s Tale stands up for the offbeat and unconventional in human nature” (The Boston Globe). Cassandra Brooks is a diviner, what used to be called a water-witch. Hired by a developer to dowse some land in upstate New York, she is...