My 5-Star Reads. . .
Discover my top 5-star book recommendations! Explore this curated list of must-read favorites for your next literary adventure.
Book
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Albom
Eddie dies on his eighty-third birthday in a tragic accident - He awakens in the afterlife where he learns that heaven is where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it.
Book
Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen
Ninety-something-year-old Jacob Jankowski remembers his time in the circus as a young man during the Great Depression, and his friendship with Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, and Rosie, the elephant, who gave them hope. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.
Book
I Know This Much Is True
by Wally Lamb
On the afternoon of October 12, 1990, my twin brother, Thomas, entered the Three Rivers, Connecticut, public library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels, and prayed to God the sacrifice he was about to commit would be deemed acceptable. . . . One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human.
Book
On Mystic Lake
by Kristin Hannah
A heartwarming tale of love set on Mystic Lake follows Annie Colwater on journey of discovery of passion as she struggles to cope with a shattered marriage. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.
Book
She's Come Undone
by Wally Lamb
In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years. Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Stranded in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally orbits into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before she really goes under.
Book
Between Sisters
by Kristin Hannah
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠The renowned author of The Women vividly explores the intricate bonds of sisterhood and family. â[Kristin] Hannah [brings] snap and a lot of warmth to a familiar lesson: that contentment comes from accepting each otherâs flaws.ââPeople Years ago, Meghann Dontess made a terrible choice that cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Now, Meghann is a highly successful attorney who doesnât believe in intimacyâuntil she meets the one man who can change her mind. Claire Cavenaugh has fallen in love for the first time in her life. As her wedding day approaches, she prepares to face her strong-willed older sister. Reunited after more than two decades apart, these two women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family. Tender, funny, bittersweet, and moving, Between Sisters skillfully explores the profound joys and sorrows shared by sisters, the mistakes made in the name of love, and the promise of redemptionâall beautifully told by acclaimed author Kristin Hannah. âEnormously entertaining . . . Hannah has a nice ear for dialogue and a knack for getting the reader inside the charactersâ heads.ââThe Seattle Times âHannah writes of love with compassion and conviction.ââLuanne Rice
Book
Summer Sisters: A Read with Jenna Pick
by Judy Blume
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY ⢠âSummer Sisters is a book to return to again and again.ââColleen Hoover âAs warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing âHow Sweet It Is.â You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was.ââChicago Tribune In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonardâs world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Marthaâs Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become âsummer sisters.â Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will goâbecause she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friendâher summer sisterâstill has the power to break her heart.
Book
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
by Joshilyn Jackson
Lauren Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother keep family skeletons in the closet or sewing her acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister, Thalia, is her opposite, an impoverished actress who prides herself on exposing the lurid truths lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neatly on track-- a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, a lovely suburban home-- everything she holds dear is threatened the night she is visited by the ghost of her 13-year-old neighbor Molly. The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly, floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is an unseemly mystery that no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Laurel enlists Thalia's help, even though she knows it comes with a high price tag. Together, they set out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about their family's haunted past, the true state of Laurel's marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.