8 Books Just as Good as Everyone Says They Are

Some books get recommended over and over again, and these are the ones that truly deserve it. If you’ve been wondering whether they’re worth your time, the answer is yes. These unforgettable books live up to the praise and are easy to recommend to just about anyone.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

The Invention of Wings follows Sarah Grimké, a young girl who grows up in a wealthy family in the American South, and Handful, the enslaved girl given to her as a birthday gift. As they grow older, both women fight for freedom in different ways. Based on real historical figures, this powerful novel explores slavery, courage, friendship, and standing up for what is right. It’s an emotional story that stays with you long after the final page.


From the celebrated author of the international bestseller The Secret Life of Bees comes an extraordinary novel about two exceptional women.

Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. The one her mother calls difficult and her father calls remarkable. On Sarah’s eleventh birthday, Hetty ‘Handful’ Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept. And so, indeed, the trouble begins …

A powerful, sweeping novel, inspired by real events, and set in the American Deep South in the nineteenth century, The Invention of Wings evokes a world of shocking contrasts, of beauty and ugliness, of righteous people living daily with cruelty they fail to recognize; and celebrates the power of friendship and sisterhood against all the odds.

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Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go begins as a quiet story about three friends—Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, who grow up at a mysterious English boarding school. As they become adults, they slowly uncover the heartbreaking truth about why they were raised there. This thought-provoking novel about friendship, love, and science fiction into a moving story that asks what it truly means to be human.


As a child, Kathy – now thirty-one years old – lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed – even comforted – by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood – and about their lives now.

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The Pearl by John Steinbeck

The Pearl tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver who believes his luck has changed after finding an enormous pearl. But instead of bringing happiness, the pearl attracts greed, violence, and tragedy. This short classic is a powerful reminder that wealth does not always lead to a better life and that love and family matter more than money.


Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull’s egg, as “perfect as the moon.” With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security…

A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man’s nature, greed, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.

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Blood Meridian  by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian follows a teenage boy known only as “the Kid” as he joins a violent gang traveling across the Texas-Mexico border in the 1800s. Inspired by real events, the novel paints a harsh picture of the American West, where survival often comes at a terrible cost. It’s a dark, unforgettable story known for its stunning writing and unflinching look at human violence.


Blood Meridian, chronicles the brutal world of the Texas-Mexico borderlands in the mid-nineteenth century. Its wounded hero, the teenage Kid, must confront the extraordinary violence of the Glanton gang, a murderous cadre on an official mission to scalp Indians and sell those scalps.

Loosely based on fact, the novel represents a vision of the historical West.

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What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

What the Wind Knows follows Anne Gallagher, who travels to Ireland after her grandfather’s death and is unexpectedly pulled back to 1921 during Ireland’s fight for independence. Mistaken for someone else, she becomes part of a family and falls in love while trying to understand how her own life connects to the past.


In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

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The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain is told through the eyes of Enzo, a wise and loyal dog who watches his owner, race car driver Denny Swift, face love, loss, and life’s toughest challenges. Enzo shares thoughtful observations about family, hope, and never giving up. An uplifting novel that has touched millions of readers.


Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn’t simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life … as only a dog could tell it.

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Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Wild Dark Shore follows a family living on a remote island that protects the world’s largest seed bank. When a mysterious woman washes ashore during a violent storm, long-hidden secrets begin to surface. This unputdownable Reese book club picks explores love, sacrifice, and the lengths people will go to protect those they care about.


A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island’s researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.

Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she’s not the only one on the island with a secret.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.

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Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Bridge to Terabithia tells the story of Jess and Leslie, two lonely children who create a magical imaginary kingdom called Terabithia. Their friendship changes both of their lives, but an unexpected tragedy teaches Jess about love, loss, and finding the strength to move forward. Though written for younger readers, this timeless classic continues to move readers of all ages.


The 40th anniversary edition of the classic Newbery Medal-winning title by beloved author Katherine Paterson, with brand-new bonus materials including an author’s note by Katherine herself and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo.

Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie’s house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief.

Bridge to Terabithia was also named an ALA Notable Children’s Book and has become a touchstone of children’s literature, as have many of Katherine Paterson’s other novels, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved.

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