January 6, 2011

Jeanne’ Recommends . . .

. . . a list of books that I (Jeanne’) recommend to my friends to read. Unless indicated, they are free of any language, sex, or graphic violence. The ones indicated as having mild language and violence are books I would unhesitatingly recommend to anyone because I think they are fabulous books that are authentic to their story and do not use the language or violence for gratuitous means. I've separated the books into genres and mostly listed my favorite authors or books at the beginning of each section.

Amish Fiction
Kathleen Fuller (all)
Mary Ellis (all)
Pleasant Valley series by Marta Perry (good overall Christian author)

Newbery books
After Tupac and D Foster and Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

YA Fantasy
Gail Carson Levine (all)
Shannon Hale (all)
Margaret Peterson Haddix (all)
Crown Duel/ Court Duel by Sherwood Smith
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
The Wide-Awake Princess by E. D. Baker
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Aurelia and Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley
Princess of the Midnight Ball/ Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
The Shifter/ Blue Fire by Janice Hardy

Historical Fiction/ Romance (mostly Christian)
Georgette Heyer (all her Regency; she’s the best!)
Deeanne Gist (all; set in various periods of American history)
Tamera Alexander (all; set in mid-1800’s Colorado)
Mary Connealy (all; humorous Western fiction)
Julie Klassen (all; set in Regency-era England)
Boston Jane series by Jennifer L. Holm (humorous YA Western)
The Agency series by Y. S. Lee (YA Regency-era mysteries)
Forevermore by Cathy Marie Hake
Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson
A Tailor-Made Bride and Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer
Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz

Contemporary Christian Romance
PJ Sugar series by Susan May Warren
French Twist series by Sandra Byrd
Just Between You and Me by Jenny B. Jones
Georgia on Her Mind and Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck
Driftwood Lane by Denise Hunter
Mixed Signals by Liz Curtis Higgs
The Cubicle Next Door and Moon Over Tokyo by Siri L. Mitchell

Favorites/ Must Reads/ Books to Make You Think (some mild language/ possible violence)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (an amazing audio book)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Thief (and all other Attolia books) by Megan Whalen Turner
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Marley & Me by John Grogan
The Tipping Point and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery

1 comment:

Amy Wheelwright said...

Wow! what a list -- this will be a great resource. I will be taking this to my book group. Thanks Jeanne!

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