LIB: Cox Library's Recommended Reading

This is a poignant story about a young black soldier from Harlem who is sent to Iraq in the early days of the war. Although fiction, his experiences and impressions vividly portray the emotional tension of a war zone.

Alvarez's second novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, is a stunning look at the lives of four sisters living under the Dominican Republic's oppressive Trujillo regime. Follows the women from their adolescence in the 1930s through their early years as wives, mothers, and secret revolutionaries.

Elizabeth Wein's intricately plotted and suspenseful novel focuses on the friendship between two young women during World War II -- British pilot Maddie and her passenger, a spy. When the two women crash land in Nazi-occupied France, the spy is quickly captured and forced to write her confession.

FRANCE, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front.  She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do. Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth

This suspenseful, gothic tale vividly depicts 19th century London and the women's prison where upper class Margaret Prior becomes enthralled by spiritualist Selina Dawes. Waters writes excellent, vivid historical fiction -- Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet are other lesbian-themed Victorian novels, while The Night Watch and the eerie Little Stranger are set in 1940s Britain.

Mantel's exciting novel about Thomas Cromwell's rise to power during the reign of King Henry VIII is full of lush language and unforgettable characters. Mantel became the first author to win two consecutive Man Booker prizes with this book and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.

This epic novel reimagines the Biblical story of Jacob from the perspective of his daughter, Dinah, giving a voice to one of the Bible's many silent women. This book is rich in detail, and imbues well-known figures like Leah and Rachel with life and personality, creating an unforgettable story.