Complicated, emotional, and heartwarming family stories are the focus of our recommended reads this month. Enjoy these family dramas!
Adults
Recommended by Nancy Bell, Readers' Advisory Librarian
French Braid by Anne Tyler
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Anne Tyler is back again with a sweeping story that goes across decades and generations of the Garrett family. We’re introduced to the Garretts during their first and last family vacation in 1959, and we can already see the family beginning to pull apart. Chapter by chapter we follow perspectives of different family members over sixty years. The characters are complex, and their individual chapters show the invisible ties that bind together the modern American family, even if the family members themselves are separated. And for a novel that spans sixty years and has multiple generations, it’s a relatively short read at only 243 pages!
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
The death of Eleanor Bennett brings her two estranged children together again as they try to understand the inheritance she left behind for them: a traditional Caribbean black cake recipe. The recipe comes along with a voice recording and a family history that has Byron and Benny questioning everything they knew about their family. An interesting, tangled web of family mystery and history with strands connecting decades and characters. This is a moving family saga with image-inducing descriptions that transport you the story takes us back and forth between times and locations.
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
In classic Nancy fashion, one of my staff picks has to be an outlier! For this “family saga,” I chose to focus more on a chosen family dynamic of a rock n’ roll band. We follow the rise of the (fictional) iconic 1970s rock group Daisy Jones & The Six and their fall at the height of their popularity. Told in the style of a documentary with interviews of former band members, managers, and friends, the novel reads like an overall first-person account that delves deep into the complex characters of the band. There’s a feeling of nostalgia for the iconic 1970s music scene, while also revealing the very serious realities of substance abuse and addiction that went hand in hand with the culture of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.
Teens
Recommended by Maggie Mueller, Teen Services Librarian
Dig by A.S. King
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Five white, teenage cousins who are struggling with the failures and racial ignorance of their dysfunctional parents and their wealthy grandparents reunite just in time to uncover the terrible cost of maintaining the family name. Stick with this one – the first half can be a bit confusing as you jump from character to character, but the conclusion is so worth it.
Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
This prequel to We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer and generation, where a fiery, addicted heiress and an irresistible, unpredictable boy are plunged into a world of unforgivable betrayal, shocking secrets and terrible mistakes. Like the first novel, the Sinclair family drama does not disappoint, but make sure you read We Were Liars first or its shocking ending will be ruined for you.
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Upon their father's return, the five Dunbar boys, who have raised themselves since their mother's death, begin to learn family secrets, including that of fourth brother Clay, who will build a bridge for complex reasons, including his own redemption. This coming-of-age novel is an epic tale about grief, loss, and reconciliation.
Children
Picture Books
Recommended by Lindsay Reuer, Children's Librarian
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
Listen on Hoopla
Read Along on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
This deceivingly straightforward story stands out thanks to its illustrations and poignant ending. The tale provides valuable insight into the experiences and sense of belonging that immigrating families can deal with for generations.
With A Butterfly’s Wings by Pilar López Ávila
Though bittersweet, this picture book brings to life all the ways we can live on through our descendants’ memories and values. A young girl recalls what her grandmother has taught her over the years about everything from birds to butterflies, and the reader realizes that even though her grandmother may be gone at the end of the story, she will live on through the teachings she imparted to her granddaughter.
Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis
Read Along on Hoopla
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
I love this book for the way it introduces the reader to native Hawaiian values and how they are passed down through generations. The reader learns about two children’s intertwining connections to both their ancestors and their native land through a nursery-rhyme-style narrative.
Chapter Books
Recommended by Marie Boleman, Head of Children's & Family Outreach Services
The Oliver Cromwell Pitts Novels:
The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Avi
Listen on Hoopla
The End of the World and Beyond by Avi
Listen on Hoopla
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
These two novels chronicle a boy’s life beginning in 1724 England when his father goes missing and his home is devastated by a flood. Follow his journey which takes him from his seaside home to London to America while facing many challenges to survive. Oliver is such a heartwarming, resilient character set in a rich, historically detailed context. Fans of Crispin will really enjoy this saga!
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Read on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
This epic story takes readers through the transformation of 11 year-old Elijah who is a first generation black child born into freedom in Canada. While on a mission, Elijah journeys to places in the states where slavery is still practiced and witnesses what his older family members and ancestors were forced to endure. Curtis handles this subject with moving and powerful writing.
90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis
Listen on Hoopla
Listen on Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby
Here is another epic story of children leaving their home country and facing unknown territory in another part of the world in search of a better life.
