Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine for Gail Honeyman

This book could be about Eleanor Oliphant, a socially awkward creature of habit. She has a set schedule and very rarely deviates from it until one day she meets Raymond, the slovenly IT worker at her office. When they happen upon an elderly man in medical distress, they are thrown together as they get him to the hospital, see to the groceries that he dropped at the scene, and check in on his progress.  Raymond, in his patient and mellow way, eventually breaks down some of Eleanor’s ruts and helps her become a more socially confident person.

Or, this book could be about Eleanor Oliphant who has a survived a tragic past and is suppressing painful memories.  She calls her toxic monster mother weekly - taking her verbal vitriol and always coming back for more.

Or, this book could be about a one-sided crush, the adoration of a celebrity and the eternal internal hope that of course [insert famous person here] would love me if only he knew me. A little stalkering never hurt anyone, right?

Or the book could have all this and more. You’ll have to read it to see. 

Check out Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine @ the library!

The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor

Much like Jillian Cantor's other works of historical fiction, The Lost Letter, beautifully weaves together two stories of love and loss. One part of the storyline, set in 1938 Austria, follows the Fabers, a Jewish family trying to survive as the Nazis march into Austria. Patriarch Frederick Faber is a master stamp engraver making postage stamps for the Austrian government. When the Nazis institute antisemtic legislation in Austria, the Fabers are forced to leave Austria leaving young Kristoff, Frederick's non-Jewish apprentice, in charge. When one of Frederick's daughters refuses to leave Austria, and becomes involved with the resistance movement, Kristoff finds himself falling in love.

Fast forward to 1989 shortly before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Katie, the daughter of an avid stamp collector is sorting through her father's stamp collection as her father suffers from the late stages of Alzheimer. When Katie finds a letter with a unique stamp on it she begins to journey into the past to uncover the story behind the unopened letter.

Cantor, much like she does in her other historical fiction novels, tells a completely captivating story. With seamless incorporation of historical events, Cantor alternates between characters with ease, perfectly blending the two time periods together.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

New York Times bestseller Kristin Hannah's newest book The Nightingale is set in 1939 France. With the world set for war, sisters Vianne and Isabelle are put to the test as World War II rages through Europe. Vianne, the oldest of the sisters, says goodbye to her husband Antoine as he heads to the eastern front. With an empty house, Vianne quarters a Nazi officer. Life is no longer what it was as Vianne's every move is watched, forcing her to act cautiously to protect her daughter Sophie. Vianne decides to make a bold move when the Nazis implement anti-Jewish laws in France. Realizing that she can't just stand by, Vianne does all that she can to make sure Jewish children are safe, even if it means risking her family's safety.

Younger sister Isabelle has always had the rambunctious streak. She doesn't sit by idly as chaos erupts. She's never been afraid to speak her mind, even if it gets her into trouble. Life in war-torn France is no different. Risking her life, Isabelle, known as the Nightingale, takes in downed airplane pilots. She doesn't just make sure they're safe from the enemy, she actually leads them over the Pyrenees to safety in Spain.

The Nightingale beautifully tells the tale of two women in the French Resistance movement. Kristin Hannah has the ability to paint the picture of just how desperate World War II made people in this heartbreaking, beautiful story.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simson

Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant genetics professor at an Australian university. Within the first few pages, the reader realizes that Don isn't your ordinary person. He's a bit socially inept--he has few friends beside Gene (a fellow professor studying attraction to women of different decent, by, of course, sleeping with women from different countries) and Claudia, plans his daily schedule down to the minute, and calculates people's BMIs upon their first meeting. As the reader learns a bit more about Don, they realize that Don's social inadequacies have clearly hindered him from falling in love. Realizing that the perfect girl is the part missing from his life, Don takes it upon himself to create a questionnaire with crazy, detailed questions to find the most suitable female partner.

Enter Rosie, who is nothing like Don. She's constantly late, disorganized, and is in no way a suitable match for Don. When Don thinks that Rosie is a woman who filled out his questionnaire, he garners up enough courage to ask her to dinner. The first night Don and Rosie meet turns into a fiasco, in true Don fashion. As the two begin to talk about their lives, Rosie tells Don that she doesn't know who her father is. This piques the ear of Don, the genetics professor. It's then that the Father Project develops. Don agrees to use his love of academia and the study of genetics to help Rosie find her dad.

As the two of them work to find out who Rosie's dad is, it seems as if a chemistry is built. 

The Rosie Project will have you laughing until the very end, while constantly rooting for the socially awkward protagonist to find the love that he so desperately deserves.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Jess Thomas is a single mom, raising not only her math whiz daughter Tanzie, but her makeup wearing, bullied stepson Nicky. Oh, not to mention there's also the family's beloved, slobbery, often lazy dog Norman that Jess has to worry about. Life hasn't been easy for Jess since her husband Marty left two years ago. Since then, she's been working like crazy cleaning houses and bartending just to make ends meet. With money being tight and Jess needing to find a way to get Tanzie to the math Olympiad in the hopes of getting her into a great school, Jess winds up doing something she never thought she'd see herself doing.

Ed Nicholls is the head of a software development firm. Money has never been scarce for Ed, so much so that he owns a beachfront home in England (where Jess just so happens to be his cleaner), a flat in London, and far too many cars to count. Things are going well for Ed until he's investigated for insider trading. With his family constantly on his case to visit his dying father, Ed can't begin to bare letting them down with the news of the insider trading scandal.

In One Plus One, as only Jojo Moyes can do, Jess and Ed's stories end up being wound together with wit, charm, and romance. After a strange occurrence on the side of the road, Jess, Ed, Tanzie, Nicky, and even, slobbering Norman wind up spending lots of time together in the car in an attempt to get Tanzie to the math Olympiad on time. Disagreeing on eating out, renting hotel rooms, and pretty much anything else money related, Jess and Ed realize that although they come from completely different worlds, there's a spark that just can't be quelled. When things go awry, will Jess and Ed's love last?