Best Books From 2012

Book Summary

This novel is about four women who began their friendship during college in Bombay in the 1970s. Initially drawn together by their revolutionary fervor, the friends drift apart over the next 30 years as their lives take very different paths. One married an American, while another was caught in a repressive marriage and forced to wear a burka.

Through their stories, the author paints a portrait of India from the 1970s through the early 2010s. Ultimately, the four friends are reunited when one of them falls gravely ill and requests to see her friends together one last time.

Book Summary

Bernadette lives with her husband and her teenage daughter in Seattle – a city where she’s never felt she fits in. She was once a renowned architect but now spends most of her time in the house, hiding from the other moms of her daughter’s elite prep school.

Unlike her Microsoft employee husband, Elgie, who has fully embraced the granola-eating, public transport-using, bike-riding culture in Seattle, Bernadette spends her days in the house relying on a virtual assistant in India for many of her daily tasks.

This becomes a real problem when her daughter’s stellar report card earns her a family cruise to Antarctica, and Bernadette becomes overwhelmed by the planning and preparations. When Bernadette disappears before the trip, her daughter Bee is determined to track her down, unraveling a web of secrets.

Much of this book is told in epistolary form, including notes from Bee’s school, email exchanges between Bernadette and her virtual assistant, and catty moms communicating about Bernadette’s eccentricities.

Book Summary

Hope once dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but at 36, her life doesn’t look at all the way she imagined. Her mother died of cancer, her husband left, her bank account is almost empty, her family bakery on Cape Cod is failing, and she’s raising a troubled preteen on her own.

Now, she’s losing her beloved French-born grandmother, Mamie, to Alzheimer’s. But in a moment of clarity, Mamie is eager to share the secrets of her past before they are gone forever. She reveals mysterious bits and pieces of her tragic history in WWII Paris. With little more than a list of names, Hope sets out for France in hopes of piecing together a seventy-year-old mystery.

Book Summary

In The Snow Child, you’ll be transported to remote 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel are nearing 50 when they decide to move to Alaska. As newcomers to the harsh environment, it is a struggle for them. Between the intense physical labor required and the even more extreme loneliness, they’re not sure they’ve made the right decision with the move.

Then, during the first snowfall of the year, they decide to have some fun and build a child out of snow. In the morning, the snow child is gone, but they see a young girl running through the trees with the items they had used to dress the snow child. Is she real, or are they hallucinating and dreaming of the child they’ve always wanted?

Book Summary

Fourteen-year-old June had a very close relationship with her uncle Finn and was devastated when he died in 1987 from AIDS, which was then still a mysterious and seldom talked about illness.

June meets a stranger at Finn’s funeral – someone who is also struggling with the loss – and as the two get to know each other, their unexpected friendship may be what they each need to heal.

Book Summary

In WW1 France, Sophie is forced to cater to the Germans who have taken over her town and hotel while her husband Édouard fights at the front. When the Kommandant sees a portrait of Sophie painted by Édouard, he becomes dangerously obsessed.

A century later, the painting of Sophie now hangs in the London home of Liv, a copywriter. The portrait, titled “The Girl You Left Behind,” was a wedding gift from her late husband, who unexpectedly died way too young. When she discovers the value of the art and learns about its troubled history, her world is turned upside down.

Book Summary

Ten-year-old Auggie has a facial deformity that previously prevented him from attending a traditional school. In his own words, “I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”

Wonder begins from Auggie’s point of view as he starts 5th grade but soon switches to include his classmates. While there are also chapters told from the perspective of his teenage sister, her boyfriend, and others, Auggie remains the focus of the story throughout. The multiple perspectives create a beautiful portrait of Auggie’s community as they struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

Book Summary

From the outside, Nick and Amy seemed to have a picture-perfect marriage. But on their fifth anniversary, Amy goes missing from their rented McMansion in the fictional town of North Carthage, along Missouri’s Mississippi River. Nick quickly becomes the prime suspect. Under the microscope of the resulting police investigation and media frenzy, it becomes apparent that their happy marriage might not have been so happy after all and that Nick – the town’s golden boy – might not be so squeaky clean.

Even as Amy’s fiercely doting parents put more pressure on him, Nick stands by his innocence. But if he didn’t do it, then where is his wife? And what’s in that gift box hidden in the back of Amy’s bedroom closet? Gone Girl combines sharp-edged wit and chilling prose to make reading this book feel like an addiction.

Book Summary

In May 1933, Seattle was covered with a surprise late snow. When single mother Vera returns from her night shift at the local hotel, she discovers that her three-year-old son Daniel has disappeared into the icy weather. While his teddy bear is found on the streets, new snow has covered any other tracks or clues.

Nearly 80 years later, in 2010, there’s another shocking May snowstorm in Seattle. Reporter Claire is assigned to write about the parallels to the 1933 “Blackberry Winter” storm. When she uncovers the story of Daniel’s disappearance, she refocuses her story on his case. The book alternates perspectives between Vera in 1933 & Claire in 2010.

Book Summary

This is the memoir of Jackie Kennedy’s personal secret service agent, who was with her throughout her years as First Lady. In this intimate portrait, Clint Hill recalls being by Jackie’s side for some of her happiest moments as well as the darkest.

He traveled the world with her, shared in intimate family moments in and out of the White House, and was with her in Dallas on 11/22/63 when he jumped onto the back of the President’s car to shield Mrs. Kennedy in the moments after her husband’s assassination – a tragic day that he recounts moment by moment in this book.

Book Summary

Tom and his 12-year-old son Rusty are a bit of an odd-couple family. Tom owns The Medicine Lodge, an isolated Northern Montana bar. Rusty wasn’t a planned child, and then his mother deserted them both. In 1960, Proxy, a dancer from Tom’s past, and Proxy’s daughter, Francine, arrive in town. Proxy claims that Francine is also Tom’s child.

The arrival of these unexpected guests upends everything Rusty thought he knew about his life. This novel is told through Rusty’s perspective using Doig’s skills in storytelling, humor, and character development.

Book Summary

This book starts in 2005 on Jolene’s 41st birthday. She’s been married 12 years and a member of the National Guard for even longer as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. When she’s sent to Iraq, her husband, who doesn’t understand her dedication to her career and country, tells her he no longer loves her.

She’s heartbroken when she arrives in Iraq, but thankfully, she has her best friend Tami by her side. The two encounter situations just as heartbreaking during their deployment. After reading about Jolene and Tami’s time deployed, some readers say they have a greater appreciation for our modern-day troops.

Book Summary

In 1915, Elizabeth arrived in Aleppo, Syria, as a volunteer with the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to help refugees from the Armenian genocide. During WW1, When she arrives, she meets Armen, an engineer. When he has to travel into Egypt to join the British Army, he stays in contact with Elizabeth via letters. As they correspond, he finds himself in love with the wealthy American who is so different than the wife he tragically lost.

In the present day, Laura is a novelist in New York. When an old friend claims to have seen a newspaper photo of her grandmother, she begins a journey back through her family’s history. Eventually, she discovers a wrenching secret that has been buried for decades.

Book Summary

If you need a good cry, grab Me Before You. It’s both heartbreaking and romantic. You’ll slowly come to love Lou and Will and their story.

Will is a successful and adventurous world traveler until he’s in a tragic accident. Louisa has barely left her small village. When she gets talked into a job taking care of him, she looks beyond his gruffness and hopes he will see that he can still enjoy life.

This book has the theme of assisted suicide, which increased in frequency for terminally ill patients throughout the 2000s

Book Summary

After fighting on the Western Front in WWI, Tom Sherbourne returns home and takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on an isolated island. It’s a half-day journey from the west coast of Australia, and supply boats only come once a season. During their years on the island, Tom and his wife, Isabel, suffer two miscarriages and a stillbirth. 

Then, a boat washes up onshore carrying a dead man and a crying baby. Against Tom’s judgment, the couple claims the baby is their own and raises her on the island. Two years later, when they return to mainland Australia, they must face the reality of their choice.

Book Summary

Sang Ly and her husband, Ki Lim, live in a shantytown built upon Cambodia’s largest municipal waste dump, where they make their living by picking recyclables from the trash.

Their poor living conditions are made even more challenging by their struggles to care for their chronically ill son, and to pay their ill-tempered “rent collector” named Sopeap. But when Sang discovers a secret about Sopeap, the two strike a deal that will change both of their lives.

Book Summary

As a teenager, Laurel escaped to her childhood treehouse during a party on the family farm. From this vantage point, she sees a stranger come up the road and speak to her mom. Later that afternoon, she witnesses a shocking crime that changes everything she knows about her family – especially the mother she idolizes.

Fifty years later, Laurel is now a successful actress living in London. When the family gathers for her mother’s 90th birthday, she realizes it may be one of her last chances to get answers to the questions that still haunt her from that day. Those answers will take readers into Dorothy’s past, spanning pre-WWII England through the Blitz, to the 1960s, and beyond.

Book Summary

Hazel has known her life would be cut short since she was first diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She reluctantly attends the “Cancer Kid Support Group” at the request of her mom, but what she finds there is the last thing she expected – first love.

Hazel and the charming Augustus Waters have many things in common, including their favorite author, whom they are determined to meet, even if they have to travel to Amsterdam to do it. 

Book Summary

This unique book is actually narrated by Bubo, the imaginary friend of 8-year-old Max. Because Max is on the spectrum, Bubo has been around years longer than most imaginary friends, and he worries about the day Max will spot believing in him. Bubo loves Max and does his best to protect him from bullies and guide him through potentially awkward situations. When something happens to Max at school, Bubo is the only one who knows about it and must figure out a way to save him, even though he can’t communicate with anyone else. 

Book Summary

The 1990s: Betty gave up a lot – universities, parties, boyfriends, and summer jobs – to care for her grandmother, Arlette. Arlette lives in a dilapidated yet charming home on the British Isle of Guernsey. When her grandmother passes away, Betty discovers that the will includes a beneficiary named Clara, whom no one in the family knows. So Betty travels to London to seek out Clara.

The 1920s: In the years after WW1, Arlette is starting a new life in bohemian London when she gets drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. A couple of years later, tragedy strikes, and Arlette flees back to her home in Guernsey for good.

This rich detective story will transport you to London in both the 1920s and 1990s. As Betty investigates her grandmother’s life, she’ll uncover secrets that might also help her find happiness in her own life.

Book Summary

Saul Indian Horse wants peace. After hitting rock bottom with alcohol and entering an inpatient treatment facility, he discovers that healing must come through telling his life story as a member of the Ojibway tribe. Throughout the book, you’ll walk through Saul’s history, which includes being taken from his family and sent to a residential school, which was a common tragedy for many indigenous children. His heritage was again attacked as he got older and experienced harsh racism.

While the book will open your eyes to the challenges faced by indigenous people in Canada, it also shares Saul’s joys along the way and describes the landscape of northern Ontario in detail.

Book Summary

Assistant District Attorney Andy is well respected in his suburban Massachusetts county. He’s had the position for over 20 years and is tenacious in the courtroom. At home, he’s happy with his wife, Laurie, and their fourteen-year-old son, Jacob.

When a shocking crime blindsided their small town, the next turn of events is even more shocking. Jacob is charged with the murder of a fellow student. While Andy doesn’t believe his son is capable of a violent act, he’s confused by the mounting evidence.

Book Summary

Patience Murphy is an Appalachian midwife during the Depression. She has to fight against disease, poverty, prejudices, and her past as she works to safely bring new life into the world. Initially, Patience must take the hardest jobs that no one else wants to gain community trust. Her patients are those most in need but least likely to pay.

Outside of her midwifery, Patience encounters the horrors of coal mining, the Labor movement’s Union Wars, and the Klu Klux Klan.

Book Summary

Dante and Ari are vastly different Mexican American teenagers living in El Paso. Ari has difficulty with words, struggles with self-doubt, and is overcome with thoughts of his brother in prison. He has built emotional walls to protect himself. 

Dante is articulate and self-assured, loves poetry and art, and has an open and unique perspective on the world. He’s the last person Ari would ever think could break down his walls.
Against all odds, they form a special bond that will teach them the most important truths about their lives and who they want to become. But there will also be significant hurdles in their way.

Book Summary

Abigail lives in the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks and designs sophisticated security systems. She keeps to herself and supplements her own home’s security with a fierce dog and firearms. Police Chief Brooks is intrigued by Abigail, and he suspects that her past is more complicated than she shares.

Twelve years earlier, Elizabeth was lured to a house on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Her mother was extremely controlling, so when she finally got to let loose at a club, she had too much to drink and left with a stranger.