Intergenerational Novels: Books that Connect Generations

by Shelby Van Pelt
Tova, 70 years old; Cameron, 30 years old

Widower Tova began working at the Sowell Bay Aquarium to occupy her mind and time. She took pride in cleaning each night, even though she didn’t need the money. She loved all the aquarium life but formed a special bond with the intelligent but curmudgeonly octopus named Marcellus.

He’s just as surprised to feel friendly toward this human who visits him nightly. Soon, he connects the sadness he sees in her with something he saw in the ocean long ago. Can he help her solve the mystery of her 18-year-old son’s disappearance decades ago?

The story is told from three alternating viewpoints - those of Tova and Marcellus, as well as Cameron. Cameron is an aimless 30-year-old who was abandoned by his mother when he was just a child. His aunt did her best to raise him, but his life has been a series of dead-end jobs. He travels to Sowell Bay in search of answers that may give his life direction. He winds up taking a temporary position at the aquarium.

The Book Girls Say… Marcellus stole our hearts, but we also loved the human characters and their struggles in different phases of life. Young or older, so many people deal with loneliness and loss. Watching characters process and evolve through that was a heartwarming treat. This book is also featured on our list of Best Books of 2022.

Book Club Alert
This novel makes a great book club discussion when you need a less-intense title. We have a full Book Club Kit for Remarkably Bright Creatures available to help guide your meeting.

By Freya Sampson
Frank, 82; Libby, 29

Libby is in her own world as she arrives in London, broken-hearted and with life a mess. The first person she meets is an elderly man named Frank. They meet on the bus when Frank explains that he met a beautiful girl on bus 88 in 1962, and they made plans to visit the National Gallery together. But then Frank lost the ticket with her phone number. So every day for 60 years, he’s ridden the same bus hoping to run into her again.

Libby can’t just walk away from such a romantic and heartbreaking story. She enlists the help of an unlikely companion and creates posters advertising their search for the mystery girl. As they try to find her, Frank’s dementia is progressing quickly, teaching Libby important lessons about embracing happiness before it’s too late.

The Book Girls Say… Readers say this book will give you all the feels but is ultimately uplifting and will restore your faith in humanity. This book is titled “The Girl on the 88 Bus” in the UK.

by Diana Rosie
Alberto, an old man; Tino, 7 years old

Alberto knows he is an old man now, but he doesn’t know how old. In fact, he doesn’t even know his birthday. He arrived at an orphanage during the Spanish civil war and remembers nothing about his childhood before that time.

Grandson Tino is surprised to learn that his grandfather has never had a birthday party, received presents, or blown out candles on a cake. But he wants this to change, so Alberto and Tino set out on an adventure to find Alberto’s birthday.

The hunt for his past takes them into the heart of Spain, transporting you back to the Spanish civil war as they work through details from Alberto’s difficult childhood.

by Bella Osborne
Maggie, 72; Tom, teenage

Teenager Tom uses the library to escape from an unhappy present and what feels like it will be an unhappy future stuck working at the dog food factory. Pensioner Maggie finds him suspicious.

She’s been alone for ten years now and tells herself she is happy. When she has to be rescued by Tom, an unlikely friendship begins. As Maggie teaches Tom to stand up for himself, Tom helps Maggie realize that her future doesn’t have to be defined by her past.

Together, they’re an unstoppable force when they set out to prove that the local library is about so much more than books.

by Jean E. Pendziwol
Elizabeth, elderly; Morgan, teen

Set on beautiful Lake Superior, this book explores a family's history and deep connection to a lighthouse. Elizabeth lives in a senior home and has a sharp mind, but has lost her sight. She fills the void with music and memories, which spring to life when her late father's journals are found in the ruins of an old shipwreck.

Morgan is a troubled teen assigned to community service at Elizabeth's home. With her help, Elizabeth reads through her father's journal, with each entry taking Morgan and Elizabeth back in time 70 years. He was the lighthouse keeper on isolated Porphyry Island. As the unlikely duo reads, they realize their fates are connected to the remote island and each other in unexpected ways.

The Book Girls Say…Don’t miss the author's notes at the end of the book! She explains more about the real lighthouse and Lake Superior. One reviewer notes that there is more swearing than she expected based on the cover, so keep that in mind if you're sensitive to language.

by Sarah Morgan
Kathleen, 80; Martha, 25; Liza, 50s

Kathleen is living independently at 80 years old and rather impressed with the way she handled a recent scary situation with an intruder. However, her daughter Liza thinks this incident is a prime example of why Kathleen should move to a senior home.

Not only does Kathleen not want to move, she’s also ready for a new adventure traveling down Rt 66 in search of an old friend. Liza’s already stressed and has no time to drive across the country with her mom.

So, Kathleen publishes an ad for a driver and companion to travel with her across America. When 25-year-old Martha sees the ad, she thinks it could solve all her problems. How much trouble could an 80-year-old be?

The Book Girls Say…This work of women’s contemporary fiction has a romance storyline as well, which surprised some readers.

by Viola Shipman
Iris, elderly; Abby, a young mother

After losing her husband in WWII and her daughter to illness, Iris walled herself off from the world. She’s spent many decades hiding behind the tall fence around her home. In place of human connection, Iris has surrounded herself with a family of flowers - propagating her daylilies and roses and tending to a garden that helps her keep alive the memories of those she loved.

In the early 2000s, Abby is a young mother whose husband has recently returned from military service in Iraq. When Abby’s family rents a cottage along Lake Michigan, next door to Iris’ property, the older woman can’t help but view the young family as a window to the life she once had.

As Iris and Abby are drawn together by their shared love of flowers, the friendship that blossoms between them is a testament to the healing power of both gardening and human connection.

The Book Girls Say… Through this book, we get to see Iris’ life both in the past and the present. Readers particularly enjoy the audio version of this heartwarming book because of the two different narrators who read for Iris and Abby. Keep the tissues nearby as you read because you’re sure to shed a few cathartic tears.

by Marianne Cronin
Lenni, 17; Margot, 83

Lenni is only 17 years old, but she has a terminal illness. Despite the devastating impacts of her disease and the drugs she has to take to manage it, Lenni is determined to live every moment that she can, even if she can’t leave the hospital.

Escaping to the hospital’s crafts room, Lenni enrolls in an art class where she gets to know Margot, an 83-year-old fellow rebel with heart problems. As their unexpected friendship grows, the pair realize that between the two of them, they’ve lived an entire century of life. To celebrate this milestone, they decide to paint their life stories - joy, kindness, loss, and love.

The Book Girls Say… This is a tearjerker, but readers say that it’s ultimately uplifting and worth every tear! Although this is a tender and touching story, it’s also disarmingly funny at times, with plenty of snarkiness and shenanigans.

This book is said to be especially good on audio, with two different narrators doing the voices of Lenni and Margot.

by Elizabeth Wetmore
Gloria, 14; Mary Rose, 26; Corinne, older widow; Debra Ann, 10; Suzanne, housewife; Karla, 17

In 1976, Odessa, Texas, the next great oil boom was on the horizon. But then, the town is rocked by a brutal crime against a fourteen-year-old girl in one of the oil fields.

This novel is told through several different female voices, from girls to widows, each with their own unique backstory and circumstances. It explores the lasting effects of the crime on not only the girl but on other women in the town as well.

The Book Girls Say... Based on other reviews stating there were too many disconnected characters, Melissa was concerned about going into this book. However, after reading, she thought the author made all the proper connections between them. The links were clear as long as you didn't rush through the pages. Much of the beauty and brilliance in the book was found in single sentences peppered in to pull things together.

Melissa enjoyed each woman's individual story and loved how they intertwined. She found it to be a story of survival in terrible circumstances and how we often have to rely on others. Each character was saved by others in different ways. It's a heavy read, but worth it.

by Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna & her four grandparents

To most of the world, George and Barbara Bush were the President and First Lady of the United States, but to Jenna Bush Hager, they were something even more important - they were Gampy and Ganny. In this heartfelt and touching memoir, Jenna paints an intimate portrait of all four of her grandparents - the Bushes, who lived in the national spotlight, and the Welches, who lived a much quieter life as a home builder and a homemaker in Midland, Texas.

Throughout this moving book, Jenna recalls her favorite memories of her grandparents and shares the lessons they taught her about respect, humility, kindness, living a life of passion, and appreciating the beauty in the smallest things.

The Book Girls Say… The audiobook, read by Jenna herself, brings these stories to life. You experience her joy and sorrow as she celebrates the memories of her grandparents and mourns their loss.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Allie, 15; Bea, 70-something

Ever since her husband died, Bea has been barely making ends meet. When she falls victim to a phone scam, she loses everything. She heads for the Pacific Ocean with nothing but her cat, her old van, and ⅔ of a tank of gas.

Fifteen-year-old Allie is sent to live in a group home after her parents are sent to jail on tax fraud charges. Allie doesn’t feel safe in the home and escapes, but she has nowhere to go.

When Bea and Allie’s paths cross, they are reluctant to trust one another. As they warily make their way up the Pacific Coast together, they form a friendship that becomes more like the family they both desperately need.

The Book Girls Say… Catherine Ryan Hyde is also the author of Have You Seen Luis Velez?, which was very popular with our readers!

Reviewers say Allie and Bea are both very well-drawn and realistically flawed characters. Through their unexpected friendship, both are forced to see shades of gray in their formerly black-and-white worlds. This is an excellent option if you’re looking for a heartwarming read!

by Samantha Tonge
Faye, 78; Robin, 48; Amber, 18

When Robin ran away to London at the age of 16, she never intended to return home to her cantankerous mother, Faye. But when Faye has a fall, Robin feels compelled to help her. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but this is not true among these women.

When Robin was young, her father used to take her on a treasure hunt each Sunday. While carrying for her mother, Robin finds one last unopened scroll from her father. When Amber, Robin’s daughter, arrives to meet her grandmother for the first time, Amber is determined that they must solve this final treasure hunt riddle. And doing so might just change everything for these three women.

The Book Girls Say… Readers describe this multigenerational story as delightful, funny, heartbreaking, insightful, and original. Although it’s written simply and straightforwardly, the book is said to pack unexpected depth. It may take you a few chapters to warm up to the characters, but you’ll soon be invested in their quest to solve Robin’s father’s final clue.

As a bonus, the book is filled with great 80’s nostalgia when Robin revisits the room and the memories she left behind as a teenager.

by Melissa Payne
Nora, Jasmine, Marlene, Lewis, and Vlado (various ages)

Colorado librarian Nora had a rough start to life, first orphaned and then witnessing her brother's fall into addiction. However, she's still open-hearted and hopes to be reunited with her brother. Nora feeds her desire to give her brother another chance by helping others in need of someone on their side.

Marlene is elderly and has lost hope in the world, Jasmine is a troubled teen, Lewis is a homeless man with his own last wish, and Vlado is the library's book-loving security guard.

When the group has to shelter in the library with Nora during a storm, they learn more about each other (and themselves) than they could have expected.

by Sara Nisha Adams
Aleisha, teen; Mukesh, widower

When teenage library worker Aleisha finds a list of little-known novels in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird, she decides to read every book on the list. Each story is magical to her for different reasons.

Widower Mukesh worries about his bookworm granddaughter, Priya. To connect with her, he visits the library and meets Aleisha. When she shares the found list with him, they begin to form an unexpected friendship and discover the healing that is desperately needed for each of them.

by Jon Cohen
Harry, 34; Oriana, 9

Harry has always loved trees, but he spends his days stuck behind a computer as an analyst in a treeless US Forest Service office. After his wife dies suddenly and tragically, Harry can’t seem to move forward. One day he decides to follow the advice his wife always gave him - he quits his job and escapes to the remote woods of northeastern Pennsylvania to be with the trees.

There he meets Oriana, a young girl who has suffered a significant loss of her own. She spends most of her time in the forest with her book in the treehouse her father bought for her. They bond over their love of the forest and the trees.

The octogenarian librarian in town gives Oriana a strange, handwritten book called The Grum’s Ledger. With this book as their guide, Oriana helps Harry believe in the magic, if only he’s willing to open his eyes and see it.

The Book Girls Say… Because of its thread of magical realism, some describe this book as a fairy tale for adults. But it’s more than that. It’s a story of grief, sadness, and the power of friendship and connection. This story is told from many points of view, including Harry and Oriana’s, as well as numerous others - but it’s written in a way that it’s easy to follow and understand.

by Christina Baker Kline
Vivian, 91; Molly, 18

During the 80 years leading up to the Great Depression, so-called Orphan Trains transported children from cities on the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest. The fates of the children on board - whether they would end up with loving families or end up with a childhood of hard labor - was determined by pure luck.

Vivian - now 91 - was one of those children, and her childhood memories are tucked inside the trunks in her attic. Eighteen-year-old Molly is aging out of the foster care system and is assigned community service helping the elderly Vivian clean out her home. She will soon learn that the two have much more in common than she ever expected.

The Book Girls say… While some have criticized the book as seeming like a young adult novel, Melissa enjoyed the story and characters.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

by Lori Nelson Spielman
Emilia, 29; Lucy, 21; Poppy, 80

Two hundred years ago, Filomena Fontana cursed her sister. Ever since then, every 2nd born sister in the Fontana family has been unable to find love.

Some of the women believe in the curse, and others are skeptical. When elderly Aunt Poppy invites Emilia and Lucy, two of the young second-born sisters, to return to Italy with her, promising that she has a plan to break the curse, they can't pass up the chance. As this trio of very different women travels through Italy, they’ll learn about their family history, uncover long-buried secrets, and form a bond that will help them each find exactly what they need.

The Book Girls Say… If you're looking for a book to get lost in, this is a charming read filled with vivid, atmospheric details! Although it’s a lighter read, it’s filled with many beautiful and insightful quotes about life and happiness that will have you reaching for a pen so that you can jot them down and return to them later.

The narrator's Italian accent makes the audiobook especially enjoyable.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
96% Would Recommend to a Friend

by Lynda Rutledge
Woody, 17; Riley Jones, an “old man”

West with Giraffes is a charming tale of adventure that takes you on the ride of a lifetime from the east coast of the US to the west, alongside a rowdy 17-year-old, a grumpy older man, and two giraffes.

In 1938, no American zoo had ever successfully housed giraffes. But the female zoo director of San Diego Zoo believed she could do it. After the giraffes survived a hurricane en route to the east coast, Riley Jones, the zoo’s curmudgeonly head keeper was charged with safely transporting the giraffes from New York to San Diego.

America was still in the throes of the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl conditions ravaged the drought-stricken Southern Plains states. A coast-to-coast trek with giant animals would be no easy feat. Jones begrudgingly teamed up with a starving teenager named Woody to help him make the journey. The adventures along the way included run-ins with circus con artists, being tailed by a female photographer looking for a big scoop, an emotional visit to Woody’s hometown, and so much more.

The Book Girls Say… At its heart (and this book is filled with LOTS of heart), this is Woody’s coming-of-age story in which Riley Jones takes on the role of a father figure/mentor. Now, at the age of 105, Woody recounts his 12-day cross-country trip with Jones and the giraffes and how it shaped his life.

This book is available with Kindle Unlimited as of 11/6/22.

PS: We have a West with Giraffes book club guide with discussion questions, as well as a printable version available on Etsy that also includes bonus giraffe content, a custom bookmark, and more!

by Ruth Hogan
Marsha, middle-aged; Kitty, 70; Sally, age unknown

Years after a tragic accident, Masha still hasn't returned to her spunky former self. She has only one companion - her dog Haizum.

Then, she meets Kitty and Sally Red Shoes. Kitty is a septuagenarian roller disco aficionado. Sally is a bag lady with an amazing voice. Their wisdom and insight aid Masha's return to life and help to open her eyes to new possibilities.

These unexpected relationships show the enormous power of friendship and the importance of being open to new friends.

by Clare Pooley
Julian, 70-something; five additional characters of various ages

This is the story of a green notebook that brings six strangers together, leading to unexpected friendships and even love.

Julian is an eccentric artist in his 70s. He’s frustrated that more people aren't more honest with each other. He shares his feelings in a notebook, then leaves it in a cafe. The owner, Monica, adds her thoughts and leaves the notebook across the street at a wine bar.

As former strangers find the notebook and share their authentic selves, they begin to learn that instead of being scary, being yourself brings happiness.

The Book Girls Say… This is a charming, feel-good novel with a side of romance. Readers say that you’ll need to suspend your disbelief at some points in the story, but this book will leave you with a smile on your face.

by Beth O'Leary
Leena, 29; Eileen, 79

When Londoner Leena Cotton is forced to take a two-month sabbatical from work after a disastrous presentation, she escapes to her grandmother's house in a small village in Yorkshire, England. Her grandmother, Eileen, is about to turn 80 and hopes her next decade might include a second chance at love.

Convinced that her grandmother will have better luck in the romance department if she heads to the big city, Leena convinces Eileen to swap her places and move into Leena's London apartment.

This warm and charming novel follows this grandmother and granddaughter duo as they aim to reset their lives after a difficult loss.

The Book Girls Say… Although Eileen's search for love plays a role in this story, we wouldn't describe this book as a romance. Instead, it's a character-driven story about a wide variety of relationships. We recommend the audio version for the full experience with accents!

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend