Empire Falls
by Richard Russo
Empire Grill manager Miles Roby is an intelligent, mild-mannered, long-time resident of the past-its-prime Empire Falls. Led with the author's bittersweet humor, Miles tackles the memory of his mother (who wanted him to get out of Empire Falls); his everpresent, irresponsible father; his ex-wife and her new fiancee; and the oppressive owner of the Empire Grill and much of Empire Falls, Mrs. Whiting, with a relentless hold on the town. ...all while guiding his bright teenage daughter, Tick, toward adulthood.

Lucky
by Alice Sebold
Enormously visceral, emotionally gripping, and imbued with the belief that justice is possible even after the most horrific of crimes, Sebold's compelling memoir of her rape at the age of 18 is a story that takes hold and won't let go.

Peace like a river
by Leif Enger
Eleven-year-old Reuben Land, an asthmatic boy obsessed with cowboys, living in 1960s Minnesota, tells the story of his family's cross-country search for his outlaw older brother, who has been charged with murder.

Shadow Baby
by Alison McGhee
"Shadow Baby" is eleven-year-old Clara Winters' story. Clara, who lives with her no-frills mother Tara in the foothills of the Adirondacks, is obsessed by a need for family. She learns that she had a twin sister who died at birth; she knows she must have a father somewhere; she knows little bits and pieces about her mother's father, and that's all she has. In her search for information and attention, Clara meets an elderly immigrant who lives in a trailer park on the outskirts of her town. Their relationship, along with Clara's overactive fantasy life, finally brings her to learn the truth about her history.

Spilling Clarence
by Anne Ursu
After a fire at the local pharmaceutical factory, the panic-stricken townspeople of Clarence, Minnesota, fall under the spell of a strange and powerful drug that unlocks their memories. A bittersweet first novel, beautifully rendered with a light comic touch.