novels

• a thousand splendid suns, khaled hosseini
• becoming naomi leon, pam munoz ryan
• coraline, neil gaiman
• eggs, jerry spinelli
• i am the messenger, markus zusak
• it's kind of a funny story, ned vizzini
• like water for chocolate, laura esquivel
• the book thief, markus zusak
• the doll people, ann m. martin & laura godwin
• the house on mango street, sandra cisneros
• the joy luck club, amy tan
• the kite runner, khaled hosseini
• the secret invention of hugo cabret, brian selznick
• the view from saturday, e.l. konigsburg
• the westing game, ellen raskin

memoirs

• so much i want to tell you, anna akana
• tuesdays with morrie, mitch albom

graphic novels

• persepolis, marjane satrapi
• ichiro, ryan inzana

children's classics

• any patricia polacco book ever
• chris van allsburg's stuff, too
• alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, judith viorst
• junie b. jones, barbara park (r.i.p.)
• year of the dog, grace lin
• the if you give... series by laura numeroff
• david shannon's no david! series
• ann m. martin!!! fuk!!!! i lov her
• brian selznik, too, is a brilliant mind
• jerry spinelli, my dude