These LA Public Library recommendations can help your family celebrate Thanksgiving.
As the holidays return, Alive! publishes recommendations from our favorite Library – Los Angeles Public Library – for your seasonal reading pleasure and to remember the point of the holiday, gratitude.
These suggestions are available through the LAPL, either as hard-cover loans or digital downloads. Go to: www.lapl.org
Thanks to the LAPL Librarians who took the time to make these recommendations to Club Members.
Look for a Christmas/Hanukkah/winter holiday installment next month.
Recommendations by:
- Literature and Fiction Dept., Los Angeles Public Library
- Teen’Scape, Los Angeles Public Library
- Children’s Literature Dept., Los Angeles Public Library
- Compiled by: Susan Lendroth, Los Angeles Public Library
For Adult Readers
Start Without Me
Josh Feldman
Adam is a recovering alcoholic who is decidedly not looking forward to his first Thanksgiving home in years. Marissa is a flight attendant in a rocky marriage worried about Thanksgiving with her in-laws. When these two anxious flyers meet in an airport restaurant on Thanksgiving morning, they form a bond over their family drama, their not-so-rosy pasts and their tenuous futures.
Thanksgiving Night
Richard Bausch
Feuding elderly roommates; a priest considering leaving the Church; partners in a fragile marriage; and new members of the community all make up the cast of characters in this celebration of family set during the Thanksgiving season.
Thanksgiving in Cherry Hills
Paige Sleuth
When good Samaritan Sylvia Garcia is robbed of her Thanksgiving groceries intended for the local homeless shelter, amateur detective Kat Harper is on the case. Will Kat and her two cat helpers be able to find the thief and save Thanksgiving?
Nothing Much Happens: Cozy and Calming Stories to Soothe Your Mind and Help You Sleep
Kathryn Nicolai
Culled from the popular podcast of the same name, this gem of a collection features soothing stories in which very little happens, but which leave the reader feeling comforted and relaxed. The stories follow the seasons, so several are set in the fall, including one entitled The Day After Thanksgiving. Highly recommended for those days (and bedtimes) when you need to shift into a gentler gear and enjoy a short comfort read, which seems especially apropos as we head into the holiday season.
Still life
Louise Penny
This is the first book in the popular and highly acclaimed Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series penned by award-winning Canadian author Louise Penny. This particular story centers (appropriately enough) around the corpse of a woman that has been found in a remote wooded area on Thanksgiving morning. The locals are sure it’s just a tragic hunting accident, but Gamache cries foul, and an expertly crafted puzzle plot ensues. Penny’s quirky yet three-dimensional characters and solid writing chops will delight any reader of ingenious whodunnits.
For Teen/Young Adult Readers
The Upside of Unrequited
Becky Albertalli
From the award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda comes a funny, authentic novel about sisterhood, love and identity. Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. Scenes from a Thanksgiving family get-together are included in this book, which emphasizes themes of love and acceptance in familial bonds.
Turtles All the Way Down
John Green
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a $100,000 reward at stake, and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis. Aza is trying: She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. This moving book explores mental health concerns and uses Thanksgiving family get-togethers as a setting for character growth.
The Best Kind of Magic
Crystal Cestari
Amber Sand has the magical ability to envision anyone’s soulmate, but when Charlie Blitzman, the Chicago mayor’s son and most-desired boy in school, comes to Amber for help in finding his father’s missing girlfriend, Amber sadly sees that Charlie is not destined for her. This novel, which takes place in a magically reimagined world where magic and reality collide, has a Thanksgiving feast that emphasizes friendship and family ties.
This Day Changes Everything
Edward Underhill
Abby Akerman believes in the Universe. After all, her Midwest high school marching band is about to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City — if that’s not proof that magical things can happen, what is? New York also happens to be the setting of her favorite romance novel, making it the perfect place for Abby to finally tell her best friend Kat that she’s in love with her (and, um, gay). She’s carefully annotated a copy of the book as a gift for Kat, and she’s counting on the Universe to provide an Epic Scene worthy of her own rom-com.
Only Mostly Devastated
Sophie Gonzales
In this modern-day romance, Ollie’s Thanksgiving plans are derailed by a family emergency. In the midst of the mayhem, he decides to attend his crush Will’s family celebration, which exposes him to new ethnic customs and reignites his romance.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Jenny Han
After sending covert love letters to her former admirers, Lara Jean Covey must deal with her emotions. The Thanksgiving scene highlights her struggles with family dynamics and dealing with her mother’s death, as she attempts to prepare dinner for her family while dealing with the emotional weight of her situation.
For Young Adult Readers
Elmo Gives Thanks
Erin Guendelsberger
The Sesame Street gang shares the things that they are thankful for, encouraging little kids to do the same.
The Pie That Molly Grew
Sue Heavenrich
A cumulative rhyme tells the life cycle of a pumpkin, from seed to pie to harvest feast! Includes a recipe for making pumpkin pie from scratch.
It’s Fall!
Renée Kurilla
Told in rhyming text, this book celebrates all the delightful things fall has to offer: cozy clothing, doughnuts and cider, trick-or-treating and Thanksgiving feasts – a special season indeed.
Bless Our Pets: Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends
Various; illustratied by Lita Judge
The estimable Lee Bennett Hopkins has produced another worthy anthology with contributions from Lois Lowry, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Ann Whitford Paul, Joan Bransfielf Graham and many others, celebrating the joys reaped from our relationships with domestic critters of all sizes. Though not specific to the holiday, this book captures the spirit of gratitude, and is enhanced by charming illustrations.
Simple Thanks
Deborah Wiles; illustrated by Bao Luu
Simple Thanks is a sweet rhyme of appreciation for the gifts of nature and the connection of love that binds us. Endearing illustrations depict children of varying ethnicities and abilities enjoying the world outside and the comforts of home. A non-religious prayer of gratitude.
