PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks

FIC
BROOKS

Hanna Heath, Rare Book Conservator, jumps at the change to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah. The book is an example of the earliest Jewish illuminated manuscripts, and Hanna traces its history using clues found in the book's binding. The trail leads through WWII-era Bosnia, late 19th century
Vienna, Venice during the Inquisition, and finally to the manuscript's creation around 1480 in Spain. The reader is privy to the Haggadah's secrets, though Hanna is not. She must cope with the newly-discovered identity of her father and the machinations of the art forgers.

GRANGE HOUSE by Sarah Blake

FIC

BLA

Though Maisie has always spent her summers in Maine at Grange House, the summer of 1898, when Maisie is seventeen, is different. The girl's parents are pushing her toward marriage, and the owner of Grange House, Miss Grange, hopes Maisie will have the mysterious "gift." She tries to show Maisie some of the Grange family history, real or imagined.

A terrible accident, however, kills Maisie's father, prompting Maisie to write about him after she returns home. On receiving Maisie's biography of her father, Miss Grange sends Maisie her own diaries.

Only when Maisie and her mother return to Grange House can Maisie sort fact from fiction and learn who she herself is and who she wants to be. This very Victorian telling of Maisie's story should appeal to women and girls who enjoy a Gothic atmosphere, beautiful detailed writing, and complex characterization.

COLD MOUNTAIN by Charles Frazier

FIC
FRAZIER

A love story and adventure featuring Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who walks out of a hospital ward, tired of war and senseless killing. He begins a long journey to see Ada, his sweetheart. Ada too has seen some hard times since her father's death. She has not a clue as to making the farm work and seems destined for failure until the arrival of Ruby.

Inman's trip back to his true love is long and treacherous, filled with solitude and savagery. Like Ada, Inman acquires the courage and tenacity to reach the end of his goal.