Anju and Sudha, cousins in an upper-caste Calcutta family, grow up together, bonded by fate and heart, but their lives take opposite turns when they are urged into arranged marriages, until tragedy brings them back together again.

Liz says:

“Beautifully written book about family, loyalty, and cultural pressures. This is one of the group’s favorites”

Translation of: Sombra del viento. In 1945 Spain, the young son of an antique-book dealer searches for more books by Julian Carax, an author he has recently discovered, and finds that everything Carax has ever written has been destroyed–and that his search has put his friends and family in danger.

Liz says:

“This story transports you to another time and place and takes you on a journey following the mystery of Julian Carax and his mysterious writings. The story is historically interesting and is also a coming of age story.”

Overweight and nerdy Oscar lives with his Dominican American mother and sister in New Jersey and dreams of becoming a renowned author and finding true love, but unfortunately, a family curse stands in the way of his wishes.

Liz says:

“This is a bit hard to get into but it’s well worth the wait. The reader is purposely meant to feel like an outsider, mimicking the immigrant experience. We don’t even know who the narrator is until well into the book and Diaz uses Spanish and Spanglish words and terms that are unfamiliar. Ultimately, however, we very much get into Oscar’s head and sense the enormity of his personal angst and utter sense of loneliness. Mixed in with all of this is a sense of humor giving the book some levity.”