Aarthy.k's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 10 Jul 2024 18:19:37 -0700 60 Aarthy.k's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg City of Girls 42135029
Now ninety-five years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it.

Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.]]> 470 Elizabeth Gilbert 1594634734 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.00 2019 City of Girls
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
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]]> Lady Tan’s Circle of Women 62919732
According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,� but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus , they tell from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? A captivating story of women helping each other, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.]]> 352 Lisa See 1982117087 Aarthy.k 0 currently-reading 4.31 2023 Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
author: Lisa See
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2023
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]]> <![CDATA[The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane]]> 30753646
Slowly, Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, begins to reject the customs that shaped her early life. When she has a baby out of wedlock she rejects the tradition that would compel her to give the child over to be killed, and instead leaves her, wrapped in a blanket with a tea cake tucked in its folds, near an orphanage in a nearby city.

As Li-yan comes into herself, leaving her village for an education, a business, and city life, her daughter, Haley, is raised in California by loving adoptive parents. Despite her privileged childhood, Haley wonders about her origins. Across the ocean Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. Over the course of years, each searches for meaning in the study of Pu’er, the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for centuries.]]> 370 Lisa See 1501154826 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.24 2017 The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
author: Lisa See
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2017
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]]> <![CDATA[The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo]]> 32620332
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the �80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 Aarthy.k 0 4.39 2017 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
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]]> Lessons in Chemistry 58065033 390 Bonnie Garmus Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.23 2022 Lessons in Chemistry
author: Bonnie Garmus
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
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]]> A Great Country 200541252 From the New York Times bestselling author, a novel in the tradition of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, exploring the ties and fractures of a close-knit Indian-American family in the aftermath of a violent encounter with the police.

Pacific Hills, California: Gated communities, ocean views, well-tended lawns, serene pools, and now the new home of the Shah family. For the Shah parents, who came to America twenty years earlier with little more than an education and their new marriage, this move represents the culmination of years of hard work and dreaming. For their children, born and raised in America, success is not so simple.

For the most part, these differences among the five members of the Shah family are minor irritants, arguments between parents and children, older and younger siblings. But one Saturday night, the twelve-year-old son is arrested. The fallout from that event will shake each family member's perception of themselves as individuals, as community members, as Americans, and will lead each to consider: how do we define success? At what cost comes ambition? And what is our role and responsibility in the cultural mosaic of modern America?

For readers of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, A Great Country explores themes of immigration, generational conflict, social class and privilege as it reconsiders the myth of the model minority and questions the price of the American dream.


]]> 336 Shilpi Somaya Gowda 0385688962 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.95 2024 A Great Country
author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.95
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]]> <![CDATA[கரையோர முதலைகள் [Karaiyora Mudhalaigal]]]> 14076861
வீட்டு வேலை மொத்தமும� முடித்து, மறுபடி முகம� கழுவ�, பவுடர் பூசி, மையெழுதி, பீரோவிலிருந்து வாசனையெழப் பிரித்து உடுத்திக்கொள்ளும� நேரம்தான�. தன� முகம� தனக்குப் பிடித்துப் போகும். நேரம்தான�. இந்த எட்டரை மண� காலைதான் சந்தோஷமா� நேரம�.

நிறை� பேர் விடியலைத்தான� நல்ல நேரம� என்கிறார்கள். விடியல� என்பது சற்ற� அமைதியானது. சந்தோஷம் துக்கம� ஏதுமற்றத�. நிதானமானது.]]> 320 Balakumaran Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.09 கரையோர முதலைகள் [Karaiyora Mudhalaigal]
author: Balakumaran
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.09
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]]> ஏழாம� உலகம� 10161322 287 Jeyamohan Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.11 2003 ஏழாம் உலகம்
author: Jeyamohan
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2003
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]]> Sparks Like Stars 53746807
Smuggled out of the palace by a guard named Shair, Sitara finds her way to the home of a female American diplomat, who adopts her and raises her in America. In her new country, Sitara takes on a new name—Aryana Shepherd—and throws herself into her studies, eventually becoming a renowned surgeon.

New York, 2008: Thirty years after that fatal night in Kabul, Aryana’s world is rocked again when an elderly patient appears in her examination room—a man she never expected to see again. It is Shair, the soldier who saved her, yet may have murdered her entire family. Seeing him awakens Aryana’s fury and desire for answers—and, perhaps, revenge.]]> 464 Nadia Hashimi 0063008289 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.27 2021 Sparks Like Stars
author: Nadia Hashimi
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, #1)]]> 50607466 Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel.

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own�

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.]]> 384 Alka Joshi 0778310205 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.14 2020 The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, #1)
author: Alka Joshi
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2020
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]]> The Remains of the Day 28921 Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0571225381 here.

In the summer of 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper.]]> 258 Kazuo Ishiguro Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.14 1989 The Remains of the Day
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1989
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]]> The Shape of Family 43801623 From the international bestselling author of Secret Daughter and The Golden Son comes a poignant, unforgettable novel about a family's growing apart and coming back together in the wake of tragedy.

The Olander family embodies the modern American Dream in a globalized world. Jaya, the cultured daughter of an Indian diplomat and Keith, an ambitious banker from middle-class Philadelphia, meet in a London pub in 1988 and make a life together in suburban California. Their strong marriage is built on shared beliefs and love for their two children: headstrong teenager Karina and young son Prem, the light of their home.

But love and prosperity cannot protect them from sudden, unspeakable tragedy, and the family’s foundation cracks as each member struggles to seek a way forward. Jaya finds solace in spirituality. Keith wagers on his high-powered career. Karina focuses relentlessly on her future and independence. And Prem watches helplessly as his once close-knit family drifts apart.

When Karina heads off to college for a fresh start, her search for identity and belonging leads her down a dark path, forcing her and her family to reckon with the past, the secrets they’ve held and the weight of their choices.

The Shape of Family is an intimate portrayal of four individuals as they grapple with what it means to be a family and how to move from a painful past into a hopeful future. It is a profoundly moving exploration of the ways we all seek belonging—in our families, our communities and ultimately, within ourselves.]]> 316 Shilpi Somaya Gowda 0062933221 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.79 2019 The Shape of Family
author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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]]> Cinnamon Gardens 181345
A young teacher, Annalukshmi, whose splintered family attempts to arrange an appropriate marriage for her, must decide whether the independence she craves will doom her to a life without love and companionship.

It is also the story of Balendran who, respectably married, must suppress-or confront-the secret desires for men that threaten to throw his life into chaos. With sensuous atmosphere and vivid prose, this masterfully plotted novel re-creates a world where a beautiful veneer of fragrant gardens and manners hides social, personal, and political issues still relevant today.]]> 360 Shyam Selvadurai 0156013282 Aarthy.k 0 currently-reading 3.88 1998 Cinnamon Gardens
author: Shyam Selvadurai
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> The God of Small Things 9777
Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, they fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family—their lonely, lovely mother, Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother, Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), their enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt), and the ghost of an imperial entomologist's moth (with unusually dense dorsal tufts).

When their English cousin, Sophie Mol, and her mother, Margaret Kochamma, arrive on a Christmas visit, Esthappen and Rahel learn that Things Can Change in a Day. That lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever, beside their river "graygreen." With fish in it. With the sky and trees in it. And at night, the broken yellow moon in it.

The brilliantly plotted story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability. Yet nothing prepares you for what lies at the heart of it.

The God of Small Things takes on the Big Themes—Love. Madness. Hope. Infinite Joy. Here is a writer who dares to break the rules. To dislocate received rhythms and create the language she requires, a language that is at once classical and unprecedented. Arundhati Roy has given us a book that is anchored to anguish, but fueled by wit and magic.]]> 321 Arundhati Roy 0679457313 Aarthy.k 5 to-read 3.97 1997 The God of Small Things
author: Arundhati Roy
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1997
rating: 5
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]]> The Painted Veil 99664 The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful, but love-starved Kitty Fane.

When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small but effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.

The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive.]]> 246 W. Somerset Maugham 0307277771 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.95 1925 The Painted Veil
author: W. Somerset Maugham
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1925
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]> 374 Suzanne Collins Aarthy.k 3 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 3
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]]> Insurgent (Divergent, #2) 11735983
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.]]> 525 Veronica Roth 0007442912 Aarthy.k 2 3.97 2012 Insurgent (Divergent, #2)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 2
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]]> Divergent (Divergent, #1) 13335037
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.]]> 487 Veronica Roth 0062024035 Aarthy.k 3 4.13 2011 Divergent (Divergent, #1)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2011
rating: 3
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]]> Matched (Matched, #1) 7735333
Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one…until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.]]> 369 Ally Condie 0525423648 Aarthy.k 1 3.62 2010 Matched (Matched, #1)
author: Ally Condie
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2010
rating: 1
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]]> Delirium (Delirium, #1) 11614718 There is an alternate cover edition for this ISBN13 here.

In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn't about to make the same mistake.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the "Wilds" who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?]]> 441 Lauren Oliver 0061726834 Aarthy.k 2 3.94 2011 Delirium (Delirium, #1)
author: Lauren Oliver
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 2
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]]> Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) 9593911 Zrozpaczona przystępuje do ruchu oporu, by walczyć o wolność i [miłość]. Na jej drodze staje tajemniczy Julian.

Czy można pokochać największego wroga?]]> 375 Lauren Oliver 006197806X Aarthy.k 1 4.03 2012 Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)
author: Lauren Oliver
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2012
rating: 1
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]]> <![CDATA[Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)]]> 3236307
She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.]]> 471 Kristin Cashore 015206396X Aarthy.k 1 4.07 2008 Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)
author: Kristin Cashore
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2008
rating: 1
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]]> Legend (Legend, #1) 9275658
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Alternate Cover edition for ISBN 9780399256752
]]> 305 Marie Lu Aarthy.k 2 4.16 2011 Legend (Legend, #1)
author: Marie Lu
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 2
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]]> <![CDATA[City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)]]> 3777732 Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.]]> 541 Cassandra Clare 1416914307 Aarthy.k 1 4.27 2009 City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2009
rating: 1
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]]> The Secret Life of Bees 37435 The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.]]> 302 Sue Monk Kidd 0142001740 Aarthy.k 5 4.10 2001 The Secret Life of Bees
author: Sue Monk Kidd
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2001
rating: 5
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]]> Secret Daughter 6905012
The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away. It is a decision that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again.

Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destinies of these two women. We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha's journey of self-discovery leads her back to India.

Compulsively readable and deeply touching, SECRET DAUGHTER is a story of the unforeseen ways in which our choices and families affect our lives, and the indelible power of love in all its many forms.]]> 339 Shilpi Somaya Gowda 0061922315 Aarthy.k 5 3.99 2010 Secret Daughter
author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2010
rating: 5
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]]> The Alchemist 865 197 Paulo Coelho 0061122416 Aarthy.k 5 3.85 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1988
rating: 5
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]]> Like Water for Chocolate 6952
The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes.

A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation, Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her, so that Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.]]> 222 Laura Esquivel Aarthy.k 3 3.96 1989 Like Water for Chocolate
author: Laura Esquivel
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1989
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)]]> 256683
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...]]> 485 Cassandra Clare 1416914285 Aarthy.k 3 4.08 2007 City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 3
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]]> This Girl (Slammed, #3) 15784909 Librarian's Note: The ISBN 9789383260195 for this book was also used by "Shekhar Kapur's Devi - Vol. 1" by Samit Basu.

There are two sides to every love story. Now hear Will’s.

Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache.

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 938326019X Aarthy.k 1 3.74 2013 This Girl (Slammed, #3)
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2013
rating: 1
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]]> <![CDATA[Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2)]]> 13496084 Hardships and heartache brought them together� now it will tear them apart.

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.’]]> 230 Colleen Hoover Aarthy.k 1 4.30 2012 Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2)
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2012
rating: 1
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]]> Slammed (Slammed, #1) 13372690
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.]]> 317 Colleen Hoover Aarthy.k 3 4.28 2012 Slammed (Slammed, #1)
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2012
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[New Moon (The Twilight Saga, #2)]]> 49041 There is an alternate cover edition for ISBN13 9780316160193 here.

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect - not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can't make your body move fast enough.... But this was no dream, and, unlike the nightmare, I wasn't running for my life; I was racing to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me today.

FOR BELLA SWAN THERE IS ONE THING more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning....

LEGIONS OF READERS ENTRANCED BY THE New York Times bestseller Twilight are hungry for the continuing story of star-crossed lovers Bell and Edward. In New Moon, Stephanie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural spin. passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.]]> 563 Stephenie Meyer 0316160199 Aarthy.k 2 3.61 2006 New Moon (The Twilight Saga, #2)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2006
rating: 2
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]]> <![CDATA[Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, #3)]]> 428263 "BELLA?"
Edward's soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again.
This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine - like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

READERS CAPTIVATED BY Twilight AND New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much-anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga.]]> 629 Stephenie Meyer 0316160202 Aarthy.k 2 3.73 2007 Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, #3)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2007
rating: 2
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]]> <![CDATA[Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, #4)]]> 1162543 "Don't be afraid," I murmured. "We belong together."
I was abruptly overwhelmed by the truth of my own words.
This moment was so perfect, so right, there was no way to doubt it.
His arms wrapped around me,
holding me against him....
It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire.
"Forever," he agreed.

WHEN YOU LOVED THE ONE WHO WAS KILLING YOU, IT LEFT YOU NO OPTIONS. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

TO BE IRREVOCABLY IN LOVE WITH A VAMPIRE is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

NOW THAT BELLA HAS MADE HER DECISION, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life - first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse - seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

THE ASTONISHING, BREATHLESSLY anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.]]> 756 Stephenie Meyer 031606792X Aarthy.k 3 3.74 2008 Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, #4)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2008
rating: 3
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]]> My Life Next Door 12294652 A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.�

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.]]> 394 Huntley Fitzpatrick 0803736991 Aarthy.k 1 3.97 2012 My Life Next Door
author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 1
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]]> This Lullaby 22205 There is an alternate cover edition for this ISBN13 here.

The science of breaking up...

Remy always knows when to give a guy "the speech" - right after the initial romantic rush, but before anything gets too serious. She's had her fair share of boyfriends, and she's learned all there is to learn from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. So why is it that's Remy can't seem to dump Dexter? It can't be his name. It can't be that he's messy and disorganized. And it certainly isn't that he's a musician - just like Remy's father, a man she never knew because he left before she was born. Could it be that Remy's romantic rules to live by don't apply anymore?]]> 345 Sarah Dessen 0142501557 Aarthy.k 1 4.02 2002 This Lullaby
author: Sarah Dessen
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2002
rating: 1
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]]> Still Point (Awaken, #3) 17393016 345 Katie Kacvinsky Aarthy.k 1 3.75 2014 Still Point (Awaken, #3)
author: Katie Kacvinsky
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2014
rating: 1
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]]> <![CDATA[Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)]]> 41865
First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.]]> 498 Stephenie Meyer 0316015849 Aarthy.k 3 3.66 2005 Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2005
rating: 3
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]]> Funny Boy 111389
In FUNNY BOY we follow the life of the family through Arjie's eyes, as he comes to terms both with his own homosexuality and with the racism of the society in which he lives. In the north of Sri Lanka there is a war going on between the army and the Tamil Tigers, and gradually it begins to encroach on the family's comfortable life. Sporadic acts of violence flare into full scale riots and lead, ultimately, to tragedy.

Written in clear, simple prose, Syam Selvadurai's first novel is masterly in its mingling of the personal and political.]]> 320 Shyam Selvadurai 015600500X Aarthy.k 4 4.05 1994 Funny Boy
author: Shyam Selvadurai
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1994
rating: 4
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]]> Out of Africa 781787 Out of Africa is Isak Dinesen's memoir of her years in Africa, from 1914 to 1931, on a four-thousand-acre coffee plantation in the hills near Nairobi. She had come to Kenya from Denmark with her husband, and when they separated she stayed on to manage the farm by herself, visited frequently by her lover, the big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton, for whom she would make up stories "like Scheherazade." In Africa, "I learned how to tell tales," she recalled many years later. "The natives have an ear still. I told stories constantly to them, all kinds." Her account of her African adventures, written after she had lost her beloved farm and returned to Denmark, is that of a master storyteller, a woman whom John Updike called "one of the most picturesque and flamboyant literary personalities of the century."

Isak Dinesen (1885�1962) was born Karen Christence Dinesen in Rungsted, Denmark. She wrote poems, plays, and stories from an early age, including Seven Gothic Tales, Winter's Tales, Last Tales, Anecdotes of Destiny, Shadows on the Grass and Ehrengard. Out of Africa is considered her masterpiece.]]> 401 Isak Dinesen 0679600213 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.94 1937 Out of Africa
author: Isak Dinesen
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1937
rating: 0
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]]> Shadows on the Grass 771973 144 Isak Dinesen 0140180435 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.83 1960 Shadows on the Grass
author: Isak Dinesen
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1960
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson]]> 6900
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you?

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Mitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live.]]> 210 Mitch Albom Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.19 1997 Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
author: Mitch Albom
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> After You (Me Before You, #2) 25041504
Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.]]> 353 Jojo Moyes Aarthy.k 2 3.68 2015 After You (Me Before You, #2)
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2015
rating: 2
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]]> <![CDATA[Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)]]> 15507958 Discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me.

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?]]> 369 Jojo Moyes Aarthy.k 4 4.24 2012 Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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]]> The Golden Son 25263600
Back home in India, Anil’s closest childhood friend, Leena, struggles to adapt to her demanding new husband and relatives. Arranged by her parents, the marriage shatters Leena’s romantic hopes and eventually forces her to make a desperate choice that will hold drastic repercussions for herself and her family. Though Anil and Leena struggle to come to terms with their identities thousands of miles apart, their lives eventually intersect once more—changing them both and the people they love forever.]]> 352 Shilpi Somaya Gowda 1443446793 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.08 2015 The Golden Son
author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> The Pilgrimage 4004 The Pilgrimage recounts the spectacular trials of Paulo Coelho and his mysterious mentor, Petrus, as they journey across Spain in search of a miraculous sword.

The Pilgrimage paved the way to Paulo Coelho's international bestselling novel The Alchemist. In many ways, these two volumes are companions—to truly comprehend one, you must read the other.

Step inside this captivating account of Paulo Coelho's pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. This fascinating parable explores the need to find one's own path. In the end, we discover that the extraordinary is always found in the ordinary and simple ways of everyday people. Part adventure story, part guide to self-discovery, this compelling tale delivers the perfect combination of enchantment and insight.]]> 226 Paulo Coelho 0722534876 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.70 1987 The Pilgrimage
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1987
rating: 0
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]]> Eleven Minutes 1430 Eleven Minutes is the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that “love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer. . . .� A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune.

Maria’s despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness—sexual pleasure for its own sake—or risking everything to find her own “inner light� and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.]]> 273 Paulo Coelho 0060589280 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.74 2003 Eleven Minutes
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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]]> The Lowland 17262100
From Subhash's earliest memories, at every point, his brother was there. In the suburban streets of Calcutta where they wandered before dusk and in the hyacinth-strewn ponds where they played for hours on end, Udayan was always in his older brother's sight. So close in age, they were inseparable in childhood and yet, as the years pass - as U.S tanks roll into Vietnam and riots sweep across India - their brotherly bond can do nothing to forestall the tragedy that will upend their lives.

Udayan - charismatic and impulsive - finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement, a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty. He will give everything, risk all, for what he believes, and in doing so will transform the futures of those dearest to him: his newly married, pregnant wife, his brother and their parents. For all of them, the repercussions of his actions will reverberate across continents and seep through the generations that follow.

Epic in its canvas and intimate in its portrayal of lives undone and forged anew, The Lowland is a deeply felt novel of family ties that entangle and fray in ways unforeseen and unrevealed, of ties that ineluctably define who we are. With all the hallmarks of Jhumpa Lahiri's achingly poignant, exquisitely empathetic story-telling, this is her most devastating work of fiction to date.]]> 340 Jhumpa Lahiri 0307265749 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.86 2013 The Lowland
author: Jhumpa Lahiri
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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]]> A Million Little Pieces 1241 Before considering reading this book, please see the BookBrowse note on the book jacket/review page.

BookBrowse Note: January 9th 2006: An article in the Smoking Gun claimed that James Frey (author of A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard) fabricated key parts of his books. They cited police records, court documents and interviews with law enforcement agents which belie a number of Frey's claims regarding criminal charges against him, jail terms and his fugitive status.

In an interview with the Smoking Gun, Frey admitted that he had 'embellished central details' in A Million Little Pieces and backtracked on claims he made in the book.

January 26th 2006. Frey's publisher stated that while it initially stood by him, after further questioning of the author, the house has "sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished." It will be adding a a publisher's note and author's note to all future editions of A Million Little Pieces.]]> 515 James Frey 0307276902 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.68 2003 A Million Little Pieces
author: James Frey
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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]]> Eat, Pray, Love 19501
Around the time Elizabeth Gilbert turned thirty, she went through an early-onslaught midlife crisis. She had everything an educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want—a husband, a house, a successful career. But instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed with panic, grief, and confusion. She went through a divorce, a crushing depression, another failed love, and the eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.

To recover from all this, Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, and undertook a yearlong journey around the world—all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the absorbing chronicle of that year. Her aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Rome, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, and with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise cowboy from Texas, she embarked on four uninterrupted months of spiritual exploration. In Bali, she studied the art of balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. She became the pupil of an elderly medicine man and also fell in love the best way—unexpectedly.

An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.]]> 368 Elizabeth Gilbert 0143038419 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.64 2006 Eat, Pray, Love
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
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average rating: 3.64
book published: 2006
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]]> The Fault in Our Stars 11870085
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.]]> 313 John Green Aarthy.k 3 4.13 2012 The Fault in Our Stars
author: John Green
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 3
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]]> Awaken (Awaken, #1) 8665876
Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.

In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.]]> 309 Katie Kacvinsky 0547371489 Aarthy.k 3 3.90 2011 Awaken (Awaken, #1)
author: Katie Kacvinsky
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2011
rating: 3
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]]> Requiem (Delirium, #3) 9593913 Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight. After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven. Pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels.

As Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain of the Wilds, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.Requiem is told from the perspectives of both Lena and her friend Hana. They live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.]]> 391 Lauren Oliver 0062014536 Aarthy.k 1 3.73 2013 Requiem (Delirium, #3)
author: Lauren Oliver
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 1
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]]> Middle Ground (Awaken, #2) 12393223
That's all it takes. One night. One bad decision, and Maddie is thrown into a detention center where she's forced to undergo secretive treatment meant to squash her rebellious streak. The powers that be call it rehabilitation. Maddie calls it torture.

Alone, Maddie will not survive. But if she can find something to hold on to - an image of Justin, their love - maybe she can fight. And if she's really lucky, maybe she'll even win.]]> 321 Katie Kacvinsky 0547863365 Aarthy.k 2 4.17 2012 Middle Ground (Awaken, #2)
author: Katie Kacvinsky
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2012
rating: 2
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]]> <![CDATA[Little Women (Little Women, #1)]]> 1934 This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780451529305.

Generations of readers young and old, male and female, have fallen in love with the March sisters of Louisa May Alcott’s most popular and enduring novel, Little Women. Here are talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.

It is no secret that Alcott based Little Women on her own early life. While her father, the freethinking reformer and abolitionist Bronson Alcott, hobnobbed with such eminent male authors as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, Louisa supported herself and her sisters with "woman’s work,� including sewing, doing laundry, and acting as a domestic servant. But she soon discovered she could make more money writing. Little Women brought her lasting fame and fortune, and far from being the "girl’s book� her publisher requested, it explores such timeless themes as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.

]]> 449 Louisa May Alcott Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.16 1868 Little Women (Little Women, #1)
author: Louisa May Alcott
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average rating: 4.16
book published: 1868
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]]> Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1) 6149 Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.

Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison.]]> 325 Toni Morrison Aarthy.k 3 3.96 1987 Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1)
author: Toni Morrison
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1987
rating: 3
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date added: 2015/05/12
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]]> <![CDATA[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)]]> 13214
Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.� At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare�) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.]]> 289 Maya Angelou 0553279378 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.30 1969 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
author: Maya Angelou
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1969
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/11/28
shelves: to-read
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]]> Animal Farm 7613
When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another.

Animal Farm was one of George Orwell's most successful books - after its publication Orwell became one of the best-paid writers in England. Though the text continues to play a foundational role in the political education of young people across the world, its allegorical function has become more difficult to decode as the U.S.S.R recedes into the historical distance.]]> 129 George Orwell Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.90 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/11/28
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]]> Awaken 12435709 309 Katie Kacvinsky 0547721986 Aarthy.k 4 3.87 2011 Awaken
author: Katie Kacvinsky
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2014/04/25
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]]> <![CDATA[The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)]]> 6186357 There are alternate cover editions for this ASIN here and here.

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.]]> 384 James Dashner 0385737947 Aarthy.k 3 4.05 2009 The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)
author: James Dashner
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2009
rating: 3
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date added: 2014/04/25
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]]> I Shall be Near to You 18240248    Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.
   With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredulous husband. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Rosetta's strong will clashes with Jeremiah's while their marriage is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives. Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.]]> 304 Erin Lindsay McCabe 0804137722 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.78 2014 I Shall be Near to You
author: Erin Lindsay McCabe
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/04/16
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]]> The Kite Runner 77203 371 Khaled Hosseini 159463193X Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.34 2003 The Kite Runner
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/04/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Little Prince 157993
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince, presented here in a stunning new translation with carefully restored artwork. The definitive edition of a worldwide classic, it will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.]]> 96 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 0152023984 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.32 1943 The Little Prince
author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1943
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/04/16
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]]> Allegiant (Divergent, #3) 18710190
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, ALLEGIANT, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the DIVERGENT series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.]]> 531 Veronica Roth 0007524277 Aarthy.k 2 3.59 2013 Allegiant (Divergent, #3)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2013
rating: 2
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date added: 2014/03/29
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]]> Thirteen Reasons Why 1217100 You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.]]> 288 Jay Asher 1595141715 Aarthy.k 1 4.00 2007 Thirteen Reasons Why
author: Jay Asher
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 1
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date added: 2014/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Perfume: The Story of a Murderer]]> 343 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.

In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift—an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.]]> 263 Patrick Süskind Aarthy.k 3 4.05 1985 Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
author: Patrick Süskind
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1985
rating: 3
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date added: 2014/03/29
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]]> The Reader 101299
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.]]> 216 Bernhard Schlink 0375408266 Aarthy.k 4 3.78 1995 The Reader
author: Bernhard Schlink
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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date added: 2014/03/29
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]]> Big Girl 7089888
A chubby little girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and ordinary looks, Victoria Dawson has always felt out of place in her family, especially in body-conscious L.A. Her father, Jim, is tall and slender, and her mother, Christina, is a fine-boned, dark-haired beauty. Both are self-centered, outspoken, and disappointed by their daughter’s looks. When Victoria is six, she sees a photograph of Queen Victoria, and her father has always said she looks just like her. After the birth of Victoria’s perfect younger sister, Gracie, her father liked to refer to his firstborn as “our tester cake.� With Gracie, everyone agreed that Jim and Christina got it right.

While her parents and sister can eat anything and not gain an ounce, Victoria must watch everything she eats, as well as endure her father’s belittling comments about her body and see her academic achievements go unacknowledged. Ice cream and oversized helpings of all the wrong foods give her comfort, but only briefly. The one thing she knows is that she has to get away from home, and after college in Chicago, she moves to New York City.

Landing her dream job as a high school teacher, Victoria loves working with her students and wages war on her weight at the gym. Despite tension with her parents, Victoria remains close to her sister. And though they couldn’t be more different in looks, they love each other unconditionally. But regardless of her accomplishments, Victoria’s parents know just what to say to bring her down. She will always be her father’s “big girl,� and her mother’s constant disapproval is equally unkind.

When Grace announces her engagement to a man who is an exact replica of their narcissistic father, Victoria worries about her sister’s future happiness, and with no man of her own, she feels like a failure once again. As the wedding draws near, a chance encounter, an act of stunning betrayal, and a family confrontation lead to a turning point.

Behind Victoria is a lifetime of hurt and neglect she has tried to forget, and even ice cream can no longer dull the pain. Ahead is a challenge and a risk: to accept herself as she is, celebrate it, and claim the victories she has fought so hard for and deserves. Big girl or not, she is terrific and discovers that herself.]]> 323 Danielle Steel 0385343183 Aarthy.k 4 3.53 2010 Big Girl
author: Danielle Steel
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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date added: 2014/03/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful, #1)]]> 11505797
Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.]]> 432 Jamie McGuire Aarthy.k 3 4.02 2011 Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful, #1)
author: Jamie McGuire
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2011
rating: 3
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date added: 2014/03/29
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]]> Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4) 17212231 ‘Seek and ye shall find.�

With these words echoing in his head, eminent Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon awakes in a hospital bed with no recollection of where he is or how he got there. Nor can he explain the origin of the macabre object that is found hidden in his belongings.

A threat to his life will propel him and a young doctor, Sienna Brooks, into a breakneck chase across the city of Florence. Only Langdon’s knowledge of hidden passageways and ancient secrets that lie behind its historic facade can save them from the clutches of their unknown pursuers.

With only a few lines from Dante’s dark and epic masterpiece, The Inferno, to guide them, they must decipher a sequence of codes buried deep within some of the most celebrated artefacts of the Renaissance � sculptures, paintings, buildings � to find the answers to a puzzle which may, or may not, help them save the world from a terrifying threat�

Set against an extraordinary landscape inspired by one of history’s most ominous literary classics, Inferno is Dan Brown’s most compelling and thought-provoking novel yet, a breathless race-against-time thriller that will grab you from page one and not let you go until you close the book.]]> 463 Dan Brown 0385537859 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.88 2013 Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4)
author: Dan Brown
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/03/21
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]]> And the Mountains Echoed 16115612 404 Khaled Hosseini 159463176X Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.06 2012 And the Mountains Echoed
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter Series Box Set (Harry Potter, #1-7)]]> 862041
All seven eBooks in the multi-award winning, internationally bestselling Harry Potter series, available as one download with stunning cover art by Olly Moss. Enjoy the stories that have captured the imagination of millions worldwide.]]> 4100 J.K. Rowling 0545044251 Aarthy.k 5 4.72 2007 Harry Potter Series Box Set (Harry Potter, #1-7)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.72
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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date added: 2014/03/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 213 Stephen Chbosky Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.24 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Host (The Host, #1) 1656001
As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1 - ACE #2 ]]> 619 Stephenie Meyer 0316068047 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 3.85 2008 The Host (The Host, #1)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/12/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Giver (The Giver, #1) 3636 208 Lois Lowry 0385732554 Aarthy.k 0 to-read 4.12 1993 The Giver (The Giver, #1)
author: Lois Lowry
name: Aarthy.k
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/12/15
shelves: to-read
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]]>