Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

 

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. they are waiting for an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables – but a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts' affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter. It's not long before Anne finds herself in trouble, but soon it becomes impossible for the Cuthberts to imagine life without 'their' Anne – and for the people of Avonlea to recall what it was like before this wildly creative little girl whirled into town. Blurb by Puffin Books

* Please note I actually bought this book through the IPAD app and hence the reason the blurb and book cover have been taken from the internet.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

"Atticus Finch gives this advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this classic novel – a black man charged with attacking a white girl. Through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Lee explores the issues of race and class in the Deep South of the 1930′s with compassion and humour. She also creates one of the great heroes of literature in their father, whose lone struggle for justice pricks the conscience of a town steeped in prejudice and hypocrisy”.

This book was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and according to the Independent ‘No one ever forgets this book.’

Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell

Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie is in love with all of it - the crazy characters in her neighbourhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties, and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she's finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps towards fulfilling her dream.

The sequel to The Carrie Diaries brings surprising revelations as Carrie learns to navigate her way around the Big Apple, going from being a country 'sparrow' - as Samantha Jones dubs her - to the person she always wanted to be. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile her past with her future, Carrie realises that making it in New York is much more complicated than she ever imagined.

With her signature wit and sparkling humour, Candace Bushnell reveals the irresistible story of how Carrie met Samantha and Miranda, and what turned a small-town girl into one of New York City's most unforgettable icons, Carrie Bradshaw.

Bereft by Chris Womersley

 “It is 1919, The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are guarded by armed men, and train travel is severely restricted. There are rumours it is the end of the world.

 

In the town of Flint, Quinn Walker returns to the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime. Aware that his father and uncle would surely hang him, Quinn hides in the hills surrounding Flint. There, he meets the orphan Sadie Fox – a mysterious young girl who seems to know more about the crime than she should.

A searing novel of love, longing and justice, Bereft is about suffering endured by those who go to war and those who are forever left behind”.

This book was the winner of the 2011 Indie Award for Fiction and was recommended by the children’s classic rhyme ‘Eeny Meeny Miny Moe’.

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

”Julian Treslove, a former BBC worker, and Sam Finkler, a Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Despite very different lives, they’ve lost touch with each other – or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik, a Czech more concerned with the wider world than with exam results.

The recently widowed Libor Finkler together with Treslove arrange an evening of dinner and reminiscences in Libor’s grand London apartment. All three think back to a time before they had loved and lost, fathered children, dealt with devastating separations, or prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. That evening as he is walking home, Treslove hesitates momentarily outside the window of an old violin dealer and is attacked. And from that moment, his whole sense of who and what he is begins to change…”

This book was the winner of the Man Booker Prize 2010 and was recommended by a remarkable person and friend.