Maya's Staff Picks (Top Favorite)

I highly recommend these top-rated books as a must-read because they offer a unique blend of captivating storytelling, relatable characters, and thought-provoking themes that will resonate with readers of all genres. These books have been widely acclaimed for their exceptional writing, well-developed plots, and ability to evoke emotions, making them a valuable addition to any bookshelf. Whether you're looking for a thrilling adventure, a heartwarming romance, or a journey of self-discovery, these books are sure to captivate and leave a lasting impression long after the final page is turned. In addition, the non-fiction titles provide valuable knowledge and expert insights on topics such as science, history, and personal development, while the biographies grant readers a unique glimpse into the lives of inspiring individuals who have shaped our world. Meanwhile, the sci-fi and fantasy novels transport us to new and imaginative realms, exploring complex themes and ideas that challenge our understanding of the universe and our place within it. With their engaging narratives, well-researched content, and memorable characters, these books are sure to educate, entertain, and inspire, making them a must-read for anyone looking to expand their minds and broaden their horizons.

Showing 1 - 19 of 19  There are a total of 105 valid entries on the list.

1. 1984

Book cover for "1984"
Star rating for 1984
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
Portrays life in a future time when a totalitarian government watches over all citizens and directs all activities. Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever... "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."...
Book cover for "All the light we cannot see"
Star rating for All the light we cannot see
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
"From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six,...
Book cover for "And then there were none"
Star rating for And then there were none
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Notes:
Also known as "Ten Little Indians"
Description:
A killer stalks a group of ten total strangers on an isolated island off the Devon coast, in a story of murder and retribution set to a sinister nursery rhyme.
Book cover for "Because of Miss Bridgerton"
Star rating for Because of Miss Bridgerton
Series:
Rokesby series volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
Everyone expects Billie Bridgerton to marry one of the Rokesby brothers. The two families have been neighbors for centuries, and as a child the tomboyish Billie ran wild with Edward and Andrew. Either one would make a perfect husband... someday. But sometimes fate has a wicked sense of humor. There is only one Rokesby Billie absolutely cannot tolerate, and that is George. He may be the eldest and heir to the earldom, but he's arrogant, annoying, and...
Book cover for "The four winds"
Star rating for The four winds
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
"[A]n epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America's most defining eras--the Great Depression. Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with...
Book cover for "The girl with the make-believe husband"
Star rating for The girl with the make-believe husband
Series:
Rokesby series volume 2.
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Description:
While you were sleeping... With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He's unconscious...
Book cover for "The grapes of wrath"
Star rating for The grapes of wrath
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Depicts the hardships and suffering endured by the Joads as they journey from Oklahoma to California during the Depression.
Book cover for "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"
Star rating for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
In 1946, writer Juliet Ashton finds inspiration for her next book in her correspondence with a native of Guernsey, who tells her about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club born as an alibi during German occupation. As London is emerging from the shadow of World War II, writer Juliet Ashton discovers her next subject in a book club on Guernsey--a club born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi after its members are discovered breaking...
Book cover for "Homegoing"
Star rating for Homegoing
Author:
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into two different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort in the sprawling, palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle, raising half-caste children who will be sent abroad to be educated in England before returning to the Gold Coast to serve as administrators of the Empire. Her sister, Esi, will be imprisoned beneath...
Book cover for "Inside out & back again"
Star rating for Inside out & back again
Average Rating:
3.6 stars
Description:
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
Book cover for "The invention of wings"
Star rating for The invention of wings
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Description:
"The story follows Hetty 'Handful' Grimke, a Charleston slave, and Sarah, the daughter of the wealthy Grimke family. The novel begins on Sarah's eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership over Handful, who is to be her handmaid. "The Invention of Wings" follows the next thirty-five years of their lives. Inspired in part by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke (a feminist, suffragist and, importantly, an abolitionist), Kidd allows herself to go...
Book cover for "A long walk to water"
Star rating for A long walk to water
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan. When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his...
Book cover for "Murder on the Orient Express"
Star rating for Murder on the Orient Express
Series:
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:

THE MOST WIDELY READ MYSTERY OF ALL TIMENOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY KENNETH BRANAGH AND PRODUCED BY RIDLEY SCOTT!

"The murderer is with us—on the train now . . ."

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door

...
Book cover for "News of the world"
Star rating for News of the world
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
"In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust. In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers...
Book cover for "The night circus"
Star rating for The night circus
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Description:
Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways.
Book cover for "The nightingale"
Star rating for The nightingale
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
"Viann and Isabelle have always been close despite their differences. Younger, bolder sister Isabelle lives in Paris while Viann lives a quiet and content life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. When World War II strikes and Antoine is sent off to fight, Viann and Isabelle's father sends Isabelle to help her older sister cope. As the war progresses, it's not only the sisters' relationship that is tested, but also...
Book cover for "The other Miss Bridgerton"
Star rating for The other Miss Bridgerton
Series:
Rokesby series volume 3.
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers' hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain's bed... Known to society as a rascal and...
Book cover for "Pachinko"
Star rating for Pachinko
Author:
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"PACHINKO follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate...
Book cover for "Water for elephants"
Star rating for Water for elephants
Author:
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there...