5 Exceptional and Extraordinary Books Unlike Anything We’ve Read Before

Holly’s Pick #1:  ONCE UPON A RIVER is truly a remarkable work of magical realism. Set in a small town along the Thames, a community is disrupted when a mysterious girl, pronounced dead, comes back to life one night at the local inn. Three families all claim that this girl must be their long lost relative: a wealthy mother whose daughter was kidnapped, a farming family whose son’s forbidden liaison begot a child, and a housekeeper who’s been separated from her younger sister. As the mystery of this girl unravels, the members of this small circle reveal their secrets. If you are not used to the world of magical realism, this is a great book to start with. Filled with rich and atmospheric writing, ONCE UPON A RIVER will truly captivate any reader. 

Kerry’s Pick:  To be fair, it isn’t that hard to blow a fifth grader’s mind, but that school year was a pivotal one for me because I had a teacher who encouraged me to read the classics. So I picked up one he mentioned—George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM—and made a shocking realization: sometimes the government lies to us. Until then, I had no idea this was even a possibility. The revisionist proclamation by the pigs that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” completely changed the way I looked at history, current affairs, and governments of all types. 

Holly’s Pick #2:  Sometimes the absurdity of everyday life is just enough to astound you. A boy on the edge of adolescence fears his mother might be a robot; a psychotically depressed woman is entrusted with taking her niece and nephew trick-or-treating; a reluctant dad brings his baby to a debaucherous party; a teenage boy tries to prevent his mother from putting his estranged father’s dogs to sleep. Everything about this book is unusual and absurd. LAST DAY ON EARTH revolves around the endlessly complex, frequently surreal system of family life. 

Elizabeth’s Pick:  After years of friends recommending award-winning Chinese author’s Liu Cixin’s sci-fi masterpiece (and seeing it everywhere from the hands of fellow subway readers to President Obama’s reading list), I began listening to the audiobook to understand what everyone had been talking about. I’m now nearly finished with the final novel in Cixin’s trilogy—needless to say I was hooked! THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM is set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution, a tumultuous and violent period in Chinese history, where a secret military project begins broadcasting signals into the universe in search of other intelligent life. When a message returns to Earth, one individual’s decision to reply sets off a chain reaction that will impact humanity forever. With an alien fleet en route to invade Earth, divisive camps—each convinced they know what’s best for humanity—take action to either welcome the invaders or defend their world from the highly intelligent species. The novel explores questions ranging from personal loyalties to the essence of humanity, all wrapped up in theoretical military strategies and brilliant speculative science. Highly recommended even if you think sci-fi isn’t your favorite genre! 

Holly’s Pick #3:  FOLLOW ME TO GROUND is a haunting work of surreal fiction. Ada and her father, touched by the power to heal illness, live on the edge of a village where they help sick locals—or “Cures”—by cracking open their damaged bodies or temporarily burying them in the reviving, dangerous Ground nearby. But when Ada becomes a little too intrigued with the human existence and falls into an affair with a man named Samson, her life begins to take a dark turn. Ada is left torn between remaining a savior to the Cures, as her father intended for her, and escaping the life she knows for this infatuation.