This historical debut novel is about a young woman in turn-of-the century England who finds independence and love when she leaves London and journeys to a seaside resort for employment.  Betsey Dobson boards a train from London with nothing other than her battered valise and bruised ego.  After trying to make it in a male-dominated world, she is finally able to find herself--and a man whom she can love--in this idyllic setting.  Not all goes smoothly but, of course, in the end she is better for it.  An enjoyable read! 

Fiction

Lunatics by Dave Barry

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

Nonficiton

8 by Dustin Lance Black

The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Why Read Moby-Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick

(alphabetically by author)

After his mother is struck by a bus and killed, 16 year old straight-A student Joey Crouch boards a bus to Bloughton, Iowa, to live with his estranged father Ken Harnett. Known in town as the Garbageman, Harnett is neither an idea father nor roommate. His small house is unkempt, full of newspaper stacks and a strong odor; Harnett himself disappears for days at a time, leaving Joey with no food or money.