Kelli's Top Ten Reads of 2010

A Glass of Water is the first novel by poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. As a child Mr. Baca was cared for by his grandmother until he was placed in an orphanage. At thirteen years of age he was a runaway. At twenty one years of age he was in prison. It was in prison that he learned to read and write and found his voice. A Glass of Water follows the story of two Mexican illegal immigrants who find each other on this side of the border, fall in love, marry and raise two boys. A violent tragedy rips the little family apart and the legacy is affected into the next generation. I was touched by the work ethic, determination, and dreams of the young immigrants. How far would you go to change your future and your legacy? Would you illegally cross a nation's border if you thought you might gain life for yourself and your descendants?

The Girl with Glass Feet is the first novel by Ali Shaw. This is a fairy tale filled with fantastical creatures, spells, a damsel in distress and a reluctant knight. Unlike the fairy tales we read to our young children, there is no happy ending, no tidy resolution. This book occupied my mind until I finished it. In fact it occupied my mind long after I read the last page.


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society  is the first novel of the late Mary Ann Shaffer with the help of her niece Annie Bowers. Ms. Shaffer worked as an editor, librarian and in bookshops while dreaming of writing a novel of her own. During the writing of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society Ms. Shaffer was diagnosed with cancer. As her health declined Ms. Bowers helped her with her novel. Ms. Shaffer died in February of 2008, just months before her book was published. The story is told by only the correspondences of the characters. A novel of letters? Yes! The heart of the story is the little community of Guernsey island during the Nazi occupation. That's all I'm giving away, you need to read this one.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave tells another story of illegal immigration. Where do you go when you cannot go home? When home is irrevocably broken? What responsibility do the wealthier nations have towards those who would seek asylum? These are the sort of questions this heartbreaking book left in my mind.


The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is another literary debut; this time by David Wroblewski. As you read this tale you feel like you are reading a retelling of classic, ancient literature. It is so much more than a retelling. It's more of a retooling of ancient themes. It's a reminder that the more humanity changes; the more humanity stays the same.

Five Quarters of the Orange is by Joanne Harris, the author of Chocolat, which was made into a popular movie starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, and Johnny Depp. Ms. Harris weaves a tale around food in Five Quarters of the Orange, but just as the chocolate confections in Chocolat, food represents more than just that which we consume. In Five Quarters of the Orange a daughter inherits a cobbled together cookbook from the mother with which she had a fractured relationship and who brought shame to the family during the Nazi  occupation of France. Bits of who her mother really was are woven into and in between the recipes leading to something closer to understanding of this troubled woman's mind and heart.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake caught my attention with its intriguing title. This sorrowful tale by Amiee Bender tells the story of Rose who, along with her brother, is born with a secret talent. Her brother can turn himself into inanimate objects and Rose can taste the emotions of the cook in the foods she eats. Rose has to navigate through her childhood and young adulthood, emerging from her dysfunctional family somewhat healthy and whole. Her brother's fate is more tragic.

The Atlas of Love is the unlikely story of 3 very different grad school students who team up to raise a baby together. They start out with high hopes, but ultimately discover that random friends thrown together in a house with a baby and a dog do not a family make. This debut novel by Laurie Frankel is funny, engaging, and sweet.


Into the Beautiful North is vaguely reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath. Luis Alberto Urrea weaves a story around three young Mexican girls who have watched the men leave their village for "the beautiful north" of the United States. Some of the men write and send money to their families, but many simply disappear into their new lives, leaving their wives and children to worry and wonder and struggle to survive. This little town of women and children is left defenseless, making it a target for a gang of narcos looking for new territory. The three friends, inspired by their favorite movie The Magnificent Seven make the treacherous journey across the border to find seven village men who will return and liberate the town. In spite of the dangers on both sides of the border they are successful and find seven men who are relieved to return home and leave the disappointment of land of opportunity behind them. The leader of the trio of girls returns to Mexico with her friends and their Magnificent Seven wiser and sadder after tracking down her father.


The Unnamed  is the blurring of the lines between mental and physical illness. The disease which we, the readers, the outsiders, the observers, plainly see as a mental illness, is to Tim Farnsworth  a physical attack with physical consequences. His life is a jumble of walking away and coming home, at great emotional cost to his wife and daughter and at the sacrifice of his brilliant law career. This dark tale by Joshua Ferris held me in its grip until the end, when I breathed a sigh of relief to know that the suffering was over for Tim and for his family and it was time for everyone to move on.

The following books were wonderful reads but for one reason or another did not make my list of favorites;
The Cookbook Collector ~Allegra Goodman
 Room: A Novel ~Emma Donoghue
Three Cups Of Tea ~Greg Mortenson
How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway