The war that saved my life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Audio version read by Jayne Entwistle

Think of all the atrocities you've heard from WWII.  Now imagine someone whose life actually improved because of that war.  Seems a little far-fetched, doesn't it?

Ada has been scorned by her mother since the day of her birth.  For ten years, she's never left their one-room apartment in London.  Still, she's a smart young lady, and knows she must evacuate when the other children do.  Her daring move to leave the city with her younger brother leads her to Kent and a woman named Susan.

For the first time in her life, she's seen as more than a child with a twisted foot. Suddenly, Ada and Jamie are part of a community.  There are many things to learn, including how to ride a pony, and watch for German spies. While Jamie is young enough to still love unconditionally, Ada and Susan both must learn lessons of love and trust. These things allow Ada to believe in herself even more than she did while hidden away in London.

Can Ada see her self-worth even through the shroud of shame that cloaked her for a decade? Can this makeshift family endure the tragedies of war and the constant wonder about Ada and James returning to their cruel mother?

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu

Inside and outside his urban Washington, D.C. grocery store, an Ethiopian refugee watches the neighborhood shift and change around him. Sepha is haunted by his past and frozen in place, unable to move or act in his ill-fitting, lonely American life.

In this literary novel by an Ethiopian-born American author, the themes of loss, friendship, and the American dream make for a rather sad, yearning tale. Nonetheless, it's beautifully done - filled with thoughtful characters and gorgeous prose.

Sepha's life, the store, and, in fact the whole city decay before his wise, analytical gaze, but he takes no actions to forestall their decline. He awkwardly makes friends with a young new neighbor and there's romantic tension with her mother, but again these interactions require actions - enthusiasm, even - that Sepha can't muster.

This would be an awesome book for discussion, and the more diverse the group, the richer: There's a lot to discuss in the way Sepha wanders his neighborhood and ponders its residents, and his African immigrant friends and their war-themed mind games could be quite a conversation in itself.