Recommendations based on The Other Americansby Laila Lalami

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Underground Railroad

    by Colson Whitehead
    An escaped slave's daring escape to freedom, fighting against the brutality of slavery.

    The story is told in the third person, focusing mainly on Cora. Scattered single chapters also focus on Cora's mother Mabel, the slavecatcher Ridgeway, a reluctant slave sympathizer named Ethel, and ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Disappearing Earth

    by Julia Phillips
    Two sisters go missing in a remote Russian town, unraveling the lives of its inhabitants. A haunting exploration of loss, identity, and community.

    In an isolated town in Far Eastern part of Russia two young girls go missing. The literary review aggregator Book Marks reported that 75% of critics gave the novel a "rave" review and 25% gave it a ... (Wikipedia)

  3. A Long Petal of the Sea

    by Isabel Allende
    A young couple flees the Spanish Civil War to Chile, where they face new challenges and build a new life.

    From the author of, The House of the Spirits, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a ... (Goodreads)

  4. The Secrets We Kept

    by Lara Prescott
    A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, who smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR during the Cold War.

    Secretaries turned spies, love and duty, and sacrifice—inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love ... (Goodreads)

  5. Expectation

    by Anna Hope
    Three friends in their thirties navigate the complexities of life, love, and career in contemporary London.

    A Skimm Reads Pick Also available in a library hardcover edition, "The female friendships here are ones we’ll all recognize, and in seeing myself in each of these women – their good moments and their ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. Searching for Sylvie Lee

    by Jean Kwok
    A family's search for their missing daughter, Sylvie Lee, uncovers secrets and hidden truths about their past and present.

    An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Read with Jenna, Today, Show Book Club Pick & Emma Roberts Belletrist Book Club Pick! NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY, New York Times, ,• Time • Marie Claire, ... (Barnes & Noble)

  7. Dear Wife

    by Kimberly Belle
    A woman disappears, and her husband is the prime suspect. But nothing is as it seems in this twisty thriller.

    Some vows are meant to be broken… For nearly a year, Beth Murphy has been plotting to leave her abusive husband. The time has finally arrived, and this is her one chance at freedom. Each part of her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. The Need

    by Helen Phillips
    A mother is forced to confront her deepest fears when a stranger breaks into her home and claims to be her doppelganger.

    ***LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION*** “An extraordinary and dazzlingly original work from one of our most gifted and interesting writers” (Emily St. John Mandel, author of, The ... (Barnes & Noble)

  9. The Last Magician

    by Lisa Maxwell
    In a world where magic is dying, a thief travels back in time to save it. But she must navigate dangerous alliances and betrayals to succeed.

    Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future. In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they ... (Goodreads)

  10. Conviction

    by Denise Mina
    A true-crime podcast leads Anna to investigate a murder her husband was convicted of. She must confront her past and the truth about her marriage.

    It’s just a normal morning when Anna's husband announces that he's leaving her for her best friend and taking their two daughters with him. With her safe, comfortable world shattered, Anna distracts ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Mime Order

    by Samantha Shannon
    A young woman's quest to uncover a mysterious organization, and her own dark past.

    Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London... As Scion turns its ... (Goodreads)

  12. Trophy Hunt

    by C.J. Box
    Wyoming game warden investigates a murder linked to a controversial hunting outfitter.

    It's an idyllic late-summer day in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and game warden Joe Pickett is fly-fishing with his two daughters when he stumbles upon the mutilated body of a moose. Whatever - or whoever ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Hollow of Fear

    by Sherry Thomas
    Lady Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder case involving her estranged friend and uncovers a web of secrets and lies.

    Charlotte Holmes, Lady Sherlock, returns in the Victorian-set mystery series from the USA Today bestselling author of A Conspiracy in Belgravia and A Study in Scarlet Women, an NPR Best Book of 2016. ... (Goodreads)

  14. In the Shadow of the Banyan

    by Vaddey Ratner
    A young girl's idyllic life in Cambodia is shattered by the Khmer Rouge regime. She must navigate the horrors of war and loss to survive.

    Displaying the author's extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience. For ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Wicked Deep

    by Shea Ernshaw
    Every summer, three sisters return to a small town to lure boys into the harbor and drown them. But this year, things are different.

    A, New York Times, bestseller. “A wickedly chilling debut.” —,School Library Journal, “Complex and sweetly satisfying.” —,Booklist, “Prepare to be bewitched.” —Paula Stokes, author of, Girl Against ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. The Friend Zone

    by Abby Jimenez
    A woman and man become friends, but she's not interested in a relationship. Can they remain friends or will their feelings get in the way?

    Fall in love with this hilarious and heartwarming, USA Today, bestselling romantic comedy that LJ Shen calls "an absolute treat." Kristen Peterson doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  17. The Natural

    by Bernard Malamud
    A talented baseball player struggles with his own demons and the pressures of fame.

    Nineteen-year-old Roy Hobbs is traveling by train to Chicago with his manager Sam to try out for the Chicago Cubs . Other passengers include sportswriter Max Mercy, Walter "The Whammer" Whambold, the ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The House Next Door

    by Anne Rivers Siddons
    A couple's dream home becomes a nightmare when the house next door begins to exert a malevolent influence on them.

    Thirty-something Colquitt and Walter Kennedy live in a charming, peaceful suburb of the newly bustling Atlanta. Life is made up of enjoyable work, long, lazy weekends, and the company of good ... (Goodreads)

  19. Beauty Is a Wound

    by Eka Kurniawan
    A magical realist journey through Indonesia's turbulent history, full of ghosts and spirits.

    The epic novel Beauty Is a Wound combines history, satire, family tragedy, legend, humor, and romance in a sweeping polyphony. The beautiful Indo prostitute Dewi Ayu and her four daughters are beset ... (Goodreads)

  20. Poirot Investigates

    by Agatha Christie
    Detective Hercule Poirot solves mysteries using his "little grey cells" of logic and reasoning.

    First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond... then came the “suicide” that was murder... the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat...a suspicious death in a locked gun room... a ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Only Story

    by Julian Barnes
    A love story between a young man and an older woman, exploring the complexities of relationships and the impact of memory on love.

    The short (273 pp.) novel is the life story of Paul Roberts, who we first meet as a 19-year-old Sussex University undergraduate returning to his parents' house in the leafy southern suburbs of London ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Moor's Account

    by Laila Lalami
    A fictional memoir of the first black explorer of America, Estebanico, who was part of the Narváez expedition in the 16th century.

    The story is narrated in the first person by Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori, a Moroccan slave who has been taken by his Spanish master, Andrés de Dorantes, on an expedition to the New ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Bookshop on the Corner

    by Jenny Colgan
    A woman finds solace and purpose in a second-hand bookshop in the Scottish countryside.

    Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now ... (Goodreads)

  24. When the Emperor Was Divine

    by Julie Otsuka
    A Japanese-American family's struggle of survival in the face of wartime discrimination.

    In "When the Emperor was Divine," Author Julie Otsuka gives a fictional retelling of the Japanese American experience during the Internment period of WWII. The story follows a Japanese American ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Refugees

    by Viet Thanh Nguyen
    Short stories of Vietnamese refugees in America, and their struggles to assimilate and find belonging.

    From a young Vietnamese refugee who suffers profound culture shock when he comes to live with two gay men in San Francisco, to a woman whose husband is suffering from dementia and starts to confuse ... (Goodreads)

  26. My Year of Meats

    by Ruth Ozeki
    A journey of self-discovery as a Japanese-American woman investigates controversial issues in the US meat industry.

    A cross-cultural tale of two women brought together by the intersections of television and industrial agriculture, fertility and motherhood, life and love—the breakout hit by the celebrated author ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

    by Nadia Hashimi
    A young Afghan girl's struggle to break free from oppressive traditions and find her own path.

    Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel, The Pearl that Broke Its Shell is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Hungry Tide

    by Amitav Ghosh
    A story of love, loss, and discovery set in the Sundarbans region of India.

    Off the easternmost corner of India, in the Bay of Bengal, lies the immense labyrinth of tiny islands known as the Sundarbans, where settlers live in fear of drowning tides and man-eating tigers. ... (Goodreads)

  29. Savage Run

    by C.J. Box
    A Wyoming game warden is on the hunt for a dangerous killer, while also trying to protect a herd of endangered wild horses.

    In Savage Run C.J. Box's acclaimed follow-up to his career-making debut Open Season game warden Joe Pickett looks into the bizarre death of an environmental activist...and what he finds is bigger and ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Good Lord Bird

    by James McBride
    A comedic story of a slave escaping bondage and their unlikely friendship with abolitionist John Brown.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, From the bestselling author of, The Color of Water, and, Song Yet Sung, comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John ... (Goodreads)