Recommendations based on Secret Daughterby Shilpi Somaya Gowda

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

  1. The Book of Negroes

    by Lawrence Hill
    A gripping tale of resilience and courage, tracing the life of a woman kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in North America.

    The Book of Negroes (based on the novel Someone Knows My Name) will be BET's first miniseries. The star-studded production includes lead actress Aunjanue Ellis (Ray, The Help), Oscar winner Cuba ... (Goodreads)

  2. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

    by Jamie Ford
    A touching story of the intersection of love, family, and culture during World War II.

    Henry Lee, the son of Chinese parents in Seattle , Washington, is the only Asian child at his elementary school. His father makes him wear an "I Am Chinese" button so he will not be mistaken for a ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Left Neglected

    by Lisa Genova
    A woman's struggle to find balance and acceptance after suffering a traumatic brain injury.

    Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children - ... (Goodreads)

  4. Sarah's Key

    by Tatiana de Rosnay
    A French journalist unravels an untold story of the Holocaust, uncovering hidden secrets.

    From beloved international sensation and #1, New York Times, bestselling author Tatiana de Rosnay come's her most celebrated novel, Sarah's Key,—now in mass market paperback!, Paris, July 1942: ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Kitchen House

    by Kathleen Grissom
    A young Irish girl is taken in by a plantation family in Virginia and becomes entangled in the lives of the slaves who work there.

    When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Virgin Cure

    by Ami McKay
    A young girl in 19th century New York City is sold into prostitution and must navigate the dangerous world of sex work to survive.

    From #1 international bestselling author Ami McKay comes The Virgin Cure, the story of a young girl abandoned and forced to fend for herself in the poverty and treachery of post-Civil War New York ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. Still Alice

    by Lisa Genova
    A woman's struggle to hold on to her identity in the face of a devastating diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

    Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience ... (Goodreads)

  9. Shanghai Girls

    by Lisa See
    Two sisters navigate the turmoil of 1930s Shanghai, while struggling to protect each other.

    Shanghai Girls is divided into three parts: Fate, Fortune, and Destiny. Here See treats Chinese immigration from a personal view through Pearl's narration. In, On Gold Mountain, she objectively ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Rush Home Road

    by Lori Lansens
    A woman's journey through life, love, and loss as she takes in a young girl and confronts her own past.

    Sharla Cody is only five, but has already lived a troubled life – only to find herself dumped on an elderly neighbor's doorstep when her mother takes off for the summer. Although Sharla is not the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. I Know This Much Is True

    by Wally Lamb
    A man's journey of self-discovery, coming to terms with family trauma and understanding his identity.

    The novel takes place in Three Rivers, Connecticut in the early 1990s. Dominick Birdsey's identical twin , Thomas Birdsey, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia . With medication, Thomas is able to ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The Alice Network

    by Kate Quinn
    Two women in WWI join forces to unravel secrets of a spy network in search of a missing girl.

    The plot follows pregnant American college student Charlie St. Clair in the aftermath of World War II , as she travels around France looking for her missing cousin, Rose. Her story intersects with ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Girl in Translation

    by Jean Kwok
    A young immigrant girl's struggles to keep up academically and financially in the US.

    Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures. When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from ... (Goodreads)

  14. Before We Were Yours

    by Lisa Wingate
    Family torn apart is reunited across generations, revealing a powerful tale of resilience and hope.

    Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the ... (Goodreads)

  15. Heart of the Matter

    by Emily Giffin
    A woman's journey of self-discovery as she navigates difficult choices and the consequences of her actions.

    Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Namesake

    by Jhumpa Lahiri
    A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.

    The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. Brooklyn

    by Colm Tóibín
    A young Irish woman's migration to America, exploring themes of identity and belonging.

    Eilis Lacey is a young woman who is unable to find work in 1950s Ireland . Her older sister Rose organises a meeting with a Catholic priest called Father Flood on a visit from New York City , who ... (Wikipedia)

  20. House Rules

    by Jodi Picoult
    A family's struggle with Autism, and the power of acceptance and understanding.

    Eighteen-year-old Jacob Hunt lives with his mother Emma and his younger brother, Theo. Jacob has Asperger's syndrome , then considered a form of high-functioning autism . Jacob lives by a highly ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Light Between Oceans

    by M.L. Stedman
    A lighthouse keeper and his wife make a heartbreaking decision that has lifelong repercussions.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse ... (Goodreads)

  22. Little Bee

    by Chris Cleave
    A Nigerian refugee's quest for survival and a British woman's search for redemption.

    Using alternating first-person perspectives , the novel tells the stories of Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee, and Sarah O'Rourke (née Summers), a magazine editor from Surrey . After spending two years ... (Wikipedia)

  23. I've Got Your Number

    by Sophie Kinsella
    A young woman's chaotic life is turned upside-down when she finds a stranger's lost phone.

    Poppy Wyatt loses her engagement ring, which has been in her fiancé's family for three generations, on the day that his parents arrive from the US and in the following panic, she also ends up losing ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Shoemaker's Wife

    by Adriana Trigiani
    Two Italian immigrants forge a love story amongst the struggles of making a life in America.

    The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in ... (Goodreads)

  25. Snow Falling on Cedars

    by David Guterson
    A murder trial in a small, coastal town reveals secrets of the past and its inhabitants.

    Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the northern Puget Sound region of the state of Washington coast in 1954, the plot revolves around a murder case in which Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese American ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

    by Gabrielle Zevin
    Life of an isolated bookseller is transformed when an unexpected visitor brings unexpected joy.

    “Marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both.”—, The Washington Post, A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. Karolina's Twins

    by Ronald H. Balson
    A Holocaust survivor seeks the help of a lawyer to find her twin daughters. A journey of discovery and healing ensues.

    In the tradition of, The, Nightingale,, Sarah's Key, and, Lilac Girls, comes a saga inspired by true events of a Holocaust survivor’s quest to return to Poland and fulfill a promise, from Ronald H. ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. The Golden Son

    by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
    An Indian doctor in the US struggles to balance his traditional values with his new life, as he faces love, loss, and ethical dilemmas.

    The first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family’s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency ... (Goodreads)

  29. Lilac Girls

    by Martha Hall Kelly
    A story of three women's lives, intertwined by World War II, and their remarkable courage.

    Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades. On the eve of a ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Paris Wife

    by Paula McLain
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of a passionate and tumultuous relationship.

    The Paris Wife focuses on the romance, marriage and divorce of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson, who met when Hemingway was 20 years old, and Richardson 28. They marry and move ... (Wikipedia)