From the 2007 list:

The Whistling Season
by Ivan Doig
Rural Montana in 1909 is the central character in this humorous novel of life on the prairie. Change moves in with a widow from Minneapolis.


The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
In McCarthy's unrelenting tale, a father and son struggle to survive on their journey through the deadly, rempty winter of a postapocalyptic America.


Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel [741.5 Bec]
Bechdel's memoir, done in graphic-novel form, masterfully illustrated her relationship with her closeted homosexual father.


There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
by Melissa Fay Greene [362.73 Gre]
The scope of the AIDS epidemic is illustrated through the heartwarming story of Haregewoin Teferra, a humanitarian who runs an orphanage in Ethiopia.


Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present
by Peter Hessler [951.06 Hes]
An American journalist compellingly contrasts China's past, as revealed through ancient artifacts, with the fiercely competitive spirit of the new generation.

From the 2006 list:

Midnight at the Dragon Cafe
by Judy Fong Bates
In this deeply moving coming-of-age story, a young Chinese girl and her family struggle to adapt to life in a small Ontario community.


Gilead
by Marilynne Robinson
A small-town Iowa minister weaves together issues of conscience and commitment with family secrets in a rich tapestry of American life.


A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City
by Anonymous [940.534 Ano]
This disturbing diary, written after the fall of Berlin, recalls the mass rape perpetrated by Russian forces and the harrowing choices a woman had to make to survive.


Shockwave: Count-down to Hiroshima
by Stephen Walker [940.542 Wal]
History is brought dramatically alive in this moment-by-moment account of the events immediately surrounding the bombing of Hiroshima.

Annotations in this booklist are from the ALA's Notable Books website. Booktalk handout prepared by Pat L., 6-07.