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  • General Recommendations
  • Staff-Created List

VPL - Books Just For You - Family Dynamics, Retellings, and Academy Intrigue

This Books Just For You List was put together by a VPL staff member for a patron who enjoyed The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, and Wednesday: A Novelization of Season One by Tehlor Kay Mejia. Themes of this list include complex family dynamics, retellings of classic myths and legends, and academic mysteries. Happy reading!

User from Vancouver Public Library

15 items

  • From the author of The Palace of Illusions, this is a retelling of the Ramayana from the perspective of Sita.
    Book, 2019Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India : HarperCollinsPublishers India, 2019.
  • This Argentinian supernatural horror follows the journey of a father and son as they try to come to terms with the death of their wife and mother and grapple with the terrifying cult she was connected to.
    Book, 2023London ; New York : Hogarth, [2023]
  • When David, a fisherman from the Caribbean island of Black Conch, rescues Aycayia, a woman cursed to be a mermaid, from American tourists, they find themselves in an uneasy alliance. Will they learn to trust each other as Aycayia regains her…
    Book, 2022New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2022.
  • This is a retelling of the Ramayana from the perspective of Queen Kaikeyi.
    Book, 2022New York, NY : Redhook, 2022.
  • Set in 1920s Mexico, Casiopea Tun finds herself in a bind when she accidentally frees a Mayan god from imprisonment. Now she must accompany him on a quest to find his missing body parts before he becomes mortal.
    Book, 2019New York : Del Rey, [2019]
  • The first book in the Alex Stern series, Ninth House follows Galaxy Stern, who's offered the chance to go to Yale. The catch? She must keep tabs on Yale's secret societies and their mysterious ongoings.
    Book, 2019New York : Flatiron Books, [2019]
  • This is a retelling of the Little Mermaid through a blend of African mythology, historical nonfiction, and traditional fairytale.
    Book, 2021New York : Random House Children's Books, [2021]
  • Charmed by the teachings of their Classics professor, a group of eccentric students decide to commit a murder, which sets off of a series of life-changing events.
    Book, 1992New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1992.
  • This novella delves into the dynamics of an Indian family in Bangalore after they find sudden success in their business, exploring what happens when money is injected into family relationships.
    Book, 2017New York, New York : Penguin Books, [2017]
  • The first book in a series which follows protagonist Lakshmi, who escapes her abusive husband and becomes a successful henna artist in 1950s Jaipur.
    Book, 2020Toronto, Ontario : Mira, [2020]
  • Follows the journey of conjoined twins Marion and Shiva and the complex paths of their lives before and after the surgery that separates them.
    Book, 2009Toronto : Random House Canada, c2009.
  • This is a retelling of the Trojan War myth from the perspectives of the women involved.
    Book, 2019London : Mantle, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, 2019.
  • Gillian and Sally Owens hate the reputation of their family, who've been blamed for every bad event that has ever happened in their town. Although they both attempt to leave in search of normality, the sisters find themselves drawn back to…
    Book, 2003New York : Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2003.
  • Against the backdrop of 1950s India, a mother attempts to find a husband for her daughter. What follows is a saga which encompasses multiple families and their relationships, interwoven with Indian culture and heritage.
    Book, 1993New York, NY : HarperCollins, c1993.