Mark Behr’s THE SMELL OF APPLES; apartheid through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy.

George Eliot’s SILAS MARNER; after a weaver loses his fortune, he adopts a little girl.

Faye Moskowitz’s AND THE BRIDGE IS LOVE; funny/sad stories about a woman growing up in Depression-era Michigan.

Susan Sheehan’s LIFE FOR ME AIN’T BEEN NO CRYSTAL STAIRCASE; three generations in an inner-city family tolerate abuse and neglect from people, and the “system.”