The Elliott Bay Book Company

Easily one of the most disquieting books I've read in years, Yoani Sanchez's Havana Real shines the spotlight on the hidden realities and intense difficulties of contemporary Cuban life. Based on her Blog, Generation Y—the creation of which has placed Yoani on Big Brother's long list of national threats—these scorching vignettes depict a hungry, impotent and increasingly agitated nation.
Cuba is at the forefront of gay and transsexual rights; the tiny country holds one of highest literacy rates in the world; Cuban-trained doctors are leaders of the international medical community. Yet, most Cubans return home from the markets with empty bags and deflated hope. They are barred from traveling, accessing an uncensored Internet or watching nongovernment sanctioned television. They set out empty chairs for the members of their families who have been imprisoned for speaking out against a stolid government. But with people like Yoani sending their voices out to the rest of the world, these people and their stories will finally be heard.

Fairytale and historical fiction collide in this novel about searching for true identity. Morton is a story-weaver, effortlessly winding one plot around another, twisting the lives of her characters into a gorgeous tapestry.

When young David's mother dies, all he has left of her are the books that they read together. But when the books start talking to him, they lead him into a world of fantasy; a place where wolves rule ravenously, the good guys turn sinister and a young boy comes of age. A wonderful journey.

Set in the late 1940s, on a Laguna Reservation, Ceremony is the story of a young man who returns from war emotionally and spiritually broken. To help himself heal, he visits a wise man whose ceremony brings him back to himself. Lyrical and profound, Ceremony is well worth the read.