5 Star Reads

If we post a review of a book here at 5 Minutes for Books, it means that we think that someone out there would like it. It may not have been our favorite book, but it was worth our time to read and review, and we hope someone likes it. We wanted to distinguish our "must reads," and so we've given them the special 5 Star Reads designation.

Of the hundreds of reviews we published in our first year, we started the list with 43 books. As we continue to post new reviews, we will label them with the 5 Star Reads category label and update this list.

It's our hope that you will turn to this list when you are looking for a good book to read or to recommend to a bookclub. Perhaps you'll browse through when you are looking for a great birthday gift for a child.

So here they are — sorted by category and alphabetized by author — our 5 Star Reads:

Fiction:

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
After You by Julie Buxbaum
Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger
Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond
The Rook by Steven James
Stealing with Style by Emyl Jenkins
Small Wars by Sadie Jones
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Memoir and Biography:

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
My Prison, My Home by Haleh Esfandiari
Boy Alone by Karl Taro Greenfeld
Clara's War by Clara Kramer
Coop by Michael Perry
Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepherd
How to Be Like Walt by Pat Williams
Dough by Mort Zachter

Nonfiction:

Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman
On the Go Devotional: Contentment by Lydia Brownback
The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment by Tim Challies
Finding An Unseen God by Alicia Britt Chole
5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney
Stubborn Twig, by Lauren Kessler
The Uncommon Woman: Making an Ordinary Life Extraordinary by Susie Larson
Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy
The Grand Weaver, by Ravi Zacharias

Children's Books — ages 0 – 3, 3 – 6, 6 – 9:

My Name Is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry
The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
Tiana's Cookbook: Recipes for Kids edited by Cindy Littlefield
Eye Like and Incredible Books by Play Bac Publishing
Little Hoot and Little Pea, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

Children's Books — ages 9 – 12:

Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, by Trenton Lee Stewart

Books for Tweens and Teens:

The Hunger Games & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Much Ado About Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick
Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle
Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell
The Strictest School in the World series by Howard Whitehouse
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick