I've decided to do the A to Z Blogger Challenge this year and I'm recommending five books all from the same alphabetical genre each day. So today, I is for International. There are lots of great books set in the US, but it's also a lot of fun to read books set in other corners of the globe. Here are five of my favorite international titles.
Little Bee by Chris Cleave - This is a dark tale about Nigerian refugees in England. The story bends the comfort of British life with the horrors of war torn Nigeria beautifully. Although it doesn't do a very good job of encouraging travel in Western Africa.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson - When Greg Mortenson set out to climb K2 in Northern Pakistan, he ended up getting lost and stumbling a small Himalayan village. After befriending the villagers and safely returning to the US, Mortenson started a non-profit dedicated to building schools in Central Asia (primarily Pakistan and Afghanistan). This story does an amazing job of showing the human side of a part of the world that is poorly understood and often at the center of international conflict.
The Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah - This book is contemporary YA, except it's set in Australia not the US, so technically it's international. Also it's about a Muslim girl and her struggle to accept herself and her culture when it makes her different from her friends and classmates.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barabara Kingsolver - This book is about the daughters of a missionary in the Congo and their very diverse lives living as white women in Central Africa. This is one of those books that stays will you years after you finish reading it.
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson - This is another contemporary YA, and it even has an American author. But it is about a teenage girl who travels all over Europe in a journey of self-discovery after her aunt dies. Her trek across Europe is guided by thirteen letters written by her aunt shortly before she died.What about you? What's your favorite International Story?
