100 books like The Power of One

A toast to Tatiana and Alexander! *throws back a shot of vodka*

Compounded by Simons’ exquisitely detailed storytelling, which waxes lyrical about the siege of Leningrad during the summer of 1941, these lovebirds from The Bronze Horseman sit high on my list of unforgettable historical fiction characters.

The superb languor of Alexander’s courtship with Tatiana during a time of terrible hardship helped me overlook both of their faults, and become wholly invested in them as a couple.

He is unrelenting in his desire to take care of Tatiana and her family, and while she is young and at times incredibly naïve, she is also brilliantly resilient.

The character I love to hate: Dasha. Ugh! How can a sister be so cruel?

Boy, did my emotions run the gauntlet with this one!

If you want a break from fantasy and sci-fi, and you love a book with morally grey characters, then this is it.

Beartown is a town that survives on hockey. The kids play it, the grown-ups work in anything related, and just like in sports, both sides consider themselves the good side in every action they take.

We follow the manager of the hockey club as he must make impossible decisions, then the players, each making their own mistakes. We see villains grow from a place that we can understand, and we see good people making bad calls because no one can be perfect all the time.

And most importantly, we see how sometimes, no choice is the right choice. Especially for the victim.

Nelson Mandel’s autobiography from his early life through the 27 years he spent in prison before becoming South Africa's first democratically elected President.

This book taught me about trying to be a better person despite your circumstances and being wronged by others. It also gave me hope that my imprisonment could be just a chapter in my journey and didn’t need to be the defining experience of my life.

This book of fiction, based on facts, captured my attention from the first page, where the Panama Hotel took an older Henry Lee back to the days of WWII. It was an excellent description of the way the American military hauled Japanese American citizens to relocation facilities resembling concentration camps. For me, it was an inside look at the fear and pain experienced by people who face prejudice, as did the Chinese boy and Japanese girl. Young Henry and Keiko faced that bigotry and overcame it, despite every effort to make them hate. If those two children could do it, why can’t I and others surmount racial divisions?

It was 1996. I walked into a Walden Books and discovered Diana Gabaldon. Immediately intrigued, I purchased Outlander and was hooked.

When Claire is thrust back in time, she is rescued by a Scot, and finds herself in a pickle. An English captain believes she’s an English spy and wants her brought in for questioning, but according to Scottish law, the order can be ignored if Claire is Scottish.

It is suggested she marry Jamie to avoid imprisonment. The problem is, she’s legally married to Frank Randall in 1945 but is not legally married to anyone in 1746. Left with few options, she reluctantly agrees and the amazing love story drags you in and never lets you go, to the point where you re-read every novel over and over again.

I don’t remember if there is actual wildlife in this book (apart from a dog), but nature plays a big part in the story. It was one of the first novels about Africa I read and it moved me deeply. Doris Lessing has written quite a few books about Africa, some political, others with a focus on the land, its people, and nature. She grew up in Zimbabwe (which was called Rhodesia back then) and is an award-winning author. I had to include at least one of her books in my list, so there.

I was entranced by this book when I first read it, and still am. I loved the way Kenyan writer and activist Ngugi wa Thiong'o told a story in such a simple, unadorned way that just manages to get under your skin. It’s an important lesson for any writer about unaffected writing! This was the first major novel in English by an East African writer and is just so redolent of its time and place. It charts the life of a young boy growing up through a major change in his home country, and the rise of the Mau Mau freedom fighters.

South African writer Nadine Gordimer, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, commands enormous power with her words. While they have a deceptively poetic lilting beauty, they also deal incisively with epic issues. The Pickup is one of my favourites, an ultimately lifting tale about a white woman and an illegal Arab immigrant, which portrays the power of love and understanding to cross great divides in class and wealth and outlook.

Felix and Zelda have the purest, most joyful, and endearing childhood friendship… set against a horrific time in human history, the Holocaust.

I read this series out aloud to my boys (ages 9 to 12). I wanted to let them learn the history in a way that was age appropriate. Gleitzman delivers spectacularly!

This book doesn’t gloss over anything. It’s all there on the page to interpret. The children in the story are sometimes naively unaware of what some of their observations and experiences mean, making it so powerful to read as an adult—and a great conversation starter for kids.

Felix’s positive thinking and quick wit, used to deflect even the most atrocious characters, were the biggest takeaways for us as a family.

Reading should be fun, and this is fun! Margery Benson is a woman after my own heart. She’s impulsive, stubborn, and independent.

I cheered her on as she gave up her frustrating job and boring life in England to go on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of a beetle, which may or may not be a myth. Along with her lively assistant, Enid Pretty, Miss Benson encounters some hair-raising challenges that compel her to break rules and discover a new self.

Miss Benson’s Beetle is a rollicking adventure story, which explores what it is to be an unconventional woman. It’s full of unexpected turns but is also a gentle study of a friendship that flouts convention. Everyone needs friends like Miss Benson and Enid.