The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim

Did you read The Scarlet Letter and think that could never happen today? First time novelist, Jolina Petersheim brilliantly brings Hawthorn’s classic novel into the present with The Outcast. Rachel, unwilling to repent and reveal the identity of the baby’s father, is forced to leave her Mennonite community. She finds refuge with a kind woman, Ida Mae, who offers her a job and a home. It seems she has left her old life behind until she discovers her child is sick and returns to the Mennonite community she left behind where she must face her family and her sin. 

In the Sea There are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda

“In the Sea There are Crocodiles” is based on the amazing journey of Enaiatollah Akbari, a young boy who left Afghanistan for Pakistan with his mother. While in Pakistan, Enaiatollah saw his school headmaster killed by the Taliban; Enaiatollah’s school was shutdown, then his mother left him and returned to Afghanistan (where Enaiatollah’s siblings still lived). At the age of 10, Enaiatollah had to find work and a place to live. Over the next five years, Enaiatollah traveled to Pakistan to Iran to Turkey to Greece before finally settling in Italy (where he was granted asylum). Enaiatollah story is a captivating read, told through the eyes of Enaiatollah as well as conversations between Enaiatollah and the author. While this book is called a “novel” it is based on the life and memories of a real refuge – Destined to be compared with the creative non-fiction works of Jack Kerouac. Highly recommended!